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FOREWORD
Children lead the way to decentralisation and civil
society participation
For the past few years, the Government of Karnataka
has been trying to enable the participation of civil society in the
formulation of plans through the vitalisation of Gram Sabhas without
much success. This year participatory planning was made possible through
the active involvement of children in the formulation of Five Year Plans
in all the 56 Panchayats of Kundapura Taluk, Udupi District, South
Kanara. This process was facilitated by the Concerned for Working
Children.
This exercise was a journey in active participatory
democracy, a practical demonstration of grass root ‘bottom up’ planning
and a realisation of a citizen’s ‘right to information’ and all this
with children leading the way!
In retrospect, it was found that the involvement of
children, their enthusiasm, their unerring sense of justice and their
compassionate response to people’s problems is what drew adults into
this process. If children had not been the prime movers, adults would
not have been involved in such large numbers and like in the past the
task of drawing up the plans would have remained with the Secretary of
the Gram Panchayat with some inputs from some of the elected member.
Adults are cynical and wary of any possible change because of their
conditioning to the ‘real world’, where as children still have hope and
the belief that they can change the world. Their efforts, when they bear
fruit, also serves as a role model for grown ups and adults once again
begin to have hope. Children also grow up, and if they have a positive
experience of participation in governance they carry that with them into
adulthood. Politics is an integral aspect of our life. Good politics is
essential for the progress of any country. Here children have been
involved in defining ‘good politics’. This is not only a role model for
children but also for adults in the entire country. The Five Year
Planning process in Udupi District is one such experience.
This process however, has also raised many questions
regarding the model of decentralisation we as a country have adopted; a
micro replication of the centralised structures we have where the
control to a large extent still remains with the State and Central
Governments.
Though the legislative intention is democratic
decentralisation where every individual has a say, the models of
democracy available in India are centralised power centres with top-down
structures. These centres of power and decision-making have
decentralised their reach by constructing sub-structures at the local
level (e.g. The Education Development Committees or ECDs that bypass the
Gram Panchayats or Local Governments). The local level committees set up
in the name of decentralisation are totally against the principles of
participatory democracy. Right now various departments located far away
from people take decisions about schools, child care centres, rural
infrastructure and health care – without an in depth understanding of
people’s needs and concerns or the specifics of the local situations.
The thrust is for populist schemes that will service the next election.
In this model corruption and exploitation have also been decentralised
and so it is understandable that women, children and marginalized
communities fear decentralisation.
Though the strengthening of civil society and citizen
participation are catch phrases of democratic discourse in India, today
the nature of that civil society and the object of that participation
are being moulded by a specific interpretation of what it means to be a
citizen in India, where civil society organisations are now seen as an
extension of the state. The political situation in our country is a
mockery of Democracy. We criticise it without giving any thoughts to
transform it.
The democracy in our country needs transformation.
This transformation cannot take place overnight. The answer to this
problem lies in the construction of a new definition of civil society, a
highly participatory civil society filled with political content.
Exploring the answers to these issues would give us a glimpse of a
‘people friendly’ model of Globalisation that fulfils the needs of India
and her people while retaining constructive political dissent and debate
to hold the State accountable.
We have been working to strengthen participatory
democracy in India ever since the 1970’s. We embarked on this path with
working children carrying some of the principles that were sovereign to
our work with the informal sector of labour and it has led us to a
vision of the ‘big picture’ of participatory democracy suffused with the
hues of equality and egalitarianism.
The creation of politically motivated social
(peoples) organisations was a primary objective and we began with
Working Children as they were one of the most vulnerable groups in
society.
When we initiated this process, we were asked, "Why
do children need politics?" This question itself is a political one. If
we wish to bring up our children in a democratic environment and enable
them to experience democracy, they have to gain a political position,
political recognition and the space for political participation and only
then will we be able to create a political memory of a very high calibre.
An opportunity came our way in the form of an offer
from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Udupi District to enable
participatory planning in the 56 Panchayats of Kundapura Taluk. He had
witnessed the presentation of plans drawn up by the Makkala
Panchayats (Children’s Panchayats) in five of our Toofan
Panchayats. Here in addition to needs assessment, data collection and
problem prioritisation there was also a collation of history, mapping
and surveys as well as documentation of all discussions held with
various groups (children, women, the disabled and other special groups).
In some instances these discussions had taken place at the Ward
Committee meetings.
The CEO requested CWC to facilitate a similar process
in the all the Panchayats of the Taluk and we accepted the invitation.
However, we had one important concern. In all the Panchayats, we
insisted on not only the involvement of children, but that they played a
lead role. The Panchayat Department said that they would find it
difficult to facilitate this process as they had no prior experience of
working with children, or of participatory planning. We (CWC)
volunteered to do this and the Department agreed to coordinate the
logistics and send out the relevant memos and notifications.
However, we were faced with a challenge. In the five
Toofan Panchayats the children had formed base groups; the Makkala
Panchayats were present; they had ownership over their information and
the children had experience of preparing plans and following them up
with adults supporting them. But in the remaining Panchayats, the
children had no such experience or ownership. Our challenge was to
empower these children to participate actively, effectively and in an
informed manner by providing them the knowledge and skills to do so. The
children who took part in this process were mostly in the age group of
12 –14 years.
The children, as always, surprised us. They drew
inspiration from the children in the Toofan Panchayats who acted as
facilitators and plunged into this exercise with great enthusiasm and
carried out the process meticulously and with great rigor.
The out put was amazing. The children’s plans were
comprehensive and substantiated with statistics and data. Groups and
issues, such as the problems of the disabled, environmental concerns and
issues related to mobility and transport, were covered for the first
time in a five year plan. They also recorded the history of the village,
degradation of resources, made maps of their Panchayats that were
accurate and informative and in many cases, proposed solutions as well.
The adults, especially the members and staff of the Gram Panchayats were
astounded and in many cases shame faced as the plans that the adults had
drafted were very poor in comparison. As a result, by and large, the
children’s plans became the official plans of the Panchayats. But more
than that, it has rejuvenated the Panchayats. The officials and elected
representatives seem to be sensing a purpose and relevance to their
work. They see their Panchayats in a new light and they have gained a
deeper understanding of the Panchayats needs and concerns. The gap
between the local government and the people has diminished.
This process that the children have been involved in
is not only ‘developmental planning’ – it is a movement for democracy at
the very base, the village. This was Gandhi’s vision, but the
translation of this vision into practice remained a challenge. This
intervention by children is an important step in that direction.
The entire planning
process was in essence practising democracy, experiencing democracy and
learning from it. Such processes are extremely important to build and
sustain a democratic nation. The present system rarely provides such
opportunities for children or adults. What we read and learn is very
different from what we actually practise. Sometimes they are even
contradictory. This process is an example of how democracy can and
should be practised and how children can take part in decision-making
processes.
Here children were involved in taking decisions at
the level of local government. Their two significant achievements are
the creation of a ‘political space or forum’ that they can use to
present their views and concerns and the setting up of a process and
structure to practice true democracy – something that until now they had
only read about in books.
Local governments should be in a position to take
decisions about their villages. Through this intervention they have
proved that they are capable of analysing information, mapping the
resources they have and deciding what they need and under what terms and
conditions.
Though this process was constrained by lack of time
it can evolve into a formal and replicable system that can be up scaled
for the whole state. It is a good beginning. It will enable governments
at higher levels to view the Gram Panchayats with more respect and as
governments with geographical and political jurisdiction just as
themselves. The planning process that has taken place in Kundapur is an
important step in this direction.
It is said that the stream of globalisation cannot be
stopped. Most people, even those who oppose it, seem to believe that the
present model of Globalisation is here to stay and we can do little to
change this. However, the Kundapur example shows that it is possible to
challenge the very basis of globalisation and centralised undemocratic
decision making. Such processes can be a strong counter to globalisation.
For the present model of globalisation to work, there
is a need for centralised set ups with decentralised implementation, and
our present system of governance is conducive to this. Our
decision-making is centralised and the local governments function like
local agencies to implement these decisions. But real participatory
planning processes turn this model on its head. It can question and
challenge centralised decisions and make it possible for local
governments to take decisions and to strengthen themselves as the
representative of all the people of that Panchayat. If there are 5000
people in a Panchayat, the local government is capable of mobilising all
5000 of them. No other government, at the state or centre, can make such
a claim. The Gram Panchayats can do this. They can bring the people of
the Panchayat together, discuss issues, build on experiences and
challenge globalisation. Processes such as these make it possible to
change the course of globalisation.
In the early days of the Panchayat Toofan programme
in Kundapur, the then president of the Panchayat and the Makkala Mitra,
Sri Balanna, made a demand for an Anganwadi to the Department of Women
and Child Welfare. The representatives of the department said that they
would not sanction the Anganwadi at the location suggested by the
Panchayat. The president then said, "The children and the women have
asked for the Anganwadi here as it will be most convenient. I can see
they are right. If you insist that the Anganwadi should be located at
the place you suggest, I suggested that you leave. It is the children of
our Panchayat that need it, the place belongs to us and the programme is
here to serve the needs of our children. If you are not able to meet
their requirements we suggest you close down your other three
Anganwadi’s as well".
Balanna had the courage to say ‘no’ to programmes
that was not responding to the real needs of his people only because of
the active and informed participation of children and thereby the whole
community. Through this he was also able to understand the real needs of
children. He had the support of his people. Prior to the involvement of
children and their participation in the governance of the Panchayat, he
had not had the courage to question the relevance of schemes or
programmes thrust on him. Now he was sure that even if the department
left, he and the Panchayat would be able to run the Anganwadis because
of the participation of adults and children.
The present model of globalisation can only be
challenged by such people and processes. These may be small beginnings,
but as they say, little streams make an ocean. The children of Kundapura
Taluk have shown the way and adults have been inspired to take up the
challenge to struggle for true decentralisation and participatory
democracy. We have been enriched by this experience and recharged to
continue pursue our goals. The children are rearing to take this to its
logical end and get on with the
implementation of the plans. We hope that you will draw sustenance from
this example and find ways to take it forward.
Nandana Reddy
Damodar Acharya
For the entire publication,
please contact CWC at cwc@pobox.com
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