Light at the end of the tunnel...

IIPM Prof Arindam Chaudhuri on Our Parliament and Parliamentarians' Work

A TSI expose on the plight of families of security personnel killed by Maoists in Orissa has shaken the administration out of its stupor but much more still remains to be done, reports Dhrutikam Mohanty

Jayakrishna Bardhan couldn't believe his eyes. Over the last couple of months, he had run from pillar to post to claim his brave son's dues but to no avail. But now a team of police officials had arrived to hand over to his daughter-in-law what had eluded him for so long. That apart, the proud father of Ajit Bardhan, an Orissa police sub-inspector who was killed by Maoists, was seeing the power of the media at work. Just two days earlier, The Sunday Indian had published a cover story on the official apathy faced by families of martyrs in Orissa.

The report had thrown light on how the dependents of police personnel killed in Maoist attacks were struggling to get their legitimate benefits from the government. 'I couldn't imagine that the impact of the TSI coverage would be so instantaneous. The police department has taken no time to release the pending dues of my son,' says Bardhan. He also expresses deep gratitude to TSI for organising a press conference at the Press Club of India in Delhi, where he got an opportunity to draw the attention of the national media to their woes.

'Darkness at Noon': this was the headline of our cover story in the April 19 issue, which had revealed the despair of victims of Naxal violence in Orissa and exposed the negligence of the government machinery in the matter of redressing the problems of the families of martyrs. But stray rays of sunshine are now breaking through the gloom. The piece of paper that Bardhan's daughter-in-law Rosalin received from a special messenger of the police department was a cheque of Rs 10 lakh. This was late Ajit Bardhan's insurance payout, which was handed over to the nominee nine months after his death.

Though Jayakrishna and his younger son Ranjit have been to the Rourkela SP's Office and IG Administration's office on several occasions to pursue the release of the dues nothing had been done. It was only after their despair was highlighted in media that the police department turned proactive. Along with the insurance benefit, department also disbursed Rs 1 lakh and Rs 70,000 towards Ajit Bardhan's unutilised leave and salary arrears.

Masse Madkami, wife of Ganga Madkami, a Special Operation Group (SOG) jawan who lost his life in a landmine blast two years ago, now feels confident that she would be able to bear the burden of the family as its sole bread-earner. Today, she can at least take the responsibility of her eight-year-old son Sunadhar and Ganga's ageing parents. We had found Masse in a state of hopelessness and scepticism when we met her in the tribal village of Udupa, nearly 25 km from the Malkangari, just a month ago. At that time she told us that she ran from one office to another for her dues after her husband's demise. She finally received Rs 4 lakh as compensation and Rs 10 lakh as life insurance. She had to travel to the capital city of Bhubaneswar, which is about 700 kilometers, every month to collect the family pension. Masse was eagerly waiting for the promised job and land. So, what actually brought about a sudden change in her attitude towards life? Says Masse, 'I am now employed in the office of the Superintendent of Police under the rehabilitation scheme as promised by the government. On May 19, 2010, I joined a Class IV post. I am really thankful to TSI as all this happened after my plight was highlighted by the magazine.'

The government of Orissa has also given a job to Manini Devata, widow of SOG jawan Kanhu Charan Devata, who was killed in a landmine blast on July 16, 2008, at MV126 village of Malkangiri. Manini is a graduate and was expecting a job under the government's rehabilitation scheme. However, her application took two years to draw the attention of the babus and she eventually got an appointment in the office of the Superintendent of Police, Koraput. From May 19, 2010, Manini is working as a junior clerk there.

Manini's mother Sanyukta Tripathy says: 'The news published in TSI was subsequently broadcast on TV channels. That made a great impact and the state government immediately swung into action.' According to home department sources, in the past month the state government has provided jobs to five dependents of police personnel killed in Naxal attacks.

Lady constable Pratima Rout, one of the survivors of Nayagarh armoury loot, had been severely ill-treated, cheated and mentally tortured by her own department. But now she can breathe a little easy given the confidence-building measures adopted by her department.

Pratima was on duty on that dark night of 2008, when 300 to 400 Maoist cadres barged into Nayagarh police post, firing indiscriminately. Pratima was shot four times before she fell unconscious. Though her wounds had not completely healed, the police department stopped spending on her treatment. The doctor treating her didn't take proper care of her and discharged her even though she had not recovered completely from her wounds. To make matters worse, she continued to receive notices from the office to join back despite everyone being aware of her situation. Though the state government had declared compensation to all injured police persons, Pratima has not received a single penny so far. 'TSI not only highlighted my misery but also gave me the chance to share my sufferings with the national media in Delhi. As a result, I got quick response from my department. The Nayagarh SP personally met me and gave me a patient hearing. He promised to provide me with all possible benefits from the department. Recently a special medical board examined my disabilities. I hope the report of this medical board will help me to get legitimate compensation from the government,' says Pratima, when asked what steps the state government had taken to provide succour to her.

However, the story of Prabhati Mishra, wife of late reserve inspector Sarat Chandra Mishra is quite different. Forget about the promises of land or job, she has yet to receive her husband's gratuity and family pension. She says, 'It seems the home department has no respect for the media. I came to know that some martyrs' families have been given jobs, then why not me? Is my husband's sacrifice lesser than that of the others? I have met the home secretary several times but nothing has been done.'

No doubt the state government and the police department are currently in action mode but the steaps that it has taken are still well short of being satisfactory. 'In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, a martyr's family gets everything cleared within a month while here in our state it takes years,' says Prabhati.

Jayakrishna Bardhan also nurtures a grouse. He says, 'Though we have received money from the police department we have not been properly informed. It is amazing but true: so far we have not received any official letter regarding the compensation and benefits. We don't know why the department wants to keep us in the dark.' Along with the Bardhans, many other martyrs' families have not received their GIC, CPF and Special Pensions, which are their legitimate dues. Similarly, the government has also failed to keep its promise to allot a piece of land to every martyr's family.

While a senior police officer has confirmed that the administrative activism shown by the department is a reponse to media reports, principal secretary, home department, Mr A.P. Padhy is not ready to accept this. Talking to TSI, he clarifies, 'Our department was working for the last couple of months to provide employment to martyrs' dependents under the rehabilitation scheme. When that process was completed we sent them appointment letters. The process is still on and all the beneficiaries will get government job as per the rules. Some complications had arisen in the process of fixing of special pension and this will be sorted out very soon. Allotment of land to martyrs' families is not within our purview and is handled by revenue department. The state government has empowered district collectors to allot land to martyrs. Moreover, we don't want to react to the allegations that have been levelled by the families of martyrs as we have tremendous respect for them.'

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Dance in the hearts...

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Guru Syed Pasha leads an exceptionally talented dancing troupe of persons with disability at Ability Unlimited Foundation. K Raghav Sharma relates the overwhelming experience

Ten years back Vijay Kumar was a troubled parent. A resident of Jhilmil colony in Delhi, he was anxious about the future of his child Gulshan Kumar. With his crippled legs, Gulshan struggled to walk. But fate took him to Guru Syed Salauddin Pasha and the course of his life was changed forever. He asked Gulshan to join his Ability Unlimited Foundation (AUF), which works for the empowerment of talented children with disability. Gulshan's father Vijay was not convinced at first, but an offer of Rs 500 as scholarship and the dream of a prosperous future made him agree. Today, ten years since that rendezvous, Gulshan is no more thwarted by his handicap. He is currently pursuing his 12th standard education and is also earning a decent income as an artist.

Guru Syed Salauddin Pasha has thus brought hope and happiness to hundreds of differently-abled children with his unique and unparalleled concept called 'Dance on Wheels and Crutches'. For the last 25 years, many like Gulshan have secured a self-reliant and dignified life for themselves at the Delhi-based AUF. Guruji's flat in Patparganj is fully dedicated to the physically and mentally challenged, despite space constraints.

Wheels are a major part of the 'Bharatanatyam's on Wheels' show that is the result of five years of hard work put in by these children. An unprecedented piece of work in the history of natya, it is specially choreographed for the disabled. Combining the elements of Bharatanatyam, martial arts, Sufi dance, Bhagavad Geeta, yoga and many other arts, it is a sheer treat to watch.

Pasha works with artists whose conditions range from polio, dyslexia, cerebral palsy, autism and other mental, visual and hearing difficulties. On can easily imagine it to be tremendously taxing on one's stamina and patience.

In his journey, Pasha has known challenges that an ordinary mortal would have found difficult to withstand. 'As a guru of the disabled, you should not lose patience. These pains are part of the process and I need to face it anyway. To be frank, I have learnt the significance of patience and peace from these people only,' Pasha said.

Guruji Pasha was fond of dance and other arts since his childhood. 'Being a Muslim, it was not easy for me to practice Ramayana, Bhagavad Geeta, etc.' he recalls. 'In my childhood I had to face threats and beatings from my community because I was studying these art forms which were essentially Hindu. Around that time, one guru refused to teach me on the same grounds ' me being a Muslim. At Navasandhi Nritya too, they said, 'we can't teach nritya to a Muslim; it is purely meant for Brahmin people.'' Pasha hails from Anekallu, a village near Bangalore, and is now a professionally trained actor, Bharatanatyam and Kathak dancer, a graduate in choreography and inventor of Therapeutic Theatre for persons with disabilities. He has worked as an International Scholar at Cornell University, and special pedagogic dance theatre director at many schools in Finland and at Sutra Dance Theatre ' Malaysia, USA and UK. He is also a National Award winner. 'For the past 10 years, I have been working in Delhi with differently-abled children and at present over 150 children avail of dance therapy in our Foundation. Though most girls here are deaf and dumb, you don't see a shadow of sadness on their faces. The feeling of loneliness or alienation has vanished,' Pasha said proudly.

Nishisth is a proud member of AUF. He has visited foreign countries and performed in many AUF productions including Natya on Wheels. 'I feel proud to be the member of this foundation. Guruji has taught us what life is and how to face it. I have learnt Bharatanatyam and various kinds of dances from Guruji. He is everything for us,' he says. Ashiq Ali, Kumar Manish, Harbir, Sonu Gupta, Ishrath, Priya Sharma, Karuna, Alka, Ajay Kumar are some other students presently learning and performing dance here. They were part of the show recently held in Noida, UP.

The foundation receives a number of e-mails and letters from parents of differently-abled children from various parts of India to treat their children and engage them with the foundation. With limited space, however, it's been a tough task for Pasha. 'Sometimes children directly come here and join us. Sometimes we do workshops, events and visit slums where we find variety of differently-abled children with multi-talents. So, we have given them a platform to prove themselves. People in Jhilmil Colony celebrate when they see Gulshan Kumar's performance on the television. After performing in America and UK, his confidence level is now sky high. At the end of the day, we see satisfaction in these children, which is important', says Pasha.

Guruji Pasha has urged the government several times to use 3 per cent reservation for disabled consistently. The 1995 Disability Act says that there should be equal opportunity for every disabled person, but sheer negligent attitude of the government compelled the foundation to hire legal help to allow them to draw attention to the apathy demonstrated by various government departments. 'I have written many letters to Cultural Department and even to the Sangeet Natak Academy, but never received a reply from them. It shows that they are unaware and not bothered about these children.' Even after passing the Disability Act, there is little done. Pasha acknowledges that the journey in the last 30 years hasn't been easy and, he says, the journey in the future is not going to be easy either. In any case, to this group of determined people, it is not a concern.


An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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