In the age of globalization, the Adivasi Bhil women are responding the economic needs with equal measures. They have learnt the methods of collective bargaining and the economic value of their home grown or locally procured commodities. In this context the efforts made by Pragati an indigenous NGO of Jhabua (MP) India has done commendable job by organizing the tribal Bhil women to be active in taking initiatives towards their human rights for food main and then for the trading rights, environmental rights, empowering themselves for other activities in which tribal and main stream society would not encourage them to pursue.
PRAGATI the local NGO organized by a Bhil named Malhing Kattara(39) together with some enthusiastic Bhil youth animated the Bhil women of Jhabua district to form some 570 Self Help Groups(SHG) instead of constantly depending on the unreliable government and the irregular foreign funds. In each of these 570 SHG there are 10 to 12 members. Jhabua district has enough of scope for the SHG activities since it has 85% of the tribal population, but most of NGOs in this district wholly depend for the foreign funds, not for the benefits of the human , social or cultural rights of the tribals or the indigenous peoples development but mostly 80% for their own development, and hence they flock to Jhabua in large numbers.
The SHG Bhil women of Jhabua have monthly meetings according to their own cultural rights and social traditions, in a language called Bhili understandable to them in their own cultural style or Adivasi Bhil women’s Panchayats. The Government type of introduced panchayats are not suitable to them. In these monthly meetings they discuss about their immediately felt needs, and not the needs as felt by the NGOs for their own selfish advantage. Those issues and the agendas are:
Children’s education, health & hygiene, water conservation, environment(social & and physical), reducing alcoholism and bride price, more empowerment women, etc.
Out of these 570 SHG practically all of them are successful in their ventures for the human rights. To our surprise, all of them send their children to schools against the popular views that tribals cannot be educated and the tribal children do not want to go to schools. On the contrary, the non tribals since 30 years are not taking interest in teaching them, other wise they say that the tribals shall control their own local or indigenous resources. Many started saving 35 to 100 Rs. in banks contrary to past years when they were in perennial debts. This amount appears small but amount to one to two days salary for a tribal/Adivasi woman’s daily wage. Nearly 500 women have wormy pits and bio-organic manure pits for sale and demonstration for the other women and for the use in their own fields.
Also 5 members only sale worms who produce high quality of bio-organic manure thus earn 5 to 8 thousands rupees annually where as they were in debts almost 15 to 50 thousands earlier. Others are involved in making and marketing washing powder, growing country chicken of India called Kadaknath and other fowls, goats, bricks, petty shops, tailoring, bead ornaments making, spies, growing vegetables at home, making candles, sell cotton and Mohuwa(flower for making alcohol), purchase and sell of castles, etc. Thus all of them make double or more profit for themselves , meeting the domestic needs and saving small amounts for the days to come.
If the rights of the tribal/Adivasis/indigenous peoples to be preserved, promoted and restored, then indigenous people are to be made self sufficient and self reliant in every field. Today love for the indigenous brethren only they have and the non tribals have love their resources such as money, power and positions. Then only there shall come equality, self initiatives which is destroyed by the non tribals. Others including Church personals introduced dependency , impoverishment and non transparency.
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