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CommunicadoCommunicadoCommunicadoBook of Thoth
A Small Chili canmake a HUGE difference
An Interview withSabriye Tenberken
Winning Articles of ‘Author a change’ contest
Also
Communication Cell, IIFM would like to
thank
Prof. A.K. Srivastava IFS, Director, IIFM,
Dr. Rekha Singhal, Dean, IIFM and
Prof. Prashant Jadhav IFS, Chairperson,
SAAC for giving us the opportunity to
bring out this Magazine
“IIFMCommunicado”, the first ever in the
history of Communication Cell, IIFM.
We also thank the faculty, students, staff
and alumni who took time and effort to
contribute content for the magazine.
Special thanks to Ms. Sabriye Tenberken
and Paul Kronenberg, Co-Founders of
Kanthari International and Ms. Thinlas
Chorol, Founder, LWTC who spared their
time and gave us an interview.
We also thank Mr. KVC Sekhar,
Publication Cell, IIFM for his guidance,
support and timely help.
Acknowledgement
IFMCommunicado
Book of Thoth
2012-13
IIFMCommunicado
Contents
IIFM Communicado: Set to march
Education is key to social transformation. A look into the recent past would give enough evidence that it is the education that has been the breeding cauldron leading to emergence of new technologies, new business model, and new social orders. But a closer look reveals that it is communication that has enabled migration of new ideas and discoveries across the globe, setting off a chain reaction that has spawned a web of information connecting many dots and making a complete picture. As the role of communication gets better appreciation, it is responsibility of each of us, including industries, society and academia, to ensure that we keep devising methods that open novel and better means of communication. Management schools, as a community has been entrusted with the responsibility of grooming the
minds to run institutions in diverse sphere of society. Thus it is our responsibility to communicate effectively
and faster and spread the awareness about the latest multidimensional global trends l, covering diverse
aspects to realize a holistic results.
It is my pleasure to bring the maiden issue of IIFM communicado, a brainchild of IIFMites. While the
students at IIFM have always given their best while engaging in learning and innovating new frontiers in
management sciences, this magazine would pave the way for effective communication and bring forth the
larger picture before the world. Our students are active in diverse fields, and this magazine aims to provide an
effective channel to communicate their learning, inside as well as outside IIFM.
I congratulate and wish the very best to the team who has shown remarkable strength to dream and
realize the dream. This first issue of communication brings to the table some very interesting articles ranging
from experience of young leaders active in bringing new solutions to several social issues, women
entrepreneurs, insightful thoughts about some national challenges, hope to dream, to some interesting article
of social, environmental and technological relevance. The details of BWB School and Ladakhi Women's
Travel will definitely prove to be great source of motivation for any reader to take up social entrepreneurial
venture.
I am confident that this is only the beginning, and going forward this magazine would grow
exponentially drawing on the strengths of our bright and energetic students, and support of brilliant faculty.
The journey begins… Jayashree Dubey Assistant Professor, IIFM
Message from Faculty Advisor
A small chili can make a HUGE difference 1
A window to contemporary challenges: A holistic approach 8
Innovation: will the next ..... 12
Imagine a world without wires & poles! 15
Where conservation meets livelihood 16
Getting back to nature 18
Bridging the gap: A policy to eradicate poverty 20
The essentials of environment and poverty 22
Going down the drain 25
The tribes in forests: A conflict or a synergy? 26
Things falling apart- We have to hold 27
Meet the first woman tourist guide of Ladakh 29
Contents
IIFMCommunicado
Sabriye Tenberken (German) is the co founder of
Kanthari International and Braile Without
Borders (BWB). In 2005 Sabriye was nominated
for the Nobel Peace Price and World Economic Forum,
Davos (WEF) awarded Sabriye, “Young Global
Leader”. Sabriye Tenberken received the Time
magazine Asia's HERO 2004 award. In 2008 Gov. of
China awarded Sabriye as One of 15 most influential
overseas experts over the past 30 years in China.
A small chili canmake a HUGE difference!
An Interview with
Sabriye Tenberken
The Tibetan journey
n eighth grade
Al e s s o n o n
T i b e t ' s
customs, religion, and history
and a subsequent field-trip to a
museum dealing with Tibetan
items, art and artefacts captured
Sabriye's imagination. She
dreamt of visiting Tibet starting a
school for the blind there. To
obtain official approval for
opening a school for the blind in
Tibet she visited China, all alone,
completed an intensive course in
Chinese and then went to Tibet to
realize her dream. She struggled
to explain her mission speaking
in Chinese and Tibetan and faced
many challenges initially as
visiting Tibet requires special
permits, the officials however
granted Sabriye permission when
she assured that her mission was
not political, but only to support
blind people. Sabriye decided to
go directly to Lhasa, the capital of
Tibet. There she discovered that
b l i n d n e s s i s c o n s i d e r e d
p u n i s h m e n t f o r m i s d e e d s
perpetrated in a past life or due to
possession by demons and not as
a medical anomaly. For centuries
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Tibet's blind have been shunned,
vilified, and generally treated as
sub-human. She was surprised to
find that though Tibet has per
capita twice the number of blind
people (1 person in 70) as the
global average, not a single
institution or organization geared
to provide assistance for the
region's blindclearly a result of
th i s deep-sea ted fea r and
opprobrium.
Tibet's main cause of
blindness is its high elevation; at
this altitude the intensity of the
sun's ultraviolet rays causes
damage to the unprotected eye,
but people largely believed on the
r e l i g i o u s e x p l a n a t i o n f o r
blindness. There existed no
program whatsoever in Tibet to
help blind children become
productive citizens. She and three
companions (two Tibetan, one
Israeli), travelled to a number of
remote villages on horseback
spreading the word about her
Brail le system (which she
developed for her own use in
during her Tibetology and to
assess the needs and situation of
blind children. When villagers
saw Sabriye walking, riding a
horse, they refused at first to
believe she was blind. Sabriye
persuaded them that though
blind, their children, too, could
ride horses, read, and write. One
astounded father told her, "The
prospect of your school is like a
dream for us.
In 1997 she met her
future partner in life and project,
Dutch engineer Paul Kronenberg.
Together they founded Braille
Without Borders.
After finding students
for their dream school, running
the school with almost no
external funding was a big
challenge for them. The main
reason people didn't give them
money was that they didn't raise
funds with pity. They believed
that presenting her students as
pitiable simply will further the
prejudice against them. "We've
learned that you'll get funding if
people feel sorry for you, but the
perception of what you are
capable of doing will never
change.”
When new students join
the school, "They say, 'I'm blind!
I can't do that.' But when they see
the other kids working hard and
achieving many tasks, they
change their views." It was a
sense of self-confidence that
Sabriye was planning to instil in
her own students. She aimed to
teach the blind how to integrate
t h e m s e l v e s i n t o t h e i r
communities, how to educate the
sighted in what it means to be
blind. She believed that changes
in the community's perception of
the blind should radiate from the
blind themselves.
In 1990, the school
moved to a house in Lhasa where
it is still located today. Paul and
Sabriye opened the Rehabilitation
and Training Centre for the Blind,
Tibet, in 1998. The children are
taught English, Mandarin,
Tibetan, math, and computer
skills. In addition, they learn
practical skills like making a bed,
cooking, walking with a cane,
and how to use all their senses to
help them get around. After
completing their basic education
s tudents have a choice of
returning to their villages,
continuing in normal school with
sighted children, or training for a
vocation. So far Braille Without
Borders has developed programs
in medical massage (a vocation
Sabriye in BWB School (Photo Paul Kronenberg)C
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reserved in China for blind
people), animal husbandry,
cheese-making, butter and milk
production, baking bread, market
gardening, agriculture, compost
production, knitting, carpet
w e a v i n g a n d k i t c h e n
management. When our children
return to their villages, they know
many new things which their own
families have never learned, new
skills which are highly valued. In
many villages, the families don't
speak Chinese or English; the
returning blind child is able to
translate for them. The student
returns with a new value; for the
first time he/she's seen as useful
and become valued members of
their communities. Sabriye
Ternberken had brought literacy
to the blind people of Tibet which
gave them real empowerment
and graceful living.
Kanthari
“The Battle of Waterloo
was played at the playfield of
Aton” and this is what Kanthari
believes in and delivers.
A kanthari is a plant that
grows wild in every backyard of
Kerala, a small but very spicy
chili that is famous for its
medicinal value. The name
kanthari is given to the social
entrepreneurship institute. In this
institute future kantharis are
being groomed who will create
ethical positive change in the
society.
The kanthari campus is
located on the shores of the
Vellayani lake, in Trivandrum,
Kerala, South of India.
Kanthari is constantly
searching for social visionaries
who have guts to challenge the
status quo and harmful traditions.
The participants are trained in a 7
month intensive leadership
programme.
Since 2009, over 40
social initiatives have been set up
by kantharis the world over, each
of which is making a difference.
Kanthari is widely targeting
people who have overcome
adversity and who are keen to
drive ethical social change.
Kanthari International trains
participants in public speech,
finance, innovative project
planning, management, writing
p r o p o s a l s , f u n d r a i s i n g ,
organizing social marketing
campaigns.
According to Paul and
Sabriye what is most important is
a sense of ownership, motivation,
creativity, talent and passion to
make the world a better place and
strength to be forces of good
r a t h e r t h a n v i c t i m s o f
circumstance.
Participants need to be
22 years of age or o lder.
Nationality, religious or cultural
background, socio-economic
conditions or even educational
background is of no consequence.
The medium of learning is
English, so a working knowledge
of the language is essential. Basic
computer skills are also required.
Kanthari will act as a
catalyst to make their visions
true.
7 Month programme
Kanthari offers a seven
mon th expe r i en t i a l based
learning program for social
change. The course is especially
designed for future kantharis
and cannot be compared with any
postgraduate study.
The Curriculum is “a
Future Kantharis in their convocation (Photo Paul Kronenberg)C
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journey in five acts” and prepares
future Kantharis to start social
projects, create innovative
solutions and initiate movements
and campaigns for ethical social
change. The training equips the
participants to manage small
scale organizat ions , solve
mission critical issues and
communicate effectively to target
aud ience and pub l ic . The
unconventional and unique
course is del ivered to the
participants with instructors
(catalysts) who are experts in the
concerned fields. Participants
have to constantly learn, improve
and show there competence as
they complete each act. As the
going gets tough, the tough gets
going and future kantharis have
to show their mettle and prove
their worth in each stage.
Act 1 - “Tasting the fire”
The participants are
given a firsthand experience on
what it means to be a kanthari
through a first roller-coaster ride
to experience the ups and downs
of real world. Participants have to
implement their social visions in
an imaginative country under
rather difficult but realistic
circumstances. For this, kanthari
International created fictional
w o r l d s w h i c h o f f e r c l e a r
opportunities but also real
pitfalls.
Act 2 “Change for a Change”
Participants put their
l e a rn ing in to p rac t i ce by
supporting local NGOs (in
Kerala), initiatives and social
entrepreneurs in reaching their
goals. This gives them hands on
e x p e r i e n c e i n r e s e a r c h ,
consulting and coaching of local
organisations and advocates,
organization- and community
development, sensitizing the
society for social injustice,
community mobilization and
creating a mind-set change
through campaigns and events.
At the end, together with their
local partners, participants
organize a public exhibition
named “Change for a change”
Act 3 “The wild world”
A six week internship
gives the participant an exposure
to real life situations; therefore, it
is an essential part of the
programme. Internships take
place in an NGO, a social
E n t e r p r i s e o r a c o m p a n y
anywhere in India or Nepal.
Par t ic ipants wi l l work on
independent projects. This
project can include a campaign
for a social or environmental
cause, a fundraiser for a non-for-
profit organization, a social
initiative within a firm etc.
Act 4 - “Back to spice gardens”
A successful graduation requires
several elements; Overall active
and constructive participation
during the entire course, a
satisfying report of the intern-
host, a clear proposal of the
participant's social initiative, a
realistic budget and a 15 minutes
fiery public presentation. During
graduation week, this so called
“Dream Speech” including a
Q&A session is performed in
front of a panel of international
experts.
Act 5 - “Spice up the world”
This is the launch pad for the
future Kantharis where they have
the opportunity to join a network
of active Alumni, who are
mentored by international world
exper ts . Par t ic ipants wi th
convincing vision, realistic
budgets and clear action plans
will have a chance to apply for
start-up funding from Braille
W i t h o u t B o r d e r s . U p o n
completion of a year of impactful
and effective work in the field
participants can call themselves
as Kanthari.
Being a kanthari means a
lot and the course ensures that a
kanthari delivers for what he/she
is trained for. Be a Kanthari- be
pungent but curative for society.
I n t e r v i e w w i t h S a b r i y e
Tenberken
Q: The name “kanthari” is
meaningful and appropriate.
Who suggested it? Suggest us a
title for the article in which we are
going to write about you and your
work.
A: For a title I would suggest our
slogan “A small chili can make a
HUGE difference.”
For Paul, myself and the kanthari
team it is very important that
kanthari is understood as a
symbol for an ethical social
change agent. Therefore we see a
clear difference between a social
entrepreneur and a kanthari. A
kanthari however has to have all
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talents and has to know about all
m e t h o d s t h a t a s o c i a l
e n t r e p r e n e u r n e e d s t o b e
successful.
But a kanthari needs to have an
e v e n s t r o n g e r i n t r i n s i c
motivation because financial
income is not what drives a
kanthari. A kanthari only feels
rewarded when there is a positive
mindset change in society.
Q: What challenges you faced
when you s tar ted “Brai l le
W i t h o u t B o r d e r s ” a n d
“Kanthar i”? How did you
overcome it?
A:It is always difficult to
convince people of something
that is new. People are generally
reluctant to change. And if
someone has the guts to challenge
the Status Quo, to challenge
harmful traditions, there seems to
be an even stronger resistance.
How many times have I
heard: "you cannot do it because
you are blind, you are a woman,
you are too young." Luckily I
realized early on that these people
normally are not talking about
my limits but rather about their
own limits and this gave me the
strength to look for a team of co-
dreamers. And thus I found Paul
Kronenberg.
Q: Do you think people who
underwent major adversity can
only be driven to make a social
change?
A: it is not that easy. A lot of
people who have gone through
adversity are still traumatised.
And being traumatized can eat up
all your energy to make a
difference. However, those who
have overcome adversity and
who have the energy and the
passion to make a positive
difference will more likely
become successful.
Why? Because they are an
insider. they know the problem in
and out. They understand what it
takes to overcome the problem
and they are in the best position to
find adequate solutions.
Can outsiders, people from the
mainstream be change agents?
It is very difficult to impose a
change to a group you are not part
of. It is always easier to have a
direct personal link to your target
group. And still, yes, there are
passionate change agents who
fight for rights of marginalized
groups, of people they are not
part of. There are people who
have the inner fire and inner spice
to dedicate their life to others.
In kanthari we want to
empower both insiders and
committed outsiders to become
critical thinkers and driven doers,
who make their surroundings a
better place to live in.
Q: Identifying target segment
and reaching them is one of the
crucial business processes of any
enterprise. As an entrepreneur in
social sector, how challenging
you found it, to reach out to target
segment? What are the ways you
are reaching to the target
segment?
A: We are still looking for the
best way to find our future
kantharis. Many people living in
the margins of society don't have
access to internet. Therefore we
are right now depending on
spreading the news through
NGOs, kanthari graduates,
through speeches, social and
local media. Word of mouth of
course plays a role too. And we
are looking for more ideas how to
find good candidates who are
r e a d y t o g o t h r o u g h t h e
application process. Your article
could help with this
Q: According to you, what is
social entrepreneurship?
A: Initially we thought, a social
entrepreneur is a social change
agent who comes up with a lot of
new and revolutionary ideas to
make things happen and to make
this world a better place.
Later we learned that
c o n v e n t i o n a l l y , s o c i a l
entrepreneurship is associated
with business. This doesn't
always relate to the kind of
change agent that we are looking
for, therefore we moved away
from social entrepreneur and
found a new symbol for a
different kind of leader; someone
who is first of all interested in
making a positive difference, a
mindset change. We are looking
for the Gandhis of the future. And
the question is, was Gandhi a
social entrepreneur? I don't think
so. He didn't need or used a
business model for changing the
mindset of his surrounding. He
was an insider, he was part of his
own target group and he has gone
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through the adversities he needed
to create a change.
A proper symbol for this
kind of dedication, for these
intrinsically driven ethical and
critical thinkers who are able to
create new attitudes in society did
not really exist.
Therefore we chose
kanthari, a plant that grows wild
in every backyard of Kerala. It is
one of the spiciest chilis in the
world but it has medicinal values.
It purifies the blood, it serves as a
pain killer, it makes people alert
and awake, it's a taste changer
and it creates a sense of risk,
adventure, going against the
stream.
Our kantharis use different tools
for creating change. Movements,
campaigns, establishing new
s c h o o l s w i t h i n n o v a t i v e
approaches, training centers for
the blind where the blind are not
seen as an object of charity but
understand the center as a spring
board to empower. We do have
i n v e n t o r s , w h o d e v e l o p
technology for marginalized
members of society, and those
who use art and creativity to
create ethical difference. And
y e s , w e a l s o h a v e s o c i a l
entrepreneurs, but only those
who's main focus is social change
and business is only used as a
tool.
Q: BWB trains visually impaired
students and works for their
reintegration in mainstream
society by providing them
education, communication and
vocational training. How do you
train them to get self-confidence,
interest and motivation to live in
dignity and pursue their dreams?
A: The most important step for
blind people to gain confidence is
to let them understand that
blindness doesn't have to be a
disability if we focus on the
possibilities, on the beauty of
blindness. What I learned when I
became blind is, that I was much
more able to concentrate and
focus on what really mattered. I
was not easily distracted by
Hollywood and Bollywood, by
billboards and advertisements.
Also I needed to become
a better communicator, I was
forced to listen and forced to be
clear in my expression. If you are
blind and you are not able to
express yourself you easily
become invisible.
Also as a blind person
you are forced to become a
problem solver. Blind people are
living in a world which is made
for the sighted. And if you want to
exist in a world that is not made
for you, you better invent your
own ways. And last but not least
we are lucky to depend on our
imagination. This is a gift which
we should cherish. Because
i m a g i n a t i o n c a n o n l y b e
disappointed by reality, that's
something sighted people also
experience while reading a book
and later going to a film. A blind
person doesn't see the "reality"
a n d t h e r e f o r e c a n n o t b e
disappointed? If you show a blind
person all these advantages rather
than focuss ing on l imi t s ,
c o n f i d e n c e w i l l c o m e
automatically.
Q: Among those whom you and
your organization has trained,
whom you like? Tell us about the
person and his/her work.
A:It is important to note that
kanthari and Braille without
borders have different target
groups. With Braille without
borders we mainly target blind
children in school age and for
v o ca t i o n a l t r a i n i n g b l i n d
adolescents and adults. But in
kan tha r i we t a rge t soc i a l
visionaries, whether they are
b l ind or d i sab led , o r non
disabled. Important are ethics,
energy and a vision to make this
world a better place.
One of our kantharis is an
albino from Kenya who is
fighting for the right not to be
killed by witch doctors. Another
blind kanthari from Japan has a
mobile library in Thailand to
bring books to children who
otherwise would never have an
opportunity to read. Others are
working with street children in
Sierra Leone, with unemployed
youth in Nigeria, with disabled
people in Meghalaya and so on. I
do like all of our participants as
they are the ones that help
kanthari reach its goal.
Q: In Tibet, most of your work
focuses on empowering and
reintegrating blind children and
peop le . Do you have any
plan/program in future, to
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prevent avoidable blindness
(bl indness due to vi tamin
deficiency, unhygienic living
environment, climactic causes
and cataract)?
A: That's not our purpose. At the
m o m e n t , t h e r e a r e m o r e
organizations who want to
prevent blindness than those who
want to empower the ones that
cannot be cured, so that is
something we focus on.
Q: What is your future plan or
course of action?
A:To help to create more
multipliers through kanthari in
India, in Africa and elsewhere in
this world and to continue to
empower blind children through
Braille without borders.
Q: Anything you would like to
tell/suggest/advice to young
social entrepreneurship aspirants
who are studying management
and are interested in bringing
social change?
A: spend sufficient time in order
to find your passion, follow your
instincts and work closely with
those who are effected by
injustice and don't try to solve the
problems for them but with them
together.
Parasuram K &Aryasilpa Das Adhikari
PGDFM 12- 14, IIFM
Floating Island made up of waste plastic bottles in Kanthari
International campus (Photo Paul Kronenberg)C
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India is a country
which is not only
huge in terms of its
size and population but is blessed
with rich biodiversity, adequate
resources, varied geographical
phys iography and d iverse
cultural wealth with immense
capacity and capability to grow
into a powerful, equitable and at
the same time a vibrant nation.
However the reality at present
juxtaposes a rich flourishing
economy and society together
with extreme poverty, illiteracy,
degrading social values, wanton
destruction of environment and
b iod ivers i ty, an apa the t ic
capitalist corporate system, a
leviathan bureaucracy and a
seemingly immature political
environment. In this article we
shall try to comprehend the
present situation by analysing the
causes and e ffec t s o f the
contemporary problems faced by
India and try to extrapolate the
necessary steps required to either
c o m p l e t e l y e r a d i c a t e t h e
problems or at least mitigate it.
Ea r th a t p r e sen t i s
perhaps the only planet in our
solar system which is capable of
sustaining life and nature has
always been able to maintain a
delicate balance of life. However
the blatant disregard for this
fragile balance by human beings
has resulted in a situation where
we might be responsible for our
planet's destruction together with
all the life that it supports. Thus in
this regard the destruction of
nature by man becomes the most
important priority faced by the
world as well as by India today.
E n v i r o n m e n t a n d
biodiversity are what sustains life
and it is through these fruits of
nature that men as well as all
other living beings are able to
enjoy the pristine joys of life.
Pos t indus t r ia l revolu t ion
resulted in massive pollution and
destruction of nature which is
pushing our planet to the brink of
d i s a s t e r . T h i s w a s f i r s t
epitomised by the chemical and
photochemical smog which
blanketed most industrialised
cities as well as the sudden
“silence of the spring” in our
immediate natural surroundings.
In response there have been a
number of international efforts to
mitigate these problems through
various international forums such
as the Inter Governmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC), UN
Environment Programme(UNEP),
UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change(UNFCCC),
Convention of International
T r a d e o n E n d a n g e r e d
Species(CITES), Rio Summit,
Convention on Biodiversity, etc.
However the pace at which these
efforts are being taken is far from
satisfactory and there is a need for
individual countries to do more.
India's physical location on the
planet and its massive coastline
exposes it to the dangerous
effects of climate change.
India not only needs to
lobby for strong International
laws on climate change and
biodiversity destruction but also
needs to do more on the domestic
front. We need policies which
will encourage the use of cleaner
fuels, cleaner energy production
and promote the 3Rs i.e. recycle,
reuse, reduce. This can be done
by providing tax benefits to
consumers who buy energy
efficient products, provide
subsidies and government
assistance to those companies
which are working towards
producing cleaner energy like
solar energy, wind, biogas, tidal
energy, etc.
At the same time there
should be strict punishments in
place for those who do not follow
the clean energy policy and for
this a strong decentralised
regulatory regime consisting of
NGOs, government officials,
citizens, environment experts
and other such stakeholders
should be put in place. By
mitigating pollution and climate
A window to contemporary challenges: A holistic approach
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IIFMCommunicado
change it will invariably play a
major role in protecting the rich
but fragile biodiversity of India.
On the biodiversity front, India
must emphasize on carrying out
Environment and Social Impact
studies to ensure that any new
major project like mining,
hydropower, manufacturing
plants et al do not compromise
the rights of the people impacted
by such projects as well as protect
the biological diversity in such
areas.
The next agenda which
should be a priority for India is in
the economic front. In the
background of the 1990s Balance
of Payment crisis and under the
watchful eye of the International
Monetary Fund(IMF) India
started the liberalisation of Indian
economy and the subsequent
Privatisation and Globalisation
has resulted in India coming out
of it “Hindu Growth rate”
syndrome and galloping towards
a vibrant economy with strong
macroeconomics fundamentals.
However in order to maintain the
high growth trajectory enjoyed
by India prior to the 2008
subprime crisis, we need to
f u r t h e r s t r e n g t h e n o u r
infrastructure, develop our
domestic market, invest more on
agriculture by promoting a
s u s t a i n a b l e “ E v e r g r e e n
R e v o l u t i o n ” , i n c r e a s i n g
domestic savings which will
promote domestic investments,
bring in more FDI especially in
areas of R&D, development of
infrastructure projects like roads,
railways, bridges, cold storages,
energy, etc. Doing this will help
control inf la t ion which is
grappling India by its throat and
will enable our country to have a
meaningful real growth. There is
also an urgent need of a single
window c lea rance sys tem
c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e m y r i a d
stakeholders so as to clear new
infrastructure projects without
delay in order to enable easy flow
of investments. Agriculture is
another sector which has been
ailing for a long time now. Since
agriculture is mostly a rural
phenomena, the government has
to play an active role by taking up
m u l t i d i m e n s i o n a l
responsibilities. There is a need
to consolidate the landholdings
which at present suffer from
massive land fragmentation and
then try to promote some form of
modified community farming or
commercialised contractual
farming by forming groups of
l i k e m i n d e d f a r m e r s a n d
providing them a venue where it
is possible to avail cheap credit as
well as a market where they can
sell their goods directly so that
they can make maximum profits
by bypassing the middlemen and
thus can make use of the
increased incomes to further
improve their farm productivity
b y i n v e s t i n g o n n e w
technologies.
There is also a need for
India to rethink its policies
regarding subsidies on chemical
fe r t i l izers , pes t ic ides and
electricity to farmers as this has
resulted in the indiscriminate use
of these chemicals as well as
overdrawing of ground water and
thus affecting the environment as
well as reducing the fertility of
the land. To this end some sort of
targeted conditional cash transfer
by making use of India's new
Unique ID “Aadhar” should be
provided along with scientific
institutional support in order to
educate the farmer regarding safe
use of fertilizers and pesticides
through the panchayats.
The next priority should
be to eradicate poverty and
illiteracy. Some may wonder why
Poverty and illiteracy should not
be part of the No.1 agenda; they
may be right in thinking so but in
reality we have to consider the
fact that we cannot meaningfully
eradicate these two twin evils
without a strong economy.
Without adequate resources India
cannot s imply tack le th i s
seemingly impossible task
because of the sheer number of
people involved. Since Corporate
Social Responsibility is still in its
nascent stage in the context of
India, this has resulted in the state
playing an active role in this
arena. India is still a country
where we find people who are
poorer than even the poorest
people living in the sub Saharan
or Sahel region. Illiteracy is still
high and our infant mortality rate
as well as the maternal mortality
ratio is higher as compared to
even countries like Bhutan. This,
compounded with the parochial
traditional cultural values has
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resulted in a number of socio-
economic and cultural problems
like female infanticides, child
marriages, low status of women,
crimes against women, casteism,
c o m m u n a l i s m , t r i b a l i s m ,
discrimination and racism.
Poverty also breeds ignorance
and the Rio Summit 2012 held in
Brazil identified poverty as one
o f t h e m a j o r r e a s o n s f o r
destruction of biodiversity.
India's battle with poverty as well
as illiteracy has been long and
arduous. India has experimented
with a number of policies and
programmes. It started with the
c o m m u n i t y d e v e l o p m e n t
programme introduced in the first
5 year plan which performed
below par, then there were the
v a r i o u s f o o d s e c u r i t y
programmes, wage employment
p r o g r a m s a n d l i v e l i h o o d
programmes started in the late
60s and early 70s. However these
programmes failed due to the lack
o f f u n d a n d i n e f f e c t i v e
implementation. However after
the Liberalisation-Privatisation-
Globalisation (LPG) era, India is
definitely not short of funds and it
has rightly taken up programmes
l ike MNREGA which has
improved the quality of life for
many poor people as it provides
100 days of employment security
in spite of some structural failures
such as leakages and corruption.
Moreover a new Food Security
Bill is being contemplated in the
Parliament which will assure at
l e a s t t w o t h i r d s o f r u r a l
population and one half of urban
population of subsidized food.
However the success of such
massive programmes will depend
on the successful implementation
by providing the required
s u b s i d i e s t o t h e t a rg e t e d
p o p u l a t i o n a n d a v o i d i n g
leakages. The use of Direct Cash
Transfer by using e-banking is
being contemplated to ensure that
leakages are avoided.
The other major issue is
illiteracy and lack of education in
India. This problem of illiteracy
breeds a number of o ther
problems and by effectively
p r o v i d i n g a m e a n i n g f u l
education a number of problems
faced by both rural and urban
India can be avoided. The present
system of education suffers from
a number of deficiencies not only
in terms of quantity but also
quality education. There are
chronic problems in India's
education system which provides
schooling but not education.
Children are being flooded with
theoretical knowledge without
emphasizing on its practical
applicability.
Efforts have been taken
by the National Council of
Education and Research Training
(NCERT) to address this problem
but still not enough is being done.
Moreover the state education
boards are seriously lacking
behind when it comes to reforms.
Indian education system needs a
renaissance of sorts. We need a
system where the teachers are not
only qualified to teach but should
also be competent enough to
actually teach. There is also a
need to stop the segregation of
boys and girls in the class and
allow free interaction between
t h e m s o a s t o c r e a t e a n
environment of equality and
remove artificial barriers that
society may impose. This will
help reduce the large number of
heinous cr imes committed
against women and females in
general. The government's efforts
to promote an inclusive society
through universal pr imary
education should not be a reason
to compromise on the quality of
education. There is also a need to
separate culture from religion in
v i e w o f i n c r e a s i n g
communalisation and promote
secular education by teaching
about all religions practised in
India and emphasizing on the
equality of all religions. In view
of the increasing unemployment
among educated youth we need to
e m p h a s i z e o n v o c a t i o n a l
trainings and the promotion of
skill development.
To promote national
unity efforts should be taken to
possibly introduce some sort of
short visual documentations of
each and every state in India
showing the people, culture,
h i s t o r y , g e o g r a p h y a n d
achievements. This will help
r e m o v e p r e j u d i c e s a n d
stereotyping that plague Indians
in general. Education will also
ensure that pregnant mothers
know about pregnancy and steps
n e e d e d t o e n s u r e a s a f e
childbirth. It is more likely that an
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educated woman will make use of
clinical childbirth as compared to
an uneducated woman and this
will result in lower maternal
mortality ratio as well as lower
child mortality rate. It will also
ensure that the population
explosion is controlled as it has
been found that educated women
have a tendency to have at most 2
children as compared to illiterate
mothers. Education will ensure
that people know about the rights
and duties and thus play an active
role towards contributing to
society. It will also act as a
bulwark towards bureaucratic
apathy and will ensure that
society as well as the state
respects the individual's right to
dignified life as is enshrined in
our Constitution (article 21-Right
to life and personal liberty). It
will make people realise the role
played by nature in our daily
existence and thus people will
naturally start giving importance
to conserving and promoting our
n a t u r a l w i l d l i f e a n d i t s
biodiversity.
If we closely look at all
the issues that are stated in this
article, we find that every issue is
interrelated in some way or the
other. Poverty and illiteracy can
be considered as the fundamental
of all problems and moreover
these two problems are not only
intertwined with each other but
they also complement and
supplement each other. It is also
this poverty and ignorance which
destroys the fragile nature,
demolishes the rich biodiversity,
ruins economies, creates social
problems and unrest which
further strengthens the perpetuity
o f pover ty and i l l i t e racy.
Economies depend on the
resources provided by our planet
through i ts environmental
biodiversity and the loss of this
will result in financial and
economic failures in the near
future. Thus we find that our life
and also of our planet's existence
is linked by an intricate web of
interrelat ionships and this
interrelated system cannot gel
well if one part is malfunctioning
or is absent.
These problems may
give the reader an impression that
such issues can only be tackled by
the government or through some
organisations formed primarily
to handle such issues however
that could not be farther from the
truth. There is a need of a
revolution at an individual level.
It is only through the individual
that change can be brought about.
It could be as simple as respecting
pub l ic p roper ty, avo id ing
littering, paying taxes, switching
off the car engine when idle,
insisting on energy efficient
devices and green products,
following the 3Rs i.e. recycle
reuse and reduce, etc or it could
be something more radical like
g o i n g a g a i n s t p a r o c h i a l
traditional cultural practices,
i n s i s t i n g o n r a t i o n a l i s m ,
humanism and universalism,
enforcing accountability on the
g o v e r n m e n t t h r o u g h
constitutional means, taking a
proactive role to eradicate
poverty and illiteracy on an
individual level, etc. On a macro
level it will be more prudent to
approach these issues in a holistic
manner by looking a t the
individual problems as part of a
single lump problem rather than
sum of individual problems.
Albert Einstein once said that one
cannot solve problems with the
same thoughts that created it and I
believe is an apt statement when
it comes to the contemporary
problems being faced by the
world in general and India in
particular.
11
Mania Maheo PGDFM 11-13 batch, IIFM
IIFMCommunicado
Innovation: Will the next Google come from India within the next twenty years?
nnovation, as defined by the IOxford Advanced Learner's
D i c t i o n a r y , i s t h e
introduction of new things, new
i d e a s o r w a y s o f d o i n g
something. And just to break it up
further, 'new' means 'not existing
before'. Understandably, the
readers are not naive to these
common words in the English
language. But establishing the
apparently commonsensical
premise becomes crucial before
one introduces the follow-up
question: will the next Google
come from India within the next
twenty years? Offering an answer
would subject this writer to
judgement: one would either be
called a pessimist or a wishful
thinker! Circumventing that risk
and staying true to the nature of
his slated profession in business
management, ambivalence in
presenting the case on both sides
would be a reasonable option for
him.
G i v e n t h e h e a v y
influence that media plays in the
mindset of modern day India, it
would be apt to accept the often
t o u t e d p a i r i n g b e t w e e n
'innovation' and 'Research and
Development' (or 'R&D', more
colloquially). India spends 0.9%
of its Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in R&D; and three-fourths
of this spending is done through
t h e p u b l i c s e c t o r . S o
unmistakably, one would look
toward the esteemed institutions
of technology in the country in
investigating the questions on
innovation.
The I ITs (present ly
sixteen in number) are set up
u n d e r t h e I n s t i t u t e s o f
Technology Act, 1961 and were
envisioned by the then Prime
Minister of India, Pt. Jawaharlal
Nehru , to hera ld the new
technological era for independent
India by serving as pioneers in
innovation and learning. Of late,
the very DNA of the set-up has
been questioned and often
criticised, regarding its ability to
fulfil that purpose. To that extent,
a leading news channel recently
interviewed a final year student
(class of 2013) from IIT Delhi on
one of its shows, and indulged in
indiscriminate mud-slinging on
the behest of its 'expert panellist'
who happened to be a young
lawyer!
Having spent a good four
(and fortuitously not more!)
years of his life in one of the older
IITs (it also happens to be India's
oldest engineering college), this
writer can draw heavily from his
understanding of the IIT culture
to investigate the issue and zoom
out from a micro level.
While the intent of
s u p p o r t i n g e c o n o m i c a l l y
underprivileged IITans with
m e r i t - c u m - m e a n s b a s e d
scholarship is noble, its skewed
implementat ion engenders
disillusionment. Many of the
b e n e f i c i a r i e s w i l l h a v e
u n d e r g o n e e x p e n s i v e
programmes at established boot-
camps in Kota and still others
w o u l d f l a u n t t h e i r A p p l e
machines on the very day of
Registration for semester-I!
Forged income certificates by
g u a r d i a n s e n a b l e s u c h
outrageous abuse. The very start
of the undergraduate programme
creates an imbalance in the IIT
ecosystem as wards under this
scheme are licensed to pollute the
very atmosphere levered by this
undue financial support. As the
academic standards that govern
the con t inua t ion o f these
scholarships are fairly lax, the
menace successfully permeates
down the years with repeatedly
forged income declarations.
Clearly, the scheme needs to be
reformed to enable stricter
evaluation of the candidates
benefited under the programme
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IIFMCommunicado
and also to establish higher
benchmarks for the maintenance
of this support to its recipient.
Though not directly linked to the
very letter of innovation, such
atmospheric amelioration will
enhance the spirit of innovation.
A n o t h e r a d d i t i o n
towards inclusive growth is the
g o v e r n m e n t ' s p o l i c y o f
reservation which attempts to
benefit traditionally marginalised
c a s t e s . B u t t h i s m o d e o f
affirmative action comes with a
cost: while the burden of a social
stigma has become anachronistic
(thanks to the online revolution
wh ich deems ca s t e -based
castigation mostly 'un-cool'), it
has been replaced by a subtler
manifestation---the cost of
condescension. The development
i s a s unfo r tuna te a s i t i s
misplaced. A case in point being a
course-mate of this essayist who
did two stints at the Google
Summer of Code (GSoC) before
being absorbed in a top-notch
MNC on day 1 of placements
2012, and also happened to
b e l o n g t o t h e a f o r e s a i d
beneficiaries. In a society riddled
with caste discrimination the
taboo cannot be eliminated with a
magical wand. Our surnames
reveal much about our lineage.
But to amend the status quo,
instead of lowering cut-offs for
m a rg i n a l i s e d c a n d i d a t e s ,
additional points could be
awarded to their application
/ en t r ance t e s t s co re s .The
administration will have to
summon courage to risk the
bureaucratic menace that comes
packaged with such a move to
detoxify the IIT-NIT (or any
public college) macrocosm in
favour of a healthier amalga-
mation of perspectives.
Pranav Mistry's TED
talks and his work are a hit with
most IIT graduates. Inspired as
they are, they too look towards
ful f i l l ing thei r innovat ive
aspirations through research
conducted at foreign universities.
Why? Because the perception of
research in India has got more to
do with publishing papers than
winning patents. Even the faculty
at IITs is evaluated for promotion
based on the number of papers
published by them without
o ffe r ing any incen t ive to
classroom teaching. Without
setting their basics right in
engineering, not even the best
minds of the country can hope to
offer path-breaking solutions to
nagging problems of humanity.
Coupled with this phenomenon is
the overall attitude of faculty
towards UG students. It's the PG
students with whom they develop
a greater connect and the
subsequent mentorship. Faced
with this apathy, the UG students,
who are arguably the crème-de-
la-crème of the nation, are forced
to explore foreign shores to study
further. At the same t ime,
industry looks upon them as
ski l led manpower towards
technological acumen but not as a
powerhouse of future innovation.
Redemption lies in building
industry-institute infrastructure.
Shared University Research
(SUR) undertaken by IBM in
2010 in collaboration with IIT
Delhi and IIT Roorkee is an
initiative in the right direction.
More recently, L&T pledged its
commitment to offer hands-on
exposure to students in real
challenges in civil engineering
ou t s ide the i r c l a s s rooms .
Thankfully, the B-schools in
India have come a long way in
developing this relationship with
industry. But the technology
institutes have much ground to
cover. LinkedIn and Facebook
have opened up new worlds to
students; but opportunities
remain stunted in the absence of
r ea l ne twork ing . Whi l e a
Zuckerberg or a Musk can claim
t o h a v e b e e n i n s p i r e d o r
encouraged by an alumnus of
their college through guest
l e c t u r e s a n d i n f o r m a l
interactions, the same cannot be
imagined for Indian students.
Networking beyond online
platforms becomes significant in
evolving canteen 'bakar' (jargon
for discussion) from mere chit-
chat to motivated churning of
ideas.
Industry honchos need to
come forward in bui ld ing
stronger relationships with
students in their formative years
of graduation. Besides offering
internship opportunities, keen
in te res t mus t be t aken in
developing exchanges between
UG students and their PG
counterparts. Through their field
e x p e r i e n c e , P G s t u d e n t s
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IIFMCommunicado
complement textbook concepts
with ground realities. Instead of
offering individual roles for
summer projects (or even final
recruitments), companies could
explore possibilities of hiring
teams of students---groups could
be evaluated and recruited based
on their solution to conundrums
requiring inter-disciplinary
approach, which essentially is the
nature of most real life business
problems.
High-tech products are
first launched as luxury items for
the select class. Subsequent
democratisation of the goods
revolutionises social perceptions
and norms. Similarly in this case:
by revamping the pioneering
colleges, the society can hope to
see developments in other
i n s t i t u t i o n s . A s h a s b e e n
e x e m p l i f i e d i n t h e We s t ,
innovation knows no bounds, no
discipl ines and no colour.
Presently, interactions between
l a w - s c h o o l s , b - s c h o o l s ,
engineering institutions and arts'
colleges are limited to cultural
fests. With inputs and incentives
from industrial houses, a more
competitive cross-collegiate
ecosystem can metamorphose
out of the status quo. Sharing
experiences and information on
i n d u s t r y - d r i v e n , o f f l i n e
p l a t f o r m s w i l l b o o s t t h e
temperament of innovation. For
instance, how many students
know the 'what', 'how', 'why' and
'who' about patents in India? To
safeguard nascent sparks from
perishing under the chill of
ignorance, knowledge-sharing
and inst i tut ional isat ion of
innovation become crucial.
Changes don't happen
overnight. But that shouldn't
deter the nation from attempting
to take baby-steps in the right
direction. While the above inputs
are purely concerned with better
s t u d e n t s a n d e d u c a t i o n a l
institutions, it is hoped that the
change will be reflected in
working professionals and
industrial spheres too as these
students assume their new roles.
Subsequently, the changes are
bound to spill over to other
institutions. However, some
room needs to be spared while
evaluating that question on
Google-like innovation: after all,
societal set-ups are vastly
different between the West and
India. While a Zuckerberg or a
Musk could pursue his passion
till realism permits, a typical
Indian innovator would be
expected to monetize her/his
ideational prowess a shade under
thirty, to be able to start a family.
Peer pressure and familial
expectations are still a force
worth reckoning with. Will this
constraint dwindle away against
the greater force of the spirit of
innovation given the changes
mentioned previously? Well, that
remains to be seen in the decades
ahead.
14
Baridhi Malakar
XLRI, Jamshedpur
IIFMCommunicado
e al l know what
Welectricity is! The
technical definition
is the flow of electrons through a
conductor (like a wire) or charges
through the atmosphere (like
lightning). Yes! the one which
flows through long wires across
long poles; at some places we see
machines f i t ted near the
substation of electricity, which
are called the “Transformers”.
But one day while attending a
seminar in a workshop conducted
by IIT Kharagpur , I was stunned
to find out about wireless
e l e c t r i c i t y b y Wi Tr i c i t y
Corporation.
The scientist from the
W i T r i c i t y C o r p o r a t i o n
demonst ra ted the magica l
“wireless electricity” by lighting
a bulb, & I along with eight
hundred people was amazed.
The scientist talked about
“electricity, electromagnetism,
magnetic induction, energy &
power coupling, resonance &
resonant magnetic coupling”. He
talked about this new technology
that, “WiTricity power sources
and capture devices are specially
designed magnetic resonators
that efficiently transfer power
over large distances via the
magnetic near-field. These
proprietary source and device
designs and the electronic
systems that control them support
efficient energy transfer over
distances that are many times the
size of the sources/devices
themselves”(courtesy: WiTricity
Corp.). Lets see some history of
this miracle, this was made
possible by going back to the
time of inventor Nikola Tesla,
who did research on the potential
of wireless transmission. Nikola
Tesla's research on the potential
of wireless transmission was
never completed due to the lack
of funding.
After his death, all his
papers were seized by the FBI,
and taken to Washington, where
they were classified as top secret
(Cheney, 2001). The FBI had
i n t e r v e n e d w i t h t h e
developments because of what
they termed as safety issues.
Currently, developments in
WiTricity are funded by the U.S.
government, research bodies,
l ea rn ing ins t i tu t ions , and
companies. The research by MIT
was funded by the National
Science Foundation, Army
Research Office as well as the
Department of Energy i.e. by two
r e s e a r c h b o d i e s a n d t h e
government. The technology has
a wide range of applications in
the field of consumer electronics
like automatic wireless charging
of mobile electronics (phones,
laptops, game controllers, etc.) in
home, car, office, Wi-Fi hotspots
while devices are in use and
mobile, direct wireless powering
of stationary devices (flat screen
TV's, digital picture frames,
home thea ter accessor ies ,
wireless loud speakers, etc.)
This would eliminate expensive
custom wiring, unsightly cables
and “wall-wart” power supplies,
direct wireless powering of
desktop PC peripherals: wireless
mouse , keyboard , pr in ter,
speakers, display, etc eliminating
d i s p o s a b l e b a t t e r i e s a n d
a w k w a r d c a b l i n g .
In the industries it can be applied
for direct wireless power and
communication interconnections
across rotating and moving
“joints” (robots, packaging
machinery, assembly machinery,
machine tools) eliminating costly
and failure-prone wiring, direct
w i r e l e s s p o w e r a n d
communication interconnections
a t po in t s o f use in ha r sh
environments (drilling, mining,
underwater, etc.)
It is impractical or
impossible to run wires in such
areas, direct wireless power for
wireless sensors and actuators
can be very helpful, eliminating
the need for expensive power
wiring or battery replacement
and disposal, automatic wireless
charging for mobile robots,
automatic guided vehicles,
cordless tools and instruments,
eliminating complex docking
mechanisms, and labor intensive
manual recharging and battery
replacement.
Imagine A world without wires & poles!
Suvendu Gayen
PGDFM (2012-14), IIFM
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IIFMCommunicado
ast year I had a chance to Lvisit the beautiful Tirthan
v a l l e y i n K u l l u ,
Himachal Pradesh, with a bunch
of friends. With the help of a local
tourism entrepreneur, 'Ashish
bhayia' we were able to meet the
Range Forest officer(RFO) for
The Great Himalayan National
Park(GHNP) at Sairopa. The
RFO Mr. Joginder Singh was
very kind to talk to us and also
gave us the opportunity to meet
and talk at length to Mr. Gopal
Krishan, director of BTCA
,Biodivers i ty tour ism and
Community Advancement, an
NGO working for the local
village people in the Ecozone
since 2009.The staff at the park
was preparing for UNESCO
team's scheduled visit in order to
get GHNP listed as a World
Heritage Site.
Mr. Gopal Krishan told
u s t h a t s i n c e t h e l o c a l
communities largely depend on
the forest for their livelihood and
no human activity is allowed in
the core zone, the NGO aims at
generating alternate livelihood
for the people, which it has been
very successful in achieving. The
state government has a very good
mechanism of not just providing
funds but also empowerment of
villagers ,women especially by
extensive involvement and
livelihood generation for them,
t h e m e c h a n i s m i s t h e
Biodivers i ty Conservat ion
Society established in 1999.
The forests are rich in
various medicinal herbs and
other edible and aromatic NTFPs
, that women can be involved in
collection of. Apart from this,
they are involved in managing
nurseries allocated by Forest
Department, vermi-composting
and organic farming. Eco-
tourism is another source of
livelihood for both males and
females. The likes of 'Ashish
bhayia' are doing good business
through the concept of 'home
stay', these homes and kitchens
are periodically inspected by the
tourism department and medical
officers.
More than 150 men are
employed as guides and some as
porters and cooks for the tourists
visiting the park after properly
training them. The cooks receive
Rs 450 per day and the porters
receive Rs 350 per day and have a
weight limit of 25 kg.There are
57 SHGs involving 567 women,
with each SHG assigned 1 ha area
to manage the medicinal plants.
The BTCA members undertook
verbal surveys through the PRA
approach to find the level of
dependence of households on
natural resources and level of
poverty and based on that
included the women in the SHGs.
These women are engaged in
various jobs like plantations of
medicinal plants like Texas
bacata by National Medicinal
Plant Board. Each SHG member
has a vermicompost pit allocated
to her, which are sold to local
farmers, orchard owners and
even agriculture department. The
income from this goes to the
woman who is assigned the pit.
Another a l t e rna te income
generating attempt is engaging
women in handloom. They knit
beautiful socks, scarves and
shawls which are sold in the
nearby markets. They are also
trained for basket making from
b a m b o o . T h e N G O s e n d s
application for work opportunity
for women under MGNREGA as
well.
Training
All the people whether
women in SHGs or men working
as guides or porters are properly
trained. BTCA periodically
organises training, workshops
like seed treatment camps, first-
aid courses, giving information
about heat strokes, fractures,
burns etc.The training is what
leads to a value addition in the
process of collecting the NTFPs
from the forest or interacting with
the tourists and makes the local
people understand ecotourism.
Before BTCA the same activities
and efforts could not fetch good
prices. For instance , 'rajmah'
obtained from the forest were
sold at very cheap prices and
sometime could not even be sold.
The same goes for other aromatic
a n d m e d i c i n a l h e r b s , t h e
collection methods were not
efficient leading to not so good
Where conservation meets livelihood
16
IIFMCommunicado
quality of the produce. This scene
changed after BTCA came to
their rescue.
When asked about the
change that has taken place in
their lives one of the very pretty
SHG members , Dhanwanti
(leader of a group of around 10
women) told how they feel
empowered and how the work
they do is fruitful now. The
success of BTCA in generating
livelihood has been able to fetch
them respect and support of their
husbands and of the rest of the
people in the village. She also
mentioned how BTCA was
different from the previous
NGO(Sahara ) in t e rms of
participation of the community.
BTCA is more decentralized and
women feel informed and aware
of the working and contribute to
the decision making of the work
to be undertaken and responsibilities
in their monthly meetings.
There is a Souvenir hut at
the Sairopa office selling some of
the herbs that are sold to nearby
markets like Manali (2 shops),
Aut (1 shop), Jhidi (2 shops) etc.
The herbs include herbal tea,
soyabean, Rhododendron Juice,
Rhodo and other jams, apricot oil
and herbal spices like fern, pothi,
chora and the list goes on.
It was amazing to see,
first hand, the potential of the
forest in livelihood generation
changing so many lives and how
conservation of natural resource
and development can be made to
co-exist.
Rupinder Kaur BakhshiPGDFM 12- 14, IIFM
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Getting back to nature
What to do if you find
yourself stuck in a
crack in the ground
underneath a giant boulder you
can ' t move . Now imagine
someone appearing all of a
sudden, lending you a helping
hand in this moment of crisis.
What a relief you will get, how
much you will praise that godly
figure.
WSOS, a pioneer in
rescue activities all over India
makes wild animals feel the
sameway when they are stuck
somewhere. Here rescue not only
means freeing one from its pain,
pain that is inflicted by human
b e i n g s f o r t h e i r o w n
interest.They have a whole
rescue program under which
equal importance is given to their
owners in o rde r to avo id
recidivism and provide this
committee a source of living.
Under this rescue program, a
sustainable solution, a boy from
family who is willing to work is
employed as a worker in WSOS.
Apart from this they are provided
with Rs. 50,000 to help them start
a business of their own and they
are not left behind. . They earn
more money than they did by
exploiting the bears, and they
have legal occupations that let
them hold their heads high .The
family is being tracked all the
time in order to provide them any
sort of help which will prevent
them from moving back to same
occupation. Examples may
include kalandar committee who
are known all over India for their
dancing bears, Sapera (Snake
Charmer) Community and
circus that illegally use many
wildlife.
Being established in
1995 wi th the purpose of
eradicating the illegal and brutal
practice of Dancing Bears, they
are now proud owner of 635 bears
(all over India). Their work is
open for any wildlife, be it
elephants, leopards, tiger, lion or
any reptiles.They are not only
involved in rescuing these
animals but they also take care of
rehabilitation of people who were
anyhow linked up with these
wildlife. They even run a sister
organization(Friendicoes) doing
the same work for domestic
animals: dogs, cats, cows etc.
The main focus and most
important achievement, if we can
say, of WSOS are in field of
dancing sloth bears. It's a practice
that is in existence for more than
400 years, a nomadic tribe
kalandars are into this occupation
since emperors in the Mughal era.
Over the centuries, this practice
transitioned from being an
entertainment just for emperors
to whole set of villagers and
t o u r i s t s w h o p a i d f o r i t .
.WSOS has been able to rescue
and rehabilitate hundreds of
bears with cooperation from GOI
and help from their partner
organizations-partnership with
International Animal Rescue in
the UK, One Voice France,
Humane Society Australia &
FTB, Australia to cut the bears
free and stop the dance. And it is
18
Photo Credits: Sprih Harsh
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their hardwork and dedication
that from being more than 1200
dancing bears in 2002 they
vanished in December 2009,
when they believe that they
capture the last of dancing bear.
These rescued bears They are
now living peacefully in our
sanctuaries across India, a life
where they'll never again have to
endure cruelty, submission or
pain We are fortunate enough to
have one of its active members,
Ms. Prerna Sharma among us.
And it was only because of her
that I got a chance of visiting
WSOS rescue center in Van Vihar
National Park(VVNP), Bhopal,
which is third Bear Rescue
Centre in Central India and is
now home to 17 ex-dancing
bears. Currently their rescue
centre homes 25 adult bears and 1
cub.
As per laws of Central
Zoo Authority (CZA), rescue
center has to be established inside
any national park and so the
location of wsos Bhopal is inside
Van ViharNat which one can visit
only after entering into the
prohibited area for aam aadmi. So
you get an extra benefit of
watching wildlife from the other
side, the most beautiful side.
WSOS Bhopal has 7 full time
workers plus one doctor. Some of
these wonderful people are with
this organization for the past 8
years. Some of these themselves
belonged to kalandar committee
once but now have come forward
to help these animals, who they
once, for earning their livelihood,
unknowingly tortured. So they
have turned from choreographer
who made them dance into one
who is now busy in improving
their life. You can see their
dedication and loyalty, love
towards animal through the way
they behave with them and more
importantly the response that
they receive from these wild
creatures.
Who can believe that a
lion, leopard or bear (considered
to be more ferocious than others)
can be a friend to a human, can
respond and show his affection in
the best possible way he can.
It's not only love that this
organization provide to these
animals, there is a whole other
departments catering to their
different needs food, health,
enrichment (wherein these
an imals a re g iven cer ta in
activities to make themselves
b u s y i n t h e i r l i v e s ) .
No one likes seeing any caged
animal. But the case of these
animals of WSOS are very
different. They had experienced
all sorts of pain in their life and all
they need is love, true care. So
even though the first impression
you get is again that of being
caged, the reality is they are free
from their suffering and they are
not alone in their life, they have a
whole set of people just dedicated
towards betterment of their lives.
This WSOS works on a motive
'Getting back to nature which
works towards providing wild
creatures the similar environment
related to their natural habitat in
best possible manner they can. So
all of us who can relate to this
motive or need that someone to
help rescue an animal, you know
whom to call.
Sprih HarshPGDFM 12- 14, IIFM
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Photo Credits: Sprih Harsh
IIFMCommunicado
second generation resident
A
of a slum in Nazafgarh on
the outskirts of Delhi,
Ahmad appears listless as he stares at
the grungy street sitting behind the
display shelf in his shop. His one
room shop which reeks from a
pungent uncovered drain across the
street also doubles up as a house to a
family of nine including Ahmad and
a swarm of flies. He wonders if his
days will ever change for the better.
Ahmad is one amongst the 1.29
billion people on the face of the
globe including the 400 million in
India who are categorised as poor.
The term “Poverty” in the most basic
sense refers to an inability of people
to meet the basic requirements of
food, shelter, clothing and health. According to the World
Bank, the definition of poverty could
also include “low levels of health
and education, poor access to clean
water and sanitation, inadequate
physical security, lack of voice, and
insufficient capacity and opportunity
to better one's life.” As per the World
Bank in 2008, the numbers are as
high as 22% of developing world's
population who live on less than $
1.25 a day. The depth of poverty has
been considerably reduced in the
past as hundreds of millions of
people have been lifted out of
poverty. The World Bank estimates
establish that nearly 663 million
people have moved above poverty
line between 1981 and 2008. The
overa l l pover ty ra tes in the
developing countries have fallen
from 46% in 1990 to 27% in 2005.
These numbers undoubtedly reflect an
encouraging opportunity in complete
alleviation of poverty through an
effective collaboration between
various stakeholders. What could be
the most important strategies to be
adopted towards realizing the vision
of a world without poverty? Given
the significantly high proportion of
rural poor and a high dependence of
people living in rural areas on
agriculture as source of their
livelihoods, it would be safe to
assume that a sustainable growth in
agriculture will have a higher impact
on poverty alleviation when compared
with an equal growth in other
sectors. This has been clearly
demonstrated in sub-Saharan Africa
where a percentage growth in
agriculture has been shown to have
thrice the effect of a percentage
growth in other sectors, on poverty
reduction. A substantial reduction in
China's poverty levels from 53% to
8% between 1981 and 2001 was also
in large part due to a rapid growth in
agriculture. An effective policy
towards poverty alleviation should
not only comprise of measures to
create an environment conducive for
faster growth in agriculture but
should also focus on creating an
improved non- farm economy by
ensuring a better accessibility to
markets, improved credit support to
farmers, an increased research
towards enhancing agricultural
productivity and reducing farmer's
vulnerability to unforeseen risks or
environmental hazards. Healthcare is one among
the most effective ways of fighting
poverty. It has been established
through empirical research that
households con ta in ing more
unhealthy individuals are more
likely to be poor than households
that containing fewer unhealthy
individuals. Thus, a comprehensive
healthcare program with a universal
access that includes preventive
drugs, immunization and control of
communicable diseases should be
the cornerstone of any effective
poverty eradication strategy. A case in point could be the
Seguro Popular program in Mexico
which provides universal coverage
of health insurance and has been
vastly successful in reducing
healthcare expenditures, raising the
utilization of healthcare facilities and
improving the health status of the
people. Educa t ion a s sumes a
critical role in alleviation of poverty.
A comprehensive education policy
which ensures a good quality
education for all the children-
especially the girls can decisively
alter the landscape of poverty
alleviation. In addition to increased
economic opportunities leading to an
improvement in the living standards
of communities, such a policy would
a l s o e n s u r e w o m e n b e t t e r
employment opportunities which in
turn would accelerate poverty
reduction. A World Bank report
released in August 2012 reveals that
growing participation of women in
the labor force in Latin America and
t h e C a r i b b e a n c o n t r i b u t e d
subs tan t i a l ly to the pover ty
reduction in the region. The report argues for “labor
market policies that focus on
expanding vocational and skills
training for women as well as
providing job intermediat ion
services to help women engage in
non-traditional jobs and find better
emp loymen t oppo r tun i t i e s ” .
A combination of macroeconomic
policies which encourage private
investment- tax exemption, low-cost
loans, improved law and order
situation, favorable land acquisition
policies etc. serve as a catalyst to a
Bridging the gap: A policy to eradicate poverty
20
IIFMCommunicado
higher economic growth leading to
more jobs for the unemployed. The
economic reforms introduced in
China in 1978 have led to more than
200 million people being lifted out of
poverty between 1978 and 1995.
India's economic reforms that began
in 1991 are considered to be vastly
responsible for a reduction in
extreme poverty level in rural India
from 94% in 1985 to 6% in 2005. However, the challenges
like non-equitable distribution of
benefits arising out of growth are to
be effectively dealt with while
ensuring sustained economic
growth.Developing entrepreneurship
among poor through an increased
access to microfinance has proven to
be an effective and powerful tool for
poverty reduction but its impact has
been severe ly l imi ted by an
insufficient penetration among the
poor strata of the society. An easy
access to credit can be an effective
complement but can't substitute a
policy towards creating, sustaining and
enhancing livelihoods for the poor. Ahmad has a future beyond
the cringe, and so do the roughly
over-a-billion across the orb. True
compassion is more than flinging a
coin to a poor; it is not haphazard and
superficial. It comes to see that an
edifice that produces poverty needs
restructuring. Our successes in the
past indicate that the target of
complete alleviation of poverty is
not insurmountable. However, it will
take an urgent alignment of efforts,
resources and competencies of all
stakeholders towards a common
solution-focused approach.
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of India's middle class: The McKinsey
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22. Gakidou E, Lozano R, González-Pier E, Abbott-Klafter J, Barofsky JT, Bryson-Cahn C, et al., et al. (2006) Assessing the effect of the 2001-06 Mexican health reform: an interim report card: Lancet; 368: 1920-35 doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69568-8 17126725 pmid:
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29. A quote by Martin Luther King
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Shashank, IIM K
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If we surrendered to earth's intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees.
-Rainer Maria Rilke
nvironment and poverty Ea r e i n t e r l i n k e d a n d conflicting at t imes.
There are numerous instances where environmental degradation leads to poverty and vice versa. To understand this lets consider mining in India or in any other country of the world for that matter. Most of the mineral rich countries or regions of the world have poor economic growth, Professor Richard Auty called it the resource curse thesis to explain how such countries or regions are unable to use the wealth generated from natural resources to achieve economic growth and ironically, have lower economic growth than areas which are not abundant in natural resources. India has a huge tribal population, most of which lives in the 'resource cursed' areas, due to which their fate gets inter-twined with that of the natural r e sou rces . The re fo re , t he overexploitation of natural resources not only leads to environmental degradation but also renders the tribals, socially and economically vulnerable.Conversely, there are regions where there are cases of tribals degrading the forests for their livelihood, sometimes by way of shifting cultivation or indulging in illegal activities inside the forest areas like, illicit felling by collaborating with the timber mafias of a particular region , among other things. Now here we
should remember that it's not fair to blame them , since had there been minerals detected in the same areas, the governments would have made ways for c learances for large scale deforestation of the same forests, and then digging out the earth or blasting i t away, dreamily claiming to restore them after the eternal mining leases get over.The debate of coexistence of man and nature versus exclusion of one from the other is very complicated.
"Therefore, co-existence of the poor and nature, as the means of conservation of forests or natural resources should not be ruled out completely nor should it be radically considered as the ultimate answer"
I n s t e a d w e s h o u l d rationally try to understand that such issues are subjective to different regions. There are numerous stories around the world where some tribes have d e v e l o p e d s o p h i s t i c a t e d mechanisms for co-existing with the nature. So what is required here is, to segregate the instances of success and failure and try to replicate the success where the various deciding factors are similar, the deciding factors being geographical, social, economic and not to mention ecological. I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o understand at this point that, poverty alleviation will not come as a side-effect of environmental conservation, because relationship be tween envi ronment and
poverty is very complex. In other words, accomplishing one may not always lead to that of the other. In fact, they may conflict each other and difficult trade-offs might be required between the two (Bucknall, Kraus, & Pillai, 2000). Poverty alleviation has to be incorporated in the process of sustainable development .For developing countries low carbon development strategies are necessary to achieve sustainable development (Torres, 2012). It is inevitable to mention climate change and its impact on the poor while talking about low carbon development. It's a no brainer that climate change will have the worst impacts on the poor of the world. Therefore, climate change adaptation and mitigation plans need to focus on poverty. The agricultural economies need to work out ways to transform their agriculture into sustainable agriculture. That would require gradual shift from conventional agr icu l ture to sus ta inable agriculture. M i n i n g a n d t h e Development Myth-Analysing Araku valley, Andhra PradeshAraku valley is one of the less c o m m e r c i a l i s e d t o u r i s t destinations in Andhra Pradesh, noted for its coffee plantation, inhabited by some tribes. India's first tribal growers' organic coffee brand was launched here in 2007.The premium organic Araku Emerald Brand has international buyers. Thousands of tribals from areas around engage in the coffee plantation in the region. Unfortunately the
The essentials of environment and poverty
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region is rich in bauxite as well. Once the controversial mining starts around 1400 ha of coffee plantations in the valley would get affected (Suchitra, 2012). The valley has lush green forests, streams, waterfalls and the famous borra caves, which are considered the deepest in the country and are lined with stalactites and stalagmites and are just 3 km from the mining site in the Ananthgiri hills. At least six rivers across the hills may dry up as a consequence. The ecosystem is sensitive and environmentalists have been pressing for converting the area into a biosphere reserve (Suchitra, 2012). The mining of the region, like in all other cases, is trying to sell dreams of employment, development of the tribals, but it would turn the farmers of the area into labourers. In such a case even an efficient implementation of rehabilitation and restoration can't be good enough, how are the tribals going to get the coffee plantations back after relocation.The social and environmental cost in cases like these is enormous and therefore a cumulative impact assessment is important and trade-off between economic growth at one side and huge environmental degradation on the other side has to be made. Not to mention, the inadequacy of such an economic growth to address poverty alleviation. "Even if we claim, that the profits of such an economic activity would reach 'some section of poor somewhere', still that benefit can't offset , let alone out do, the economic and social damage to the area affected."Climate change and Poor
P o v e r t y m a k e s t h e impacts of any misfortune, natural or anthropogenic, much graver. Climate change being no different, poses serious challenges to developing economies. The recent report 'Turn down the heat' prepared for the World Bank by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), highlights the dire consequences of the cur ren t emiss ion p ledges . According to the report all regions would suffer, while some more than others, but poor will suffer the most. However, the target of keeping the rise below 2°C is achievable if we move towards a strict Low carbon development. But again the low carbon development won't naturally bring along poverty alleviation (Torres, 2012). The poor have to be explicitly included in the process.Significance of Forests in this ProcessForests have a major role to play to acknowledge the two above mentioned interdependent yet often segregated aspects of adaptation and mitigation of climate change. Consider Suderbans, it is one of the most sensitive areas attributing to the geographical limitation, faces all kinds of risks the climate change can pose. The risks being- the frequent flooding leading to biodiversity loss, salinisation of ground water, submerging of coastal villages and climate refugees. Climate refugees being the least thought about risk of all, in spite of the fact that India can be one of the countries with highest number of climate refugees (Mukherji, 2012). If
Professor Norman Myers is to be believed the number would be 250 million for the world by 2050.Not to mention the social implications of migration of poor refugees to nearby urban slums. Mangrove forests of the Suderbans provided a bio-shield for tsunami protection acting as live sea walls more effective than concrete walls. If cyclones and flood disasters history of the region is to be followed, the least affected areas have been those with dense mangrove forests and those where mangroves were replaced with paddy fields or shrimp farming, have been badly hit. Mangroves are said to have greater biomass (used in carbon sequestration calculations) than o ther aquat ic ecosys tems.Consider the Central India, or the North-Eastern Region (NER), they are other badly affected areas from climate change attributing to economic and geographical factors. They are being considered as potential hubs of REDD+ projects, since they have most of the forest cover of the country but most of the poor and primitive tribes also. REDD+ can be a boon to the poor if implemented well, by ways of involving community through Joint Forest Management or by cooperatives and village level committees. Fortunately the major poverty ridden areas hold the key to the whole climate change puzzle. It is fortunate because this indicates that the community involvement and inclusion in the low carbon or sustainable development process is not an impossible dream.S u s t a i n a b l e A g r i c u l t u r e ,
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IIFMCommunicado
Environment and the PoorTrying to withstand the huge pressure of food requirement from all over the country, Punjab, the cradle of green revolution in 1960s and 1970s, has been on the path of heavy synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides.The amount of synthetic fertilizers on every hectare of the agricultural land is much higher than the national average. This seems natural considering the amount of production, but it does not come without the health hazards and environmental degradation.There have been a number of reports of cancer pat ients c l a i m i n g t h e p r e s e n c e o f pesticides in their blood samples .A large number of people board the infamous cancer train to Bikaner every day, hoping to get cured. The fertilizer subsidy in Punjab is also significantly higher than the national average. The high subsidies promote non-judicious use of chemicals, adversely affecting the soil, water and health of people whether cul t iva t ing or consuming. A " lot of farmers realizing the risks of the synthetically obtained food, cultivate food for t h e i r o w n c o n s u m p t i o n organically while still using chemical fertilizers and pesticides for the market." It is not economically viable for them to discontinue the use of the chemicals. It is important to mention the stubble burning that caught the world attention due to images released by NASA, in which Punjab appears to be on fire. The burning of paddy straw is banned due to its obvious negative effects on the
environment. The process also results in some GHG emissions. There have been solutions like selling the straw off to brick kilns, but these are limited and also farmers don't find it profitable enough. There have been other solutions proposed by agricultural scientist like using the straw as mulch. Very recently, Punjab Biomass Power Ltd. has offered to buy the paddy straw for power generation and plants have been setup. Punjab is not the only example the story is similar at other places. A study funded by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) and titled “A study of synthetic chemical inputs in cultivation and its impacts on the local environment, biodiversity and human health in West Bengal” indicates the use of some banned pes t ic ide in West Bengal . Farmers get influenced by the local dealers to use more and more pesticide, resulting in overdose. The heavy use has been found to affect local fish and bird population as per the study (Bera, 2012) .Rev i s i t ing the l ink between the environment and p o v e r t y , i f w e c o n s i d e r marginalised farmers, it's not economically feasible for them to go for intensive fertilizers and conventional irrigation methods anyhow the less in t rus ive methods of sustainable organic farming can revive the fate of thousands of such farmers.Though it holds the potential of being the ultimate answer, but even if we try to be reasonable, acknowledging the complications of such a switch in a country like India, still there is immense scope of making the poor and small
farmers benefit from it. There are var ious NGOs and people working on the sustainable irrigation and water harvesting, natural farming, seed conservation, chemical free kitchen farming, urban kitchen gardening, Inter-cropping system and training workshops for farmers. The organisat ions l ike- Madhu Ramakrishnan's Kerala Jaiva Karshika Samiti in Kerala, Umender Dutt's Kheti Virasat Mission in Punjab, Vandana Shiva ' s Navdanya a re the repositories of the success stories about the organic way. The ability to acknowledge the relationship between the environmental problems and poverty comes with the propensity to cull out the answers to the two problems from the relationship itself. For, as Rainer Maria Rilke if we said, surrendered to earth's intelligence we could rise up rooted, like trees.References(n.d.). Retrieved from
http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/36
496/PovertyEnvironment.pdf
Bera, S. (2012, November 3). Toxic Punch:
heavy use of pesticides depleting local fish and
bird populations. Down To Earth .
Brown, D. (2013, January 7). Retrieved
January 20, 2013, from ourworld.unu.edu:
http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/guyana-hits-
paydirt-on-low-carbon-development-path/
Bucknall, J., Kraus, C., & Pillai, P. (2000,
April). Retrieved January 2013, from
www.worldbank.org:
http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/36
496/PovertyEnvironment.pdf
Mukherji, R. (2012, January). Nowhere to Go.
ECO-Earth Care Optimised .
Suchitra, M. (2012, January 31). Cheated for
Bauxite. Down To Earth .
Torres, M. (2012, Apri-May). Retrieved January
2013, from www.mapsprogramme.org:
http://www.mapsprogramme.org/wp-
content/uploads/WWF_LCDS_May2012_Metho
dologies_Marta-Torres.pdf
24
Rupinder Kaur BakhshiPGDFM 12- 14, IIFM
IIFMCommunicado
Slums may well be breeding
grounds of crime, but middle
class suburbs are incubators of
apathy and delirium.
-Cyril Connolly
uch was prophesized Mthat after the huge
success of “Slumdog
Millionaire” – the Hollywood
picture by the acclaimed director
Danny Boyle , the government
will finally awaken to the
pathetic conditions that the
Dharavi citizens have been
subjected to, which speaks of
stark social inequity. However as
soon as all the buzz around the
movie and its Oscar nominations
had settled down, so also the dust
around the slum and its citizens,
enveloping them again in their
life of abject indifference in one
o f I n d i a ' s r i c h e s t c i t i e s .
According to UNICEF's annual
State of the World's Children
report, the city of dreams has
topped the list of cities that are
home to the maximum slum
dwellers in India.
T h e c i t i z e n s a r e
classified as ecological refugees,
having forced to move out from
native villages due to lack of
ownership of some tangible
property or having their means of
livelihood marginalized owing to
shift in consumption trends.
These villagers often carry with
them romantic aspirations of a
life devoid of suffering.
Unfortunately, the ever
hungry and depraved cities sap
out all these notions to leave them
naked on the pavements where
they wriggle to the sewers and
railway tracks to find solace in a
dingy piece of land. They
ultimately settle on conditions
much deplorable than what they
had left for.
So what leads to this
burgeoning slum problem? Is it
the failed policies of government
w i t h t h e i r m u c h t o u t e d
c o m m i t m e n t t o r e m o v i n g
pover ty? I s i t t he deep ly
ingrained social and caste
prejudices which prohibit these
refugees to start a life afresh in a
different community? Are the
slum dwellers the spill over of an
entrenched capitalist society?
It's difficult to imagine
things turning the corner when
the wealthy and powerful live
within their gated neighborhoods,
shielded from the impoverished
realities of their country. Any
hope for housing reforms are
s imply out of reach when
politicians don't know how
people really live. Nevertheless,
"slum dwellers" is a convenient
term to describe the inhabitants
living on the pariah edge of
society. It's a pejorative term to
many that exudes stereotypes and
stained images of the people and
their standards of living.
They say that 98% of the
wealth is in the hands of the 2% of
the population. There is a
dissonance between private
owner sh ip and co l l ec t i ve
responsibility. An expedient
response by politicians always
cites the consequence of chance,
or virtue of these people. It is the
consequence of an unjust system,
of a government turning a blind
eye to the miseries of the
population who are too poor to
qualify in their petty vote-bank
politics, of a society whose moral
compass has gone askew.
Having witnessed many
promises gone down the drain, no
pun intended, has the critical time
finally not arrived for the
governments to shift their focus
f r o m w a r s o n m a n - m a d e
boundaries and pay attention to
man- made problems?
Going down the drain
Surbhi Verma
IIM K
25
IIFMCommunicado
There is a charm in the
woodlands and the dense
forests lined up with sal
trees which attract people from
the cities. During one of my visits
to Dudhwa National Park in Uttar
Pradesh, I happened to venture
into the village inhabited by the
Tharus, the tribal population of
the region. These tribes had
originally migrated to the region
from Nepal and have been living
here since their forefather's time.
This visit made me change my
perception about the relation
between the human and forests. I
came to understand that man and
forests mutually synergize with
each other rather than assuming
conflicting positions. The Tharu
ladies collected wood and grazed
the animals while the Tharu men
practiced shifting cultivation.
Their folk songs glorified the
animals of the forest , the
traditions made them worship the
trees and their festivals included
pledging the protection of the
forests. Away from the cities
where man is always accused of
deforestation, this tribe of less
than 500 people was doing their
bit to live sustainably and in
harmony with the nature.
After learning this lesson
which falsified the popular belief,
I went on to explore another
forest- this time of different kind-
grasslands. I went on to explore
the grasslands of the Gir National
Park located in the Sasan district
of Gujarat. The abode of the
mighty Asiatic lion has another
co-inhabitant - the Masai tribe.
The migrants from Africa came to
the coast of Gujarat ages ago and
have co-existed with lions in the
grasslands of the Gir. The tribals
are essentially 'maal-dharis' who
herd milch animals for their
livelihood.
The way ahead:
These tribes face dual
challenges in terms of their future
existence. Firstly the stricter
government regulations make the
forests inaccessible to these
forest-dwellers and force them
out of the forests. Secondly, as
their population grows they will
no longer be able to depend on
primary sources like agriculture
and animal rearing.
There is an urgent need
to supplement their existing
sources of income. One of the
ways in which the Fores t
Department is helping these
tribal is through absorbing them
into Forest Department services.
It was heartening to know that
some of the forest guides that
accompany tourists on safaris
were the Tharu tribals. They
proved to be better guides than
their counterparts since they have
grown up in the very same jungle
and have been closely associated
with the fauna and flora of the
forests. The Forest Department
has engaged them in their
services. It has proven to be a
win-win situation for both. The
salaries supplement their existing
income from livelihood and they
realize the need to conserve
forests as their livelihoods now
depend on the tourists which are
attracted towards forests. The
Forest Department on the other
hand is benefitted greatly by their
expertise.
Though the Forest Right
Act 2006 contains provisions to
safeguard the rights of the tribes
dwelling in the forests, the
government needs to put in place
schemes to incentivize these tribes
to work for the conservation
activities. Also there is a need to
use the skills of these people in
fields like herbal medicine
research and study of animal
behavior. Only a concerted effort
by all the stakeholders will ensure
a bright and sustainable future for
the tribal and the forests.
The tribes in forests: A conflict or a synergy?
Shashank Patodia, JBIMS
A Family in a forest village
26
IIFMCommunicado
Wh i l e w o r k i n g i n
I n d i a ' s l a r g e s t
i n f o r m a t i o n
technology company I had the
opportunity of interacting with
some of the young talents from
IITs and important business
schools. I found them singularly
committed to job excellence,
marke t ing maneuvers and
brilliance in motivating the
young talent pool at their
command. In off-days they visit
malls, restaurants, go for site
scenes and enjoy lavish parties.
In retrospect when I reflected
upon this life style I found how a
vast majority of young talent pool
(future of nation!) limited with a
desire to go for still higher
p a c k a g e s a n d s u p e r f i c i a l
pleasures completely being
unconcerned/oblivious of the
vast sea of ailing and struggling
humanity outside their posh
corporate world. The picture is
almost similar with respect to
other blue collared job holders
both in government sectors and
core companies. And this class is
supposed to be cerebral part of
that would oversee and steer the
balanced and composite growth
of the state! In fine tuning our
education system, where did we
err so that we got living robots
instead of social thinkers and
what did we miss?
In one of his essays
“Higher education and its future-
Information is not knowledge
and information technologist are
not guardians of society” Shri
H.P.Das Ex- Deputy Comptroller
and Auditor General of India,
attributes the fault-line to social
ph i losophy de f i c i t in our
education system. He argues, If
education fails to create a social
philosophy and models itself
around economics only, how can
one expect social commitments
and responsibility from erudite
citizenry? He traces reasons for
absence of social philosophy to
our over-indulgence on applied
s c i e n c e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n
technology that is taken for sure
to provide employment security,
comfort and convenience to
mankind. But if science and
technology dictates man to live as
per their design, then the
innovative man who built this
civilization will meet its slow
death and civilization in the
process will come to an end.
Without man or with dead man
what civilization can be planned
by scientist and technologist?
Where would conscience come to
sc ience for jud ic ious and
equitable distributions of its
inventions and services among
society if there are no liberal Arts
or Humanities? And the domain
of liberal Arts/Humanities has
been lef t to whom……the
mediocre and below average who
are left out after the applied
science and IT have absorbed the
best to their fold?
A n d f r o m t h e s e
searching questions to have an
a n s w e r w e m u s t l i b e r a t e
Things falling apart- We have to hold
27
Eye on Education (Photo credits : Rahul Singh Jadav)
IIFMCommunicado
ourselves from the tide and
tyranny of the present education
system. The developed countries
have already taken steps in this
direction. In the book “The post
modern condition, an inquiry in
to the state of knowledge” the
French philosopher had strongly
pleaded for a multidimensional
alternative education system. The
communist China has been fast
recasting its education policies as
is evident in the essay “In new
school of thought in China”
published in Time Magazine
which inter-alia mentions:
Science and engineering is
not the only thing. If we have to
survive with dignity in confronting
world competition, the next
generation students of China have
to be armed with liberal Art degrees
to face the onslaught of future.
Any nation for its growth
needs creativity which humanities
can provide. The management
power of machines can never be
more powerful than human brain.
Material management is essential
to expedite thought but it cannot
replace thought. Economic growth
and contentment are basic
requirements but are not everything.
Conscience, sympathy, and
r i g h t e o u s n e s s a n d o t h e r
important aspects for social
cohesion we need social thinkers
and if the system fails to create
them, the economists , the
Information technologists, and
the managers will fail to provide
the art of living to mankind and
the society will be dehumanised.
How right was T.S. Eliot
when he said “Wisdom is lost in
knowledge and knowledge is lost
in information” in a barren world
and Mathew Arnold when he said
“Things fall apart, centre cannot
hold, mere anarchy is let loose
upon the world”- we cannot allow
things falling apart….. we have to
hold for our survival.
Aryasilpa Das AdhikariPGDFM, 12-14, IIFM
28
IIFMCommunicado
Ladakhi Women's Travel
Company, is a travel
a g e n c y o w n e d a n d
operated by Ladakhi women.
Founded by Thinlas Chorol,
Ladakh's most experienced
female guide, this agency
provides trekkers, travellers and
tourists with female guides and
porters. They organise treks and
homestays as well as cultural and
scenic sightseeing tours.
Their aim is to encourage
the women of Ladakh to show
the i r ab i l i t i e s and sk i l l s ,
particularly in the more remote
areas. Through homestays they
give the women in the villages a
chance to meet new people and
new cultures.
Whether you are going
on a multi-day trek or sightseeing
tour, you can experience a
homestay. A homestay means that
you are staying in a real Ladakhi
home in the villages you pass on
your journey. These homes are
always run by the women, while
the men are out earning the
family's income. By using the
homestay system, they help the
women to achieve the same status
as the men. It also encourages
people to remain in their villages
instead of seeking employment in
the cities. Homestays are also the
mos t eco- f r i end ly way to
discover Ladakh as the system
puts a lot less pressure on natural
resources, since the need for
ponies and donkeys is not as
great. Ponies and donkeys are
necessary if you are camping and
cooking out, but they tend to eat
the limited grass available,
depriving local wildlife and
domestic animals of their food
supply.
In addition to helping
women by means of homestays,
this agency employs only women
for organizing and running our
treks and tours, a policy which
serves as a unique example to all
women in Ladakh and we are as
yet the only agency using only
female guides. They believe in
providing quality and good
service. Thier most senior guide
and founder is one of the few
L a d a k h i s t o c o m p l e t e a
c o m p r e h e n s i v e c o u r s e i n
wilderness skills and leadership
a t t h e N a t i o n a l O u t d o o r
Leadersh ip School , and a
mountaineering course at the
Nehru Institute of Mountaineering.
Interview with Thinlas Chorol :
Q : What made you to start your
own business?
A: After working as a trekking
guide, I came to know that there
are very limited opportunities for
women in this field even if there
are many women who are
interested. I started my business
to create opportunity for the
Ladakhi women especially those
who are interested to work.
Q :For a woman, being an
e n t r e p r e n e u r i s a v e r y
challenging task and you have
made your presence felt in an
industry which is predominantly
male-dominated. What peculiar
Meet the first womantourist guide of Ladakh
First Women run Travel Company in Ladakh (Photo credits : LWTC )
29
IIFMCommunicado
challenges you faced, just
because you were a woman and
how did you handle it?
A:There are not any special
challenges. Ladakhis are actually
not opposed to gender equality.
Some of them did not hire me just
because I was a woman, but
nobody tried to stop me (directly
or indirectly) either.
Q :When you started your
business what were the main
obstacles you faced?
A:2009, the year in which I
started, coincided with the
recession. Very few tourist
visited Ladakh that year which
had direct impact on the income.
It also took long time to get the
registration done by tourism
department. I had to make
multiple visits to the registration
office before the officials came to
my o ff i ce to approve the
registration.
Q :Home s tay” i s a new,
attractive and unique service in
your bus iness . So tour i s t
satisfaction depends on the host
home and the quality of service
provided there. How are you
managing and maintaining
standardisation and uniformity of
service in the host homes?
A:I agree, it is difficult to
maintain standardisation and
uniformity of service in the host
homes. Based on the feedback
from the clients, and we are
trying to improve the services
provided by the homestay owner.
For example, we had complains
about the lunches in some areas.
We spoke to the owners and
asked them to provide proper
lunches keeping in mind the
energy and water requirements of
h i k e r s . S i m i l a r l y w e a r e
constantly improving other
homestay services so that tourist
satisfaction is attained.
Q :You have been a tourist guide
for a very long time in Ladakh
region. What kind of ecological
and climatic changes you are
observing in this region?
A:There are lots of plastics and
garbage around the camping sites
and there are no proper toilets.
Weather in Ladakh is getting
highly unpredictable day by day.
It is extreme cold in winters and
extreme hot in summer. The
glaciers melt which increases the
water-level in the rivers causing
damage to the nearby fields and
houses. Last summer there was
such an incidence of flood in
Markh Valley which is a popular
trekking destination for tourist.
For example, there was cloud
burst in 2010 in Leh and many
people died. Many houses were
washed away and causing severe
damage to the fragile ecosystem
and environment.
Q :In an article in Earth Care
Optimised, there was a report
30
IIFMCommunicado
mentioning the increasing tourist
inflow to Ladakh, particularly
after Aamir Khan shot the climax
of his blockbuster movie“3
Idiots” in the sandbars of
Pangong Tso .Tourists are willing
to camp just next to lake &
w e t l a n d s a n d h e n c e a r e
d i s t u r b i n g t h e h a b i t a t o f
migratory birds. Similarly noise
from the vehicles is disturbing
the natural habitat. As a tourist
guide how are you convincing
your customers to go for green
tourism?
A:Yes! It is truth that numbers of
domestic tourists has increased
b e c a u s e o f t h e s u p e r - h i t
Bollywood movie. Many of the
domestic tourists are coming in
their own cars and bikes which
causes more accident in Leh,
disturbing the bird habitat.
We try our best to minimise these
impacts on the environment. We
suggest our clients to drink filter
water or boiled water instead of
buying plastic water.
Many jeep drivers are driving off
road. We are trying to use eco-
taxi which will drive only on the
properly designed and constructed
road.
Q :What opportunities you are
finding for young entrepreneurs
in Ladakh and surrounding trans-
Himalayan region other than
tourism?
A:Generally Ladakh have very
l i m i t e d j o b o p p o r t u n i t y,
especially for the youth. There
many fruits in Ladakh, so there
are possibilities to make jam and
juice out of it. But this should be
s u p p o r t e d b y p r o p e r
infrastructural set-ups, and
marketing mechanism.
Q :You and your organization
have been playing a key role in
m a k i n g t h e l o c a l w o m e n
empowered, both financially and
socially. How do you see
yourself being empowered and
the change you find in yourself as
a novice in the business and now
as an amateur in the industry?
A:I have worked as guide for
many years, and I became more
confident and many clients have
encouraged me to start my
business.
Q :Anything specifically you
would like to advice/suggest to
the young generation.
A:Ladakh is a very fragile land.
Due to increase of number of
tourist and moderation, it is
important for Ladakhi to take
responsible to protect our beauty
l a n d s c a p e f o r t h e f u t u r e
generation.
Parasuram KPGDFM 12- 14, IIFM
31
IIFMCommunicado
Magazine Team :
PFM (2011-2013 batch) Kapil Patil Vaibhav Shinde
Communication cell coordinator Saurav Kumar (PGDFM 12-14)
Executive EditorParasuram K (PGDFM 12-14)
EditorsAryasilpa Das Adhikari (PGDFM 12-14)
Rupinder Kaur Bakhshi(PGDFM 12-14)
Members (PGDFM 12-14)
Bhavesh KatrodiaGarvita GautamNiharika MHaridwar Prasad ChaurasiyaNupur MarotiSprih HarshSushant AgarvalBudh PrakashDeepak GoyalGeetanjali KumariPragati MandloiRana PoojariSharin MathewAbhishek Roy
Communication Cell, SAAC Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal
[email protected]. inwww.iifmcommunicado.in
Photo Credits :
Cover PageBhaskar Dutta (The Academy of Photo Art, Karnataka)
Page 16Sushant Agarwal(PGDFM 12-14, IIFM)
Page 15Saravanakumar Thangavelu(Chennai, Tamil Nadu)
Last PagePrajesh Dutta (Madison, W.B.)