Bagaicha is a joint venture of the Jesuits of the Central Zone for the cause fo the Indigenous Peoples of Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. It is the coordination Centre for the 5 Jesuit Provinces of the Central Zone namely, Dumka, Hazaribag, Jamshedpur, Madhyapradesh and Ranchi. Bagaicha is the response to the Society's call for inter-province collaboration in ministries. 

To Sustain and enhance the adivasi inspiration and aspiration for bringing about a community of equality, freedom, justice and dignity.

Objectives: 

• To Provide a simple, open accessible place where social activists, oppressed people, their organizations and movements can come together in a congenial atmosphere to stay, reflect, discuss, share and plan together for greater effectiveness.

• To provide space to help the oppressed and the marginalized find their inner strength that unites them in the struggle required to bring about a just society.

• A Resource centre where help to undertake scientific studies on specific situations and issues will be available.

• A documentation facility meant to make readily available pertinent documents regarding all government policies and programmes.

• A planning cell which will spell out the basic thrust of people's movements in Jharkhand and Chattisgarh with the hope that all our action for and with people will have a clear focus so that dissipation of energy is avoided.

Report of the Social Analysis Course
held at Bagaicha, Namkum, Ranchi
Oct. 19th to 24th Oct. ’08 

Participants – 55 participants from the grassroots from different regions of Jharkhand

• Significant element was the whole team involved in specific organizations, from the director to the typist participated.
• This was helpful for them to go through the analysis process of their regions and its people.
• Using the Marxian tools of analysis in understanding the Economic, Social, Political, Cultural, Religious and Ideological systems.
• The principles of analysis were presented by the Bagaicha team.
• Complimentary and Supplementary discussions were given by some comrades and scholars and activists were presented to suit the Jharkhandi situation.
• There was Active Participations by the Participants.
• Towards the end of the course everyone felt it is not enough to have a basic analysis and therefore understanding of society but they will need to strengthen their involvement among people by equipping themselves with the Methodology of Research.
• It has been agreed that the same group will come back to Bagaicha from the 27th - 31st January 2009, when they will be helped to go through the whole process of making a Research Study , beginning from formulating  Research Design, Methods of Formulating Questionnaires and Interview schedules, going into the Field to collect data and finally to prepare and present the Research Report.
• In this effort Bagaicha will seek the assistance of XISS, Research Department.
• This is our first experience of following up the same groups leading to a more effective involvement in society. 

Is there no limit to the profits industrialists make?

- the compensation amount the land owner gets is a pittance –

Stan Swamy

When it comes to industrial investments, what is highlighted are the thousands of crores of rupees the company is going to invest, the amount & nature of the product the company will produce and the amount of land, usually in several thousands of acres, the company will require. If one looks more closely the MoU agreed between the government and the company, one will also find other requirements such as how many million square feet of water and how many million kilo-watts of electric power the company will require for its production process. It is important to note that except for the monetary investment, all other requirements (land, water, power) are expected to be provided by the Indian govt! Tragic but true, the Indian govt accepts to fulfil all these requirements of industrialists when it has not met these needs even to a minimal level to the great majority of its citizens.

So the investing industrialists start their production enterprise with a big boost from the govt. But once they set up their companies and start production, it is profits and ever growing profits. To make matters easier, they demand tax exemption from the govt ranging from 3 to 5 years, and our benevolent govt grants that too!

Is there no limit to the profits industrialists make?

Since mining is the most prominent industry in Jharkhand, let us have a look at the enormous profit they make:

Of this, NTPC has offered a maximum of Rs. 10 lakh per acre to the land-owner which would include compensation for land and resettlement such as housing, monthly allowance, infra-structural facilities. PANEM offered even less.

If we work-out an ‘income-and-expenditure’ account for the companies, it would work out something like this:

50% of income per acre may have to be spent in (1) cash compensation to land-owner, (2) setting up the factory, (3) purchase of machinery & equipment, (4) purchase of water & power from the govt, (5) resettlement of displaced land-owners, (6) employment of technical, non-technical, managerial staff, (7) royalty to the govt, etc.

That means, the remaining 50% of the income is pure and simple profit for the company. To put it graphically:

All this just from one mine! No wonder industrialists become millionaires and billionairs in no time.

Let us reflect now on the plight of the land-owner. With the Rs. 10 lakh he gets as compensation for his land, he has to start a new life as a landless person. He has to build a new house, look for alternative ways to sustain his family economically. From being a producer, he is reduced to being a pure consumer. He and his family now depend wholly on the few lakhs of rupees which they received as compensation. Since there is no other source of income, the few lakhs of rupees will soon be finished and the family will become landless labourer.

Here is the criticalness of the situation. The rich investor comes from outside, makes super profits and goes back richer. The poor land-owner, on the other hand, loses the little asset he had, and becomes poorer.

One concrete proof of this is industrial production grows by 12% whereas agricultural production grows by 2%. The end result is national wealth (GDP) is increasing whereas development of people is decreasing. Development should include all sections of society. Otherwise, it is growth without development.

1 September 2010

Jharkhand Govt discriminating the poorest of the poor

- out of the 34 lakh BPL families, only 23 lakh families are provided some relief, leaving the remaining 11 lakh families  to die of starvation & disease –

Stan Swamy

When you are not serious about doing what should be done, then appoint a Commission! This is what the Indian govt (both at the centre and the states) is most adept at. Every ministry goes about appointing commission after another. They are given stipulated time within which to submit the report. Most often the commissions do not finish their work in time and ask for extensions which are also liberally given. And finally when the report is given, it is given a quiet burial. The only beneficiaries are the members of the commission (often retired judges & bureaucrats) and the assisting staff who get paid handsomely.

However, one must add some of the commissions do a proficient job and their findings & recommendations are worth implementing. Three such commissions were recently set up by the central govt & the supreme court:

The Arjun Sen Gupta Commission appointed by the central govt to find out the extent of poverty in the country. It submitted its report to the PM in 2006.  It came out with the startling revelation that 77% (83.6 crore) of Indians lived on less than Rs. 20 per day. If the parameters are applied to Jharkhand, as much as 90% of the state’s population would come under Rs. 20 per day. It was such a severe shock treatment to the ruling class and to the complacent economists that it was neatly put into cold storage and no one in govt circles speaks of it any more.

The Tendulkar Commission was appointed by the Planning Commission with the same task of assessing the extent of poverty. It was done with the hope that this commission would come out with something more consoling than the previous commission’s findings. This commission submitted its report in 2009. The major finding was that 38% of Indians fall in Below Poverty Line (BPL) category, whereas the Planning Commission had been asserting that only 28% Indians are BPL. There was thus a 10 % difference between the govt and the commission assessment.

This commission also studied the BPL situation in the different states of the country. Jharkhand has 51% of its population in BPL category. This again was not pleasing to people in the corridors of power because it would mean the Planning Commission  would have to increase it allocation to this additional 10%.

The Wadhwa Commission was appointed by the Supreme Court. It submitted its report to the Scheduled Castes just a few weeks ago. It contains startling information about the functioning of the Public Distribution system (PDS): Entire PDS has collapsed, says SC panel

Many other issues are -

· 80% of domestic electricity consumed by 5% rich

· 50% of PDS  Kerosene, LPG, Foods diverted to retail

· 50% of Potash and 30% of Urea Diverted to Industries

· Private hospitals generate 85% of health care business

· 70% of education in private control

· Rs. 5,00,000 crores Tax Dodges to Corporate

· 75% of bank credit to 1% population

· 80% of imported goods serve 5% population

· Farmers get 20% to 50% of retail value

· Traders Hoard & Control entire food chain

*     PDS system in Jharkhand is a glaring example of what the system ought not to be !

The Wadhwa Commission, taking into consideration the gravity of the situation faced by the poor masses in the country, makes a significant recommendation to the SC, namely, all those earning less than Rs. 100 a day should be put in the BPL category.

(Source: Cgnet in Internet, 17/3/2010)

Now, the big question is ‘where do the poor Jharkhandi masses stand?’

Of the three Commissions, the Arjun Sengupta Commission (with its assessment of 77% of Indians living on less than Rs. 20 a day) and the Wadhwa Commission (with its recommendation that all those earning less than Rs. 100 a day should be put in the BPL category) will prove absolutely devastating if they are applied to Jharkhand.  At least about 90% of Jharkhandis will come under BPL. Neither the central or state govt would be willing to admit such a reality.

A more moderate assessment by the Tendulkar Commission (51% of Jharkhandis are BPL) can be taken as the minimal assessment for Jharkhand govt to act on.

Total population of Jharkhand :    2,70,00,000 persons (67,50,000 families with 4 members per family)

Tendulkar’s assessment of 51% BPL : 34,42,500 families

Jharkhand govt’s relief to BPL families: Antyodaya Ann Yojna : 8,17,900 families

Mukh Mantri Khadanya Suraksha Yojna : 14,76,100 families

Total govt-helped :   23,94,000 families

Balance BPL: unattended by govt :  10,48,500 families

The problem with Jharkhand govt is that it does not know exactly how many BPL families there are in the state.  Nor has it worked out the criteria for ascertaining as to who would qualify to be considered BPL.

The hard fact is that poverty is deepening in rural Jharkhand. What they are able to realize from their agricultural production may last for at most five to six months, and after that they become casual labourers or migrate to far away states.

In such a situation of increasing poverty, hunger, disease among the majority of the state population, the state govt has declared a war on this very people in the name of ‘Operation Green Hunt’ instead of meaningfully attending to their life-and-death issues. Tragic situation indeed.

31/3/10

 Ignatius Minj

Director of Bagaicha