Curious Generalist

The Finance Minister by quoting Shakespeare’s Hamlet the Prince of Denmark when he said, “I must be cruel only to be kind” during his budget speech has provided an appropriate segue to review the budgetary provisions pertaining to the social sector.

Amongst the five key objectives outlined by the Finance Minister to be addressed in the coming fiscal year is the need to address the issue of malnutrition in 200 high-burden districts. An interesting and welcome choice for emphasis. A movement away from a generic attack on poverty to a specific one on malnutrition and that too in a specified geographical area. The reference to a multi-sectoral programme to address maternal and child malnutrition in these districts again is promising and a recognition of the fact that malnutrition exists because of multiple resasons and that the traditional silo bound approach will not succeed. However, a clear and corresponding budgetary allocation is missing which then makes one wonder if this emphasis is merely cosmetic.

For a country that spent only 3.11% of its GDP on education and 1.3% on health care in the preceding year, the increase in allocation on these sectors is welcome. The outlay for health as compared to the revised estimate for the previous year, is up by 25.72% and the outlay on education has increased by a respectable 18.64%. Of the total central plan outlay, health and expenditure account for nearly 13.6% and rural development 11.72%. In other words, the resources for the flagship programmes of UPA- 1, the National Rural Health Mission and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) continue to be made available.

The outlay for MGNREGA is Rs 33,000 crores but the outlay for the Ministry of Panchayati Raj is a paltry Rs 300 crores. Without investing in the institution responsible for undertaking MGNREGA works, surely we cannot expect the desired results. For a government that takes pride in ushering the 73^rd amendment, the state of Panchayats and the investment in them is a sad reflection of the importance of decentralisation.

There are a few other interesting, albeit minor (in terms of budgetary allocation) areas of emphasis. The investment in adolescent girls between the ages of 11 and 18 is one. The second is the announcement of the creation of a Bharat Livelihoods Foundation of India that will seek to harness the efforts of civil society organisations in 170 tribal districts of the country.

There is adequate evidence to suggest that women headed households comprise a significant portion of the rural poor. A cash transfer to all these families could make a substantial difference. Current schemes of the government only support the provision of pensions to widows. If the equivalent of 100 wage days of labour is deemed necessary for a poor family, then raising the pension by a mere 100Rs to Rs 300 seems shameful.

Of the total Central Plan outlay nearly 35% is to be spent on social services and rural development. Not an insignificant outlay. However, the devil will remain not in the details but in the systemic inefficiencies and flaws. Another objective mentioned by the Finance Minister was to improve delivery systems, governance and transparency. Aadhar and direct cash transfers based on this seem to be primary methods to improve targeting and to plug leakages in the system. In reality, the political will to address this objective will determine the success of the investment in social services, not a mere increase in outlay.

[A brief version of this appeared in the Hindustan Times on 17^th March 2012]

This is a list of the top fourteen talks/performances that I was fortunate to hear at TED 2012. They are listed randomly and not in order of priority. They include talks by people that I did not agree entirely with but still feature in the list since they provoked me to think. If any of the talks have already gone online, I have included the links. Fourteen simply because my list of top talks only had this many and it seemed a shame to leave some out.

Brene Brown – Vulnerability researcher

Jon Ronson – Writer and film-maker

Bryan Stevenson – Public Interest Lawyer http://www.ted.com/talks/bryan_stevenson_we_need_to_talk_about_an_injustice.html

T Boone Pickens – Entrepreneur and energy theorist

Susan Cain – Author http://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts.html

Peter Diamandis  - Futurist -

http://www.ted.com/talks/peter_diamandis_abundance_is_our_future.html

James Hansen – Climatologist - http://www.ted.com/talks/james_hansen_why_i_must_speak_out_about_climate_change.html

Chip Kidd – Graphic designer

Tali Sharot – Cognitive neuroscientist

Billy Collins - Poet

Abigail Washburn – Clawhammer banjo player

Jack Choi – Technologist

Donald Sadoway – Materials Engineer

Reuben Margolin – Kinetic sculptor

Each time I travel out of the country, while waiting in the queue to clear immigration, I wonder why the immigration department wants to know why I'm leaving the country. Shouldn't they simply be grateful that I am going out of the country? If all of this was simply with a desire to make sure that I was logged into the system and the Indian High Commissions and Embassy would immediately come to my assistance should the need arise, it would make perfect sense. Alas! I wish this were the case. In any case, this is a minor irritant and irrelevant.

At least when citizens return to the country shouldn't they be welcomed instead of being looked at with suspicion or worse treated like aliens? A few years ago, it used to be particularly painful. We'd be desperate to get home back home and would be confronted with a long queue. Persons of Indian origin i.e. PIO card holders on the other hand would have separate counters. In other words, a PIO – as a visitor was more welcome than a returning citizen!

Last week, I eagerly scanned the boards over the counters while trying to choose a counter with the shortest queue. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the preferential treatment for PIO's had been withdrawn. Wow! However, we had reverted back to form. There was a separate queue for those who had travelled by First or Business Class and everyone else – Indian passport holders or foreign nationals were in the same queues. Alright, being class and caste conscious is part of our breeding, but why can't returning citizens have separate counters and be made to feel more welcome?

If our own government regards us with suspicion......  

I couldn't have asked for a better way to commence Diwali celebrations! The Chirag School received recognition from the state government today!

We commenced the process of seeking recognition for the School in February 2010 since the oldest batch was just finishing class 4 and we wanted to ensure that they could effortlessly move from our school into other schools after finishing primary school.

Innumerable trips to the education department had made it clear that this was going to be a war of attrition. In June 2010, we were visited by the Block Education officer who recommended that the school be granted recognition. But our woes were only beginning.

We were asked to submit a school management plan that had to be a copy of an existing plan that was probably designed for government senior secondary schools. Not surprisingly, we were not willing to comply with this requirement. That document would effectively invite and cede significant control to government. For a 'private school' that neither received nor sought financial aid from government, this plan was simply unacceptable. Logic had no place in the discussion. It was either submit the plan as it exists, with the appropriate names changed, or wait.

The Right to Education however, has a simpler process for granting of recognition to primary schools and we lost several months waiting for the rules to be framed and approved by the State Government. It became clear last month, that the rules may take much longer to be passed and we re-initiated the dialogue with the education department.

Things were already starting to get tense since the first batch from the Chirag School was due to graduate in six months. Ten days ago, the time-line altered.

The best government school in most districts in the country continue to be the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. We were informed by parents with children in Class 5 at the Chirag School, that forms for admission to the 2012 session in class 6 had been released. Only children from schools with recognition could fill these forms and appear for the examination. With 10 children in Class 5, all of whom wanted to appear for the examination, we either got recognition in two weeks or these children would lose a potentially life altering opportunity – at least for a year.

We drew up our own version of a school management plan and submitted it only to hit the wall again. The district level committee that met to take decisions on granting recognition was only going to meet in December. Further, our documents could not be accepted since the rubber stamp merely stated 'Chirag School' when they should have stated 'Chirag Primary School' and mentioned the location of the school. Losing out on recognition for a 20Rs stamp!!

We met with the parents of these children on the 22^nd of October and briefed them on the situation and our efforts over the past 18 months. We told them that our options were limited and yet we would try our best to find a solution before the end of the month. But the images of these children whom we have known since they were in pre-school and the meeting with their parents made it clear that we needed to find a solution fast or consider extending the school beyond class 5. With 25^th, the last working day in government, before forms became due on the 31^st, time was fast running out and we needed desperate measures.

The committee that decides on 'recognition' till the primary level consists of three individuals including the District Magistrate and the District Education Officer. Thus far, the clerks had fobbed us off. With our backs to the wall, and just one honest option, we got in touch with a friend in Government. Someone, who knew our work reasonably well and would vouch for our integrity. He sent an introductory message to the new District Magistrate and I fixed up to meet with her on the 24^th . I met with her at 3.30 pm yesterday. She immediately spoke to the District Education Officer and after a brief conversation, asked me to send a colleague to his office at 11 am today. At noon today, the District Education Officer handed over a letter that granted recognition to the Chirag School for a year and a note addressed to the Block Education Officer asking him to accept forms for the Navodaya Vidyalya from children from the Chirag School since we had been granted recognition.

Eighteen months after we commenced. Five hours before our deadline , we had been saved by three honest officers. It took less than 24 hours from the time I met with the District Magistrate to actually receive the document granting recognition for the Chirag School, in my hand.

Without a doubt, there is no reason why this should have taken us 18 months? Especially since it was eventually done in 24 hours. Undoubtedly, there are more efficient and faster ways of getting clearances from government. But these weren't really options that we were willing to consider. What if we did not know people in government? We would have been doomed.

Today, the parents of these 10 children, my colleagues in Chirag and I – are merely grateful that when the chips were down, we could find three honest and good people in Government who could swing things our way!  

I have always wondered why drivers (those who do this for a living) of cars and taxis do not read. They have so much time while they wait for their passengers or for customers. Reading seems like such a sensible way to pass time! Better than playing cards or merely sitting around.

After scores of conversations with drivers it has become clear that (a) reading is a habit that more often than not develops at a young age, (b) easy access to reading material of any kind can foster the habit particularly while growing up, (c) drivers can often have poor access to education – since it is not a pre-requisite for the average driver and ( c) it is costs money. A newspaper is the cheapest option available.

I do know two drivers who like to read. Shafiq who buys two newspapers each day and follows news pertaining to the region and the state with interest. Naveen, on the other hand, likes reading books and would even borrow English books that our daughter had finished reading.

When I got into Madan's taxi, late,  one night for a ride to the airport – I was pleasantly surprised to see his dashboard overflowing with reading material. I couldn't have been presented with a better opening to commence a conversation and promptly asked Madan how come he seemed to read so much – newspapers and magazines.

Madan has a bachelor's degree in education and a Master's in political science from Rohtak University. I was curious as to why he was driving a taxi when he had a B.Ed, a degree that could more or less guarantee a job as a teacher in most states. Madan unfortunately, wasn't lucky and instead came to Delhi and managed to get a job in Super Bazar in Connaught Place. When the Delhi Government decided to sell Super Bazar, Madan was a part of the employees association that tried to bid for Super Bazar to run it as an employees cooperative. Soon after the private company took over Super Bazar, it became clear to Madan that their hopes of better pay or perks with a private management were not going to be realised and he quit his job.

His family requires 30,000/- Rs a month and driving a car enables him to look after his family. He doesn't regret leaving Super Bazar and takes pride in the work he does. He drives for a fixed number of hours each day. He knows how much he needs to earn per day and after factoring in a small surplus in case he has a bad day – he simply goes home to his family.

For a while, I mulled over what might have happened if the employees cooperative had been permitted to take over and manage Super Bazar. With people like Madan – who knows, they may have pulled it off.

Just as I reached the terminal I asked him about his children. He remarked that he needed to take a few days off to go and leave his son who was commencing college.

His son had just been admitted to a BE in Aeronautical Engineering at an Indian Institute of Technology!

With the drama in Delhi coming to an end, normalcy is imminent. I am glad that I have been witness to the drama of the past weeks. Do I regret being an active participant? Not at all. Easier to be an observer when you do not agree with the moot point – herein the Jan Lokpal bill.

It has been a remarkable week that has left me, in equal measure, awe struck, confused, dumbfounded and pleasantly surprised. What have I learnt? What am I still seeking answers for?

• Irrespective of whether the campaign against corruption might have have been backed by political parties, corporations, media houses or frankly any one else; the reality is, that the campaign against corruption has led to a massive mobilisation amongst the middle-class, of a kind that has not been witnessed in a long time. In particular, the willingness of young people to engage with the issue and come out on the streets, is extremely significant, in a country where the middle-class seemed plagued with apathy.

• I never saw this mass mobilisation coming! I did not imagine that I would hear of, or see people coming out on the streets in Mukteshwar, Kasiyalekh or Lal Kuan in a campaign against corruption. How could I have misread the mood – so completely?

• Whether one agrees with all the methods that were adopted by Team Anna or not, the fact remains that they strategically out manoeuvred the government and all the major political parties. Overall a brilliant campaign.

• Team Anna's strategic victory is also unfortunately a gift of a politically inept government. Ineptitude on a scale that one would not expect in a democracy that is 64 years old.

• The Prime Minister of the country must be elected to the lower house of Parliament. The largest democracy in the world needs a political leader with a mass base.

• I made the grave error some years ago, of assuming that intellectual ability and personal integrity in a person were guarantors of good governance. Political ability, good communication skills, the ability to reach out, reassure, inspire or admonish the citizens, and ability to lead a team are more important characteristics for a person in public office. You can hire the best brains in the country to advise you but you don't need them to run the country.

• We live in a time of legislative over-kill. If we believe that mere legislation can transform deep rooted issues that plague our country, we need to think again. Another battle may have been fought and won, but the war against corruption is far from over.

• The supremacy of Parliament in law making and even leadership in a democracy has been challenged by black-mail and people on the streets. I cannot imagine a superior political alternative to parliamentary democracy and am horrified by the challenge. However, it is a sad truth that without people taking to the streets in such large numbers – our political representatives would not have paid any heed to the demand for corruption to be addressed in a substantive manner.

• Ironically, this challenge to Parliament & its supremacy in the formulation of laws has also coincided with some of the strengths of our own Parliament being displayed. The high quality of some of the speeches that were made – even by MP's hitherto never heard/seen on the national stage. The fact that the Rajya Sabha in the past two weeks has also lent consent to impeachment proceedings against a High Court judge.

• If all our MP's feel upset – and with reason, that their supremacy has been challenged – would they be willing to respect their institution more? Are we going to witness debate and discussion as the basis for formulation of policy replacing disruption of proceedings, unruly behaviour and boycotting Parliament? If they want their citizens to respect the institution will our representatives respect it too?

• Quite clearly, while we have a legislative democracy and democratic institutions, as a nation we have not adopted or embodied democratic values in our daily lives. It is an imperfect political form but surely reflective of our own political maturity as citizens.

• We seem to live in a time of great intolerance towards other points of views. If you disagreed with the Jan Lokpal bill you were necessarily an opponent? How can meaningful change be possible without discussion and negotiation in a diverse country like ours?

• I find 24 hour news channels very trying, and that is my problem. But these channels, without a doubt played a significant role in getting the word out all over the country – of course through exclusives and breaking news primarily. We must take pride in the fact that we possess a media which still enjoys the relative independence to take on an issue and support a campaign. Will the media and its owners support a sustained campaign on corruption in the coming months/years? Is it even possible?

• At a national level we seem to have a paucity of people that others can seek to emulate or idolise. Interesting though that 'modern' and 'hip' India still needs to rally around someone clad in 'khadi' from a village. Strange though that 64 years after independence we are still waiting for another Gandhi when we have long abandoned his economic philosophy. Why does urban India still require a simple living, simply clad person from a village, to rally around? Is this naivete? A belief that the values we collectively seek are now only found in villages?

• A lot of the mobilisation by all accounts was essentially of the middle class. The poor quite clearly cannot afford to participate in these demonstrations and/or did not think that this was a battle worth joining forces with. Why? The poor bear the greatest brunt of corruption and if they are not willing to come out against it, we need to understand this.

  In a country where 'rule of law' cannot be enforced in a fair manner, it will take enormous and sustained pressure before (a) a meaningful Lok Pal is passed and (b) before it is implemented. Do the events of the past week represent a tipping point? Has something changed permanently? Will honesty/integrity of candidates become an issue in elections? Will people stop paying? Will people stop demanding out of turn favours? If the pressure to pay bribes for legal entitlements – a common feature of the life of every poor person and in fact most citizens of this country – will decrease or disappear – a beginning would have been made.   

   

Meera Devi an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) and chairperson of the collective of ASHA's in Bhimtal block is a fighter. Abandoned by her husband and left with the task of single-handedly bringing up two children, she tends her meagre land, works as a labourer and an ASHA for her village. Becoming an ASHA transformed her life. It gave her the opportunity to interact with organisations working on health in the region and this eventually led to Mahila Samakhya intervening on her behalf and Meera being awarded Rs 2,000 per month as a maintenance allowance from her husband. Despite her enthusiasm and spirit even Meera sounds despondent when she says, “ASHA to ban gayi par nirash kar diya” (became an ASHA -literally hope – but have been disappointed).

An interaction with an animated group of over 20 ASHA's at Naukuchiatal, was revealing, and a sad testimony to the challenges that the ASHA's continue to face. The National Rural Health Mission led to the creation of a cadre of ASHA's in each village. The ASHA's are community based health workers and receive payments on an incentive basis for registration of pregnancies, ante-natal care, complete immunisation of children, to facilitate institutional deliveries and for assisting in conduct of school health and nutrition days. They are provided with a health kit to provide first aid at the village level, are expected to disseminate information and must keep records of the health situation in their village – particularly with regard to maternal and child health. An important task – and one with enormous potential.

This is proving to be a long and arduous battle for the ASHA's. Here are a few examples of what the ASHA's are faced with.

• Mamta of Naul was pregnant and when her labour pains commenced, she was taken by the ASHA in the ambulance (an absolute boon in the region) to the Bhimtal Primary Health Care centre (PHC). The PHC referred her to the Base Hospital at Haldwani since there was a complication. By the time Mamta reached Haldwani, the head of the child had emerged. She was wheeled out and into the hospital and wheeled out again and back into the ambulance in no time. The hospital refused to admit her and she eventually delivered at Sushila Tiwari Hospital in Haldwani. PHC's can refuse to admit women if they have not been registered by them. As a citizen of this country why can't a woman go to any government hospital of her choice and receive care? How can a district level hospital refuse to admit a pregnant woman?

• Smart cards under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (National Health Insurance Plan) are to be issued to all families deemed to be Below the Poverty Line (BPL). ASHA's were entrusted with the responsibility of enrolling families. In Betalghat block, the ASHA's received Rs 2/- per card but in Bhimtal block – Rs 1/- per card. The process commenced in late 2010. Till date there are families that have not received their cards. Worse, patients with cards five months after they were issued are unable to access free cashless facilities in any government hospital in Haldwani. Who do they question and complain to? The poor ASHA, who promised them cash-less care up to Rs 30,000/- for hospitalisation. Why? None of the hospitals have machines to read these smart cards! Less than seven months before these cards will expire and the ASHA's will be asked to renew them.

• To encourage institutional deliveries an incentive of Rs 1,400/- is provided to pregnant women – post delivery in a government (or recognised) health care facility. ASHA's in rural areas are provided with a 600/- Rs incentive for taking the women to an institution for the delivery. (a) Nearly every ASHA has been insulted in the facility by the employees. A bulk of them have had to bribe hospital staff to ensure that the women they accompany are cared for. (b) ASHAs are expected to stay till the delivery is over even if it takes three days. What happens to their families? All for 600/-? Who feeds them for as long as they accompany a pregnant woman? If this has to be covered through the incentive, what will they save? ( c) ASHA's are asked for copies of the bank pass-book of the pregnant woman for the formalities to be completed and for incentives to be paid out to the mother and the ASHA. Open an account for Rs 1,400/? Many families do not wish to open accounts. The ASHA will lose out on her incentive. (d) If the pregnant woman goes to the hospital for her delivery without the ASHA then she will receive not 1,400 but 1,600/-. Today, an incentive has been created for women – despite complete ANC by an ASHA and mobilisation by her - to go for their delivery without the ASHA. This seems like a terrible deal.

• ASHA's have become the default option for surveys at the village level. A survey on water and sanitation was conducted by them. No incentive paid to them. An annual survey on health care is conducted by them. No incentive received this year. A survey on disability was conducted by the ASHA's and Rs 250/- promised as the incentive. No money has been received. Interestingly, since August 2010, no payments have been received by ASHAs in Bhimtal block for complete immunisation of children.

• Village Health and Nutrition Days are to be held each month. The Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) – a government employee, the Anganwadi worker and the ASHA are expected to organise and host the event. Each village is expected to pay the ANM Rs 100/- per month to attend the event and the Anganwadi worker and the ASHA Rs 25/- per month. In other words, out of a 10,000 Rs un-tied fund, the government has already ordained that Rs 1,200 per annum must be paid to a government employee for discharge of her duties! Bizarre. The ANM gets a salary. Why isn't the ASHA paid Rs 100 instead of Rs 25? How can this be called an un-tied fund?

On one issue, there is absolute unanimity amongst the ASHA's. All the ASHA's want to be appointed and confirmed as government employees. Why does this not surprise me at all?

Should voluntary organisations be preferred customers of banks? Prima-facie, no reason for them to be. They have current accounts or savings accounts, rarely take loans or over-drafts, do not use institutional credit cards, and do not keep fixed deposits for long periods of time – if at all. In other words, they are only marginally better than the average high-value individual customer.

However, voluntary organisations – like most other institutions – tend to be reliable long-term customers. The cost and effort to shut down and move accounts is far too much for organisations to consider. The average medium sized organisation over a decade old, also tends to be relatively stable – in other words fairly predictable receipts and payments.

The size of the voluntary sector in India and the number of people employed in it – is however a huge market. A market not just for savings products but other financial services. Further, with all this talk about corporate social responsibility (CSR), for banks to support people or institutions in the sector, would actually require a relatively small effort and could make a huge difference.

Have banks considered this? Do banks have a policy regarding services that they could provide to the voluntary sector? I would be very surprised if they do. Here are five simple things that banks desirous of creating a policy to support voluntary organisations or people working in the sector, could consider.

1. Bank Charges – Can bank charges – for transferring funds within bank accounts of the same organisation, payments or for receipt of donations be waived? All these count as administrative costs and though relatively small, can add up to a substantial amount and still matter.

2. Financial Inclusion – The new buzz word. For a cynic, this would basically mean an economic rationale for taking advantage of opportunities presented by people at the bottom of the pyramid. On the other hand, if this were really to be considered as a tool for providing families with low-incomes with greater social and financial security and opportunities through access to efficient financial products; banks and financial institutions should consider people working in the voluntary sector and particularly those in rural areas. This could include, support for opening bank accounts for employees, opening of public provident fund accounts (wish SBI would read this), debit cards or even credit cards for those who need them, easy access to National Pension Scheme Lite (NPS Lite) and financial planning advice.

3. Training of Personnel in Banks – Employees of banks – if well informed – are at best familiar with RBI guidelines particularly with regard to funds received from foreign sources or with operation of FEMA. They are rarely trained in Income Tax rules or rules of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) – as they pertain to voluntary organisations. The absence of training can lead to delays and easily avoidable mistakes by banks – simply a consequence of the ignorance of bank employees. Banks often make the mistake of clubbing all businesses together – read current account holders irrespective of whether they are enterprises or voluntary organisations. With a new FCR (Act) and rules applicable from the 1^st of May 2011 and the direct tax code due to roll out in less than a year, this is a ground time to train bank employees.

4. Financial Advice for Institutions – Banks are best placed to offer financial advice to institutions. Advice on deposits, insurance of buildings/assets, group medical, accident or life insurance, gratuity or pension plans. Offering this service at no cost – will provide organisations with information and the ability to make informed choices about financial products.

5. Loans – Education, two-wheelers and computers – Every low-income family in this country worries about providing their children with access to higher education – even a Bachelors' degree. As circumstances improve or even stabilise you can add the acquisition of a two-wheeler or computers for their children to learn on – to the list. The average employee of a voluntary organisation would be interested in one or all of the above – not necessarily at the same point of time. Soft or low-interest loans to employees of the voluntary sector with the institutions providing some security as guarantor would serve a huge unmet need.

The only exhaustive study on the dimensions of the voluntary sector conducted by PRIA and Johns Hopkins University more than a decade ago estimated that 2.7 million people were employed in the voluntary sector. Not an insignificant number – even if the data is a decade old. This comprised a quarter of all state and central government employees and a third of employees in the organised private sector.

A market ignored by banks?

One of the advantages of being a curious generalist is that there are so many things of interest. So many reasons for optimism and excitement. Every once in a while, a conversation with a colleague or someone we work with; simply blows me away. Doubts vanish and the resolve is reinforced.

Young Leela, who has been teaching at the Chirag School for the past five years had asked to see me, to share some of her observations from an assessment that she was involved with. Leela was part of a committee of four people entrusted with the task of assessing test papers for candidates for our girls scholarship programme. A test had been administered to girls who were completing fifth standard, for us to identify 20 girls who would be supported till they completed their schooling. Leela was entrusted with the task of checking the answer sheets for the test in Hindi.

She commenced by sharing three questions and some of the responses that she had come across. What is someone who looks after cows called? What is someone who makes the bear dance called? What do you call someone who looks after goats and sheep? Going strictly by the book the answers are – 'gwala', 'madari' and 'bhed or bakri palak'. It is expected of children at the end of standard five to know these terms. Some of the responses that she had seen were as follows: Who looks after the cows? - mummy/papa or 'gopal'. Quite logical since a child sees her parents looking after the livestock! “Gopal” is in fact another name for a cowherd, albeit a term used more often in association with 'Krishna'. What makes a bear dance? - the forest! How delightful! A good forest is certain to make a bear happy and want to dance! And a person who looks after sheep and goats – 'bekar'. Interestingly, this is a term used to describe not just someone who is unemployed but someone who because of his/her inability to accomplish anything else of virtue, must be entrusted with the task of looking after sheep and goats. A term used in conversation in the area.

Leela was worried about this. Strictly by the expectations of what a child must be familiar with in terms of Hindi vocabulary and based on the text books, these answers were incorrect. But all of them were logical and demonstrated the ability of these girls to think independently and out of the box. Leela wanted to know why independent thinking and logic cannot be recognised and fostered? She is absolutely right. We need to not just expect children to regurgitate the answers that they have memorised but must foster independent thinking. It is more than likely that these girls did not know the correct answer but without a doubt they used their minds and came up with answers that were logical.

Two things blew me away. The essential logic of what she was proposing and the need to incorporate it into our work with children in government schools. More importantly, the fact that someone entrusted with a relatively mundane task could have such deep insights at the end of it. We not just need to ensure that we recognise and support independent thought in children but we also need to support people like Leela. For someone who grew up in the hamlet of Orakhan and has taught for only five years at best, to pose these questions and to be bothered by them is simply remarkable. How can one possibly doubt the potential for change if young people – presented with opportunities like Leela has – can question the very basis of our educational system?

Realistically, the probability of the Indian State undertaking wide-spread land-reforms is close to zero. On the contrary, the Indian state is increasingly playing the role of an intermediary for facilitating the acquisition and subsequent sale of lands from farmers to the corporate sector. All this under the guise and pretext of protecting farmers from themselves and from the predatory hawks of the wicked world.

Today, more than ever before, clear and defined property rights particularly of marginal and small farmers have become crucial. However, there is one law that desperately cries out to be repealed all over the country.

“Land to the tiller”. In the hey days when the pretence of being a socialist country could still be maintained, this law sought to ensure that farmers who tilled the land continuously for several years could seek to establish ownership over the land. In other words, a redistribution of land from those who had excess or absentee land-lords to those who actually tilled the land was to be facilitated through this.

Ironically, this has led to the Government refusing to acknowledge the presence of 'tenants' and share-croppers in this country. Tenants – since they do not exist, cannot access credit/loans using this land as a collateral since they do not own it to begin with. Tenants are not covered by contracts – lest they stake claim to land and the absence of contracts further means that they cannot use these documents to leverage capital or even establish residence in a new area. Worse, land-owners who engage share-croppers are not willing to enter into long-term relationships and frequently change their tenant. As a consequence neither the tenant nor the land-owner wish to invest in the improvement of land since it must be a short-term relationship. The impact of this on productivity and production in the country is enormous.

With families migrating away from villages in the mountains – like other parts of the country – to small towns and cities, the fear of land being taken over by the tiller, leads to the lands being left barren. What a waste of a resource! For poorer families, without land or very little land of their own, the ability to lease these lands for cultivation would not just improve the quality of their life but increase the net production of foods in this country.

If the government seriously wishes to make a dent on poverty in the country, they should repeal the laws that seek to transfer land to the tiller. Secondly, the government should recognise the existence and contribution of tenants. Thirdly, the government should facilitate creation of a legal environment wherein contracts for reasonable periods of time can be entered into between tenants and owners – without the ownership of land ever coming into dispute. Finally, these contracts must be deemed adequate to access social and financial services like a lease deed in a city.