RDC PROFILE

SECTION - I

Background Information

Name of the organization

Rural Development Centre [ RDC]

Address

Dukdegaon Post. Chinchala
Tq. Wadwani Dist. Beed-431131
Phone: - (02443) 234324, 241521
Fax: - (02443) 235077

E-mail-

• Name of the Project holder: Eknath Awad

• Name of contact person: Eknath Awad

• Address:

Sangarsh” Samarat Ashok Nagar,
Majalgaon Dist. Beed.
Mobile No. 9422243133, 9325056900

• Society/Trust Registration No: MAH/63 Beed Date: 23/05/1985

• Bombay Public Trust Act. 1950: No.: F/709/Beed, Date: 29/08/1985

• Income Tax Registration No: AAATR8352A

• FCRA No/Prior Permission: - FCRA Mp/ 083770009

• Bank Details

Name	Indian			Foreign
Branch	State Bank of Hydra bad, Majalgaon	State Bank of India	Marathwada Gramin Bank	Same
A/c No.	52179667699	01100005425	28	41678 New Account No. 52179667688
Address	Beed Road Majalgaon	In front of Municipal Council Majalgaon	Telgaon Tq. Majalgaon Dist. Beed	Same
Code No	2035			2035

SECTION -II

About Rural Development Center

The specific historical conditions that gave rise to this early emergence of Dalit movement in Maharashtra . Modernization and urbanization gave impetus to the new language of rights. The discourse on rights was important in terms of defining the Dalit being. In other words it was not possible to define the Dalit being without the discourse on rights, which came up along with the process of modernization and new ideology of liberalism .On this socio-economic background, Rural Development Center (RDC) was established in 1985 by Mr. Eknath Awad, an educated Dalit youth residing in a small village of 40 households. In the early 1980s, inspired by the legendary Dalit leader Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Mr. Awad organized the youths in his village and motivated them to fight against the oppression of the upper-caste people and landlords in their village. Their early success made them realize the potential of a unified struggle against the common oppressors. As a result these youth came together and decided to formally institutionalize their struggle for equal status and RDC was born. RDC got its registration as a public trust in 1985.

Over the 15-year work period, the gamut of issues that RDC addressed has expanded. Throughout this period the focus on Human Rights of the Dalit community has remained unchanged. RDC has addressed a number of issues that the people faced in the Marathwada region. The most prominent are Human Rights, Economic empowerment of Dalit, Land encroachment, Child right, gender equality and social justice, political participation and partnership in governance.

RDC's conceptualization of the Dalit Human Rights and Development work begins with a thorough analysis of the socio-economic-cultural and political context of the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and the developmental interventions both by GO and NGO programmers.

RDC's analysis of poverty leads to perceiving poverty and underdevelopment as the result of exploitation, oppression related in a cause-effect relationship. Casteism perceived as the systematic, methodical, structural and purposeful devise to dehumanize human beings and destroy the victims, personality drawing maximum advantage form the vulnerability of the poor and exploiting and oppressing them, trampling all legislations is another feature in Marathwada.

The overall mission of RDC is to sensitize organizations and mobilize into corporate action from the rural poor in Marathwada region who earn their livelihood by selling their labor so that they demand and succeed in getting what they own rightfully and live their life with dignity and freedom.

The first few years were spent in to create awareness on various social issues and developing a cadre through out Marathwada. The alternative that was conceived is restoration of the self-dignity and rights for the resource less masses, and while so doing eradicate the inherent vulnerabilities of the poor communities which expose them to exploitations. The emphasis is on human dignity and rights and since rights are never given they have to be wrested back. To wrest back rights requires power and the only power the poor have is their numerical as well ontological strength. Hence it is perceived that harnessing people power though the process of mass organization and mobilizing the mass organization to mass action in the struggle for human dignity and human rights. Development is seen from the context of eradicating the internal vulnerabilities such as: illiteracy, ignorance, superstitious practices, good health, improvement in economic standards, etc. Hence, living with dignity, liberty, freedom and meeting the fundamental needs of food, clothing, shelter, health and education are constructed as human rights.

The RDC's focus on Dalit human rights can broadly be categorized into three categories. Violence and inhuman treatment, atrocities committed due to encroachment of Gairan [Grazing] land and violation of rights of bonded labor

During the first phase of this period, the main purpose of the organization was to actively resist oppressors and all forms of subjugation imposed on them by the upper higher section of society. The novelty of the idea coupled with the Dalit aspiration for a position of respect in the society, saw the RDC movement spread quickly to thousands of villages and touching the lives of lacs of Dalits in Marathwada. But it was soon realized that a militant approach alone couldn't solve problems that faced by the Dalits. The organization realized the need to step forward and adopt developmental strategies and plan for their action in order to ensure that the future generations are to be permanently freed from the ills of the bygone era. Thus began the development-oriented phase in RDC.

It has been working with impoverished community groups such as Dalits, nomadic tribe, landless laborers, under-privileged children women and has attempted to secure their basic rights by participating with them in various developmental activities. The leadership, which stems from the poorest social and economical strata, believes in collective developmental action to relive poverty and injustice. RDC's key strategic options are empowering people and developing grassroots leadership to secure basic human right and building dynamics condition to develop suitable livelihood mechanism

The organizations that RDC has established can be classified in to two categories based on their genesis. The first type includes organizations that were created to take the baton from RDC in an area where RDC was previously working and the second type are those that were created for a novel purpose. In the first category fall the RDC's major organizations, Campaign for Human (CHR), Bal Haaka Abhiyan [BHA), Jamin Adhikar Andolan [JAA] In the second type fall the trade unions established by RDC and the CBOs established in different districts to further the vision and mission of RDC work with its core target group and area

A defining character of all the organizations facilitated by RDC is that they all share RDC's vision of social empowerment. They also share an understanding of strategies that need to deployed: specifically, not losing focus of the grassroots, making maximum collaborative efforts with government machinery, gender sensitivity with crosscutting theme of Right Base approach. Another shared characteristic of the organizations established by the RDC is their commitment to and legitimacy from their support base.

Campaign for Human Rights-

In the beginning, the vision of CHR was to have a strong presence across the length and breadth of rural Maharashtra so as to curtail the exploitation of the Dalits. CHR presence would also ensure that the evil practice of caste-based bonded labor would be curbed and would help the Dalits in availing justice and just treatment in society. With this dream and vision, a formal aim was formulated. This helped to guide CHR in its future course of action. The aim of CHR in the beginning was to eliminate the existing caste-based social discrimination prevalent in Marathwada, achieve Gairan-land Rights and legalize the title holding of the Dalits; gender justice and curb the violence against the women.

What started from a small number of villages, acquired a strong presence in more than two thousand villages of Marathwada along with various towns and cities in Maharashtra . The issues like Dalit atrocities, Untouchablity were focused in the initial period. Caste-based bonded labor was the principal issue identified to start the campaign.

Jamin Adhikar Andolan

Since the year 2000, several peoples organizations and NGOS in Marathwada working with Dalits created forums to come together looking for ways to increase effectiveness of their advocacy for the rights of Dalits. In the process of their alliance building through informal meeting and consultations, a network emerged. It provides a platform for discussing regional issues and preparing strategic plans to address those. While most of the member organizations were working on child rights and women's political rights, all of them were essentially working with Dalit families and their rights. Almost all of them are Dalits themselves and have high stakes in improving the statues of Dalits.

Availability of Gairan (gazing lands) and “stressed livelihoods of Dalits ” became the agenda of all the associated activist groups in the network of NGO's and CHR. A composite strategy started emerging. It is on this background that the Jamin Adhikar Andolan (JAA) is formed. JAA was an outcome of a two-year long process of alliance building. The binding factor was the need to come together in solidarity to enable the marginalized to establish their right to land and therefore right to life and livelihood. JAA is working in all 8 districts of Marathwada; 50 taluka and 1000 villages in Marathwada.

The vision of JAA is to bring a uniform land reform policy (of the State) to ensure land entitlement to all landless people and increased Govt. investment on natural resources development to enhance the livelihood options of the poor and marginalized. JAA visualizes poor people in Maharashtra , especially; Dalits will have enhanced capacities to make productive use of Natural resources like land and water for sustaining their livelihoods.

Bal Hakka Abhiyan

From 1997 onwards, RDC has started a campaign for ensuring that the Dalit children are not deprived of their right to education. RDC has conducted awareness camps, meetings and agitations against the system of child labor that is prevalent in major areas of Marathwada

RDC's education program is based on the belief that all children of school going age have access to equitable quality of basic education in Maharashtra . Its mission is to ensure that all children of school going age who are currently out of school in Maharashtra are enrolled and retained in common schools and complete their basic education.

RDC leads the “ Child Rights Campaign ” in Maharashtra and is an active member of the National Alliance for Fundamental Right to Education and Equity [NAFREE]. RDC has focused on improving access, attendance and enrolment retention and quality education to all children. Enrolment drives are conducted in the region every year. Activists and volunteers are entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the children in the villages enroll and then attend school regularly. Alternate Village Education Committees have been established to ensure that the government education machinery functions to its best ability.

Major Aims of RDC

Remove caste based social practice and hierarchy barriers for socially marginalized communities, restore them the pride and respect due to any human being. Gender equity, Child Rights, Human Rights, Legal rights over land and water

Objectives of the organization

• Ensuring human rights to Poor Dalit and marginalized

• Initiating multiple development interventions to reach maximum number of the target group and target area

• Building peoples Organizations and Peoples Institutions [POPI] enabling them to take charge of their own

• Effective involvement of women and youth to claim and assert their rights

• Ensure and safeguard the rights of the children with a view to empower and strengthen their role in building the Nation

• Advocating policy reform with the government, lobbying with Civil Society for support to the policy advocated

• Networking with like-minded CBOs, NGOs, Civil Society, Media and GO with extensive infrastructure that can be leveraged for better reach and impact .

• Collaboration, Cooperation and alliance building with other struggling organizations working towards ensuring the rights of the Dalit community in Marathwada .

Strategies adopted by RDC

Thousands of years ago the Hindu lawgiver, Manu, established the four tiered caste system and decreed that the Dalits were the lowest in the social order. Women of any caste were rated lower than the Dalits and were considered to be of no consequence. One can then imagine the plight of the Dalit woman who finds no status even within her own community. RDC realized early on that once the woman in any household is empowered, the family unit develops at a faster rate and in a more permanent manner hence, RDC developed a policy of actively promoting women as making them the focal point of its activities. Educated youth were also motivated to get involved in order to ensure that the movement became sustainable. The focus work also brought RDC to the realization that the investment in the childhood today would reap social benefit to the community in future RDC had planned interventions with the children. The programmatic interventions enabled RDC to frame the strategies. The strategies evolved are the outcome of the years long experience RDC gain and enriched with. All the strategies evolved had cross cutting theme of justice to poor marginalized and Dalit community

• Organization and Mobilization for the cause of Dalit, poor and marginalized men women and children

• Capacity building to be the actors of own development

• Building up of POPI, Networking and strengthening the social interventions through collective action

• Information collection, compilation and dissemination for collective action and cause

Institutionalization Process

Right from its inception, RDC has attempted to promote and develop peoples' institutions at the grassroots level with community friendly structure to operationalize it. Through these efforts, several Mahila Mandals (women's groups), youth groups, village groups etc, have been promoted. The attempt has been to involve the people in decision making in relation to matters that concern them, thereby achieving their effective participation.

Addressing the children

Development of children in an all round manner, improving their health, providing them education, freeing them from bonded labor all formed part of a long-term developmental plan. Since the children represent the future of the community, their development always has a long lasting effect.

Advocating policy reform with government

Apart from developmental activities, RDC lobbies with the government on various issues related to the right of the Dalits. Although by and large its work places RDC at loggerheads with the government, this has not prevented it from working closely with the government machinery in a few projects like plague eradication, drinking water supply, rehabilitation after the Latur earthquake of September 1993 etc. In fact, RDC realizes that the strength and spread of the governmental machinery can and should be leveraged to achieve effective growth.

Development Initiatives by RDC

The projects undertaken by RDC can be broadly divided into two categories-developmental, disasters related and rehabilitative. The RDC team provides a wide range of support to Dalit communities/families, which are victims of caste-based oppression. The support ranges from relief, trauma counseling, rehabilitation, compensation, legal aid and more importantly justice. This support is backed by the ability to mobilize thousands of people in order to demand justice for even a single individual as an entity providing this support is the key function of RDC.

Developmental projects

RDC helped these groups by registering bank accounts, providing initial capital, technical training on saving habits, use of bank infrastructure, information on the sorts of loans available from the government, reasonable interest rates etc. Loans are usually given for starting goat farms, wheat mills, poultry farms and other agricultural and animal husbandry related activities. The RDC also provides these groups with the expertise for running these small enterprises. Recently, RDC has managed to get a government license for a sugar factory to be fully managed by Dalit women on a co-operative basis. RDC facilitated the process of formation of eight credit cooperatives with 350 SHGs groups who pool their resources for credit disbursement

As a part of its strategic interventions RDC's interlinks confrontational and cooperative approaches with the state authorities as the situation demands so as to draw their attention and make them responsive and accountable towards the need of the poor.

The developmental projects undertaken by RDC covers a large and diverse spectrum The attempt has been to reach the maximum number of downtrodden and equip them physically and psychologically with the tools, techniques and knowledge to develop them. RDC has been instrumental in the creation of a developmental culture among the Dalits in Marathwada. In the last 15 years, it has enhance confidence with which the locals interact with the state, their openness to new ideas and technologies, their willingness to experiment with different forms of social and financial organizations and their political awareness. This has not only lead to an increased efficiency in economic and political functioning of the Dalits, but has contributed to an over all increase in sense of self esteem that is crucial for any citizens group to participate in a democratic endeavors.

Highlights of the major Interventions

Legal and human rights

The overview of the number cases decided in favor of partner- beneficiaries of RDC's legal support in Marathwada. This covers cases filed and won during the 1989 to 2005 period, the cases cover the various sections of the Indian Penal Code. These include cases regarding Dalit atrocities, bonded labor, ostracization, violence, crimes against women (These include cases of domestic violence and disputes such as wife battering, maintenance etc.), and denial of access to temples and water resources and other violations of Dalit human rights.

The struggle for restoration of human and legal rights to all the oppressed classes forms the cornerstone of RDC's work in Marathwada. RDC conducts programs in Marathwada to improve the awareness of the oppressed Dalits population regarding their legal and human rights. RDC also lends support to the aggrieved Dalits in taking direct legal action. In this RDC has worked with bonded agricultural laborers, sugarcane cutters and transporters, Dalits discriminated against on the basis of their caste, Dalits whose property has been sized by landlords and moneylenders, Dalits whose woes were ignored by the governmental machinery and in fact all oppressed communities. RDC was the first organization to identify and secure the release of bonded laborers in Marathwada.

The RDC has used strategies similar those of the above categories. The focus on human rights of caste based bonded labor is targeted not only as the direct victims of the bonded labor system but is also aimed at changing the way in which Dalits relate to the state machinery and actualize their rights.

Education

RDC's intervention in this area can be strategies in four broad categories.

• Awareness generation:

• Program implementation:

• Research and Training:

• Advocacy and Social Action

In Marathwada region, a large section of the Dalit community work as sugar cane cutters or on brick kilns. Marathwada supplies a large labor force of 600,000 sugar cutters to sugar factories across Western Maharashtra . When parents migrate for work so do the children and thereby the school drop out rate escalates among this community. During this period the children also work along with adults to supplement the family income

Apart from the campaign for the Right to Education, RDC also runs 55 schools for children of migrant sugarcane cutters. These schools are run in the places from the places where the cutting gangs migrate. The teacher also migrates with the gang. RDC is also making efforts to ensure that at least some of the children do not migrate and stay in the village for their schooling. This is further strengthened by RDC's work with land development that prevents migration. Such schools were also started for the children of brick kiln workers

In 2000, RDC's activists 65 in number and well trained migrated with the sugarcane cutters and ensured school classes were held in the areas where the families worked. Permission was received from the school authorities from their native village to record attendance of the children. 1189 children were taught in these schools for a six-month period. Most of them came back for their examinations and over 80% of the children managed to pass and reach the next class

The literacy rates in Marathwada are very low when compared to the other parts of Maharashtra . This poor literacy affects the standard and quality of all people in a variety of ways and manifests itself in large families leading to poverty, lack of employment opportunities, child labor, superstition, oppression by the powerful social classes etc. RDC has undertaken a campaign to tackle this burning issue. RDC volunteers attempt to improve the state of literacy in every village that they work in through adult and non-formal education. They also attempt to make the governmental education system work better by motivating the teachers to be flexible in their approach and parents to send their children to school. Apart from formal literacy, RDC workers educate the people and make them aware of their legal and human rights and campaign for eradication of superstition

Child Care and development

Apart from attempting to eradicate the incidence of child labor, RDC has organized many personality development programs targeted at children in small villages and hamlets. The children are provided with a forum to realize their creative potential. In order to ensure that the children's education is not neglected, their parents are exhorted to take advantage of the governmental and NGO education services and enroll the children in school .

Sugar School

The present low rate of literacy among Dalits hinders their occupational options and strengthens their dependence on their feudal lords and contractors for whom they are bonded labor force. As agricultural work is seasonal, many of the poor depend on contract labor in other parts of the state. When parents migrate for work so do the children and thereby the school drop rate increases among this community. During this period the children also work along with adults for want of money to run their homes.

This project involved large scale lobbing, which resulted in many debates in the legislative assembly and council. This ensured that the directors of the sugar factories had to take on the responsibility of providing education to the children of the migrant laborers.

Due to lack of support, RDC was unable to continue the project beyond two years and it ended in 2001. This resulted in lack of pressure on sugar factory owners to shoulder their responsibilities and also reluctance on part of the school authorities to give students credit for work done in these schools.

The RDC made all round efforts to continue this intervention through a similar program, the Mahatma Phule Shikshan Hami Yojana, between 2001-2003. During the tenure of this project, the RDC worked with the government in 150 schools to improve educational facilities and make teaching practices more egalitarian. Lack of funding and reluctance of government school authorities to cooperate on the project resulted in its premature closure.

Awareness generation

Bal Hakka Abhiyan actively campaigned for the enrollment of all the children below 14 years in the month of June and July for the last three years. Activities such as cycle rallies, village meetings, poster campaigns, street plays and other cultural activities to reach out the most deprived categories of children were carried out in the beginning of the academic year. As a result in 365 villages 100% enrolment is achieved. However only enrollment is not enough, the retention of the children in the school is equally important and rather a tough job to do. Many of BHA members are running Non Formal Education classes and bridge courses to check the drop out rates and enable children to continue their education.

Program implementation:

Almost all Bal Hakka Abhiyan members are actively implementing some educational programs. The focus is more on providing education to those who for various reasons cannot access education, by implementing independent programs. The prominent programs are Toli Shalas for the children of migrant sugarcane workers of Marathwada, Bhonga Shalas for the children of migrant brick kiln workers of Konkan region, running Balwadis to cater to pre primary education needs etc.

Research and Training:

Research activities are conducted at two levels i.e. policy research and program research. Since Bal Hakka Abhiyan is also an active participant of the campaign for 86 th Constitutional amendment National Alliance For Fundamental Right to Education and Equity, some of BHA members such as Pratham were actively involved in policy research at the National level, whereas organizations such as Samarthan and Vidhayak Sansad have been analyzing and scrutinizing the education policies at the state level.

The program research is carried out with the objective of improving the existing school programs. Most of the times this component are woven into the programs of independent organizations. A state level status report on education was prepared by the BHA for the State convention that was held in the month of January 2001, in Mumbai.

Presently, Bal Hakka Abiyan is doing a critique on the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan . It is expected that the government will accept the fact-finding report and the civil society will be informed on the consequences of the SSA on the status of education.

Advocacy and Social Action

The Bal Hakka Abhiyan is working actively to advocate the legislative and constitutional changes at National and state level. This stems from the core belief of BHA that education is a responsibility of the state and the state must formulate its policies and programs to ensure this right to every child of India . At the national level, BHA is actively participating in the campaign initiated by NAFRE. Over 50,000 postcards were written to the president of India by school children, concerned citizens and the people's representatives to request him to include the requisite changes in the 86 th Amendment Bill. A unique program was organized by Bal Hakka Abhiyan to sensitize the members of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council of Maharashtra to press the demands of NAFRE in the Maharashtra and pursue the same in the respective parties at the national level. Over 160 children from all over Maharashtra gathered to demand their fundamental right. The same issue was raised by some MLAs in the Assembly during the discussion on Education and it proved helpful in formulating the new scheme to provide education to deprived children. Later, on Republic Day of the next year, many BHA members met the guardian ministers of their respective districts and once again requested to pursue the NAFRE demands at the National Level.

Alliances for Advocacy forms one of the most important interventions deployed by RDC. It is necessary to constantly interact with politicians, bureaucracy and the media in order to take up issues emanating at the grassroots and give them exposure. RDC considers this function of improving the knowledge and understanding of the decision makers, and at the same time proposing policy measures to tackle the issues, extremely important. RDC has lobbied with the government on various issues including renaming of the Marathwada University after Dr. Ambedkar, abolishment of bonded and child labor, providing facilities to the exploited sugarcane cutters and transporters, 30 % reservation to women in the state legislature and parliament etc. RDC has forged a strong alliance with a Mumbai-based advocacy organization SAMPARK for this function.

RDC has developed its own training Center where youth and women are trained and exposed to various fields like legal and human rights, police procedures, land-related matters, managing people's structures, Employment Guarantee Scheme etc. Experienced faculty from all over the state is invited for these training workshops. The idea of the training programs is to educate and enlighten common people Over 35,000 people in various faculties have been trained in the Center to date.

Soil and water conservation

Supply of water to agriculture as well as drinking has always been a cause for concern in Marathwada. The near non-existent irrigation facilities means that the most of the activities are necessarily rain fed. In the early years, RDC undertook a campaign of ensuring that the rainwater is not wasted. On an experimental basis, RDC workers created a reservoir that would easily service 100 acres of land by bunding a canal in village Dukdegaon of Beed district. The effect was miraculous. The agricultural yield doubled in the next year. Since then, RDC has undertaken two significant water and soil development projects at Pimparwada and Chambhartal Tanda . These projects have changed dramatically the lives of the people in these villages.

The people living in Marathwada are quite used to drought and famine like conditions due to the poor rainfall. RDC evolved a strategy to tackle the situation of perennial drought and implemented it in 1993 and 1995.

In times of drought and famine, the agriculture dependent population is not able to sustain itself from labor. The state government then provides them with a means of earning their livelihood through the Employment Guarantee Schemes (EGS). In 1993 and 1995, RDC workers identified work related to water and land conservation in many villages and motivated the people to undertake these activities under the EGS. Under the scheme, new wells were dug or existing ones dredged and canals were dug and catchments areas created. The effort was targeted at ensuring that the rainwater was not lost but retained in the ground where it would be accessible to the people in other seasons. Over 7,000 hectares of land was covered in this scheme.

Since 2000, the RDC has started the development and improvement of land and water resources. It has undertaken land development and micro irrigation projects on Gairan land so that the agricultural yield is enhanced and the scourge of forced migration is mitigated. This is the first experiment of its kind in Marathwada.

The grassroots level body that implements these schemes is the Gairan cooperative. This consists of the families of those who have encroached on Gairan land. 8,400 individuals in 2,100 families are the direct beneficiaries of these cooperative.

Since 2000, 65 villages out of the 1,000 power villages identified by RDC have been the sites of irrigation development. In these villages, irrigation wheels, pipes, electric motors have been introduced. Added to this, canals extensions, draining of wasteland, irrigation of dry land, and other forms of land development are underway. Water distribution committee set under the cooperatives make decisions about the most viable source of water for irrigation (from lift irrigation, dams, canals, bore-wells, rainwater harvesting etc). As of now, 7,000 hectares of land has been irrigated under these schemes.

Land development also included soil analysis, done by the RDC to identify viable crops and alternatives. The identification of alterative and supplementary crops also helps prevent migrations as it ensures productive agricultural activity around the year.

The RDC has maintained a sustained focus on organic farming and sustainable agriculture. Much of its technical resource development is focused on reducing use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and on land regeneration and re-nitrogentization. Also seed banks and basic training in crop management is provided.

The RDC is also involved in mitigating traditional resistance to Dalits farming their own land. Since no non-Dalit will rent their tractor to Dalit farmers, the RDC has bought three tractors, which it gives out to those developing Gairan lands rent-free.

The Gairan cooperatives engage common transportation from the field to the markets to reduce costs. Further there has been immense discrimination against Dalits in the markets where they seek to sell their produce. The cooperatives use the economies of scale and information about government procurement processes to eliminate the middleman and sell their produce at better rates.

The organization of farmers into Gairan cooperatives has also increased their access to loans from the District Credit Cooperative (DCC) and other banks. The economies of scale and improved irrigation allow farmers to grow cash crops like sugar cane, cotton, mustard, sesame and peanuts. This further increases the amount they can get as loans against crops from the banks. These loans are in the range Rs 50,000 to Rs 250,000. A survey of the beneficiaries revealed that an estimated 500 families have received such loans due to the presence of these cooperatives. The major stakeholders in these irrigation and land development project are Dalits, landless labor, migrant labor and especially women.

It is important to say that these figures are only reflected of the RDC's direct interventions. This is supplemented by the CBOS and NGOs created by RDC in ten districts of Marathwada who are working on similar issues of land development and cultivation technologies. The impact of this work increases exponentially if seen in this context.

Of these NGOs, Paryay fills up gaps in information so that mobilization and advocacy efforts are boosted. It helps create a concrete database and empirical evidence, on – land availability, entitlements, and utilization, land quality and potential for livelihoods. It collates, analyses and presents this information to RDC activists so that they develop a better understanding of issues and become more effective.

Sankalp identifies potential farmers (who were earlier landless) and imparts scientific information related to agriculture and improve their practices. It also helps prepare a cadre of trained technicians so that they can help other Gairan holders.

Swiss Aid and Intermon-Oxfam have supported this work. It is important however to note that all these programs are also run largely on the small contributions from the stakeholders themselves. The funding agencies usually provide the starting capital but the maintenance and running cost of each of these projects is borne by the stakeholders and by the resources that RDC generates locally in support of these endeavors.

It is RDC's vision that this work spread to all 1,000 of its power villages. The restriction on the expansion of work is fundamentally due to a lack of initial capital. Funding agencies and the government are constantly being approached to increase funding. Region level networks and forums are also constantly involved in finding innovative manners in which to generate funds for these economic empowerment strategies.

Agriculture

The state government has legalized the encroachment of grazing land by Dalits and has transferred ownership to the occupiers under the “land to the tiller” policy. Due to the extensive efforts put in by RDC, nearly over 45,000 Dalits have now legally occupied 70,000 hectares of land. The grazing land in itself did not lend itself favorably to agriculture. RDC therefore started a series of programs aimed at improving the agricultural output. Some of the measures deployed include soil and water conservation, establishment of grain and seed banks, digging common wells for irrigation, training in modern farming techniques, providing fertilizers, providing equipment and animals required to till the land etc. In most of the village where this project was undertaken, the agriculture output has increased manifold .

In 2002, RDC through a project titled- “ Facilitation of a democratic process for a uniform land reform policy in Maharashtra state , with special reference to grazing lands in Marathwada” built a cadre of ‘Chetaks' in 1,000 villages of Marathwada, who were trained to be activists and provided inputs/ skills for the same. Through this project in JAA, RDC consolidated this cadre of 5,000 people, and continues to train and support them in their struggle for a sustainable livelihood. Additionally, the research done in the preceding period has thrown up some critical findings of land records that are in dire need of being updated, Government Resolutions that were never implemented etc. This advocacy project used these as concrete issues/themes to mobilize and train people, as well as derive adequate mileage for the ‘ Gairan ' land issue in the media.

Cadre building

RDC conducted almost 350-cadre camp at the village level in two years. Over eight months in 2002 in 50 taluka at least in each circle two-day carder camps were conducted. There was a systematic pedagogy, complete with a detailed brochure, which consisted theoretical, legal and political implications of Gairan encroachment, the list of candidates, etc.

Training of the ‘Chetaks' (who have been identified earlier) to become resource persons for the village through inputs on 7/12, Land Revenue Code, Government Resolutions pertaining to ‘ Gairan ' etc, has lead to submission of 18000 applications along with proof from 8 districts to the collector office for legal ownership of Gairan land and for right to ‘ Gairan '. Besides this, RDC has redressed almost 3,000 cases where foul-ups in application already submitted in the previous year were found. RDC has conducted almost 150 district conventions in last three years on land issues. RDC has been conducting public hearings at district levels and has organized and conducted public forums against Dalit atrocities.

Impact

Thus, RDC has used a number of interventions in the areas of Human right, caste based atrocities, realized caste based bounded labors, Land right, Government scheme awareness Public health, Gender justice, Political awareness and participation education, employment opportunities, economic development, water management and development, government schemes awareness, Gairan Cooperatives, Self help group. Thus ensures that all the Dalits in Marathwada are touched by some RDC activity or other and their involvement is total. The following table speaks of RDC's intervention in the issues related to Land and its impact

Land	Quantitative data
Encroachment promotion and its Outreach to Villages	2,000
Hectares of Gairan encroached	55000 hectors
Dalit families directly benefiting	15,000
Land repair completed	5000 hac. In 100 villages
Water	7000 hectors
Villages reached through water source development activities	150
Dalit families directly benefiting	3,000
Number of SHGs promoted	350
Number of women reached through SHGs and IGPs	4920
Number of Trade Unions [TU] Promoted	14
Number of people reached through TUs	8400

Women Empowerment

RDC has undertaken many development programs for women. These include women's education and literacy, awareness of legal rights, restoring equal economic opportunity, prevention of atrocities etc. RDC has started a “Grievance Cell” in its office premises at Telgaon. This cell deals with all grievances of women whether caused by their families or employers or others. RDC provides counseling, whenever required takes direct action to redress the complaint of the women and tries to directly address the root of their grievance. This grievance cell has proven to be of great help to the women in Marathwada who consider it as a maternal home where support will be available at all times.

The patriarchal nature of society in India means that women are accorded a secondary status. A confluence of natural, social and religious factors makes Dalit women probably the most under-privileged section of Indian society. Apart from their individual difficulties and problems, almost all Dalit women in Marathwada are characterized by:

• Their lack of education, formal or informal, which denies them opportunity to widen their horizons and seek employment in non-labor sector.

• Poor health due to a confluence of factor

• Poor nutrition

• Multiple children bearing at a relatively young age.

• Backbreaking labor at home and outside

• Poor awareness of human legal rights

Women's empowerment has been a constant theme in RDC's work. This was based on the recognition that Dalit women are doubly oppressed and their empowerment is essential for the social stability not only of the Dalit community but also of the nation as a whole. For the quality of the freedom of all citizens depends on the quality of freedom of the rural Dalit women.

The most widespread and evident area of intervention has been in involving women in all of RDC's activities on an equal footing. This was the case in Mochas, Rasta rokos, public rallies.

RDC takes the gender issue very seriously. In almost all its rallies, RDC makes it a point to include the way in which the issue the rally has been called impacts on women's rights and their empowerment.

Every year on “Manusmriti Dhahan Divas” (December 25), to commemorate the burning of the Manusmriti by Dr Ambedkar, the RDC with other organizations holds a Mahila Adhiveshan, where women's problems are discussed and strategies formulated for further action. This is usually attended by at least 20,000 women.

Apart from this, the RDC organizes Mahila Melawas every three months in each of the eight districts.

Involving men in rallies regarding women's issue has also lead to an increasing awareness about shared responsibility for women's rights. It has been found that men protesting in a rally demanding women's rights were less likely to commit similar sorts of infringement of women's rights.

Through the BHA, the RDC has given much priority to the education of the girl child. RDC's curriculum development was geared to creating a gender sensitive curriculum. It has run extensive campaigns in villages among children and youth regarding gender sensitivity and used street plays and songs to spread awareness about the rights of the girl child.

Promotion of women's leadership

RDC has been implementing a program for promotion of women's leadership potential in 28 tehasils of 11 districts of Maharashtra . 30 women leaders are identified in these areas and put through a series of training programs on various issues like mobilization and building of women's organizations, provisions under the employment guarantee scheme of the government of Maharashtra, Violence and related laws, Minimum Wages Act, the concept of equal wages for equal wok and relevant labor laws, Women's participation in decision making and PRI

This program is very relevant especially since the 73 rd and 74 th constitutional amendments have reservation 1/3 rd of seats for women in local self-government.

Legal aid and counseling

RDC is presently implementing a program aimed at supporting women in distress. It has established nine centers where women in distress and need receive legal aid and counseling. RDC is also attempting to reduce the incident of trafficking of women to the red light areas of Mumbai and Pune.

Violence against women

Apart from these RDC is involved in tackling gender bias including elimination of all kinds of violence against women, sexual harassment at the work place especially of women in the un-organized farm sector.

This is a burning issue as Dalit women in the un organized farm sector are completely dependent on their employers for survival and have no safeguards, let alone means for redresses. Sexual harassment in the un-organized farm sector is one of the most wide spread atrocities and it is the most under-reported and the perpetrators are almost never brought to book, due to the power equations between the victim and the violator and because of the taboo attached to the violation.

Economic Empowerment

In the land encroachment and regularization drive, the RDC has ensured that the encroached lands are registered both in the name of the husband and the wife to improve the women's standing and within the family. In each of the 18,000 titles that RDC is trying to regularize, the women's name is listed as equal owner.

RDC has formed a number of women's self help group and credit societies. Apart from saving and credit activities many of these groups are implementing income generation programs.

There has been a marked improvement in the level of awareness about rights and the readiness to voice accusations against harassers. RDC who is working on the issues confirms that women now believe that they have a reasonable chance of a conviction if they file a case against a sexual harasser. This was inconceivable even ten years ago. There has also been a marked increase in the economic independence of Dalit women since RDC's intervention in the field. They are no longer as dependent on the moods of their husbands and can survive if divorced or abandoned. The RDC's work in this field has still not taken mode of campaign and is still working as a welfare intervention NGO. However, once its strategy for 1,000 power villages is realized it plans to embark on a sustained campaign to tackle issues of women's rights and empowerment.

Health

RDC has from the beginning given due importance to the aspect of health in all the villages it works. Health camps, eye testing camps and family planning awareness programs are conducted regularly with assistance from the local private or government doctors. In many of the villages near 100 % of the populace has adopted family planning techniques. RDC has been conducting regular eye surgery camps in two villages with assistance from the local primary Health care centers of the Government for the last seven years.

In late 1994 the medieval scourge, plague, hit the districts of Latur and Beed. The onset resulted in widespread panic in the villages and people started leaving their homes in large numbers. RDC volunteers decided to halt this exodus by educating the people on the cause, identification and treatment of the disease. Primary Health Care at village Kuppa, was very helpful in training RDC volunteers who later visited as many villages as possible in Latur and Beed to educate the villagers about the disease and the precautions and cures.

Melghat is a region in Vidarbha, Marathwada. The area is most famous for the Project Tiger that has been launched to save the Indian tiger from extinction. In the last few years, Melghat, a belt populated mainly by tribes, gained notoriety due to the number of child deaths due to malnutrition. These deaths peaked at around monsoon time when the danger of water-borne diseases was the highest. In 1997, a group of social activists came together and undertook a campaign to prevent malnutrition deaths in seven villages and hamlets of Melghat. Teams of volunteers were sent out to live with the tribes and provide them support on various fronts like observing the state of the children's health and providing them supplementary nutrition, testing and purifying drinking water, securing medical aid from the government health system etc. The numbers of child deaths were significantly reduced as a result of the efforts of the volunteers. RDC workers made significant contributions to this project right from the conceptualization stage. The expenses incurred were borne by RDC from their own funds. While this project was taken up on a disaster management basis, efforts are on to design a long-term solution.

Disaster management

In the last fifteen years, RDC has been faced with three natural and man made calamities– the riots against Dalits after renaming of the Marathwada University (early 1990s), Latur earthquake (1993), the Beed plague (1994), Drought (1994) and the Gujarat Earthquake (2001). In all these instances the main thrust of RDC help went directly to the Dalit community. RDC noticed in the Latur earthquake that even emergency relief and rescue favored the ‘upper castes'. This spurred them into action in these emergencies where efforts were made to seek out and help the Dalit community.

Structure of RDC

Financial support:

RDC has, over the past many years, received invaluable support from funding agencies, the government and the local community. Some of the major supporters have been CAPART, Government of India; Churches Auxiliary for Social Action; CEBEMO and HIMOS – Holland; Holding India Foundation, USA, Indo-German Social Service Society; INTERMON – Spain; OXFAM – UK; Terre das Homes – Germany and Swiss Aid – Switzerland and CRY- Child Rights and You, PACS New Delhi.