India in Transition – Verghese Kurien’s Relevance

It is highly befitting to look back at the deeds of one of the greatest managers of post independent India who is instrumental in touching the lives of more than 15 million farmers and giving more than 200 brands on his 90th birthday (recently celebrated on the 26th of November). He is no other than Verghese Kurien popularly referred to as the ‘milk man of India’ and the ‘architect of Operation Flood’ who made India the largest milk producer in the world from being an importer of milk products.

While the policy makers (government, RBI), economists and industry analysts are grappling with double digit food inflation for significant time, Kurien’s chosen path has lots to offer. When the political parties are divided over allowing FDI in multi brand retailing and its ramifications for the small farmers, retailers etc., what Kurien has delivered on the ground can throw more light. The three tiered Anand pattern of milk cooperative societies have proven that small rural producers can be successfully integrated in agricultural value chain from the farm gate to the consumer doorstep. We can draw lessons about the way production systems like agriculture, agri-allied activities can be organised with no compromise on technology, quality and with simultaneous stress on democratic processes in peoples’ institutions like cooperatives.

Kurien always strongly believed that rural India equally and more urgently needs professional managers and management techniques to incentivize production, create economies of scale and most importantly making the rural producer institutions competitive in the market. Hence, he came out of IIM, Ahmedabad board and gave shape to his dream through Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA). He wanted IRMA to be the best blend of management practices and development orientation.

Management techniques have evolved over a period of time to a great degree of sophistication to suit the complex business realities. It is equally and possibly even more challenging to apply management techniques like Project Management (PERT, CPM), linear programming to operationalise rural livelihood projects. AMUL demonstrated that the best of ‘Sales and Distribution’ techniques, ‘Supply Chain Management’, ‘Branding and Advertising’ strategies can be used to compete and continue to be the largest food products selling entity in India. There is absolutely no problem in allowing FDI in retailing if it can lead to efficient to efficient supply chain and more remunerative prices for the farmers.

Simultaneously and even more urgently, we must work on organizing producer institutions like AMUL to make more and more small farmers part of this process. The transitional phase of Indian economy is marked by sharp reduction in agriculture’s contribution to GDP (around 15% now) with no corresponding decline in the workforce dependent on agriculture (still pegged around 50%). Phrases like ‘Inclusive Growth’ will prove merely rhetorical unless more people become part of the growth bandwagon.

Kurien rightly appreciated the necessity of building such institutions which can stand the reality of cut throat market competition. He says that for every Anand to prosper there must be a market in the form of Mumbai. He had the strong conviction that cooperatives must first become commercially viable and later can take up other activities. Hence, he always maintained that political interests should never guide the functioning of these producer institutions. Even the professional managers working for the cooperatives are mere employees of the farmers who are the real owners. Kurien strongly viewed cooperatives as best means to equalize people across castes and creeds especially the lower sections.

Growing urban centers provide huge opportunities for supply of daily essentials like fruits, vegetables, meat, milk etc. In fact, the galloping food inflation which is proving difficult to tame is largely attributed to changing food habits of our population which is gradually moving towards protein rich diet. Hence supply side constraints in agriculture need to be addressed to improve production which can address inflation. Mission mode orientation that was present when we implemented ‘Operation Flood’ or ‘Green Revolution’ must come back with more intensity.

As Gyanendra sir tells us in the academy, employment elasticity of growth projects must become one of our key concerns. Huge proportion of our working population is only of help when we match, repair and prepare their skillset as per the requirements of the new generation economy. Hence MNREGA, Food Security Act are appreciable only in the short run. They are more like relief projects addressing the immediate concerns of work and food. But, MNREGA must become a livelihood generator with every rupee spent on it giving back the community some degree of livelihood security. Watershed management, horticulture and improved agriculture all can be taken under MNREGA with more livelihood focus.

The sequence of rural development programmes like Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) in 80s, 90s – Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) till 2010 – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) now also explain our journey of varying degree of understanding about effectiveness of various poverty alleviation strategies. The time now has come to make the community capable to take charge of its developmental discourse.

We cannot but become more uncomfortable when we read a recent article* written by Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze after the release of this year’s Human Development Report. Though India is doing relatively well in terms of per capita income, it has starting falling behind every other South Asian neighbor (with the partial exception of Pakistan) in terms of social indicators. Is it not criminal on our part that we allow some children go hungry even today (malnutrition rates stand close to 50%)? Why universal immunization is a distant dream and children continue to die out of encephalitis?

There is something surely to be corrected in our development strategy which seems to have produced certain spectacular success and massive failure at the same time. Kurien during his entire working life walked the talk and showed us way forward. Hopefully, his deeds make more Indians inspired to use the best of modern management techniques, technology for the benefit of greater numbers of our population As Kurien says ‘we must feel inspired and privileged to work where we are required the most and not where we are rewarded the most’.

*(“Putting Growth In Its Place” by Jean Dreze and Amartya Sen in Outlook Magazine dated 14th November, 2011)

Harsh Mander's Lecture on "Justice, Compassion and the Civil Services" on 24th Oct, 2011

I felt so happy to listen to Harsh Mander when he came to Mussoorie to deliver a talk on the topic ‘Justice, Compassion and the Civil Services’. He is a soft spoken person with absolutely no airs about his achievements. He used very simple language, yet, his delivery was very powerful and the message that he conveyed was truly appreciable and relevant for every Indian citizen.

He started by saying that three destructions in the last twenty years (demolition of Berlin wall, the Babri Masjid and the World Trade Center) have greatly altered the way we live and relate to each other in this world. He also felt that there is change in the way we fundamentally look at the role of the state. From being viewed as the protector and benefactor of the disadvantaged sections, the government is now more looked up to facilitate markets and accelerate economic growth. This fundamental change in perceptions about government’s role led to change in public expectations from civil servants as well.

He told that though there is no inherent contradiction between economic growth and human development, the last few years has seen widening divide between ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’. While we can see increasing number of Indian billionaires in Forbes list, there are also the largest numbers of illiterates, malnourished children in India among all the countries. Still, some of these burning issues of deprivation fail to occupy the center stage of political discourse.

Then he went on to dwell in detail about three issues that are close to his heart namely hunger, hate and homelessness. Starting with hunger, he showed short vedios on Musahar and Sahariya tribes and their struggle to get even two square meals a day. They are so desperate for food that they are forced to eat locally available grasses which many a time prove to be poisonous. Harsh Mander told that the toughest lesson that these mothers are forced to teach their children is to manage sleeping with empty stomach.

He told that these tribes adopt survival mechanisms such as psychologically and physically adopting their body to be content with one meal or no meal in a day, eating locally available material like grasses, kernels etc. and forcing their children to take up work to earn few more rupees. Harsh Mander clearly drove home the paradox of coexistence of rotting food grains and starving millions in our modern India. He feels that we seem to have conveniently ignored their desperation while allowing lakhs of crores of corporate tax concessions but delaying to bring out a comprehensive universal food security act. Rather than looking it as a matter of finances, it is our larger moral responsibility to ensure that no one goes hungry in our country.

Then, he discussed the issue of hate i.e. injustices committed in the name of religion during communal disturbances. He showed few interviews of Gujarat riot victims and the deep emotional scars on their minds. He insisted that unless there is active state complicity, no riot can go on beyond few hours. He narrated his personal experience as Assistant Collector when he immediately called upon the army when the collector and S.P. conveniently disappeared from the scene. He went on to stress that riots like in Delhi, Bhagalpur, Gujarat strike right on our firm constitutional belief that all the citizens irrespective of their religion are equal before the law.

He discussed how the law enforcing machinery like the police become active accomplices in these crimes. Firstly, they wantedly withdraw from the scene instead of standing up there for protecting the minorities. Secondly, they let terror reign by falsely putting people behind bars and registering cases against them. The FIRs filed have certain common elements like possible justification for the crime committed (close to eulogy of retribution), anonymous mob as the perpetrator and multiple incidents being clubbed together in one case. There is also systematic denial of criminal justice even later by closing the cases prematurely for want of evidence, filing counter cases to frighten the witnesses, continued detention of people under draconian laws without any trial to weaken the morale of the litigants.

Harsh Mander felt that time has come to make the civil servants responsible for their lapses in checking the loss of valuable life and property. He feels that there is no need of any additional powers as some sincere officers have proven that everything can be controlled with will power and conviction (cited the example of Rahul Sharma in Gujarat who ensured zero loss of lives in his district at the same time). Hence, Harsh Manders supported such Act dealing with communal disturbances which makes it a legal responsibility of the incumbent officer to ensure complete peace. He felt that, ideally it should have been the moral responsibility of the officer and when it does not work, laws become necessary.

He went on to discuss the third issue i.e. homelessness by showing a small vedio on homeless children in urban areas and how they get addicted to drugs and intoxication. He feels that these homeless people are so easily noticeable in urban areas that it reflects the psychological distance that exists between us and the poor. If heHarsh Mander were to describe the present India from a historical perspective in future, he prefers to refer to it as such time period when the poor people have been exiled from the conscience and consciousness of the mankind.

He quotes a Nobel Laureate saying that the absence of love is not hate but indifference. Indifference is the word that Harsh chooses to describe the present societal response to hunger and homelessness in India. These children who grow separately from their parents become rag pickers, learn to do petty crimes and become stiff in their attitude towards society. Still, he is hopeful that with proper care, these children can catch with their counterparts. In fact, he is striving to start hostel facilities in government school premises to bridge the gap through basic courses initially and finally integrating them in the mainstream.

Harsh Mander then stressed that only such economic growth is acceptable in India when we guarantee a basic minimum floor of rights like right to information, education, employment, food and health facilities etc. These legally enforceable rights show us the future direction which all of us need to follow.

He told that there are very few jobs in the world that give young people such tremendous opportunity to directly affect the lives and livelihoods of marginalized sections as in Indian civil services. He exhorted all of us to bear allegiance to none other than the constitution, the cause of the disadvantaged sections and finally to our conscience. He emphasized that the old concept of political neutrality and mindless execution of political orders has become irrelevant. The civil servants now need to be more imaginative and become the true servants of the unheard and the undermined.

Gopalpur Memories – 29th Oct to 5th Nov, 2011

I got an opportunity to stay in a village after more than 3 years as a part of our Foundation Course Village Visit Programme where all the Officer Trainees are made to experience the grassroots realities for 1 week. I would have been happier had the course authorities selected more backward districts. We were divided into 9 groups and were sent to 9 districts across 4 states (Bijnor, Saharanpur, Bulandshahar districts in U.P., Haridwar, Uddhamsingh Nagar (Pant Nagar) districts in Uttarakhand, Bhiwani and Narnaul districts in Haryana and Sangrur and Mansa districts in Punjab). I got opportunity to stay in Gopalpur village of Bijnor district of UP. Four of my batch mates including me were staying here from 29th October to 5th November 2011. I also enjoyed celebrating my birthday here on 30th Oct walking around sugarcane fields, visiting several households, understanding jiggery making units, bricklins, tubewells, buffaloes and enjoying the sumptuous hospitality of the villagers.

It was indeed memorable to have been in Gopalpur and it added to my list of pleasant village stay experiences earlier. I have vivid memories of my earlier village stays in Surat, Dahod districts of Gujarat in the initial days of IRMA, later 45 days in Ondrajala village of Srikakulam district of A.P. during IRMA fieldwork, Harrapura, Pipalpura and Barra villages in Kesla block of M.P. when I was in PRADAN. Though I did not stay continuously in one village in Jatara, I still remember the countless times I used to sleep in the open air counting stars in those villages where I used to go either to sell poultry birds or monitor brooding of chicks.

Gopalpur – Microcosm of Colourful India

Gopalpur is on the borders of UP and Uttarakhand on the banks of Ganga river. The railway bridge on river Ganga near Balawali is only 2 kms away from the village. The old bridge constructed by the Britishers is still strong while the newly operational bridge has developed some cracks. Famous Ganga mela is held every year here on the full moon day after Diwali which we missed by few days (slated for 11th November). Though Gopalpur is far more developed than my PRADAN villages, it offered me new insights into rural India where I experienced a multi-caste & multi religion village seeing everybody getting mixed up so well. It was heartening to see Muslims, Hindus (Brahmin, Gujjar, Dheemar, Bunkar, Pal, Badhai, Harijan, Valmiki communities) staying together amicably for centuries.

Though different communities mostly stayed together (as I could make out after I drew the social map depicting the settlement pattern), we cannot easily draw an inference about the community by looking at the house. Probably, the strong agricultural base of the village ensured relative equality. But, it was even more heartening to see everybody sitting in others’ houses taking food and talking freely. I realized that the divisive politics taking the help of caste and religion only shatter the reality of one India where everybody mixes together so well. Education and economic opportunities are the real equalizers which must be promoted by the state more intensely.

Rural India in Transition

The village presented me the transitional phase of rural India in several respects. There were 2 government primary schools with full enrollment on paper and absenteeism on the ground in spite of reasonably decent mid day meals. There were also 4 private schools that charge roughly 50-100 Rs. per month per child with considerable attendance. Though the quality of teachers and infrastructure were found lacking in these private schools, the parents prefer to send their male children here while they send their girl children to government school. However, the overall learning skills of the children were very poor everywhere. I kept telling myself that it is a crime and shame of our society to let a child not being able to study and turn out to be a manual unskilled labourer.

The health condition also presented a similar picture. While the nearest Government Primary Health Center (PHC) had only few tables and injections to be given, there were 4 quacks (2 Bengalis and 2 retail pharmacists who also offer medical advice) practising in the village. There is huge shortage of government doctors and support staff. I kept wondering about how to ensure effective delivery mechanism when a Village Development Officer (VDO) and Panchayat Secretary has to take care of more than 25 panchayats in a radius of 20-25 kms.

Ensuring Performance without Corruption

Similarly, the local Police chowki had 3 constables who are expected to work for banks in the daytime, do gasti in the evening and do night duty as well in the nearby 18 villages. I am puzzled about ensuring corruption free administration when everybody like the Pradhan with 650 Rs. salary, anganwadi worker with 1500 Rs. salary, PDS dealer with 50 paise per kg. commission, and other employees with no TA & DA (though they keep travelling everyday on official duties) think that it is legitimate to take bribe to cover their costs.

At the same time, making somebody a permanent worker also does not seem to ensure performance on the ground. School teachers with sixth pay commission salaries and sweepers with decent emoluments are the most detested lot in the village for absolute dereliction of their duties. I am yet to find answers about the design structure and incentives needed to ensure performance without corruption.

Way ahead through Diversification

Gopalpur has a rich history in the form of Ganga Glassworks Pvt. Ltd. (a factory that used to manufacture variety of glass products with pristine sand on the riverbed). The factory that was operational in 1923, used to employ around 3000 workers from nearby villages in its heydays. Unfortunately, it got shut down in 1995 due to union – management conflicts. Gopalpur villagers recall how different it was altogether when many were working there along with additional economic activity due to the presence of the factory.

Hence, they kept telling us to press with the collector for the early commissioning of 40 MW NTPC thermal power plant which was surveyed but later on cancelled. The villagers were ready to accept lesser compensation also for the land foregone with the hope of getting few jobs and better power supply in contrast to the present dismal 6 hours a day supply. I realized that even in agriculturally better off villages like Gopalpur, there is excess farm labour who wants to move out given any better opportunity. On one hand, diversification in terms of crops is required to make farming more remunerative and productive. On the other hand, skill building of huge numbers of youth is needed to give such non-farm jobs which can match their aspirations.

Gender Perspective

Looking at the discrimination of women, I realized that gender is a tougher nut to crack than poverty also. Though I experienced purdah system in Bundelkhand, it was starker here. I expected the presence of Pradhan pati. But, I was shocked to see that women ward members never even attend panchayat meetings. They even do not know about the other woman ward members. I was even more disappointed when I noticed in the school that all girls are made to study home science whereas boys study maths after 8th class. I started feeling in Gopalpur that we need to make it our special mission to ensure gender equality in all respects.

Nature’s Fury

I was shocked to see the lateral erosion of Ganga banks that already swept away few villages and continues to threaten many more. When large masses of land were being swept by water within few minutes in front of my eyes, I was wondering about the solutions to such nature’s fury. Government constructed few embankments made of boulders. But, such piecemeal efforts could not withstand the fury of mighty Ganges. Similarly, continuous usage of land without any break led to soil erosion. Water intensive crops such as sugarcane and water sucking plants like poplar and eucalyptus also reduced the groundwater table to alarming levels. We need gar greater imagination to shift to other remunerative and sustainable avenues without endangering present day farm economics.

Sweet Memories

I could not as freely interact with the villagers as when I was in PRADAN. The villagers were directed beforehand to treat the young babus well and our interaction was definitely colored by the expectations and perception of the villagers about Officers. Moreover, the elaborate arrangements made for our stay and the contingent of government staff moving along increased the gap between us and the villagers. However, I could get genuine responses when I went individually to some households in the evening and early morning. I would have loved to eat more number of times in their homes than in the community center where we were staying.

As a whole, the visit only reaffirmed my love for rural India. I feel as if my inner self beats for villages. I continue to derive tremendous energy whenever I interact with poor farmers, children, women there. I cannot finish my account without mentioning about village Pradhan (Bramhapal Singh) whose wisdom, humility and affection made me gain valuable insights into village life. He reinforced my faith in Panchayati Raj Institutions as real vehicles of local self governance in spite of many shortcomings. I look forward to visiting Gopalpur again in few years to see how it evolves and also experience the affection of villagers once again and more often.