A few steps to changing society

Banshilal Bairva, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Banshilal Bairva was born on May 5, 1965, in village Harsauli, Panchayat Samiti Dudu in Jaipur district of Rajasthan, in an extremely poor harijan family. The sixth child, he had four older sisters and a brother. His parents struggled to support the family through working as labourers for daily wages. They were not able to support the education of the children and Banshilal was the only one who was enrolled in school. Untouchability was prevalent in the village. Children of the ‘upper castes’ looked at harijan children with scorn, and even the teacher at the school made harijan children sit behind the children of ‘upper castes’. Harijan children were barred from drinking water from the common source, or going to the barber’s shop, and even participating in community events.

Inspite of these, Banshilal stood first in his class in standard 5. Banshilal’s parents wanted to send their son for higher education, but their economic situation did not permit it. Banshilal dropped out of school for a year before a well-wisher, Sri Bhajan Ram Vaishnav, came forward to get him admission at the residential school of the National Social Service Board at Ajmer. With the scholarship covering expenses for food and education, Banshilal completed high school in 1983. He wished to study further, but given the economic situation at home, he was forced to take on responsibilities to support the home. In 1984 Banshilal worked as a labourer in his village.

In the prevalent atmosphere of caste divisions and untouchability in his village, harijans were not getting their due, not even the designated wages. he therefore began going to Dudu for work. In his village harijans were still not being allowed to go to temples or the barbers shop, tea shop, public ghat, and even barred from participating in community events. The continuing injustice and exploitation, especially of women, hierarchies, etc disturbed Banshilal greatly. To fight against these and to motivate the youth for development of the village, Banshilal got the harijan youth together and formed a Youth Club on January 26, 1984, and initiated some community activities. Banshilal was selected leader of the group. They started working in the village, in ensuring cleanliness, deepening the village pond, organising cultural programmes to generate awareness on various issues, sports competitions, etc. Inspired by these activities, youth from other castes gradually started joining them.

These developments encouraged Banshilal to form youth clubs and women’s groups in other villages in the region as well. Within a year, 28 youth clubs and women’s groups were formed in Dudu Panchayat Samiti. The next step was linking them with Nehru Yuva Kendra and furthering the work in village and community development. Subsequently in 1985, the International Year for the Youth, Banshilal was given the district youth award by Sri Jai Narayan Gaud, District Collector, Jaipur, at a function on January 12. With this his motivation was further boosted and he started spreadingteh work on youth clubs and women’s groups across Jaipur district – 17 in Sambhar Panchayat Samiti (PS), 11 in Phagi P.S., 14 in Chaksu P.S., 14 in Sangner P.S., 9 in Bassi, and linked these to Nehru Yuva Kendra. Through community mobilisation and voluntary labour contributions a lot of work was done on protection and preservation of the environment in all these areas, as well as cultural and sports programmes, systematic training programmes, health camps, livestock camps, disability welfare camps, agriculture trainings, and a continuous process of generating awareness among the communities.

Through all this, Banshilal himself got the opportunity to develop his own skills, attending national camps, trainings, etc. Between 1984 and 1990, with support of different youth clubs, 46 ponds and tanks were dug/ renovated. The experiences over these six years made Banshilal realise that the gap between rich and poor was growing and deepening, and appeared un-bridgeable. And it seemed as though no effort was making efforts to bridge this gap. In a country which wants its citizens to be united, to participate in constructive development processes and to create an environment for human development, a majority of its citizens struggle merely for two square meals, as if they were engaged in some revolutionary activity.

Almost as if living in poverty and deprivation is a way of life. The economics of survival is tightening its noose on the citizens of this country. Unfulfilled basic needs - safe drinking water, employment, environment, education, health, together with caste and communalism are fundamental problems, which stands in the way of the nation’s development. Cities get congested while villages are emptying out. Agriculture has become an expensive proposition, and the situation is such that cultivators are forced to turn into labourers. People’s strength is reducing. Their self-confidence is rapidly reducing. Everyone is disillusioned and dissatisfied. With these concerns in mind, and to find some local solutions, Banshila started ‘Prayas Kendra Harsauli’ in 1991. Since then, the organisation has been active in Dudu Panchayat Samiti, one of the most backward and deprived regions in the district, through a variety of activities in soil and water conservation, education and health, involving and directly benefiting harijans and other poor and marginalised people.

For Banshilal, it has been a life committed to making small improvements in society, a journey in which he has received support and guidance from a large number of people.