Aid Delhi Newsletter August 2007

Association for India’s Development

August 2007

Delhi Chapter Newsletter

From the Editor’s Desk

Table of Contents From the editors desk

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Project Updates Aashayen AID Gurgaon AID Prayas Parichay Youth Task Force Khoj Tara Nai Disha

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Volunteer Speak – Roshan Jha Volunteer Speak – Siddharh Goyal

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Extraas

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Articles Coexisting with Nature - Haripriya Environment around Us – Dolly Economic Boom – Difference on the life of a common man – Vikas Happa India – Shilpa Singla The Pretender – Tamseel Hussain

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Toon of the Month

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Children’s Corner

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Photo of the Month - Rupali

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Behind the Scene Publications Team

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August first week of AID Delhi had its Operational Review meet and a day prior to that there was a great and memorable Mirzafar Award ceremony happened which was organized by Students for Bhopal along with the support from other NGO’s like AID. It is an alarm to the government saying that the people in India are no more a mere watchers of what ever they are doing. I saw the event happened was more meaningful on the ways of satya aaur ahimsa. To say it in a local lingo it was “Gandhigiri” there. We were appreciating our ministers and the government officers for the activities they’ve did for the country. It was very well covered in the media too. We will be sending them more alarms by doing more such events. An Independence Day celebration at various projects is the event which should be mentioned and thanks to all the special efforts taken by the volunteers to organize the events at all our projects. The children’s zeal and enthusiasm sends across a message that tomorrow’s India would be better one where these children will be making changes. “A change making change”.

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Information Corner – Selva

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Contact us

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Why are we all here together doing something for the nation? We all are here to create a difference. How are we going to create a difference? Well there are a lot many answers to this question which is debatable but I personally mean a difference is what you feel in yourself. Difference is there when you start to feel the ownership. Difference comes when you take up a responsibility. We all face problems in our day to day life. Right from the morning one boards a bus, or sits in his car till the night he comes back to bed. None can say that he was happy to see whatever was happening around him/her. A few come forward saying that I can make some change, the rest of them debate and the remaining adjust themselves after blaming others. Difference comes here when we take up the issue to find an alternate solution rather than blaming the faults. So I welcome everyone here who has come forward to take responsibility and ownership.

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Project Updates: Aashayen Most of us think that teaching a child in a project is all volunteering is. I don’t mean that its not volunteering but it’s a part of volunteering. Volunteering is more than that. AID is a great platform to pool in all your wonderful ideas, creations and views on finding an alternate solution to a problem. We encourage volunteer in working with the projects which is of their interests.

The project is certainly going great guns after a lot of streamlining and arrangements that have been made in the organisation itself, to bring a certain order and coordination and a lot of stress was given to intra-team communication this time so that all the volunteers can work in an amiable environment. The classes that were taking place only twice a week have been extended to three days and four classes i.e. single class on Friday and Saturday and two classes on Sunday that would be taking place in the afternoon followed by an evening class. The whole group has been broken into teams for efficient functioning into Vocational Training, Personality Development, Basic Education, Health Care etc A community survey was also kick-started a couple of weeks back and is being pursued by all the volunteers on a regular basis with enthusiasm so that by the end of this quarter we are ready with a statistical profile of the whole community to be able to start long term benefit programs. The Independence Day was also celebrated with great fervour with the kids, which was an attempt to make the kids aware of the Freedom Struggle of the country and on friendship day we screened the movie "Finding Nemo" for the children which they thoroughly enjoyed. - Sona, - Coordinator, AID Aashayen - [email protected]

Right to Information is one more wonderful tool which we have in our hands and we have to use it to the optimum to have better governance and also to increase the transparency of it. I request volunteers and reader whoever facing problem in getting their job done at government / public offices to come forward and file RTI. It does wonders. I personally have a lot of success stories of RTI to write. I made a professor take his lab class for the entire three hours by filing RTI. I got my job done in two days after filing RTI and initially the application was pending for several months. In case of you having any doubts on how to file RTI you are welcome to approach us and we can help you out. Corruption is at all levels and we all know where it’s happening and why? This is an appeal for everyone to come forward and question it and stop it. I also thank all our donors, supporters, volunteers and other readers for giving a constant support towards the activities whatever we’ve been doing.

Project Updates: AID Gurgaon -Selva - Publications Coordinator, - AID Delhi, - [email protected] - 9891358457

The month of August for AID Gurgaon was again filled with a lot of activities. India is celebrating her 60th year of Independence and most of us thought that this independent day should be really special. We continue to run project Unnati successfully since the last few months and we continue to identify new areas/bastis, from where the children can come and start their elementary education. Although there are a few drop-outs (which we had expected, as some of the population we are addressing is mobile and nomadic in nature) we have children which are quite regular and are making good progress. On Saturdays, volunteers too join in to update themselves with the progress of the kids and participate in the fun activities with children, which could be either reciting poems or conducting drawing session or extempore sessions.. 2

One volunteer Eisha, is a student of Medicine and is currently on a break, have been visiting the school on a regular basis and has been personally monitoring the progress of the children. The highlight for the month of August was the Independence Day celebrations. The day was celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm both by the volunteers and the children. The volunteers got together on the day and arranged for a Flag-Hoisting ceremony, followed by the National Anthem. The event was a huge success; we feel that it gave the children taste of what independence is all about. Moreover, the event also helped us create an awareness of our school in the village. The clothes collection drive that was initiated last month is on and we are working with Goonj, an NGO involved in collection of old clothes from various places and their distribution in remote parts of the country. For the next month we are looking at admitting 3-4 kids to the government school in the vicinity. However, the month of August also saw a discussion on sending all or some of the children from Unnati to the Literacy India School, which is located in a different part of the city, and has a better facility with a playground and has an excellent standard of education, compared to the standards of the government school we had witnessed. The idea is that a bus from LI collects the children every day and drops them back around their bastis. While the pros and cons of this decision are still being debated, most of us feel that it would be an excellent idea if we can make this happen. We are going to meet the parents to discuss the matter and seek their go ahead. This month, we also paid a visit to Mobile Crèches, and it was heartening to note that the children who were admitted to the nearby government school, last year are continuing with the support of their parents and the MC facility has also seen some improvement in its infrastructure. The challenges in front of us remain – the need for more committed volunteers – and implementation of a formal structure – which we feel will help us in having more accountability from the volunteers.

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Project Updates: AID Prayas This month was quite challenging for Prayas, We did a lot of brainstorming and we spent good amount of time to make things brighter but we could not get the expected amount of success. AIDPrayas Volunteers celebrated Independence Day at Nayi Disha Free education Society, Sector 29, Noida. It was wonderful to see the success of Nayi Disha. And it inspired us too. We are facing lot of challenges in conducting regular classes at government school. The local Village PRADHAN and school Principal is creating problem to provide a room in school though we have written permission from BSA(Basic Siksha Adhikaari.). We have come back from Govt. School to our old destination i.e. Moonlight Public School for weekend classes. Moreover those kids from Naya Bans area who were coming for regular classes as tuition, we refused them to come for classes as we were losing our focus on the neediest kids of the community. Last weekend the classes were held at moonlight public school and we are planning to talk to Govt. officials again for regular classes. It is still tough for our kids to compete with the other kids in govt. school, so we have to work on it very dedicatedly. We are planning to have a parents meet specially with those parents whose kids have been admitted in school by us. Parents are not willing to take responsibility for their own kid's education, and I think this is our responsibility now to motivate them for their kid’s education. I personally feel, this is the period of transition in Prayas and we are facing lot of challenges but if we will approach in an organized manner we will definitely succeed soon.

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- Manish Sharma - AID Gurgaon, [email protected]

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- Dharshan Coordinator, AID Prayas [email protected] - 9818361122

Our Volunteers by now might have collected samples for test and it will be analyzed soon with the help of experts. More sample collection will be done in the upcoming inspections. YTF t-shirts designs are given for printing and soon they will be available..

Project Updates: Parichay •

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Rakhi stall at STM and TCS: Parichay registered a sale of Rs. 9482/- at STM and Rs. 2402/- at TCS, NSPZ. We celebrated Independence Day along with visitors from Tribal Fusion. A team from Tribal Fusion distributed bags to all kids at Parichay. They also donated an electronic weighing machine. To accommodate the growing activities at Parichay, we have taken up a new room on rent. Electric fittings are yet to be done. We would need a fan and a tube light for the room. Another thoughtful gesture by Naval. Rakhis and other products worth Rs. 1000/- were sold because of his initiative at Conexant. Raminder has made an excellent effort at templatizing kids profile in the form of an Excel sheet. We hope this would help us capture kids profile in greater detail

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Project Updates: Khoj Regular Classes at all of our 5 centers going as usual and apart from the regular classes this month saw some unique events with Khoj. We all celebrated our Independence Day along with the children by flying kites with them. Our long search for an office came to an end and we have got our office at Munirka. Mrs. Sangeeta gave a donation of Rs.20000/- to get us a computer and we’ve now got a computer at our office. Documentation work has started with the pace. We are also planning to start craft activity soon at Bhikhaji Center. Shanti didi have conducted two workshops for children on adolescent issue and the beneficiaries now are Ber Sarai Children. We will be conducting the workshop soon for our other center children also. We have a problem of teaching the children at the park in our Ber Sarai Center but now talks with IIT Delhi have given us hope that we will soon get a place inside the IIT hostel premises to teach the children. A volunteer have agreed to take Taikwando classes with the children as a part of developing self defence for them. We also have started to take a survey on all the Delhi roads to find out how many such children exist in Delhi and to soon start some program for them. Our volunteers are all geared up for that.

New volunteers: Two new volunteers from Miranda House visited Parichay recently. We hope to have a long association with them in our activities. Dormant Volunteers: Puneeta, Pow, Navneet Active Volunteers: Omnipresent Selva, Naval, Raminder (IIT), Shashank.

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- Selva Youth Task Force, AID Delhi - [email protected] - 9211467341

- Puneeta - Coordinator, Parichay [email protected]

Project Updates: Youth Task Force In the month of August no more new RTI’s have been filed. It has been decided that the follow up of the earlier RTI’s with the road would be done. Documentation work done. Also an RTI on finding out the rules and regulations of filing TSR complaints has been done. Few people have done research on the conditions of MCD schools at various places of Delhi. Initially 6 of the MCD schools have been chosen and RTI’s have been filed. We are planning to file more RTI’s after getting report from the initial ones.

-Selva - Khoj, AID Delhi, - [email protected] - 9211467341

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Project Update : Tara

Volunteer Speak : Roshan Jha

TARA: In the month of August, TARA celebrated Independence Day. The celebration began with a tribute to the martyrs of the nation, followed by flag hoisting. Children from two different slum communities took part in the various events such as music, singing, story telling and poem recitation. Later that week, TARA participated in the annual function of jamia’s engineering department to raise funds, visited GOONJ and collected clothes, toys and satchels. On 25th eleven of our children were honored by the Rotary club of Delhi Capitol with a scholarship of 1000 rupees each after which they were taken on a short excursion to the India Gate. On Sunday morning the children played a cricket match with a high level of zeal. On 27th three more children got admittance in the MCD School, Sarai Jullena. The next day we celebrated Raksha Bandhan beginning with a tulsi pooja and Arti followed by distribution of Prasad and tying of a variety of colorful rakhis. The day ended with distribution of laddoos. On the last day of the month Sonu, Halli, Archana and Noni who had undergone our training for just one month but were doing well also got admitted to standard II and standard I respectively. At the end of eleven months TARA has been successful in opening the portals of formal school for eighteen of its children. Many more are heading towards the same direction and are extremely enthusiastic about it. - Pavneet Kohli - Tara.

In India kites can be seen maneuvering in the sky every year on 15th August celebrating our Independence Day. The very same day someone asked me why I fly kites? What I get flying a kite? Does flying a kite in anyway symbolize freedom? I replied - "Flying a kite on Independence Day certainly have some great causes behind it! On Independence Day sky becomes the battlefield simulator. When I fly kite I look myself as a freedom fighter. When I fly kite I see all other kites confined with strings as 'prisoners'. I struggle hard to emancipate them and when I cut other kites apart from their attached strings I feel like I am on cloud number nine. Infact, I don't even care about my pain when I shed blood flying my kite. I feel it is the negligible amount of sacrifice I have made. When other kites get cut and loop freely wobbling in air I honorably run after to touch and collect them since they have also played a part in this freedom struggle. All these leaves me with feelings that resembles the very same that of chacha Nehru, Gandhiji, Subhas Chandra Bose and like many other freedom fighters who felt the enthusiasm on 15th August 1947. But when my own kite cuts down I suddenly feel a bit gloomy thinking I could have helped few more to get freedom.

Project Update : Nai Disha

“Kites really invoke my patriotism” - Roshan Jha, - YTF, AID Delhi - [email protected]

Independence Day was celebrated with full zeal at Nai Disha. Children had put in tremendous effort to prepare for the event. Volunteers had helped these kids to prepare the dance program. A snacks party was also organized for these kids. Currently Grammar and computer classes are going on. Since the computers are not functional, hence computer theory classes are being conducted. These computers need to be repaired as practical classes will lead to better understanding. And Nai Disha also needs more volunteers to carry out their job in a better way. -Rajat Maheshwari, Coordinator, Nai Disha.. - [email protected] - 9810994596

Roshan Jha is an active volunteer with AID Delhi’s and Josh initiative Youth Task Force. He has been filing RTI’s on various PWD roads and is also eagerly anticipating his reports. He also writes a lot of articles. He is a computer science engineering student.

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Volunteer Speak : Siddharth Goyal This is India

In situations like these, one cannot help but wonder if big industrial houses too are a part of this arrangement as Chhatisgarh is a state rich in minerals such as gold and diamond, which are buried in the land owned by the tribals. The tribals are now dispossessed from their lands by the state and are made to live like animals in camps. I do not oppose the entry of the industrial houses in the state. However, every human life is more precious than any rock. If the industrial houses are involved in this set up, I hope that they adopt a little sensitive attitude towards the tribal people and place man over material for a change!

Does the title of the article remind you of something familiar? Well it would not if you have not seen the latest Leo Di Caprio starrer ‘BLOOD DIAMOND’. As the lady at the AID Operations Review Meet at IIT Delhi said” I couldn’t help drawing parallels between the situation in parts of our very own ‘Democratic’ country and the state of affairs in some African country ruled by warlords with the blessings of the West”. We like to call ourselves civilised and cultured, the situation in the state of Chhatisgarh, however, tells a different story altogether. Chhatisgarh is a victim of the naxalite movement, a movement which aims to surround New Delhi one day with the red army. In the name of protecting the rights of the adivasis, the naxalite outfits recruit and train them to carry out militant operations in various parts of the state and kill the very people, whose right they claim to protect. To counter this menace, an initiative was taken up under the leadership of Mr. Mahendra Karma, the member of the legislative assemble and leader of opposition in the state’s legislative assembly, in the year 2005. This was christened “Salwa Judum” and later it got the blessings of the state (a rare example of the BJP and the Congress co-operating with each other). Alas, the modus operandi of Salwa Judum was so flawed that the adivasis now faced the dilemma of choosing either the state sponsored organisation, which aimed to wipe out the naxalite terrorism or the naxalites which claim to fight for the cause of the adivasis. The Salwa Judum recruited people including children and called them Special Police Officers. Instead of imparting basic education to them, they were trained for combat, so that they could protect themselves against the naxalites. The situation grew from bad to worse, when the state started recruiting people forcibly, something which the naxalites had already been doing. The adivasis, who were earlier victims of the naxalites now also became the victims of the state sponsored Salwa Judum. There are reports that the Salwa Judum activists have raped and murdered their own people. What is worse is the fact that a victim of the naxalites receives compensation from the state but the victim of Salwa Judum receives zilch from the state.

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Siddharth Goyal - AID Delhi [email protected]

Siddharth Goyal is a third year computer science student at NSIT, Dwaraka. He writes a lot of article apart from volunteering with Khoj.

Extraas

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AID Delhi Calendars 2008 design and price have been finalized and it would be circulated soon. We need volunteers to circulate it widely to their respective HR’s and take the order as soon as possible. AID India conference would be held in Orissa this year during December. Keep yourself available for the same. AID Delhi street play team to perform its first play at Tara in the coming weeks. AID Delhi’s CSR team is looking for a coordinator to spearhead its initiative. AID Delhi is looking for a fulltime who can manage administration of projects, over all administration, volunteer coordination, following of meal a month, coordinating fund raising, conducting regular meetings and also documenting the activities going on at Delhi. AID Delhi T-shirts are available at the price of Rs.150/-. For getting one please write to [email protected] .

Article : Coexisting with Nature Haripriya Lai Haraoba or “merry making of the Gods” is a post harvest summer festival celebrated with fervor throughout the Manipur valley. The most integral part is the Maiba/ Maibis’ (priests and priestesses) rituals to honour the deity of the forest known as Umang Lai/Lairenbi. Patches of forests known as ‘Umang Lai Khubams’ - sacred groves of Manipur dotes the various localities in the valley. In traditional Meitei belief systems, sacred groves are cultural cornerstones and every village needs to include an ‘Umang Lai Khubam’ which ideally should be bordering the village, becoming abodes of deities who then exerts their divine powers and protects resident villagers from evil. Maibi Jagoi –dance of the priestess is a part of indispensable rituals of Lai Haraoba. The Maibis dress in austere white possibly to signify the ritual purity of the occasion. The dance depicts the beginning of creation by supreme God Atiya Shidaba. The narration initially traverses the cosmos and ends up spanning the chronological history of man, re-living the ways of life of the past. A Pre-Hindu dance form untouched by Vaishnavism unlike most other Manipuri dance forms, it retains an animistic spirit that’s rooted to this earth. Such animistic belief systems were spread out all across North Eastern states at one point of time. Historical research points towards erosion of such systems with entry of colonialism and Christianity. Rapid shrinkage of sacred groves especially in Meghalaya and Nagaland are well known examples. However, Manipur remained an abode of pantheism. Even conversion of the Manipuri king in the 17th Century to Vaishanivism (an issue that remains contentious even today), didn’t radically alter the cultural milieu though the idea of purity and impurity did creep in, questioning existent food habits and practices. However the largely eco centric vaishnavite belief system overlapped with that of the extant animistic one. This resulted in retention of many local customs and practices that forge the Meitei identity. Close to 364 sacred groves exist in Manipur today. Apart from being treasure troves of local biodiversity they are also an integral part of the cultural and ecological landscape of Manipur. The totems and taboos that administer the worship of sacred groves also ensure protection of species within..

Each of the 7 salai (clan) that make up the Meitei race are governed by a set of rules that bans consumption or use of specific plant and animal species. All clans are banned from felling trees on Friday as it is believed that Gods take rest on them on that day. Similarly in the month of Mera (September/October) eating of fish is taboo for vaishnav meitei’s as Krishna is supposed to take the very form. Eating of snails (Brotia costula) is govern with various taboos the story of which dates back to chahi taret khundakpa (seven years of displacement/devastation) when aftermath of war with Burma there was an exodus to neighbouring kingdoms and hills had the people carrying sack loads of snails for sustenance. Prudent harvesting practices are observed to promote its conservation. Snails are collected before thunder and lightning, and the collection always proceeds from downstream towards upstream, as such practices are believed to prevent collection of gravid females. Numerous practices such as these are excellent examples of humanity’s co existence with nature.Such practice not only fosters a reciprocal man – nature relationship, but also extends to clans and races. A rich history of cultural events showcases the brotherhood that existed between the valley and hill people, unlike today. Popular folktale narrates a story of two brothers who parted in search of livelihoods, elder went to the hills and younger, the valley. Both discovered what they were looking for and stayed back. The cultural festival of Mera (September/October) Wayungba is an observance of that very relationship. Meiteis in the valley erects a bamboo pole in the courtyard with a lamp at the top and keeps it there for a month. The belief goes that, the lamp is an indication to the elder brother in the hills that all is well and that the younger sibling is safe and alive. Things fall apart. The meitei world is no longer an island of autochthonous eco-centric culture. Many feel that the knowledge behind cultural practices is dying out. In this part of the world, as in so many other places, culture is intrinsically linked to biodiversity. When one goes, so will the other. Many think that a monochromatic amorphous North East may help foster unity. But it’s this cultural polychrome that makes the seven sisters so enchanting. And it seems that respect for one’s own culture as well as others may be a way out of conflict. - Haripriya - [email protected] Soibam Haripriya works with Public Health Resource Network in New Delhi. She is a member of the Control Arms Foundation of India. The views and opinions expressed in this article are hers and not 7 necessarily those of the organisations.

Article : Environment around Us Dolly

Questions are endless so are answers, so find out where your life lies? 'Yesterday' decides our 'Today'. 'Today' decides our 'Tomorrow'. There is no ideal environment or place, we need to understand our needs & create one for ourselves & once we've created it we should keep on making some amendments. After all monotony is such a dull word!

Environment refers to the conditions in a place that influence the behaviour and development of people & things. As per the popular belief Environment is synonymous with nature, whereas a matter of fact there are zillions of environments that play fairly enigmatic roles like our working environment, home environment, learning environment & so forth. Let's give them a once over.

Our environment is a reflection of ours. What do you reflect?

Natural environment -

Today, cry of Nature can easily be heard. All forms of nature (water, land, air) emanate our barbarity towards them. For long Nature has been a victim of our ignorance but not any more, because now it's our turn to pay for our deeds, if we don't put a full stop to our uncivilized practices in the form of deforestation, nuclear tests, pollution, wars etc then nature is also prepared to avenge its harm by hazards like global warming, floods, droughts etc. Everybody knows what should be done but forgets that it should be done. Before it's too late to do anything about it at all, let's make some small changes by saving water (not wasting something is a saving itself), not using plastic bags, preferring public transport as much as possible, keeping our surroundings clean & creating awareness about the same so we can be proud of our existence as most rational & civilized species on earth.

- Dolly Sharma AID Aashayen, AID Delhi - [email protected]

Dolly is a volunteer with AID Aashayen. She is teaching children there for a couple of months by now and she is working as a consultant. She also pens down a few things at her free time.

Article : Economic Boom – Difference on the life of a common man Vikas Happa In economics, the term boom and bust refers to the movement of an economy through economic cycles due to the changes in aggregate demand. During booms, there is a high level of aggregate demand, the inflation increases, unemployment falls, and growth in national income accelerates. This may be too technical for the common man. So here a nexus has to be evolved between economics and the so to say humanomics. A sober analysis indicates that India is continuing to do well. After growing at about 3.5 percent a year, between 1991 and 2005, it expanded at an average rate of about 6 percent. For the past three years it has been growing at about 8 percent. There is no question about it - the Indian economy is in the midst of a boom. According to the Central Statistical Organization’s (CSO) national accounts statistics, between 1999-2000 and 2006-07, the gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices increased at an average annual rate of nearly 7 percent. When India awoke from its slumber in 1991 it undertook some major economic reforms and started growing strongly. It went straight to developing a big, export-oriented services sector.

Other Environments [Working/ Home/ Learning] Contrary to Natural environment which after an extent is beyond the confines of human control these environments are the sheer reflection of our personality & life. How many times you've felt that you are a complete different person at work, home or any other place? A simple idea of going to a place, meeting a person makes us down or elated & that's what shows the environment of that place. If you find it difficult to draw maximum level of contentment from your surroundings then you need to make some changes in that as soon as possible. As far as working environment is concerned, first you need to ask yourself if what you are doing is what you want. Do you enjoy your work? How do you feel when you are at your work place? What do think about your boss, colleagues, clients, etc., same with home, learning & others. 8

The New Economic Policy consisted of all those policy measures and steps adopted and implemented by the Govt. of India which were aimed at:-

3-Despite the trappings of Westernization in major cities, a literacy rate of just 61 percent and high infant mortality rates betray the reality of India's status as an emerging nation

1-increasing efficiency of various economic sectors. 4-Though overall poverty levels are falling at the rate of around one percent per year, that figure is hardly keeping pace with the high levels of economic growth reported in the business pages of India's newspapers

2-introducing competitive spirit in the economy 3-removing bureaucratic control and procedural impediments.

5-The category of Mixed Income shows a declining trend in income share and over the period in question (1999-2000& 2006-2007), the share fell by around 8%. This is significant because this includes all the self employed, who have been growing as a proportion of the employed and who now account for half the workforce in India, according to NSS.

All the above aimed steps subsequently targeted reducing fiscal deficit, ushering liberalization and encouraging inflow of foreign capital. But what had the common man, a PhD of humanomics in store for himself excepting this jargon, was the priceless question. India Shining was a political slogan referring to the overall feeling of economic optimism in India.The BJP led govt. spent an estimated $20 million of govt. funds on national television advertisements and newspaper ads featuring India shining slogan. This slogan drew criticism from various columnists and political critics of the ruling National Democratic Alliance government for glossing over a variety of social problems, including poverty and social inequality. The question was that for who was India-SHINING and from who was India SHY-ING. Were not the more than 20 million neurons of the Indian MP’S sufficient to prioritize and channels $20 million for a mere slogan?.

We can say that this is a profit led boom driven by increasing inequality not only between different categories of producers. The private corporate sector is the greatest beneficiary and now also the greatest contributor to the boom. But the non corporate producers and petty self employed producers of goods and services are clearly not gaining in relative terms and in some cases may be worse off absolutely. This allows us to relate the macroeconomic and national accounts data to the evidence from the employment surveys of falling shares and worsening conditions of wage employment over this period. It also allows us to understand why the theme of “two India’s ” is so persistent and plausible.

"But it is almost as if the light is shining so brightly that you do not notice the darkness," said Arundhati Roy.

For India to be politically able, to keep making the reforms necessary to sustain its rate of growth, it must produce tangible economic benefits to every social strata. It has to figure out objectively that who all belong to the bracketed category of the common man because it is not possible to define it in precise terms. The age-old convention of the rich becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer should be faded . The knowledge intensive sector should strive to be the mass employer of the low skilled labor class. The phenomenon of dual economy in our country (modern and the traditional economy) will always pose a challenge before the policy makers. Which policy will benefit which economy without disturbing the booming trend in the other?

The robustness in India’s economy combined with the advantage of its size , means that it is a country that now the global players cannot ignore. The driving factor of the economic boom in words of Mr. Kamal Narang is the result of corporate sector’s increasing savings and investments. But where is the common man featuring in this profit led boom? The following points may compel us to rethink. 1-In 1999 under-5 child mortality (that is, the number of deaths before age 5 per 1000 children) was 144 in Bangladesh, 128 in Pakistan and 123 in India. In 2001 the numbers were Bangladesh 77, India 93, and Pakistan 109. 2-As far as school enrolment of girls as a percentage of boys go, the figure for Bangladesh is an exemplary 103%, whereas for India it is 78 and for Pakistan 61. 9

On one hand, we have the IT industries booming with great international deal being signed and on the other we have Nandigram and farmer suicides in Maharashtra and many other agricultural states in India. As of the impact of economic boom on the consumer is concerned it is very subjective in a country like INDIA, where so much inequality persists. For the Indian government to spend as much as it does - on subsidies and the bureaucracy - and then to wonder why the economy is not growing faster is like my father's youngest sister who in her old age lamented to me, "I don't know why I keep such poor health - I eat only sweets." Passing the 60 years of independence, someone on the TV said “ The Horoscope of India reads that India is a potential global economic power ” but till the potential is not fully realized and the benefits don’t percolate to the grassroots, what we would have would be the horrorscope of India

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- Vikas Happa - AID Prayas, AID Delhi [email protected]

Vikas is a new volunteer with AID and he is right now volunteering at Prayas. Vikas has done his graduation and is now an aspirant of GMAT. He also have lots of interest towards Bhopal issues and have written so many articles on it.

Article : India : Shilpa Singla "If there is one place on the face of the earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is INDIA." -Romain Rolland,

French Scholar She is known for her rich culture and traditions all over the world. Her nature is astonishing. Her mountains provide us minerals and various resources, her rivers provide us with food, energy, transportation routes, and her jungles provide us with medicines, fruits, nuts and habitat to her wildlife. She is the largest producer of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper and also has the largest cattle population in the world. She is the biggest secular and the largest democratic country. She looks confidently towards the future and enjoys the deserved importance and influence in the world. She is INDIA. - . 10

Today after completing sixty years of independence, Indians have brought fame and glory to their country in various fields. They are excelling in sports, writing, studies, science, business, information technology, medicine, space technology, engineering, nuclear energy, industries, entertainment etc. These are enough reasons to celebrate all achievements and accomplishments of the country. But since her Independence, India has seen certain failures as well, which need urgent attention. There is still widespread undernourishment and child malnutrition at a large scale. There has been shocking neglecting of elementary education in India. A quarter of the population and almost half the women are still illiterate. The average life expectancy in India is below 64, which is extremely low and infant mortality rate is 58 per 1,000 live births. Banned but rampant practices such as dowry still exist on a large scale. Evil discrimination on basis of gender continues in many parts of our society leading to infanticide. Over ten million girls have been killed by their parents in the past 20 years, either before they were born or immediately after. We must step up and take the burden of all social evils on our shoulders. We need to understand the problems prevailing in our country and contribute our time and energy to solve them. We need to motivate our family, friends, neighbors and colleagues to join us and make a difference in the society. Many NGOs and social workers are helping to the best level of their ability to improve the needy and weaker sections of our society. We can join them to bring a difference in lives of the less fortunate. Despite of all the current problems, India has seen major development in different sectors in the past sixty years. Indians are considered successful in various fields and set a tough competition for the rest of the world. Only we, as citizens of the nation can make a difference and bring more glory to our country. Let’s be proud of being part of the richest cultural nation, let’s be proud of being called an Indian..

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- Shilpa Singla [email protected]

Shilpa is an AID volunteer who has passion towards writing. She is also a part of AID Delhi Calendar 2008 team and have helped a lot with her inputs in selecting the photos for the calendar et al., She is currently working with IBM.

India – the preserver, the pretender, the dominated. It’s still a colony being blackmailed and threatened by the new laws of interaction. Trying to cope up with the changing trends and lifestyles it has made its mark.

Article: The Pretender Tamseel If we take a walk back to our so called path of ‘development’. It would all seem so prominent and definite; like a metaphorical journey through time where we forget everything that used to exist and force our ships to sail through destiny for our new found aim – growth. Isn’t this cause for our recent product called ‘India Shining’?

Although our co partners corruption and treachery haven’t left us , because if they leave us we would come to a standstill. Our goals will be subdued by a slow motion system where all are treated equal and not according to their pockets or welfares. Am I still being too much of an optimist?

Well I do admit my pride for my country’s worldly success. It’s a success story worth mentioning.

In the midst of our colossal trip to marginal success The class struggle has rejuvenated in a silent tone of peace. Some believe there is certainty that defines our country’s success, for some its uncertain if they will survive till India deeply shines. For instance traditional Indian retailership (banyagiri) has gone for a six and is personified by ‘open economy’, although candid yet resourceful.

A sudden hike in the share market. A sudden intrusion of giant mergers. Economically our heroes, our brands have been successful. Employment opportunities are on a rise (Finally all the workers / employees get a chance to choose and decide). BPO invasion changed everything, our culture, our society, our health, our cost, our knowledge and our kids.

The past 5 years have been debauched and speedy, it’s incorrect if we call ourselves tamed and prepared for the forthcoming pit stop. But its correct if we wish to experience the hardships to cross that pit stop.

Isn’t it true, this new plight called neo – colonialism has a profound effect on our land? Isn’t it true, the inevitable conflict between neocolonialism and neo – modernism is just not seamless enough?

The reason this article is titled ‘the Pretender’ is because of the country’s hidden loop holes. Where and what does it stand for? Who is benefiting out of its stand? Are we pretending to be developing rapidly or have we forgotten our roots.

Yes we have progressed, reached new boundaries. Although our land is loosing its fertility both agriculturally and humanly but we still are progressing. The thin line on the Sensex chart has proved us right, but what has it done to the good old Indans? Are we all benefiting equally? Is the price hike justified?

These questions will always remain where they are right now. This article will get transferred to the archives. But what will remain fresh and mutable will be our success. Our self explainable class contends and our newly constructed mono marvels. - Tamseel Hussain - AID Delhi, - [email protected]

These questions are unanswerable and unattended. Many have realized the importance of the word ‘knowledge’ and how much of an effect it has on the word ‘success’. The beggars look cheerful now, at least some of them. Technologically we have moved ahead into space. All this and more defines our trip to present success. Am I being too much of an optimist?

Tamseel Hussain is a volunteer who is doing his political science from Bhagat Singh. He is extremely interested in writing articles. He is also involved in re-writing the website content of AID Delhi along with his friend Joe Sebastian.

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Toon of the Month News: AID Delhi celebrates Independence day at all of its projects along with the children.

- Toon : Kalindi Sharma, - Coordinator, AID Aashayen, - [email protected]

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Children’s Corner From this time we have decided to incorporate some of the work done by our children of various projects which we do. We have a lot of things to display and they will flow in from the next newsletter. Here is a trailor for it.

Vocational training classes have been started back at AID Aashayen by Kalindi and she is right now involved in teaching embroidery with the children. Here is just a sample piece made by the children Pinky, Pooja, Yogesh and Kranti. They are very keen in learning such activities and they are quick to grab whatever we say and perform it. Hope to have more such work for display latter. You can also put in your ideas and write to us what are all the other activities we can do with the children.

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- Kalindi, Selva AID Aashayen, AID Delih - [email protected]

Photo of the Month: Rupali Dhaundiyal

Project: Unnati Photographer: Rupali Dhaundiyal Description: These are children of construction workers at the basti that AID Gurgaon chapter has been working with.We went to talk to the parents of these children to ask them to send their kids to school as part of our Unnati Project and found them smiling for us.

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Behind the Scene

Information Corner: Selva

We have been introducing new volunteers and active volunteers in the volunteer profile section. But we never thought of introducing the people who are really putting in their efforts to bring such a wonderful newsletter on time. We take this opportunity to introduce the publication team which strives in making a better version every time.

We all travel by air frequently these days after getting cheaper tickets. Initially when Air Deccan came to the market they released tickets for just Rs.500/- and taxes they charged for the ticket was Rs.221/-.But within a span of two years we find the Fuel Surcharges coming up more than a flight ticket. Have we ever thought of what is a fuel surcharge? How is this calculated? Is it a tax? Why it is not added to the ticket price? What are the tax implications? Is someone evading tax? Is there a scope of rigging this? What are the international practices?

Garui Mittal: Gauri Mittal is editing for AID Delhi’s newsletter for more than a year by now. She is working with ST microelectronics and does major part of the editing of the newsletter. She is one person we can always rely on.

To know more on it please visit http://elcric.blogspot.com/2007/08/fuelsurcharge.html#links

Puneeta Chugh: Puneeta needs no introduction. Her work talks a lot than her. She is the chief editor of our team. Her micromanagement of the articles and editing has helped us to get some quality newsletters in the past and we will be getting more in the future too.

AID Delhi is also planning to file RTI’s on asking about it. Interested volunteers may please write back to me at [email protected] .

There is an opportunity for any volunteers interested in Environment cell to attend the course on Urban Water Management conducted by Center for Science and Environment. The course is on 24th to 27th September and the last date for sending application is on 12th September. So rush and file your application. More details available at CSE website.

Kunal Mahajan: This IIT Delhi Chemical Engineer is now working with E-Value Serve, and has been with us for about one year by now. He is one who always delivers on time. Pallavi Tyagi: The newest of all our editors but smart too. After her entry we’ve got a new look to team and workload is shared. Her tips to editing article have helped me a lot while writing the editorial. She is also managing AID Gurgaon’s work and she works for EValue Serve.

http://www.cseindia.org/misc/rwh_coursesept07.htm

Feedback: [email protected] Web: http://delhi.aidindia.org Phone: +91-9213797167 Send your Cheques drawn in favour of “AID-India” Publications Team to Coordinator: Selva Selva Ganapathy.R Editors: Selva, Puneeta, Gauri, Pallavi, Charu, Kunal Department of Chemical Engineering, Designers: Selva, Arvinder, Saurabh Indian Institute of Technology, Website/Email version of the newsletter: Anirban Delhi - 110016 Hauz Khas 15