Punarnirmaan
Encyclopedia
Punarnirmaan is one of the response programmes of Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union
and Peoples Action for Rural Awakening to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
-affected people of the districts of Nellore, Prakasam, Krishna, and East Godavari in the state of Andhra Pradesh
, South India
.
Activities through this programme mainly comprise of livelihood restoration and construction of shelters
While there is no debate on the great loss, destruction and death that has taken toll of the fisher community, there is every indication that loss suffered by other vulnerable and poor will be neglected and overlooked. The official line was that death and devastation of Dalits, Muslims etc. is not severe and should not distract or disturb the relief process at large. While agreeing to this, one also realizes that any family that has been affected similarly – there has been deaths, loss of livelihood (be it fishing boat, salt pan, livestock or inundation of farm land), homes have been simply washed away or totally destroyed, all personal property like cooking utensils, clothes, any money, has been lost, all documents like patta, ration cards, education certificates have been lost. Thus the loss and devastation of all affected families is similar in nature, and all of them need support to re-build and re-construct their lives. If the government does not take this into account this would lead to new social tensions and polarization. For example, in Nidammarru village in Kruthivennu mandal in Krishna district
, the Dalits protested the distribution of relief materials only to fisher workers and after four days when the administration continued to so, they prevented the distribution of further relief materials even to the fishing communities till the Panchayat agreed to extend the relief to them too.
It was also seen that in many cases in Tamil Nadu
, Dalits were not able to go into common relief camps fearing caste discrimination in common staying, dining, use of water and cooked food, teasing of young girls etc. and preferred to stay by themselves. The fisher communities are higher in the caste hierarchy and practice untouchability and discrimination to Dalit communities. They prevented relief volunteers and materials from being distributed among Dalits, prohibited them from putting up temporary thatches in common land when they returned from the camps.
and Director of Peoples Action for Rural Awakening, the implementors of this programme.
nota bene - The word Imprimatur
needs to be construed in a broader term - that of indication of approval by whatever authority.
It must be acknowledged at this stage that the response of the Indian Government was immediate and generous. The Government moved in swiftly into the affected areas. They were equally quick in reaching out to our neighbours: Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia. Whatever might have been the complaints of discrimination at the local level, the response of the Government of India was most praise worthy.
At the same time, being with the dalits, a number of things that guided the team in discerning the style of their involvement. The general response to reach out to those affected followed a common pattern. The trend was to rush to areas highlighted by the media. There too the effort was to involve those directly affected, viz. the fisher community. There was logic in it which we cannot deny. The government, in their unexpected bounty, reached out to all the people in the affected areas. This was a good thing because no needy person was left out. This was okay with regard to the immediate food aid. But when it came to the assessment of loss incurred it became clear that there was very distinct discrimination, either conscious or because the officials concerned had got accustomed to this way of dealing with situations and people. In effect there were the highly visible victims such as those in the fishing business who might have made huge losses. The fishing castes, whether they were the Agnikuka Kshatriyas or the Vadabalijis, were generally included. Then there were the invisible victims of the Tsunami, who in turn were now the visible victims of discrimination, visible for those who chose to see the situation.
Invisible victims of the Tsunami
We could speak of more such situations, individual and community. Wherever we choose villages for our involvement, these are the criteria that we follow, the invisible victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
(referred to as Tsunami
hereafter).
Building up confidence immediately after the Tsunami was necessary. Salt pans in Binginapalli-Ollapalem in Singayarakonda Mandal of Prakasam district belonging to the Dalits were affected. A huge layer of silt was brought-in by the waves of the Tsunami. Clearing it up and restoring the salt pans was one of the tasks at hand.
A working team drawn out of the constituents of dappu met soon after the Tsunami
of 2004 to chalk out of strategy under the guidance of Fr.T.D.John.
The grassroot implementing team is directed by Fr.Thomas Pallithanam through Mr.P.J.Job, the Programme Coordinator. Each district has an Area Coordinator who oversees the programmes through an Office Manager and Programme Managers.
Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union
The Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union is a Dalit-Bahujan civil rights organization locally coordinated from Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, South India.-Origins:The name "Dalit" refers to a group of people traditionally regarded as low caste...
and Peoples Action for Rural Awakening to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
-affected people of the districts of Nellore, Prakasam, Krishna, and East Godavari in the state of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
.
Activities through this programme mainly comprise of livelihood restoration and construction of shelters
While there is no debate on the great loss, destruction and death that has taken toll of the fisher community, there is every indication that loss suffered by other vulnerable and poor will be neglected and overlooked. The official line was that death and devastation of Dalits, Muslims etc. is not severe and should not distract or disturb the relief process at large. While agreeing to this, one also realizes that any family that has been affected similarly – there has been deaths, loss of livelihood (be it fishing boat, salt pan, livestock or inundation of farm land), homes have been simply washed away or totally destroyed, all personal property like cooking utensils, clothes, any money, has been lost, all documents like patta, ration cards, education certificates have been lost. Thus the loss and devastation of all affected families is similar in nature, and all of them need support to re-build and re-construct their lives. If the government does not take this into account this would lead to new social tensions and polarization. For example, in Nidammarru village in Kruthivennu mandal in Krishna district
Krishna district
Krishna District is a district of India's Andhra Pradesh state. It is named after the Krishna River, the third longest river that flows within India, flows through the district and joins Bay of Bengal here in this district. It has a population of 4,529,009 of which 32.08% is urban as of...
, the Dalits protested the distribution of relief materials only to fisher workers and after four days when the administration continued to so, they prevented the distribution of further relief materials even to the fishing communities till the Panchayat agreed to extend the relief to them too.
It was also seen that in many cases in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, Dalits were not able to go into common relief camps fearing caste discrimination in common staying, dining, use of water and cooked food, teasing of young girls etc. and preferred to stay by themselves. The fisher communities are higher in the caste hierarchy and practice untouchability and discrimination to Dalit communities. They prevented relief volunteers and materials from being distributed among Dalits, prohibited them from putting up temporary thatches in common land when they returned from the camps.
Imprimatur
Fr.Thomas Pallithanam, the past Organising Secretary of Dalit Bahujan Shramik UnionDalit Bahujan Shramik Union
The Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union is a Dalit-Bahujan civil rights organization locally coordinated from Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, South India.-Origins:The name "Dalit" refers to a group of people traditionally regarded as low caste...
and Director of Peoples Action for Rural Awakening, the implementors of this programme.
nota bene - The word Imprimatur
Imprimatur
An imprimatur is, in the proper sense, a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement.-Catholic Church:...
needs to be construed in a broader term - that of indication of approval by whatever authority.
Background
The immediate apparent damage was to the fisher folk. Being the morrow of Christmas and Sunday, most of the people directly affected were tourists or pilgrims. Being the morning after the full moon, there were also a lot of devout Hindus fulfilling their religious rituals. At any rate, the number of deaths in Andhra Pradesh were only 168, compared to the enormous numbers in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.It must be acknowledged at this stage that the response of the Indian Government was immediate and generous. The Government moved in swiftly into the affected areas. They were equally quick in reaching out to our neighbours: Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia. Whatever might have been the complaints of discrimination at the local level, the response of the Government of India was most praise worthy.
At the same time, being with the dalits, a number of things that guided the team in discerning the style of their involvement. The general response to reach out to those affected followed a common pattern. The trend was to rush to areas highlighted by the media. There too the effort was to involve those directly affected, viz. the fisher community. There was logic in it which we cannot deny. The government, in their unexpected bounty, reached out to all the people in the affected areas. This was a good thing because no needy person was left out. This was okay with regard to the immediate food aid. But when it came to the assessment of loss incurred it became clear that there was very distinct discrimination, either conscious or because the officials concerned had got accustomed to this way of dealing with situations and people. In effect there were the highly visible victims such as those in the fishing business who might have made huge losses. The fishing castes, whether they were the Agnikuka Kshatriyas or the Vadabalijis, were generally included. Then there were the invisible victims of the Tsunami, who in turn were now the visible victims of discrimination, visible for those who chose to see the situation.
Invisible victims of the TsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
- With the fishermen who own boats, there are dalits who join as helpers. They do not own the boats or nets (means of production, if we may say so), but whose livelihood depends on joining in the fishing along with the others. They were left out in the general assessement of those who are affected.
- There are dalits who depend on the fishing because they buy the fish and do the marketing of fish. They gather fish, dry them and sell them later in the market. They became out of work and hence without their livelihood. Their little stocks of dry fish got destroyed.
- There are the Yanadis, recognized by the Government as a Scheduled Tribe, and whose conditions are often worse than most dalit communities. They go fishing near the shore only with little nets. They dive to get shells. The flesh they sell to the bigger business people and the shell they use for making lime. Their entire livelihoods have been disturbed. Their houses inundated.
- There are also dalits who either go shell collecting or buy shells and make lime which is used for a variety of purposes. This lime is also an eco-friendly substitute for cement. Their kilns have been affected and their stocks disturbed or lost. They need to be put back to where they were before the Tsunami.
- There are the salt pans run by dalits in groups. Water has entered the salt pans. In Prakasam and Nellore District some lost their lives when the tsunami waves come in. Many were saved because they had not gone for work, 26th being a Sunday. The salt pans have become sandy and need to be re-made. This is a very costly business.
- There are the coastal agricultural labourers and very small farmers, all dalits who have received land from the government. Their lands have been inundated with sea water and are uncultivable. It is very costly to remove the saline filled layer.
We could speak of more such situations, individual and community. Wherever we choose villages for our involvement, these are the criteria that we follow, the invisible victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
(referred to as Tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
hereafter).
Activities
Immediate Relief work in the following areas:- Nellore district
- Prakasam district
- Krishna district
- East Godavari district
in Nellore district
- Fishnets: Fishnets suited for fishing in the creeks were provided to Yanadis here.
- Catamarans
- Cycle Rickshaws
Prakasam district
- Salt pans
Building up confidence immediately after the Tsunami was necessary. Salt pans in Binginapalli-Ollapalem in Singayarakonda Mandal of Prakasam district belonging to the Dalits were affected. A huge layer of silt was brought-in by the waves of the Tsunami. Clearing it up and restoring the salt pans was one of the tasks at hand.
Krishna district
- Bullock Carts
- Shelter: It was proposed to construct more than 600 houses in the four districts in partnership with the Government agencies.
- in Nellore district
- in Prakasam district
Participators
- Christian AidChristian AidChristian Aid is the official relief and development agency of 40 British and Irish churches and works to support sustainable development, alleviate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia...
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
- Christian Aid is an agency of the churches in the UK and Ireland. It works wherever the need is greatest – irrespective of religion or race. The essential purpose of Christian Aid is to expose the scandal of poverty, to help in practical ways to root it out from the world, and to challenge and change the systems which favour the rich and powerful over the poor and marginalised.
- Diakonie Emergency Aidhttp://www.diakonie-katastrophenhilfe.de/english/1_ENG_HTML.php, StuttgartStuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Baden-WürttembergBaden-WürttembergBaden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe provides humanitarian aid worldwide. It supports people who have fallen victim of natural disasters, war and displacement and who are not able to cope on their own in the emergency situation they find themselves in. It is an effort to help people in great need – worldwide, regardless of their colour, religion and nationality.
- Stichting Liliane Fondshttp://www.lilianefonds.org/nederlands/index.php, 's-Hertogenbosch, North BrabantNorth BrabantNorth Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
, The NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
- Integration and self-acceptance - those are the main goals of SLF. It is a development organisation which supports children and young people with disabilities in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It operates through 1700 local people in 80 countries, called mediators, who all represent NGOs or religious organisations.
- Town Council of DornbirnDornbirnDornbirn is a city in Vorarlberg, Austria. It is the administrative center of the district Dornbirn, which also includes the city of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau....
http://www.dornbirn.at/, VorarlbergVorarlbergVorarlberg is the westernmost federal-state of Austria. Although it is the second smallest in terms of area and population , it borders three countries: Germany , Switzerland and Liechtenstein...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
- Dornbirn is the largest town in Vorarlberg yet with only 44700 inhabitants is still relatively small. The Emperor Franz JosefFranz JosefFranz Josef or Franz Joseph is a given name.People known solely by the name:* Franz Joseph I of Austria , Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary and King of Bohemia...
first granted Dornbirn the status of a city in 1901.
A working team drawn out of the constituents of dappu met soon after the Tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
of 2004 to chalk out of strategy under the guidance of Fr.T.D.John.
The grassroot implementing team is directed by Fr.Thomas Pallithanam through Mr.P.J.Job, the Programme Coordinator. Each district has an Area Coordinator who oversees the programmes through an Office Manager and Programme Managers.
See also
- NavnirmaanNavnirmaanNavnirmaan is a Tsunami response programme of Peoples Action for Rural Awakening for the Tsunami-affected people of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, South India.-Background:...
, TsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
response in East GodavariEast GodavariEast Godavari District is a district situated on the northeast of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. Its district headquarters is Kakinada. It is the second richest district in the whole country...
district - Peoples Action for Rural Awakening, Ravulapalem
- Dalit Bahujan Shramik UnionDalit Bahujan Shramik UnionThe Dalit Bahujan Shramik Union is a Dalit-Bahujan civil rights organization locally coordinated from Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, South India.-Origins:The name "Dalit" refers to a group of people traditionally regarded as low caste...
, Hyderabad, Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third... - APDAPC, Hyderabad, Andhra PradeshAndhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
- Dalits