Villages in Rajasthan Overcome Sarkari Dependence Profile of Rajendra Singh and his Work
This article was first published in the print edition of Manushi Journal. (Issue-123, Mar-Apr 2001)
This is the story of a man who did not go to poverty stricken villages of Rajasthan with the intent of “developing” the “under-developed”. Nor did he imagine he had all the answers to people’s problems. He went in all humility to find out if he could be of service to one of the poorest farming communities in India. Instead of telling them what to do, he simply put himself at their disposal. And yet his presence catalysed a powerful process among these farming communities, helping them rediscover their traditional knowledge, wisdom and socio-cultural heritage. Together, they began producing miracle after miracle — five dead rivers were brought back to life and hundreds of villages began moving out of the poverty trap with the regreening of this land which had turned arid from neglect and poverty.
This account is based on long tape recorded conversations with Rajendra Singh. In addition, I got valuable inputs from Anupam Mishra, one of our leading environmentalist, who has kept close contact with Rajendra Singh’s work from its very beginning…