• by IPS Correspondents (madhubani, india)
• Saturday, December 24, 1994
• Inter Press Service

MADHUBANI, INDIA, Dic 24 (IPS) - BHULI DEVI OFTEN WENT TO BED HUNGRY AFTER FEEDING HER THREE CHILDREN WITH WHATEVER SHE EARNED FROM A DAY'S GRUELLING WORK IN THE FIELDS OF SOHRAI VILLAGE'S BIGGEST LANDLORD IN THIS IMPOVERISHED NORTHERN INDIAN DISTRICT.

TODAY, SHE FEEDS AND CLOTHES NOT ONLY HER OWN CHILDREN AND HERSELF, BUT ALSO CAN SPARE MEALS FOR VISITORS WHO MIGHT CHOOSE TO DROP IN.

"I HAVE STARTED THE WORK OF BUYING AND SELLING OF RICE. THE PROFIT IS QUITE SUBSTANTIAL.. AFTER SOME TIME I AM PLANNING TO START THE WORK OF BUYING AND SELLING OF VEGETABLES AS WELL," SAYS THE SHY BUT CONFIDENT WOMAN.

SAYS SOMI DEVI OF THE SAME VILLAGE, BHULI'S SUCCESS STORY HAS INSPIRED HER ALSO TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE "MAHILA KOSH", A SMALL BANK STARTED BY A VOLUNTARY ORGANISATION IN THE AREA THAT GIVES LOANS TO IMPOVERISHED WOMEN TO START A SMALL-SCALE PROJECT.

"WITH THE MONEY GIVEN BY MAHILA KOSH, I WILL BUY YARN. MY HUSBAND WILL KNIT NETS FOR FISHING AND I WILL SELL THE FISH IN THE MARKET," SAYS SOMI DEVI WHO BELONGS TO THE TRADITIONAL FIHERFOLK COMMUNITY OF THE VILLAGE.

BOTH BHULI AND SOMI BELONG TO ONE OF THE LOWEST AND MOST OPPRESSED CASTES IN INDIA'S COMPLEX SOCIAL HIERARCHY. MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF THE 'MUSAHAR' FAMILIES ARE LANDLESS AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS, SAYS A STUDY BY A LOCAL VOLUNTARY ORGANISATION 'SAMAJIK SHAIKSHANIK VIKAS KENDRA' (SSVK).

THEIR DAILY WAGES COMPRISE ONE AND A HALF KGS OF RICE OR ONE KG OF RICE AND 100 GRAMMES OF WHEAT. ALMOST EVERY FAMILY IS IN THE GRIP OF MONEYLENDERS WHO PROVIDE LOANS AT EXORBITANT INTEREST RATES FOR MARRIAGES, ILLNESSES AND DEATHS.

MOST OF THE UNSKILLED MUSAHARS TRAVEL FROM THEIR NATIVE BIHAR STATE TO THE RELATIVELY PROSPEROUS NEIGHBOURING STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA TO EKE OUT A SUBSISTENCE AS AGRICULTURAL LABOUR.

IT WAS AGAINST THIS BACKDROP THAT THE "LOK SHAKTI SANGATHAN" (LSS) OR PEOPLE'S POWER ORGANISATION, A NON-GOVERNMENTAL BODY STARTED THE MAHILA KOSH FOR THE MUSAHAR WOMEN IN JANUARY THIS YEAR. THE CONCEPT AND STRUCTURE OF THE BANK IS EXTREMELY SIMPLE.

EACH MUSAHAR WOMAN GETS A LOAN OF APPROXIMATELY 16 DOLLARS FOR A YEAR TO START HER PROJECT. SHE PAYS AN INSTALMENT OF ONE AND A HALF DOLLAR A MONTH AS REPAYMENT. IN ONE YEAR, SHE IS ABLE TO REPAY THE ENTIRE LOAN AND EARN APPROXIMATELY 2.5 DOLLARS AS AN EXTRA BENEFIT.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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