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Strike by Shiksha Karmis : one lakh seventy five thousand Proposed by Class Three and Four employees with stenographers : 33 thousand Proposed by Anganwadi Karyakarta and Supervisors : Government passed the amendments in Land Acquisiton Act: will facilitate land acquisiton for mining , colonies and industries by the state P[assed amendment in Chhattisgarh Sinchai Parbndhan me krishko ki bhagidari act : the term of water users association can be extended by the state government Just found that Film maker Anurag Basu and Hasya Kavi Surendra Dubey belong to Chhatisgarh

Presentation@ASC, Water Issues

Summary of Presentation titled “ Issues of Access to, Use of, Control over water resources : A Case study of Chhattisgarh

Everything originated in water and everything is sustained by water.” –Goethe
“Water, thou hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined, art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses.”-- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand, and Stars, 1939

The United Nations has recognized access to water as a basic human right, stating that water is a social and cultural good, not merely an economic commodity. In the present era of rapid industrialization the governments seem to be preoccupied with meeting industrial water needs .At the same time people have started asserting their rights over the access to, use of and control over the water resources to fulfill their daily survival requirements. There is a need to identify a balanced approach to the process of policy formulation on access to, use of and control over water resources that judiciously protects and integrates the needs of different sections of the population without hampering the economic growth. Due to the patriarchal character of the society women have been excluded from the policy formulation process hence public policies seldom represent their needs. The present study has focused on a gender evaluation of water policies and their impacts on access to, use of and control over water resources by rural people in context of rapidly growing industrialization. The author has conducted the study with reference to three cases of one of the most economically and socially challenged state of India: Chhattisgarh, as an illustration to support some of the points made in the study. The findings of the study are expected to provide input for formulation of gender sensitive water policies in Chhattisgarh State of India.
Chhattisgarh is a newly emerged state of India. The state is rich in natural resources but is marked with severe poverty and backwardness. It has opted for an industrialization based model for growth and development. In its efforts to attract the industries the Chhattisgarh government has declared numerous incentives for industries. These includes providing adequate water for the proposed industries. The state’s industrial policy talks about assessing water for industrial use, and a time-bound programme for the construction of anicuts(weirs) and nullahs in rivers .The state has been the first in the country to go to the extent to sell out a river to the private owner to supply water to some of the industries. Two more rivers have been sold out to the owners of large industries. This is just the beginning. The efforts from the side of the government have rendered expected results and industrialists are lining up to pour money into Chhattisgarh. In this newly emerging industry dominated political economy of the state, the access to, use of and control over water resources are becoming issues in Chhattisgarh more because the strategies adopted by the government so far, do not seem to find acceptance among the people and Chhattisgarh is witnessing the emergence of an organized people’s movement against the policies of the government in this regard. The concern of the people can be better understood by the following discussion.
With 35% of state's geographical area under cultivation, agriculture is the main stay of state's economy. 80% of the state's working population is directly and indirectly dependent on agro-based livelihood, hence water is a catalyst for development. The irrigated area in the state is only 16% of the total area. There are evidences collected by independent journalists and others to show that the diversion of existing water resources from Agriculture to Industry is affecting their livelihood negatively.
Chhattisgarh has been a drought prone area (lack of proper water resource management has been one of the reasons as in-spite of continuous demands from the various sections of the society the efforts in this direction has been negligible) and has witnessed one of the most severe droughts of the country. Due to the dependence on agriculture the rural population suffered miserably during the droughts and was forced to migrate to other states for working in very exploitative situations. Migration of rural people has been one of the biggest problems during last 100 years in Chhattisgarh and instances of various types of exploitation have been well known.

There are evidences that to fulfill the water requirements of the big industries the dams have been constructed and the people of submerged villages have been displaced. Sometimes due to the loss of control over traditional water resources and resultant scarcity for water to fulfill the daily needs, the people are forced to move to some other places in search of water. Hence the threat of displacement due to scarcity of water is slowly but steadily emerging.
The experiences and the evidences all over the world show that in any of the above-mentioned situations women are affected more because of their vulnerable situation. There are documented evidences to show that in any such situation where livelihood is affected the women are affected worse, whether they migrate or stay at villages without their male folks. The scarcity of water for household also affects women worse as they are supposed to provide water for the family. In Chhattisgarh where wide gender gaps already exist in all development indicators any decision that does not take into account the needs of the women may have negative effects on them as large number of women depend up on agriculture (The ratio of female: male cultivator in the state is 739:1000 and of female: male agricultural laborers is 1471:1000) for their livelihood. Given their inferior status in the society and consequent inability to influence the process of policy formulation, it is quite possible that their needs and interests are neglected while formulating and implementing the policies on access to, use of and control of water resources.

The rural women form the most marginalized section of the population of Chhattisgarh State of India. Their condition is worse in all development indicators. Given their dependency on water resources it is quite possible that any decision related to access to, use of and control over water resources will affect them most. Hence Gender Evaluation of the issue is required to provide input to formulate and implement economically viable and gender sensitive policies on access to, use of and control over water resources. Currently there is an absence of such researches. This study seeks to fill up this gap.
The proposed study attains significance because Chhattisgarh is a newly emerged state of India, all policies are at formulation stage and inputs provided at this stage can have a significant impact.
Chhattisgarh is witnessing a public discourse on water issues to assert access, use and control over water as a human right. But the extent to which the objectives and the outcomes of such public discourses have included the gender issues is yet to be studied. Although the first movement against handing over the control of water resources to the industrials had witnessed a seven days hunger strike by a Tribal Women of the state in 1997 who died after 07 days. The study seeks to fill up this gap.

A gender sensitive research design has been employed. Three Cases have been studied (Sheonath river and Radius Water Limited at Raipur, Kelu River and Jindal Industries at Raigarh and Kurkut River and Jindal Tharmal Power at Rabo) where existing water resources have been handed over to the industrial houses. A Case Study method for the study has been employed. Qualitative and quantitative data have been collected as part of questionnaire supposed to be filled out by respondent. A total of 100 respondents (equal number of men and women) across three Cases have been surveyed. Data have been collected under the following heads: household and individual information, Links with water resources, Actual/Expected Impact of water policies, reactions and responses.
Data and information for the study have been collected through a household survey and focus group discussions. The household survey has covered households randomly selected from the sites, where industrialization is taking place and traditional water resources are given for industrial purposes. Equal numbers of men and women are covered by the survey. The purpose of the household survey has been to investigate impacts of water policies on women, children and other members of the household. The proposed research has involved conducting focus group interviews with the population, especially women. Focus groups are excellent research tools for conducting an in-depth examination of issues and concepts and reveal variation in perspective and attitudes (Knodel 1993). Each focus group consisted of 7 to10 people. Key informants have been interviewed concerning specific issues. In addition, Interviews have also been conducted with key people that included policy formulators, those who implement them, representatives from Industries, Civil Society and academia. The present research also relies on the secondary data sources in particularly the government records and reports prepared by civil society organizations.
The first step after the collection of data was to transcribe the focus group discussions and interview that facilitated analysis of the data. The second step involved looking for patterns and trends within interviews and across focus groups.

Major Findings

1. The decisions of the state government over the issues of access to, uses of control over water resources do not integrate the needs, expectations and demands of the people.
2. Most unfortunate fact is that even the communities that have been living on the banks of the rivers for generations have not been taken into confidence while taking decisions over the control of river waters.
3. The preferential treatment of the state government towards the needs of the industries is very clear.
4. While taking decisions over the ownership issues the communities depending on the water resources have not been given adequate attention. Consequently the communities are facing numerous problems. This has adversely affected their income, daily life and culture.
5. Women are suffering more. The change in the ownership of water resources has changed the agriculture and forest based rural economy to industry based economy. In agriculture and forest based economy women contributed to the family income equally and hence enjoyed better status in society and family. Now they are confined to the boundaries of the house without any scope to contribute to the family income. This is affecting their social status. Old women are facing more problems.
6. People have resisted to the decisions of the government. Women have participated in vast numbers to the movements. In some of the movements women are even at the forefront. But even within the movements at the time of major decisions, negotiations with the government women’s voices are not taken into consideration.
7. Government has reacted aggressively to the people’s movements and so far the rates of success of these movements have been not satisfactory.
8. The decisions of the state government are not in accordance of the spirit of Human Rights over Water.

Suggestions

1. The emphasis over industry driven development needs to be reconsidered from people’s perspectives.
2. There must be strict provisions in policy that the human needs of water should be given first priority in any decisions related to access to, use of and control over water resources.
3. A human rights based approach to water related issues should be adopted immediately.
4. There must be a realistic , need based and participatory policy for providing compensation to those affected due to ownership change in water resources.

My Speech on Teachers' Day

Honorable Chief Guest of today’s auspicious occasion of Teachers Day , His Excellency The governor of Chhattisgarh state, Shri Shekhar Duttji , Honorable Vice Chancellor Dr Lakshman Chturvediji , my respected colleagues, my dear students and erudite of the assembly . It’s a great honor indeed to me to share some of my thoughts with you all today. The thoughts that have been taking shape during my last 22 years association with this university as a teacher.

As far as today’s topic is concerned, as a student of political science in the present scenario I would prefer to get engaged in a discussion on role of teachers in building the world rather than limiting myself to the geographical boundaries of a nation as I trust that the students of this university do have the potential to contribute to the ongoing process of building the world.

Yes as teachers do have an unparallel opportunity to build those who build the nation and the world. It’s a great feeling of self respect and at the same time a great responsibility, a great challenge. I have tried to identify the various nuances of the role of teachers in building their students.

The first thing that is most important to me is to Inculcate Strong moral and human Values in the students. At the turn of this century we are experiencing profound cultural and psychological changes. Our understandings of the world is being destabilized and deconstructed. It’s a time when the world israpidlly transforming into a global village, where the geographical boundaries are diminishing. This is an era of information explosion and also of the most confusing conflict among various set of values. Its fact that a set of values is the foundation of any individuals life. In an emerging culture where both parents are working, where joint families are disappearing, where friends are available only on the face book, the teachers have greater responsibilities then ever to provide this much needed set of values to the young generation. The set of values that includes love, peace, tolerance, non violence.


The second thing that is very significant is to help the students grow as a rationally thinking individual. The human civilization, in our times is experiencing the best opportunities for growth and the worst ever challenges to its survival. The challenges are expanded from the global level to the local level. At the global level the civilization is threatened by the terrorism, threats to environment, growing population coupled with vanishing resources, intolerable economic inequalities and the threat of nuclear war. At the local level we do have dissident groups, corruption and fanaticism. There are times when one has to take sides; one has to decide his or her own course of action. We the teachers have the responsibility to produce an individual who is well informed and hence is capable of taking rational decisions at the time of crisis in his or her own life, in the life of nation or in the life of the human civilization itself.


The third very important thing is to equip the students with best possible employability opportunities. In other words to add best market value to the knowledge that are we imparting to them. It’s a well accepted fact today that those who dominate the economy will dominate the world and the whole global discourse. And one way to dominate the economy is to produce the human resources that are able to exploit the emerging economic opportunities. Only the teachers can do this. That is why the author of best seller “the world is flat” wrote that America needs to revise whole of its education system to meet the challenges posed by bengulru and bejing. Here in India the challenges are higher as Only 39.5 per cent of graduates in India are employable. We as teachers need to pay attention to this.


Another important way to contribute to the nation building is coming out of the class rooms and getting engaged with the society. There are two ways to do this first by conducting society oriented researches and second by having continuous dialogues with the society where we use our knowledge to help society in opinion formation over various contemporary issues. This becomes more pertinent in the context of developing countries where the common person is facing many dilemmas and generally does not have access to required information sources. Teachers can at the least narrow this information gap by sharing their knowledge.

Now I would also like to identify the challenges that a teacher faces while attempting to play his or her role in building the students.


The first challenge that we face as teachers is that the goals that we are expected to set and to achieve for our students are global and off course the aspirations of the students have also become global whereas the social –cultural context within which we have to work is local. Universities can not exist as islands. They are the part of the society. Continuously we do face the conflicts between the values and the work culture that are required to achieve the set goals for our students and the values and the work culture that our local community expects from us. Many of the times we helplessly experience that our energy, time and even resources are exhausted in our not so required engagement with such type of conflicts.

The second challenge is a very sluggish administrative machinery and to an extent its over domination in the sphere of policy decisions and resource allocation. Academics to grow requires a democratic , open , flexible and not so rule stricken environment where as the administration that is the supporting tool for academia is almost just the opposite.

The last challenge comes from us only. Most of the times we teachers are resistant to change. We do not want to learn the new skills, new languages of instruction, do not want to enrich our knowledge of our subject, seldom we are interested in initiating a participatory and transparent decision taking process, we try our best to protect the age old power structures within the academia, we are not very welcoming to entry of the new ideas and new people into our comfort zones. We try our best to stick to primitive mindset of dividing the teaching community in categories like senior and junior, ad hock and permanent etc. We who are supposed to be the change agents, most of the times become the biggest hurdles in brining the changes. To day we need to conduct a neutral and a ruthless self evaluation in the reference of the role that is expected from us.


Our university is upgraded to the status of a central university recently and the expectations have become higher from the teachers. I would share with you my observations on the process of transformation that university is undergoing currently . During the last one and half year the university has witnessed unprecedented positive changes that are slowly but steadily giving the university a shape that teachers like me have always craved for. Classes are as regular as were never before, teachers are teaching sincerely. More than 100 teachers with good academic credentials are appointed on contract basis .They belong to the best institutions of the country and have certainly contributed in up scaling the standard of teaching in the university. The supporting services for the students are increased and strengthened. To name a few of them are ,The university cafeteria that is now operated by the university community itself and that has become the most popular place for the university community now, Conditions in the hostels are improving, sports facilities are emerging , syllabus are revised to meet the global standards, administration has been almost overhauled . The plan for the networking of the campus is initiated. The campus has become most disciplined and free and secure for the students especially for girls. One day I saw a group of seven eight girls walking on the road that leads to girls hostel at around 6 in the evening, singing and laughing. One can watch students sitting under the huge green trees working on their laptops , reading books and having discussions. Believe me all this was not there a year ago. So many good things are happening.

For many of you these may seem very small steps but as a teacher I know that these small steps will lead us to the biggest goals. As a teacher I feel happy. I want to work harder. I want to contribute positively and constructively to this historical institution building process.

Two years back when I was a member of the Research Degree Committee that rejected all the applications for Ph. D. registration in Political Science because of the low standards, one of my colleagues from a post graduate reputed college in Bilaspur met me and told me that " Ham Bilaspur ke log Dilli Mumbai Walon Ki Barabari Nahi Kar Sakte" This was hurting. When i sent my 15 years old daughter for further studies in Delhi because of the lack of quality education in Bilaspur i felt sad. Why not we create a DU or a JNU or even a better institution right here in Bilaspur. Right now as a teacher i believe that the university is moving in this direction. We are at a juncture where if we work hard and in the right direction nothing can stop us in achieving this.

The journey so far has not been very smooth. There have been incidents of disturbing the peaceful ambiance of the university by the vested interests that are certainly hindering this process of institution building. Conflicts between the forces of changes and the forces that try to maintain the staus quo have been universal phenomena. Right now we in Guru Ghasidas University are also witnessing the same. Its one of the most positive but also the challenging time for all of us in the university. It would be most appropriate to remember Guru Ghasidasji at this juncture as he 400 hundred years ago exhibited the courage and the confidence to carve out a new path for himself and for his followers. The university is named after him and I am sure that the teachers and the students of the university together will be able to face the challenges successfully and will emerge as the winners, will emerge as the individuals who will one day build the nation and the world in the manner that the whole world will salute.

At the end I would like to share with you all vision of my university that is best reflected by Guru Rabindra Nath Tagore ,

WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Good Article

Just read the following article .

http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/sep/09/slide-show-1-murthy-on-why-india-faces-major-problems.htm

China Corner :)

Long awaited and much demanded Chinees corner could be started on 17th August. So far the response has been huge. Let us keep our fingers crossed that it sustains,

China Corner :)

Students Write ! Please Feel Free to Post Your Comment

A Class Survey was organized today ( 19-08-10) without any prior information to the students . BA First year Students were asked to write one pint that they like the most about the university and one pint that they dislike the most about the university. Same way they were asked to write one point each for the Department of Political Science. They were asked not to mention their names on the paper. It was a class of 40 students of BA Political Science hence the summary should not be taken as the representative of the opinion of all students in the campus. Following is the summary of the feed back.

++++ about the university,
1.Excellence in Education: Not available any where in Chhattisgarh, Teachers Make the university Special, teachers encourage to be ambitious. I feel pride in being a student of the university. Couldn’t have got such environment in any of the colleges. I am sure that I will be able to make my future here. When first day I entered the university I thought teachers would be very cruel but its not so… they are very good indeed.

2.Very Good Central Library Facilities , Very good books are available , net facility is also available

3.Marks on Attendance
4.Good Canteen specially Dhokala
5.No ragging
6.Very Friendly ambiance
7.Bus Facility is good
8.Very disciplined campus, no Gundaism or any sort of Ladai Jhagda
9.We like our Vice Chancellor. He is very good. I liked his speech on 15th August

--------/ suggestions About the University

1.Strictness on Attendance
2.No provisions to change the Honors Subject : This should be taken care of
3.Very unattractive infrastructure, dirtiness , Lack of gardens , we want our university to have a beautiful campus
4.No systematic arrangements of chairs , There should be modern tables and desks
5.In some subjects there are no provision for English medium classes
6.Still there are problems regarding the class rooms
7.Number of Hindi Medium books should be increased in the Central Library
8.Canteen doesn’t serve any kitchen items before 10 in the morning that is why we feel very hungry and sometimes we even have to bunk classes to go to the canteen to satisfy our hunger.
9.Proper sports facilities should be there
10.Website should be managed properly
11.Some times some students create problems in the campus, security should be tighten, some students do a lot of gossiping and politics that is bad. We don’t like strikes, we want to attend our classes.
12. Behavior of few officers has been very indecent. We don’t like a few teachers.
13.Its very hot here, there should be coolers in the class rooms and invertors
14.There should be extra classes for personality development and computers
15.No availability of pure water
16.Not sufficient choice of subjects and subject combinations
17.Hostel admission procedure is very long
18.Toilets are very dirty

+++++about the Department of Political Science

1.Teachers have very good command over subject, they are very knowledgeable
2.Teachers are friendly, individual attention to every student , they even lend their personal books to the students
3.Parallel guidance regarding the competitive exams
4.Teaching available in both of the mediums
5.Teachers are not biased to any particular student
6.Seminars of the department

---------/ Suggestions about the Department

1.We face shortage of chairs when the class starts
2.Some times other teachers of the department should also be given the chance to teach the BA first Year
3.Notes prepared by students should be checked , We are facing difficulties in preparing notes
4.More books should be available, there should be a system of issuing the books in the departmental library
5.Departmental Library should be kept open during the whole day
6.The seminar should be arranged in a time suitable to all so that all of us can attend it .

campus@9.00 AM

Me and Friend Seema clicked the campus at 9. 00 AM on a hot summer day.
Link is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq630FBFsh0

Our Research In News !

Dainik Bhaskar has given a wide coverage of our ongoin research on water related issues. News is available at the following link,

http://www.bhaskar.com/article/CHH-OTH-who-has-right-over-waterresearch-will-be-conducted-996743.html


बिलासपुर. बढ़ते जलसंकट के बीच आज यह तथ्य भी चर्चा में है कि आखिर पानी पर किसका अधिकार है? आने वाले दिनों में वैश्विक स्तर पर बनने वाली जलनीति में सेंट्रल यूनिवर्सिटी के मशविरों को भी ध्यान में रखा जाएगा।

भूजल के अंधाधुंध दोहन के बीच यूनिवर्सिटी ग्रांट कमीशन ने पानी संबंधी नीति पर रिसर्च के लिए सेंट्रल यूनिवर्सिटी के राजनीति शास्त्र विभाग को प्रोजेक्ट सौंपा है। प्रदेश में पानी का संकट और बढ़ता उपयोग जलस्तर तेजी से गिरने का कारण है।
गुरु घासीदास सेंट्रल यूनिवर्सिटी ने यूजीसी के सहयोग से ‘जेंडर इवेल्यूएशन ऑफ वाटर पॉलिसीज इन छत्तीसगढ़’ विषय पर शोध का निर्णय लिया है। शोध से प्रदेश सरकार को जल नीति के लिए सुझाव देने के साथ ही विश्वस्तर पर पानी के उपयोग पर नीति बनाने में मदद मिलेगी।
पानी की बढ़ती समस्या और पानी के लिए हो रहे जन आंदोलन को देखते हुए सेंट्रल यूनिवर्सिटी के राजनीति विभाग ने यूजीसी को पानी की नीति पर शोध करने का प्रस्ताव बनाकर भेजा था। इसे यूजीसी ने स्वीकार कर लिया है।

राजनीति शास्त्र की एचओडी डा.अनुपमा सक्सेना ने बताया कि औद्योगिकीकरण विकास के लिए महत्वपूर्ण है, लेकिन समुदाय, सरकार व उद्योग तीनों में से पानी पर नियंत्रण किसका है, यह सवाल हमेशा से उठता रहा है।

उन्होंने बताया कि समुदाय से प्राकृतिक संसाधनों को अन्यायपूर्ण तरीके से छीना जा रहा है। सरकार द्वारा पानी पर किसी और को अधिकार दिया जा रहा है, इसमें आम लोगों के हित की उपेक्षा हो रही है। डा. सक्सेना ने कहा कि 2 साल के इस प्रोजेक्ट में इन्हीं बातों पर कार्य किया जाएगा कि सरकार,समुदाय व उद्योगों के बीच पानी के उपयोग को कैसे संतुलित किया जाए। इससे विकास व जन कल्याण साथ-साथ होगा।

रागयढ़ में किया गया कार्य: डा. सक्सेना ने बताया कि इस प्रोजेक्ट पर रायगढ़ के गांवों में 15 दिनों तक काम किया गया है। इस दौरान यहां औद्योगिकीकरण के प्रभाव के संबंध में अनेक गांवों के हज़ारों ग्रामीणों से बातचीत की गई। इसके साथ ही प्रोजेक्ट से संबंधित सैकड़ों फोटोग्राफ भी लिए गए हैं।

जल नीति बनाने में मिलेगी मदद

डा.सक्सेना ने बताया कि वर्तमान में पूरे विश्व में जल नीति पर अनेक शोध हो रहे हैं। इनमें से एक यह भी है। विश्व स्तर पर सभी शोधों पर गहन विचार-विमर्श किया जाएगा। सभी शोधों के समन्वित अध्ययन के बाद विश्व स्तर पर निर्णय लिया जा सकेगा। संभवत: इसी वजह से यूजीसी द्वारा यह पहल की जा रही है।

Reforms in Higher Education/ Semester System

The follwoing link from the Delhi university is very useful to give a comprehensive idea of Semester System its usefulness, challanges etc.

http://www.du.ac.in/du/sem-system.pdf