Breaking New Grounds in Tobacco Control - Voluntary Health ...

the group will not only be able to negotiate
with the institutions but also be able to
pressurise for the implementation of welfare
laws, labour laws and fight any injustice and
wrongs with them. Livelihood initiative in
groups also engages the community. This
level of solidarity has also lead to collective
movements which have fought many social
evils prevalent at the time. The anti-alcohol
movement in Andhra Pradesh in the 90s is
one of this kind. In 1991, women from the
rural Dubuganta district in the Indian state
of Andhra Pradesh sought to address growing
alcohol dependency among men and the
consequent problems of domestic abuse and
squandered household income by staging
protests aimed at forcing out local liquor
traders. The protests quickly spread across
the whole state. The struggle catalyzed a
larger social movement, known as the Anti-
Liquor Movement, leading ultimately to
a state-wide ban on alcoholic beverages,
passed in 1995.
Learnings and Future Roadmap
Jangipur area in Murshidabad has seen
generations of bidi rolling and little else.
No other industry has been able to flourish
in the area except bidi rolling. In such a
scenario, any initiative seeking to move bidi
rollers towards alternate vocations seems a
difficult task. Although VHAI has initiated
the programme and helped activate a
number of SHGs, keeping them engaged in
this effort is th challenge main. In an era
where the cost of living is very high, it
becomes difficult for the sustainability of a
small initiative. With the production cost,
work place rent, machine cost, instalment
charges and overhead expenses, it becomes
an expensive affair. Any small setback
would be enough to send them back to
bidi rolling. Although the government has
programmes for initiating a micro credit
livelihood in the rural areas, it is bogged
by neglect and accountability.
To make any initiative successful, it is
important to take into consideration the
existing realites. Apart from funding and
investment, mentoring, support and regular
review are other essential necessities.
VHAI’s programme has only touched a small
section of the people and it is imperative
that this is expanded to a large scale as
well as across several settings and this is
possible only with Government support.
The political leadership has to realize that
bidi rolling is not serving anybody’s interest
apart from a few capitalist bidi industries,
at the cost of millions of lives - either lost
by tobacco use or exploited at the hands of
bidi barons. For any country aspiring to be
on the global map, the larger objectives of
development can never be achieved without
the upliftment of the poor and exploited.
References
1. Ministry of Labour and Employment, Parliament
Question no 86, Winter session 2011
2. Bidis, factsheet, CTFK, http://global.
3.
tobaccofreekids.org/bidis_fact_sheets (accessed
on 1st December 2011)
VHAI, 2009, Caught in a Death Trap: The Story
of Bidi Rollers of West Bengal and Gujarat, VHAI,
New Delhi
4. Gupta, PC and Samira Asma, 2008, Bidi Smoking
and Public health, MoHFW, New Delhi
5. National Rural Livelihood Mission: Framework for
Implementation, Ministry of Rural Development,
GoI, indiagovernance.gov.in/download.php?
filename=files/NRLM.pdf (accessed on 1st December 2011)
About the Authors
Devashri Sinha is Research Associate, Tobacco
Control at VHAI.
Chandra Ramakrishnan is Manager, Health
Promotion and Development Communication,
VHAI.
n 47
January - March & April - June 2012