Recasting Citizenship for Development - File UPI

372 RAJESH RAMAKRISHNAN, VIREN LOBO AND DEPINDER KAPUR
rural elite and petty bureaucracy reaped the benefits of development programmes.
The condition of women was the worst; as they bore the brunt
of both casteist and patriarchal values, their social image and their own
self-image was very low.
It was in this scenario that the sathin was seen as a grassroots organiser
who would catalyse the shift from acquiescence to self-assertion among
women from the most deprived sections of rural society. Women from
the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in very backward villages were
chosen. An honorarium of Rs 200 per month was fixed as incentive to
draw women to join as sathins in the programme. The very concept of a
sathin as a grassroots organiser was a departure from the accepted practice
of using ‘professionals’ or outside experts. Selected sathins and prachetas
received initial training that emphasised experiential learning. Through
a process of community living and sharing of life experiences, an atmosphere
of mutual trust and understanding was created. The training was
the crucial component in building the sathin’s self-confidence with a new
set of values. When she went back to her village, she had the task of analysing
her village situation, particularly to identify the problems of women
and their needs, to organise women, and initiate steps to solve their problems
and meet their needs.
THE SATHIN’S FUNCTIONING AND SUPPORT
FROM THE STATE
The National Commission for Women (NCW) in its report ‘The Sathin’
had words of high praise for the work of the sathins in the 12 years since
the inception of the programme.
What needs to be re-stated over and over again is that these Sathins have
had to deal with tremendous social pressures and economic hardships.
Often it has been sheer grit and determination and a test of their courage
and endurance that has brought them the successes that they have achieved.
Today, they are powerful agents of social change. (NCW 1996)
The NCW report and other case studies also highlighted the support extended
to the sathin from the WDP, which is an in-built feature of the
programme. For example, the NCW report said that when the sathin