Knowledge and People's Power - Multiworld India

3. THE NEED TO PERSIST: LINKAGE WITHOUTDEADLINESHow long does it take to break up the relationship of submission and toapply the rule of redundancy in practice? The present experiences do notoffer any definite formula, except that one has to persist in the search for theautonomy of the people and the support of stable organizations. Sometimesdependence and paternalism continue for long periods, depending on thecircumstances, as in the cases studied. All the same, it is a sign of success thatthose who manage to break the subject-object binomial persist in doing so bytheir own means, with their own strength and without further need forguidance. This is a litmus test for PAR.Indeed, our fieldwork was not always successful. There were tips anddowns which were sometimes quite serious, resulting from various crises anddifficulties with people, and situations which could not be controlled orsufficiently anticipated.How can one explain these periods, of fatigue when interest was lost inthe interaction and organisation processes? Fortunately, these negativeaspects did not, last very long and there was, a general tendency to goforward in the process of change, The difficulties were understood rather asspecial problems related both to personal expectations and the time factor.They were connected with work rhythms, social processes and personal attitudes.We asked ourselves whether in, the praxis, of participatory actionresearch there, could ever be fixed deadlines, planning, formal evaluationand, absolute laws, or whether such research was necessarily a less rigorousand more conjunctural process.One of the main differences observed between, participatory actiontechniques employed locally and regionally in Colombia, Mexico andNicaragua and the classical methods of social research was the indefinite,plastic and open nature of PAR. The latter was seen to have no fixedcross-sections, such as surveys; there is no racing against the clock to meetestablished requirements or to write a thesis with the aim of graduating: onschedule. Successive work cycles are determined in PAR only by the, senseof commitment of the researchers (organic. intellectuals) to the people'sorganisations, movements and actions, and depend upon the goals achieved.PAR engagements are generally of, a, long-term nature lasting as long asthose taking part in them desire, continue or47