Tana Bana- Bhagalpur's Hope
This write up is based on my visit to Bhagalpur, Bihar, India which falls under one of India's most improvised districts. Bhagalpur is famous for Silk Weaving and according to Government data, there are at least 50,000 weavers. Advent of powerlooms, cheap imports from China and lack of any investment from Goverment or the private sector has completely destroyed the weaving industry. At present a family cant even earn Rs1500 (approx $33) per month.
Bhagalpur (April 15-April 17, 2009)
I woke up at 6.30 in the morning and felt that something is wrong since we are not moving. Any one who has travelled through Indian Railways always dread for this moment. When the train suddenly stops and doesn’t move for more than 10 mins. It can be a faulty track, faulty engine, someone pulled a chain to get down, an accident ahead, a rail blockade by some nationalist fighting for free rail travel, ...all bad thoughts clouds your mind.
The previous day I took the Vikramshila Express from New Delhi and was surprised that it has the same few stops as the Rajdhani Express to Patna. I asked my co-passenger, an elderly gentleman from Jamalpur in Bihar, who the previous evening was giving tips about how to control diabetes and blood pressure to my fellow passengers, as to where we are. To my surprise since we are before time, the train has been made to halt at a station ahead of Patna. Wow, so much for my dirty thoughts about Indian Railways.
As we left Patna the same train converted from an express train with few stoppages to a passenger train stopping at each and every stop. My 2nd AC compartment was taken over by passengers without ticket. This was my first exposure to the prevailing caste system in Bihar. Even ticket less travellers in Bihar are segregated based on caste and wealth. Only who are higher in this social hierarchy gets preference of boarding a higher class compartment. Isn’t this what Gandhi fought for in South Africa? But of course there is no discrimination as to travelling without a ticket in Bihar. I can see why it’s important for the Railway Minister to be always from Bihar. Later on my friend Ravi from Bihar Development Trust (BDT) told me a story about this train that runs between Patna and Mokama where instead of paying the regular ticket fare of Rs 30, everyone pays Rs 10 to the Ticket Collector (TC). The passenger saves Rs 20, the TC makes Rs 10. A win-win for everyone. Any way who cares for the Railways? The Government is any way always in a deficit.
I looked at my watch and was happy to know that we are on time even after so many chain pulling. Maybe the time table has accommodated such eventualities. But suddenly all my awe about the Indian Railways and its Management Guru, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav was dashed to the ground. We have stopped at a station called Nath Nagar which is 10 Kms from Bhagalpur and it’s almost now an hour. All those evil thoughts came to haunt me. Is there a riot? Or maybe the driver has gone to meet his relatives? With desperation I called up Prabhat, my contact at BDT who has come to pick me up from the station asking him whether everything is fine out there. He told me not to think about such in-auspicious things and that I will reach the station at around 2 p.m. when the existing train waiting at Platform No. 1 departs. Are you kidding? We were made to wait for 1.30 minutes because there was no platform available?
What a Welcome
As I shook hands with Prabhat, I realised how hot Bhagalpur is. Although I have gone from Delhi where temperatures has started rising after the brief winter, but Bhagalpur is bad. I asked Prabhat as to whether it’s always so hot. According to him, temperatures will rise up to 45degrees and the rain will not descend till August.
Suddenly I was in the middle of action. The cab that took me to the hotel got stuck in traffic. All of a sudden he reversed his vehicle and went into a narrow lane informing everyone on his way who were stuck to take alternate routes. Even an advanced GPS system can’t provide information to fellow drivers so fast. Now I know the importance of Local Knowledge that our NGO brethren talks about. And for the next 10 minutes as the cab took to the narrow lanes and was negotiating a turn, a bend, a cow, a rickshaw at break neck speed I was thanking God for all the good things that he provided me in this life and that no one should know that I ended my life in one of those smelling narrow drains of Bhagalpur. Suddenly he braked and we are in front of the hotel.
Lodhipur
Next day after having breakfast, waiting for almost an hour for it to be served, we left for a small village called Lodhipur around 5 kms on the outskirts of Bhagalpur. This trip of mine was for the purpose of exploring the possibility of setting up a company which will be partly owned by the weavers from whom CFM has been so
urcing scarves and stoles. As we walked into the village, I could see poverty staring at me. Although I have been to many places across India, but this is really bad.
Bhagalpur (April 15-April 17, 2009)
I woke up at 6.30 in the morning and felt that something is wrong since we are not moving. Any one who has travelled through Indian Railways always dread for this moment. When the train suddenly stops and doesn’t move for more than 10 mins. It can be a faulty track, faulty engine, someone pulled a chain to get down, an accident ahead, a rail blockade by some nationalist fighting for free rail travel, ...all bad thoughts clouds your mind.
The previous day I took the Vikramshila Express from New Delhi and was surprised that it has the same few stops as the Rajdhani Express to Patna. I asked my co-passenger, an elderly gentleman from Jamalpur in Bihar, who the previous evening was giving tips about how to control diabetes and blood pressure to my fellow passengers, as to where we are. To my surprise since we are before time, the train has been made to halt at a station ahead of Patna. Wow, so much for my dirty thoughts about Indian Railways.
As we left Patna the same train converted from an express train with few stoppages to a passenger train stopping at each and every stop. My 2nd AC compartment was taken over by passengers without ticket. This was my first exposure to the prevailing caste system in Bihar. Even ticket less travellers in Bihar are segregated based on caste and wealth. Only who are higher in this social hierarchy gets preference of boarding a higher class compartment. Isn’t this what Gandhi fought for in South Africa? But of course there is no discrimination as to travelling without a ticket in Bihar. I can see why it’s important for the Railway Minister to be always from Bihar. Later on my friend Ravi from Bihar Development Trust (BDT) told me a story about this train that runs between Patna and Mokama where instead of paying the regular ticket fare of Rs 30, everyone pays Rs 10 to the Ticket Collector (TC). The passenger saves Rs 20, the TC makes Rs 10. A win-win for everyone. Any way who cares for the Railways? The Government is any way always in a deficit.
I looked at my watch and was happy to know that we are on time even after so many chain pulling. Maybe the time table has accommodated such eventualities. But suddenly all my awe about the Indian Railways and its Management Guru, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav was dashed to the ground. We have stopped at a station called Nath Nagar which is 10 Kms from Bhagalpur and it’s almost now an hour. All those evil thoughts came to haunt me. Is there a riot? Or maybe the driver has gone to meet his relatives? With desperation I called up Prabhat, my contact at BDT who has come to pick me up from the station asking him whether everything is fine out there. He told me not to think about such in-auspicious things and that I will reach the station at around 2 p.m. when the existing train waiting at Platform No. 1 departs. Are you kidding? We were made to wait for 1.30 minutes because there was no platform available?
What a Welcome
As I shook hands with Prabhat, I realised how hot Bhagalpur is. Although I have gone from Delhi where temperatures has started rising after the brief winter, but Bhagalpur is bad. I asked Prabhat as to whether it’s always so hot. According to him, temperatures will rise up to 45degrees and the rain will not descend till August.
Suddenly I was in the middle of action. The cab that took me to the hotel got stuck in traffic. All of a sudden he reversed his vehicle and went into a narrow lane informing everyone on his way who were stuck to take alternate routes. Even an advanced GPS system can’t provide information to fellow drivers so fast. Now I know the importance of Local Knowledge that our NGO brethren talks about. And for the next 10 minutes as the cab took to the narrow lanes and was negotiating a turn, a bend, a cow, a rickshaw at break neck speed I was thanking God for all the good things that he provided me in this life and that no one should know that I ended my life in one of those smelling narrow drains of Bhagalpur. Suddenly he braked and we are in front of the hotel.
Lodhipur
Next day after having breakfast, waiting for almost an hour for it to be served, we left for a small village called Lodhipur around 5 kms on the outskirts of Bhagalpur. This trip of mine was for the purpose of exploring the possibility of setting up a company which will be partly owned by the weavers from whom CFM has been so
urcing scarves and stoles. As we walked into the village, I could see poverty staring at me. Although I have been to many places across India, but this is really bad.Since they were informed that we will be there, there was a small charpoy being readied for us to sit with an old table fan lazily blowing some hot air onto me. Around 6 weavers with their family surrounded me w
ith hope on their eyes, as if I am the harbinger of wealth. Only Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth gets that kind of treatment. On interacting with the weavers, I came to know that there are around 40 looms in the village with 50% of them being dismantled and hung from the ceiling since there are no orders. Bhagalpur, two years back used to do around Rs 150 crore of business from its weaving business. But today, its a relic of its past. With the government not putting any efforts to upgrade existing infrastructure, there has been very little change that has happened. With the Mahajans (the middle man) exploiting the weavers and making merry themselves, over the years the poor became poore
r while the rich became richer. Power looms took over in the guise of competing with China with little regard to positioning your product differently. With power cuts, diesel generators brought both noise and smoke into the lives of these villagers. With a production process where there is minimal capital investment, we went to a model where unless you invest, you can’t get returns. While the handlooms were the property of the weavers and they prided over it, the power looms became the property of the Mahajans, with the weavers becoming sweat shop workers. And in the process the traditional craft slowly went to its death bed.
The Mahajan Model- How to Create an Exploitative Economic Model
A Mahajan (middleman) goes to the weavers and gives them an order by showing a sample. He doesn’t provide any working capital. The weaver needs to buy the threads and dye it using his own meagre resources or borrow money from again another Mahajan at around 30-50% interest. Once production is over Mahajan picks up the goods, pay the cost price excluding wages with a promise to pay it after 90 days. In the meantime the weaver has to repay the loan to the money lender. In maximum cases, when after 90 days a weaver approaches Mahajan for final payment of wages, Mahajan explains that since he has not been able to sell his inventory, so why don’t the weaver takes 50% of the payment and the rest after he is able to sell his remaining inventory. Which the weaver knows that he will never get.
Now the question is why the weavers don’t revolt? Well in that case he will never again get any order from the Mahajan or even from other Mahajans. So the cycle of exploitation continues. Can we come out of it? Yes we can do that. And that’s what CFM (http://www.whycfm.org/) is trying to do across many states in India.
ith hope on their eyes, as if I am the harbinger of wealth. Only Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth gets that kind of treatment. On interacting with the weavers, I came to know that there are around 40 looms in the village with 50% of them being dismantled and hung from the ceiling since there are no orders. Bhagalpur, two years back used to do around Rs 150 crore of business from its weaving business. But today, its a relic of its past. With the government not putting any efforts to upgrade existing infrastructure, there has been very little change that has happened. With the Mahajans (the middle man) exploiting the weavers and making merry themselves, over the years the poor became poore
r while the rich became richer. Power looms took over in the guise of competing with China with little regard to positioning your product differently. With power cuts, diesel generators brought both noise and smoke into the lives of these villagers. With a production process where there is minimal capital investment, we went to a model where unless you invest, you can’t get returns. While the handlooms were the property of the weavers and they prided over it, the power looms became the property of the Mahajans, with the weavers becoming sweat shop workers. And in the process the traditional craft slowly went to its death bed.The Mahajan Model- How to Create an Exploitative Economic Model
A Mahajan (middleman) goes to the weavers and gives them an order by showing a sample. He doesn’t provide any working capital. The weaver needs to buy the threads and dye it using his own meagre resources or borrow money from again another Mahajan at around 30-50% interest. Once production is over Mahajan picks up the goods, pay the cost price excluding wages with a promise to pay it after 90 days. In the meantime the weaver has to repay the loan to the money lender. In maximum cases, when after 90 days a weaver approaches Mahajan for final payment of wages, Mahajan explains that since he has not been able to sell his inventory, so why don’t the weaver takes 50% of the payment and the rest after he is able to sell his remaining inventory. Which the weaver knows that he will never get.
Now the question is why the weavers don’t revolt? Well in that case he will never again get any order from the Mahajan or even from other Mahajans. So the cycle of exploitation continues. Can we come out of it? Yes we can do that. And that’s what CFM (http://www.whycfm.org/) is trying to do across many states in India.
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