Youngistan does India proud

One of the joys of being a journalist is that yoursquore always meeting different kinds of people and every day can be a day of discovery Irsquom currently leading a journalism mentoring programme for the Prime Ministerrsquos Rural Development Fellowship PMRDF in partnership with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences TISS I know you thought I was only a film critic sorry and spoiler alert but in my Other Life I work in development issues It is quite challenging to try and teach the basics of good journalism in just four lectures to a group of 60 Fellows of diverse backgrounds from all over the countryChildren at a school in Simdega district Pic PMRDF Scheme official facebook pageThe PMRDF programme is an amazing exercise The Indian state has been desperately trying to subdue Naxalite violence in several states for decades The ministry of home affairs has recorded 12399 fatalities in Leftwing extremist incidents from 19992014 The government strategy in addressing this problem is twopronged on one hand it deploys various security personnel to destroy Maoist cadres On the other its Integrated Action Plan has pumped Rs 30 crore per district with concentrated development plans in 60 lsquoLeftwing extremist districtsrsquo in nine states to bring drinking water electricity roads schools housing and primary health centres to the poorest and wean them away from the Naxals Since the violence although abated continues despite everything Jairam Ramesh former Union Rural Development minister came up with the idea of involving the nationrsquos youth in helping find solutions His ministry set up the PMRDF to encourage young Fellows who were posted for three years in Leftwing extremism affected districts to become catalysts for transformative development These youngsters were to find out why things are still going wrong and try to improve the system in their own ways boosting development delivery to the lowest rungs Ramesh called it a leap in the darkI salute the idea and the programme as an excellent outofthebox approach to the problem Imagine they received nearly 10000 applications and only 140 Fellows were selected in 2012 graduates and postgraduates between 2130 years TISS equips them with knowledge and skills for transformative development The Fellows have been posted for three years in 83 districts in nine states including Maharashtra and paid handsomely R75000 per monthThe journalism mentoring programme was to guide the Fellows to write articles in which they share their unique insights gained from grassroots experience in the farflung districts Irsquom editing these as a book that is to be published This opportunity has allowed me to understand what todayrsquos inspiring youth are willing to do for the nation The PMRDF youngsters many of them MBAs have chosen to commit themselves to three years in a rural Leftwing extremist area posting just as their careers are poised for takeoff One Fellow a former research fellow at the University of Minnesota US gave up a wellpaid job in Delhi to take on his rural posting his wife is also a PMRDF Fellow and they have a small baby These choices tell me something wonderful about Youngistan its idealism sacrifices and commitment to India Usually these terms are associated with those who participated in the freedom struggle But they still ring true in 2015As lsquocatalysts for transformative developmentrsquo they tried to make innovations and linkages so that government benefits could reach the poorest Apart from helping bring food jobs and shelter to those who had fallen off the map they got microATMs in remote areas so tribals could get pensions they started sericulture and floriculture programmes they organised Adivasi and Dalit traditional singers and dancers to create awareness of government schemes through their art earning a livelihood from these dying artsMany districts they visited still did not exist in official records They met families of whom Naxals have demanded give us one of your childrenIn chapter after chapter the Fellows plead with the government not to bombard people with more schemes and projects but emphasise better implementation of existing schemes One of them recommends that we put the beneficiaries in charge of the programme instead of the babus Officials usually assess development in numbercrunching terms but one of the Fellows wrote with acute insight Development is when a tribal walks unafraid to the District Collectorrsquos office and demands his rights without fearThe PMRDF intends to build a pool of skilled professionals who also have empathy for the poorest to work towards a longterm solution to Indiarsquos persistent poverty It has been very humbling getting to know these young Fellows who have had the faith and determination to change in their own ways Indiarsquos shame and favourite excuse the system Meenakshi Shedde is South Asia Consultant to the Berlin Film Festival an awardwinning critic curator to festivals worldwide and journalist She can be reached at meenakshisheddegmailcom The views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper