AN OVERVIEW OF LALPUR VILLAGE

In September Asha volunteer Anil Sharma came to spend about ten days at
the Asha Ashram in Lalpur village with the purpose of carrying out a
comprehensive survey of the entire village. This was the first
systematic study of the village.

There are 66 houses in the village with 81 families. 17 out of the 81
families are completely landless. Average land holding of a family is
approximately one to 1.5 bighas of land. 22 families belong to the
backward caste called Arakh and rest are Scheduled Castes. People are
involved in agricultural work for five and a half to six months a year.
In the remaining time they work as labourers in nearby areas or Lucknow.
The minimum wage they get is Rs. 20-30 per day in addition to the
mid-day meal. The official minimum wage of U.P. government is more than
Rs. 45 a day. For about one and half months some villagers are also
employed in sugarcane work. Some people also go to work in nearby brick
kilns where they can earn Rs. 1400-1500 per month. Here they work and
take rest alternately for two hours each. There is no collective
migration pattern from the village.

Most of the houses in the village are made of mud. Some of them are
really beautiful. The house of Reoti Ram is 300 years old and has got a
strong ceiling which can possibly support another storey. There are mud
staircases leading to roof top. There are four rooms constructed in the
entire village, in brick as part of Indira Awas Yojana of the government
and like all government schemes they had to pay a bribe to get its
benefit. There is only one enterprising villager Sundar who has built a
brick house for himself out of his own earning. The literacy rate of the
village is quite poor. Most of the people do not know reading and
writing, although a number of them can sign. It is a different matter
that they may not even recognize their own signature. People in the age
group 20 to 40 years have some literacy skills whereas the age group
below 20 years is better off in this regard. However, even youth who
have passed high school examination can hardly write a correct hindi
sentence. The quality of education that they have received is quite
lacking.

Most of the villagers get irrigation water from a government canal.
They have to pay Rs. 30 per bigha or Rs. 40 per hour for water from
private tube wells. Most of the people don’t have bullocks. They get
hired tractors to till their land. The entire village has about 10-15
cows and about 10 buffaloes. Execept for one or two people in the
village nobody is under huge debt. Most of the people owe between Rs.
500 to 1000 to the money lenders. There is lot of uncertainity in
share-cropping. One year they may get 10-20 bighas of land to cultivate
and next year they may get only two bighas.

The villagers have identified health and education as their two
priorities. They think that they should possess functional literacy
skills so that they can carry out their day to day work. They are
enthusiastic about the fact that now there is one place in the village,
the Asha Ashram, where they can comfortably obtain a lot of educational
information. They like the things which are told to them by various
visitors of the ashram as well as its inmates. They want to overcome the
petty politics which doesn’t allow them to progress and feel the need
for somebody showing them the way. They want to help each other and even
get together in times of difficulty but they realize that unity among
the villagers is lacking. The youth of the village, in the age group of
20-35 years, is quite enthusiastic and wants to do something meaningful.

In terms of gender equality the village fares slightly better than the
general situation in north India. It is because both women and men have
to work to support their families. Some women have left their husbands
in situations where there was lack of compatibility. It has been seen in
this village that when a couple does not get along well, they prefer to
part ways rather than frequently quarrel.

The health situation of the village is pretty bad. There is an ailment
in almost every family. Use of tobacco and opium are common practice.
Women folk are not behind in this matter. The villagers were depending
on quacks and local doctors, who have set up small shops in markets, so
far for treament. The Ashram now arranges a visit to this village every
third Sunday of the month of one homeopathic doctor, Kusum Singh. An
Asha supporter, Sudhakar Reddy, who work for a Hyderabad based company
Allen Homeo and Herbal Products Limited has been kind enough to request
his company to sponsor medicines for this village for a year. Mahesh,
Ashish and other Asha volunteers dispense medicines whenever needy
villagers come to the Ashram. First aid facility if also available at
the Ashram. Intervention of Ashram is also sought in serious matters,
like when somebody takes poison or somebady has to be taken to Lucknow
for advanced treatment. So, Asha is presently delivering the services of
Health and Education free of cost to this village in a comprehensive
sense.

The Ashram has become a public place in true sense. Enthusiastic
children can always be seen there. The villagers prefer to spend their
free time here. Most of the villagers are followers of Raidas and Kabir.
Often there are singing sessions during evening meetings. There is no
temple in the village. Neither do the villagers spend any time in ritual
worshipping. Probably, in the struggle to ensure their basic suvival
they do not have any time for this. Compared to the general situation in
north India the village is relatively free of politicization. No dalit
leader of significance has visited the village till now. There is not
much interaction of the village with outside world, especially cities
and the general knowledge of the villagers is quite poor.

By Sandeep
Address: A-893 Indira Nagar, Lucknow-226016, U.P.
Phone: (0522) 347365; E-mail: ashain@l...