This is not a report for the Asha schools being run by the Irula sangas. I would say this is more of a
personal report, since I wanted to spend some time with them and get some idea of how they work, what are
the issues they work on etc. This report is not as complete since I cannot put down all my experiences in
writing. This report is more about the way the Irula Sangam functions. The schools are just a small part of
the community development activity. 

Irula Sangam : The Irula Sangam is a orgnaisation for the Irulas.  Right now there are about 20000 members
and they are expanding further into newer villages increasing their membership. The main aim of the
sangam is to organize the Irulas and generate awareness amongst them about their rights and help
them get patta ( a govt. document) for the land that they stay on, help them get a St certificate, help
them in tackling atrocities inflicted on them by landlords, rice mill owners etc. and provide them a
stage  where they can settle personal conflicts also.  The sangam gives the confidence and the courage to
oppose against any ill treatment. 

REPORT ON MY 3 DAY VISIT TO THE IRULA THOZHILALAR SANGAM

June 9 2001 : Meeting of the  Sarpam staff in Thiruvallur., at the head office of the Irula Sangam.
Siddamma and I left from Madras on 9th around 9am and went to Tiruvallur to the office of Irula Sangam. She
was initially staying there and has recently shifted to Madras. So the house is now being used as the Irula
sangam head office.  As we entered the house,  about 25 people were seated in the room ready for the
meeting. Some of  these people as they later introduced themselves, were working as field staff,
coordinator for different talukas etc. This was their weekly meeting in which, different people working in
various villages and Talukas were to update the sangam about their activties. Siddamma had moved  to  Madras
and henceforth, the Irula sanga would  have to function more independently. 

The confidence in the people was evident as the meeting  proceeded. Krishnan, the leader of the Irula
Sangam was coordinating and moderating the meeting very well.  Even small issues like keeping the house
cum office clean was put forth. The meeting also discussed the issues to be brought up at the gathering
in Gummidpundi area on June 10th. People were very confident and articulate about the issues.  Every  one
was given a chance to speak and everyone was heard.  A few songs were sung. These songs have been written by
the staff itself and are very down to earth songs, talking about the atrocities faced by the Irulas and
how there are ways to overcome them. 

First there was an update about what was done in the villages in the last one week. Update about the
problems being faced regarding getting Patta for the Irulas. There was also the problem of rice mill owners
torturing the children that was discussed. There are lots of rice mills in the area called Red Hills.
Estimated rice mills area about 2500 and there are about 50 children at least in each rice mill. The
issue of bonded laborers in these rice mills was also discussed. One suggestion that came up was since the
rice mills are all close by,  a school  could possibly be started for the children and this could potentially
be an entry point to organize the rice mill workers to demand for their rights and proper working 
conditions. A major problem with the rice mill is that the workers and their family stay inside the rice mill
itself and so end up working for longer hours, till late in the  night. Also, another problem is that the
workers do no want to organize for various reasons ( They have been cheated earlier by other sangas, or
they are scared of the rice mill owners etc).  This discussion ended here, since we had other issues to
discuss, and this was a new territory that the sanga would have to step into in the near future. 

While the issue of bonded labor in rice mills was being discussed Krishnan commented ; Once an officer
asked ? Why do people oppose bonded labor. Isn?t it good for the laborer since he gets a place to stay,
get good food to eat..? This is the state of awareness amongst the officials. 

The effectiveness of the sanga was obvious after the following discussion. A 17 year old boy working in a
coir mill had 4 of his fingers cut as his hand got caught in one of the machines. The owner of the
factory wanted to settle this issue for just 10000 Rs. The mother brought up this issue with the coordinator
of that area and now the sangam has decided that they won?t settle for anything less than 50000. Otherwise,
they will go to court and they can definitely claim at least 1 Lakh as compensation.  The owner is willing to
give that boy wages without working in the factory. He has told these people that he is willing to take the
boy in the factory make him sit in a place without doing any work and pay him. But he won?t give it in
writing that he has asked the boy to come back to the factory. The sangam people did not accept it and have
told him : Either 50000 Rs now or we will go to court. I later got to know that this lady?s house was also
burnt down. I don?t know the reason for it though. The amount of backing and strength that a sangam gives to
these innocent people is what the sangam is worth for.


After the lunch break they discussed the agenda for the next day and also the agenda for Monday. On
Monday, we were to go to various new villages where people have become members of the Sangam and
inaugurate a board which proclaims that people of that village are members of the sangam. These new villages,
belonged to the Taluka of gummidpundi and  so the planning was left to the staff of that area. Where we
were going to stay, eat , order of visiting villages etc.  

The days meeting ended by discussing about the coming Panchayat elctions. The sangam is planning to nominate
some Irulas in certain talukas to stand for panchatyat elections. Earlier without the panchayat leader, they
has to directly deal with the government officials,. But now with the panchayat leader in place. They have
to go through him for every small need. If he is from some other caste , he again does not care for the
Irulas, who are in the lower most rung.  So the Irulas want to stand for the panchayat elections, and not
only work for themselves but also for the whole village. The work on elections is a long and difficult
one. But the Irulas want to stand for the elections, even if they don?t win. After all there has to be a
beginning somewhere. 

The days meeting was over and I then went to Gandhigramam, which was Krishnan's village.
Gandigramam is a wonderful  villages surrounded with Paddy fields and so mosquitoes are abundant at this
time of the year?There was a marriage ceremony in the night and there were drums playing all night. I spoke
to Maniamma who along with Siddammma, Krishnan and his wife has been involved in this from the beginning. She
told me about the struggles and the days when they were put in jail for no fault of theirs, the
opposition they faced initially by their own people before starting the organisation etc. 

June 10th  : We started on our way to this village in Gummidipundi. I forget the name of the village. There
was to be a gathering of all the nearby villages. A meeting was held 3 months back and this was a
follow-up meeting to discuss what all had been done in that area in the last 3 months and where should we go
from here. We were expecting about 80 people, but there were only 30 or  so who came. There were some
functions in some villages and so people did not turn up I believe.  As usual, the sangam staff started with
their motivational songs. The villagers who had come for the meeting did not seem very excited and
confident.  But as the meeting progressed all this was to change. The people were made to talk about their
idea of why they need a sangam and what they expect out of it. People started talking and different
incidents in various villages were narrated wherein the sangam had helped in resolving internal conflicts,
getting patta., getting confidence to face the landlords etc.  One lady said that the sangam was
necessary, but at the same time, this should not be at the cost of going against the whole village.  It was
good to hear this view point, since this meant that people were not just thinking about the sangam and its
benefits but also about the village as the community and talking about benefits for all. 

The villagers were now talking and they were being more aggressive and open. They were now asking for a
Sangam ID card, which says that they belong to the Irula sangam, and is more weighty than their words.
Siddamma explained to them that they were working on it and that she understood the necessity of the ID
card. A lot of sangas have earlier taken money  from them for ID cards and duped them. By giving false ID
cards. She explained to them the reasons for delay  in ID card, since they were waiting to get  a government
number for the organisation and also how the recent elections have also further delayed the print of the
ID cards, since the CMs have changed. How they have tried to register it as a laborers organisation rather
than a tribal orgnaisation.  The people were convinced of these explanations and said they were ready to wait. 

After lunch the villagers were made to organize a skit. They were given half an hours time. The skit was
to portray their life style now and how they would like to live in the future. The skit generated lots of
enthusiasm and people were now more confident that yes, the sangam can help us and we need to speak and
stand up for our rights. Through the skit the people brought out the issue of standing in the elections for
bettering themselves and other communities in the villages.  The gathering ended with this note and the
people from these villages went back I guess feeling a lil bit more empowered. 

We then visited a couple of villages that the staff had recently identified where Irulas were living.
After a visit to Gandigramam a visit to these 2 new villages made me realize at least the superficial
differences that were present. The first village had just a water pump and no other facilities. There were
only huts and the people were very apprehensive about the sanga. There were at least 50 children in that
village alone and they were just running around and playing. None of the children there was going to
school.  The other village was even remote. The closest village to it was about 3-4 kms away. I don?t
recall seeing an hand pump also there.  However there were 2 children going  to a nearby school. The people
were living by cutting and selling firewood from the forest nearby.  The land on which these people were
staying was also not theirs. 

We then left the place and went to have dinner and after that to a village where there was a function for
celebrating a child?s B?day and punching a hole in his ears. After the ceremony, there was supposed to be
dance etc. The villagers were interested in movie songs. But the Sangam people staged a two skits. One
was about  family fights or fights within Irulas over small things and that we need to avoid it. The other
one on how we should not blindly follow or listen to someone without knowing about the complete issue,
which means that we need to be aware of things.  And of course there were songs. 

June 11th  : We started of the day by visiting to various villages and opening the boards which declared
that the village had members of Irula Sangam, the name of the coordinator of the village, taluka etc.  In all
the villages, chocolates were being given as sweet for the celebration of the event. Guess the city culture
is creeping in here too. Kalkandu , ( small white sugar balls) would have been a better choice I felt. (
Less plastic too) But that?s my personal opinion  After the 2 days activities this seemed more
bureaucratic and like any other inaugural ceremony, but with less pomp and show. People in all the
villages were very enthusiastic and cheerful. 

I then visited two of the Asha schools, one in Mullai Nagar and other in Pazhaverkadu. The children were
cheerful and smiling. In Mullai Nagar, The children were having their kanji  and  after finishing it the
children played a couple of skits, a dance and a song. One boy had very high fever and the teachers were told
to give him some medicine.  I think the medicines had gotten over. Before we left, one of the girls came and
asked me to take a picture of  all of them with the school.  Which I happily did and was glad that the
children were not afraid to speak out. 

At pazhaverkadu, the children were happy to see Siddamma and wanted her to stay there for a longer 
time. They danced and sang a song. There was something written in Tamil on the board and I asked them what
the meaning was. One of the girls said that it meant that we should live in harmony and unity.  We spoke
about what it meant in day to day life. The children were not afraid to speak out whatever they felt. The
children are amazing artists. One of the pictures was of a lion attacking a deer and it was amazingly well
drawn. I asked them if they have seen a lion and they said no, and then I asked how they drew it and they
said, we have seen it in some movie/pictures and drew it from there. Some of the drawings were done in
groups. Most of these children enjoy drawing and are good at it.

That ended my trip to these villages and schools.

Notes: 

1. The following problem was also discussed in the meeting : The money they have got for the travel
allowance etc for supporting the staff of the Irula sangam is not enough, since the TA was allotted for 8
people, but there are now 16 staff. So they have to split it amongst themselves. They also split the
salary for the 8 people into salary for 16 people. This means that they have to optimize their  travel. 
But it is an overburden to work in 130 villages with the money given for 60 or so villages.

2. This is in a way encouraging, since they have not limited themselves to just the money allocated to
them, but are growing at their own pace and expanding into more villages, rather than not expanding for the
lack of money.


3. There are going to be clashes in some villages between the SC people and the Irulas, since they are
both competing for getting ownership of the same land. The Irulas are aware of this. How they are going to
tackle it would definitely be something from which we can learn more. 


4. The staff is extremely talented, creative and committed. They know what they are working for and are
truly sincere in their work. 


5. Inspite of all this they are still dependent on Siddamma to give the final weight and credibility  to
the sangam. While talking to the staff I got to know that if Siddamma or Krishnan talk to the villagers,
the effect is more prominent than if the local volunteers do it.  But these local volunteers are the
ones, who work on getting the people to listen to them. Once Siddamma or Krishnan have spoken to the
gathering, the field staff then continue their work locally with more support from the people. This seems
necessary since the villagers have been cheated by many sangas and they want to get some credibility.