Mahila Shanti Sena. ONE-DAY WORKSHOP ON THE STATUS OF MSS and STRATEGY for COORDINATION, STRENGHTHENING & EXPANSION

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1 Mahila Shanti Sena Founded: February 2002 (Women s Peace Brigade International) MSS E-NEWSLETTER VOLUME 3 ISSUE 2 JUNE, 2011 Compiled by: Dr. Rama Singh, Professor, Department of Biology and Centre for Peace Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Ph: (905) ext , Fax: (905) ; singh@mcmaster.ca; A BRIEF REPORT ON ONE-DAY WORKSHOP ON THE STATUS OF MSS and STRATEGY for COORDINATION, STRENGHTHENING & EXPANSION By Sneh Kumar Mahila Shanti Sena (MSS) is the brainchild of Acharya Ramamurti. The idea formally took shape between February 21 and 27, 2002, at Vaishali Sabha before Gandhian Intellectuals, including 13 guests from Canada, the first batch of 108 MSS women and a large gathering (~10,000) of men and women from the nearby districts of Bihar. The idea was discussed, analysed and accepted by these participants, who realized its importance, relevance and need. Acharyaji was involved in the implementation of the idea of Mahila Shanti Sena from this beginning until his death on 20 th May, Despite few supporting team members and limited resources, he was successful in his endeavour. Eventually, in addition to Bihar, Mahlia Shanti Sena was replicated in Assam, Orissa, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Experiences were inspiring with positive results, and the organization grew in strength and numbers. Today, approximately women have been associated with the MSS movement. These women have tackled various issues such as petty conflict resolution, economic self reliance of women, cooperation in panchayatiraj by ensuring the access to the various programs, and domestic and sexual violence against women, among others. The passing away of Acharyaji has created a huge gap, and the lack of inspiration, leadership and guidance have been felt throughout the organization. The positive results and general recognition of the work of MSS was felt by its members, and there is great commitment to revive and maintain it. The slogan of Meet -- Talk -- Consensus (Sabha Samvaad Sahamati), given by Lord Buddha for sanghas, was adopted by Acharyaji for Mahila Shanti Sena, and we decided to use it as the organizational foundation for this current workshop. It must be noted that Dr. Rama Shankar Singh, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, supported the organization of the workshop not only ideologically but financially as well. ADITHI (A prominent NGO of Bihar working on Women s Empowerment since 1988) took initiative to provide organizational support. The major objectives of this workshop were: Present status of MSS movement Strategy for strengthening and expanding MSS Coordination of MSS movement The workshop was held on 21 st February 2011 at ADITHI in Muzaffarpur. It was presided over by Mrs. Shanti Devi (Convener of Prakhand Mahila Shanti Sena, Kanti, Muzaffarpur, Bihar). The day began with two minutes of silence paying homage to Acharyaji and Ravindra Bhai. Thereafter, Mr. Krishnakumar introduced the purpose & objectives of the workshop. A summary of his presentation and of those by others follow. Krishnakumar: We haven t met for a long time. Today is an occasion for getting together and sharing our thoughts. It is an insufficient time for such an important discussion, but it was important to organize this workshop. This is the first time we have met since the passing of Acharyaji. He lived an inspiring life of 97years and 4 months. The morning of May 20 th 2010, he woke up at the usual time, had breakfast, and didn t take lunch as he didn t feel hungry. He then rested peacefully without any tension, grief or worry. After the hip fracture, it was his custom to stay in bed. His assistants and associates could not imagine that it would be his last day of life. At 6 p.m. he took his last breath. I had been associated with him since For a decade from 1980 to 1991, I stayed in the village as we formed an institution there, but remained in contact with him 1

2 MSS Partner Organizations CANADA Canadian Gandhi Foundation for World Peace, Edmonton, Canada INDIA ADITHI (NGO) Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India Gandhi Peace Foundation Rajghat, New Delhi, India Gandhian Studies Foundation Rajghat, Varanasi, U.P., India Jaya Prakash Bharati (NGO) Rasulpur, Saran, Bihar, India Kasturba Gandhi Foundation Agartala, Tripura, India Mahila Shanti Sena Manipur, India Sharambharati (NGO) Khadigram, Bihar, India Tamulpur Anchalik Gramdan Sangh (TAGS) Kumarikata, Assam, India Unnayan (NGO) Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India USA Sustainable Economic and Educational Development Society (SEEDS) MSS is a registered not-forprofit organization in Canada. President s Corner Sneh Kumar spent much of his youth at Khadigram Ashram where his parents had joined Acharya Ramamurti s Gandhian organization, Shrambharati, with the aim of serving the masses. His parents were truly Gandhian and life-long workers of Shrambharati. I came to know Sneh closely during the inaugural conference of Mahila Shanti Sena held at Vaishali, Patna (Bihar) in February Sneh together with Umashankar Chaturvedi, Krishnakumar, Ramgulam Singh and others, no more than a dozen, made the team whose job was to organize and offer a Mahila Shanti Sena training program to rural women. Sneh and Umashankar were the main trainers. As youth Sneh went through a very traumatic experience of being kidnapped at Khadigram and this event, taking place right in the community where Acharyaji had served all his life, left a bitter feeling in the mind of Acharyaji. Mahila Shanti Sena peace movement provided a much needed diversion and a new direction. Acharyaji is no more, and while the Shrambharati organization continues to function, many members of the Shrambharati team have left Khadigram. Both Sneh and Umashankar are still active in social work and have joined self-help groups (SHGs) in Bihar. On my request they organized a day-long workshop in Muzzafarpur (Bihar) in February This was done with the intention of bringing together the old MSS women s group that had become dormant after Acharyaji s death. The workshop was attended by members of MSS from Bihar, Odisha, UP and Assam. We offer our sincere thanks to Sneh for preparing this report and to ADITHI (NGO) organization (Patna, Bihar) for providing logistic support. We hope the readers will like and benefit from the report. Rama Singh 2

3 through our regular visits to see each other. In 1992 I again started to live & work with him. I was his disciple, soldier and associate. His death shook me to my core. I thought, What will happen to this Mahila Shanty Sena movement? We would sometimes discuss this while he was alive, as well. He used to assure me that there was nothing to worry about, as MSS is the need of situation. He was quite confident about the relevance of MSS and its ongoing success. Despite his assurances, his death has caused a severe setback for the organization. He called MSS a creative revolution for the culture of peace. We toiled 2 long decades in search of this revolution. He called this period the Phase of Wilderness. When he developed the 3 point formula of Mahila Shanti Sena, Creative Revolution and Culture of Peace, he said that the phase of wilderness was now over and that he had caught the thread. It happened during the beginning of the 21 st century and he arrived at the firm opinion that coming change will be peaceful and creative and that it will be lead by women-power. He used to say that if a new culture has to be developed then women must be given a place on the frontlines. Thus, without any ideological hesitation, he presented the concept of Mahila Shanti Sena. He said, Gandhian tradition is full of experiments with non-violence. After Gandhi, Vinoba has shown how much the human being is full of compassion. It is the revolutionary of nonviolence who has to reveal this compassion. This was done by Vinoba and thereafter by Jai Prakash. Now who will do this experiment except women? Acharyaji was known as a thinker of Gandhian thought. But he was not merely a follower. He added new dimensions with his thinking and enhanced the thought with further experimentations. And that very Sneh Kumar, Mahila Shanti Sena (Bihar) On a day of the February, 1955, Acharya Ramamurti was delivering his speech at Kashi Vidyapith in Varanasi (A university established during the Indian Freedom Struggle for educating the youth involved in National Movement inspired by Mahatma Gandhi). His speech was focused on the Gandhian Ideology particularly on the equal honor to physical and mental/ intellectual labor as it was being experimented by him and his senior and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi - Dhirendra Majumdar. He appealed to students to come forward and join this experiment. After his speech, a student named Kamalapati came to him and said, I am ready to go with you for this cause. Acharyaji said, Go home and make your parents aware of your decision. Okay, I will write a letter and make them aware of it, he said. He went along with Acharyaji to Shramabharati Khadigram, the centre where such work was being done. From there, he wrote to his father and to his wife, Vidya, about the step he had taken and invited her wife to join him. She came and joined him. Along with their colleagues there, they went through the various process of experimentation with Gandhian Ideology Swavalamban (Self- reliance), Swadeshi (Using self-spun cloth & other products produced in village), etc. I was born on 25 January 1961 at Jasidih (Bihar) while my parents were on the move going village-to-village educating and motivating people to establish a society free from exploitation and undue interference of the state. During my early childhood, I stayed with my maternal grandparents and later at a Gandhian Institution in Uttar Pradesh while my mother went for higher education in My father was involved in Bhoodan (Land Gift) Movement. I stayed with my father when my mother went for her post-graduation. By then I was in class V. I finished my high school from Central Hindu School (Varanasi) and graduation from a college of district head quarter. I did MA (Philosophy) from Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi in After post- graduation (1971), I came to Shramabharati (Khadigram) and worked there till I got married to my wife Prabha (daughter of a Gandhian social worker of Bihar) on March 12, 1986 in Khadigram. From I worked in Sarva Seva Sangh, Rajghat, Varanasi (an organization of Sarvodaya activists ). There I learnt writing and editing and provided editorial support on a book to Acharyaji on Shiksha: Sanskriti aur Samaj (Education, Culture and the society). I had an opportunity to work as a social worker in an NGO close to Khadigram. In 1991, I had an opportunity to work on a research project on the problems of Indian Widows in association with Prof. Marty Chen of Harvard Institute of International Development. It s worth mentioning that I had been learning & experiencing informally from my parents and Acharyaji and through involvement of activities and event organized since In 1993, a fellowship on widows development (from Asoka Foundation, USA) was awarded for one year. On 20th February 1993 at 9.30 I was kidnapped by some local criminals and released after 4 days. In 1996, my father died. I joined an organization ADITHI working for women empowerment. There I worked as a project coordinator of a HIV/AIDS awareness project. From 1997 to 2000, I had been associated with an innovative project on non-formal education of working children at Chunar in Uttar Pradesh run by Shramabharati Khadigram. In 2001, I worked as a member of District Support Team under a project of Unicef for strengthening ICDS services to reduce malnutrition among children & women. Since 2002, I was again associated with Acharya Ramamurti for organizing Vaishali Sabha and later on worked for the extension of Mahila Shanti Sena. From , I again worked on a project for reducing HIV/AIDS infections in rural areas of Champaran, Bihar. On the side I provided editorial support in another book of Acharyaji named Mahila Shanti Sena. At present I am working under a project of Unicef for strengthening ICDS services to reduce malnutrition among children & women. I am associated with MSS movement in any way I can help. Prabha (My wife) finished her post- graduation in 1996 and not only have been earning since then but contributing for the survival of family and children s education. We are six members in the family including my mother (Vidya), my wife (Prabha), two daughters (Richa and Anamika), and a son ( Shivam). 3

4 4 process resulted in the idea and concept of Culture of Peace, Creative Revolution and Mahila Shanti Sena. Now, he is no longer with us, but his thoughts are with us to inspire us to go ahead. Sometimes, when he was talking about Mahila Shanti Sena, he would say that he was sowing seeds in the sky. Nine years ago, on 21 st February 2002 during Vaishali Sabha, the first camp of 108 women was organized as initiation of this experimentation of Mahila Shanti Sena. Acharyaji had visualized Women-power as a social force. This was the first time in the history of revolution that women-power was considered a revolutionary force. Before this, Workers, Farmers, Youths were considered as such. Thus, Mahila Shanti Sena is an innovative contribution of Acharyaji to the world. MSS is a new step in the path of experimentation in non-violence. Gandhi spoke about the important role of women in non-violent revolution, and wrote that women should show the heights of the mission of non-violence. The leadership of woman will be unquestionable in human history. Acharyaji said Today, a new energy has to emerge from society. Previously, electricity was produced from coal, then from water, and now from the atom. As science develops, new sources of energy are developed, and as soon as a new source of energy is invented, science moves one step ahead. Today, if we will not make plans and exert effort to reveal the energy of women, this new source of human energy will slip from the hands of society. Therefore, if we do consider it as a new source of human energy, the question of man and woman will not arise. It is a social force. It is neither gender-biased nor discriminating between man and woman. Today MSS is entering its 10 th year. During these years, MSS has not only spread to Bihar, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, but has been able to establish its identity. Alongside the efforts in India, activities promoting the MSS movement are being conducted in Canada. There, MSS has been registered as the Women s Peace Brigade International Foundation. In association with Dr. Ramashankar Singh (Professor, McMaster University, Hamilton), a group is active there in Canada. We all know that Dr. Ramashankar Singh had been associated with Acharyaji before the MSS and has contributed much at all stages of the development of the organization. It can be said that if Acharyaji is the creator of MSS, Dr. Singh is its curator: A News Letter, Mahila Shanti Sena, is being published by him; he has been introducing the concept and achievements of MSS to the world through the internet; he has put forth great efforts to take the ideology of MSS to several universities in India; and each year students from McMaster University come to India to study MSS. On the occasion of the birthday of Acharyaji, a book named Mahila Shanti Sena was released by Mr. Nitish Kumar, Chief Minster, Bihar, on 22 nd January It is being translated into other languages, while another book by Acharyaji is also in process. Today, we feel the loss of three prominent personalities valuable for Mahila Shanti Sena. These are --- Vimala Thakar, Ravindranath Upadhyay and Acharyaji. Thus a vacuum has developed. Friends! We have a question before us: What are we going to do next and how? We are the followers of such a movement, which is only 10 years young. We have to nurture and develop it. Acharyaji used to Say, Mahila Shanti Sena is a movement, not merely a programme.

5 This movement is not for the change in state power. It has an objective to reduce the problems and conflicts at all levels from individual & family to state. Thus a total change is required in the life of an individual, as well as social values and norms, and administrative systems. Economy, Politics, Society, Religion and Life all have to be developed in proper ways which are appropriate to the culture of peace. If we think about developing a culture of peace, a planning of creative revolution will be required. The movement of Mahila Shanti Sena is an effort through which we can proceed in this direction. Of course, we will proceed. That s why we have assembled here. The task is tough and we have our limitations. But we are confident about the direction. Today, we are here to think about how to proceed. Would Collective decision making and collective responsibility be the way? Lack of resources has made us almost inactive. Our limited resources will affect the reorganization of areas such as Publication of literature and News Letters/Bulletins, Training of MSS Women, and the Running of the MSS. Satyabrat Das & Ms. Rita (MSS Orissa): The MSS has spread up to 6 districts of Orissa Total women are associated with MSS. They have formed 200 Dastas (Groups of 10) and 2000 Panjas (Groups of 5). Mr. Sri Gopal Mohanty is supporting us actively. He participates in TOTs, MSS meetings and facilitates the issues, motivates the participants. UNNAYAN Team is involved everywhere in its working area. In addition, we are working for its extension into villages other than those within the present area. Transportation and communication are proving difficult for us in the more remote villages. The following issues were highlighted during the discussion of the tasks and areas of focus for the MSS women: Motivation of women for economic self-reliance Efforts to ban liquor consumption Petty conflict resolution Atrocities against women Working as a pressure group to ensure quality in implementation & justification in the allocation of services and developmental activities being conducted in their respective villages by the Panchayatiraj Institutions or Government Departments. Organization of MSS: Efforts for strengthening existing organization and expansion into new areas. Mr. Pramod Sharma (Centre Direct, Patna, Bihar): We have been associated with the MSS movement since the beginning. We took the Saraiya Block of the Muzaffarpur district for intervention, as we were working with women already there. We made efforts to ensure the process of Meet -- Talk -- Consensus in order to consolidate and strengthen MSS as well as to expand the organization. We have been making slow progress. Due to the lack of resources, input required, and coordination, we could not get strong and large enough to complete the tasks at hand. But, we have had some experiences which may be useful for developing an effective strategy for the MSS organization. MSS women should be motivated and associated with income-generation in order to make themselves selfreliant both individually and at the organizational level. These days, some of the MSS groups of our working area have been associated with a policy named Jeewan Madhu. Ms. Parvati (MSS organiser, Kanti, Muzaffarpur, Bihar): Some of us had an opportunity to participate in Vaishali Sabha. We were inspired by the speech of Acharyaji. We discussed the idea of MSS with other women in our village and surrounding villages in group meetings, as we have been associated with Self-help Groups. We and our group members could easily understand the idea and we decided to follow it. With the help of MSS training camps organized by Acharyaji s team, we had a large number of women among us motivated for the cause. Thus, we had no problems which might be called barriers, as such. We decided to follow the process of conflict resolution from our own families-- neighbourhood-- group -- community--- Panchayat. In the initial phase, we took small but basic issues such as Girl Child Education, Resolution of neighbourhood quarrels and building a peaceful and harmonious environment in order to provide our children proper and healthy psycho-social care to ensure better development. We have addressed issues such as incidents of rape or sexual violence against women, and had success in ensuring proper police investigations, as well as sensitizing the community to these incidents. In our society, victims of such violence were considered guilty. But through our efforts we have been able to change the mindset of community people. We not only supported victims, but treated them as innocents. The cases of rape have been reduced to a remarkable extent even in surrounding villages. We put pressure on PRI representatives, particularly Mukhiya, to organize the meeting of Aam Sabha. In the beginning, it proved quite a difficult task because of vested interests of PRI representatives, but continuous efforts made us successful in this regard. Wherever there is a strong MSS presence, Aam Sabhas are being organized properly and MSS women not only participate in the meetings but share their views and ideas as well. Our current areas of focus are: Training of MSS Coordination Literature of MSS Experience Sharing and Guidance 5

6 We know that it is not a project but a movement. People s initiative and involvement are more important for a movement. We are already involved in this and ready to contribute however we can. But support to grow capacity and skills for situation analysis, leadership, communication etc. is required. We are quite confident that MSS has been getting strength and taking shape day by day throughout other communities, but at present we do not know about others. Mr. Shashibhushan (Vaishali, Bihar) : I have been associated with this movement since Vaishali Sabha. During these years, I have been working for the development of women and the MSS movement. It is said all over that the 21st Century is the century of women. Acharyaji was quite hopeful that coming change will be carried over by the women. Even illiterate women may be more capable than the educated women. During my work, I have experienced this fact many times. I just want to share the example of Mrs. Shanti Devi, who lives in my neighbourhood. She used to be a quarrelsome lady once. People were scared of her. She participated in MSS training at Vaishali. She got inspired and decided to be an active Mahila Shanti Sainik. She brought positive change in behaviour. Now, she is totally involved in establishing peace in her neighbourhood. She has been successful in settling 3 court cases out of court. She is now sought out by the village people to help settle disputes. Thus, she has become a lady with social status. She is contesting for the post of Mukhiya in this election of Panchayatiraj. There are several examples of women who brought such changes to their life after receiving MSS training. Almost all of them are either merely literate or illiterate. The emerging leadership of women from the lowest rungs on the ladder of society can be viewed as a major impact. I am quite sure that these women will be capable of creating new society and culture with the power of peace. I would also like to mention that central coordination is a must for this movement to be strengthened, and become effective and fruit bearing. Mr. Fabian and Ms. Anya (Research Students from Germany): Both are completing studies about the change in the status and condition of Dalits (Downtrodden), particularly Mushars. They spoke in Hindi. 6 Fabian: We tried our best to understand the ideas shared by the participants with our little knowledge of Hindi. Whatever I could understand and perceive made me curious to know more about MSS. You are working for Peace, Self-

7 us to work for social change, a change suitable for the development of all. Education and learning of MSS women is essential for the appropriateness and success of the movement. Of course, funds are required. We should get involved in fundraising at our level. A drive for it can be conducted. I am ready to use my contacts. First of all, it is important to assemble and gather like we did today. Can we organize this one by one at our respective places? Local contribution for MSS training is also an important aspect, not only for the sake of meeting the funding requirements, but also for seeking the support of the community where MSS women belong. Provision of News-letters, Literature, Trainers and Coordination will require external support, but only for the initial years. Dr. Dipak Malik, Director, Gandhian Institute of Studies, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh: Dr. Malik was invited as a chief guest as he was associated with Acharyaji and his idea of Mahila Shanti Sena and culture of peace. During his inspiring address, he highlighted the following main points: reliance of Women and Panchayatiraj. It is not only appreciable but replicable too. Anya: Women either in Europe or in India have been deprived. Development of women is a concept which has been discussed and practiced globally. But, MSS women are thinking and acting for the whole society. This totalitarian approach has inspired me much. Mr. Vinod Kumar Singh, Nagarik Manch (Citizen Forum), Chhapra: There is a great challenge before us. It is to establish a society which will be non-violence oriented. The question is how will it be possible? During this phase of consumerism, sacrifice and satisfaction have become invisible in society. It is the mothers who possess this value. Acharyaji wanted to use this for the creation of a new society. That s why he went to the source and invited Your sharing has inspired me with a new energy. it has been observed often that illiterate women are more active, efficient and honest. Training of MSS women is essential. Support and resources should be there. Efforts can be made at all levels. One important question is who will lead this movement after Acharyaji? Collective decision making is the means which can lead us. Thus relying on consensus, we may move step-by-step. For making Panchayati Raj Institutions effective and competent, it is essential to ensure that Gram Sabha meetings are being held properly and regularly. MSS can act as a pressure group for this. Members should participate actively and express their views and ideas confidently. MSS can take up the minimal issues which have optimum importance. This will not only ensure success but integrate the community for the bigger issues to be resolved. Sometimes initial failure can set us back. Government Schemes Like MNREGA, Indira Awas, Midday Meal and ICDS etc. should be kept under close watch of the local organizations of MSS. Each effort and each success will make MSS stronger to lead the Community, earning its trust. Thus, the day will come when MSS women will be on the frontlines of the peaceful process of this social change, this ultimately creative revolution. General Consensus: After the discussion and sharing, the participants made some important decisions for MSS movement: MSS meetings/workshops should be organised frequently. The partner NGOs/ Organizations/ Individuals should come forward to organize them in 7

8 their places with local contributions or their own resources. For overhead expenditures, all will make efforts to mobilize the funds. MSS workers and Maihla Shanti Sainiks should be organised outside Bihar too. A Newsletter should be published at least quarterly. Appropriate IEC/ Literature should be developed and published. Communication and Coordination should be established and maintained effectively. A coordination cell should run properly. At last, Mrs. Shantidevi, chair of the workshop said: All of us are looking charged and inspired by participating in this workshop. Now, I am quite confident that we will proceed on the path of peace shown by Respected Acharyaji. With a vote of thanks the workshop came to close. 8