Visionaries of Creative Action for Liberation and Progress (VICALP)

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Ekta Abhiyan Campaign for promoting Peace, communal Harmony and development in Kandhmal Gajapati districts-Orissa,

G. Udayagiri, 7^th Nov. 2009: The “Ekta  ABiyan”- Campaign for peace, communal harmony and development, has  organised three block level peace  meetings at Daringbadi-Kandhmal, Mohana-Gajapati and G.udayagiri-Kandhmal on 3^rd, 5^th and 7^th of November respectively. The local PRI members, community leaders from all sections, Government functionaries from Block and Tehesil, grass root peace volunteers and the local NGOs participated in the meetings. There were 100 participants at Daringbadi meeting including10 Sarpanches,  Samitee Chairman and A.BDO; 250 participants in Mohana including 3 Sarpanches, Samitee Chairman and Addl. Tahasildar; and 150 participants in G. Udayagiri including 12 Sarpanches, BDO and Addl. Tahasildar, actively participating in the process of  promoting unity and rebuilding communities. Ekta Abhiyan-peace building campaign is being promoted by VICALP, a reputed NGO based at Gopalpur-Ganjam, and the campaign is being carried out in 80 GPs, 40 each from Kandhmal and Gajapati and 4 GPs from Kalahandi since last January 09 in  collaboration with 16 local grass root level NGOs and the  Panchayat functionaries in the respective 80 GPs. In Daringbadi, the Block Chairman Sri Junas Pradhan spoke on the historical unity between Kandh and Pano communities and the need for solving disputed at local level and giving peace a chance. In Mohana the Chairman Sri Prasant Mallick stressed on the unity of traditional communities to avail development activities for addressing peoples’ basic needs. In G. Udyagiri meeting the local BDO Sri Sudarsana Panda spoke about Government’s unity efforts and the need for starting development processes that were hampered by the unfortunate communal unrest. Dr. Kumar Prasant the Secretary of VICALP, presiding over these meetings recalled on the centuries old tradition of socio-economic alliance, interdependence and cooperation between the traditional local communities and  called upon all the communities, local leaders, PRI members to uphold these historically valued relationship and foster them further by creating more occasions and opportunities for community dialogues, cross-cultural sharing and socio-economic cooperation benefiting all the concerned groups in the locality. The local NGO heads and activists from AMAGAM, AJKA, POHARA, KARUNA, GARDEN, BIRD, PRAYAS, ALOK, READ, and many prominent PRI and community leaders actively participated in the discourse and resolved to accelerate and strengthen the process of  peace, communal harmony and development in the affected areas through Ekta Abhiyan Campaign.

 

A Brief Report on

Ekta Abhiyan Peace and Communal Harmony Campaign in Kandhamal & Gajapati District of Orissa.

Posted on 04-12-2009

 

Implementing Organization:              VICALP

Reporting Period:                                March 2009 to November 2009

 

Introduction:

VICALP has initiated and promoted Ekta Abhiyan peace and unity campaign in 80 Gram Panchayats of Kandhmal and Gajapati districts with the help of Christian Aid. The campaign, aiming to restore communal harmony and normalcy in the caste-communal- violence torn Gram Panchayats, commenced in the month of March 2009 with the involvement of 16 grass-root level, Dalit-Adivasi-OBC and women headed NGOs as locally based operating partners.

 

Outputs and results of activities undertaken:

 

1.              The program identified and trained 80 Gram Panchayat level peace volunteers to lead the Ekta Abhiyan campaign process. After the training, the peace volunteers have identified community level peace volunteers and leaders from all ethnic groups and guided them to form village and Panchayat level peace committees. They are also involved in conducting monthly Panchayat level meetings of the community leaders and the people involved in the campaign.

2.              A total of 560 Panchayat level peace meetings have been conducted as on 15^th November involving the local communities, peace volunteers, leaders and the local PRI members along with government officials.

3.              17941 participants participated in the above meetings and out of the total there were 15790 men and 2151 were women. The total participants included 8337 Adivasis, 8170 Dalits and 1421 OBCs/general caste people. One remarkable achievement is that, religion wise as many as 11492 Hindus and 6449 Christians were the participants in the meetings.

4.              The Ekta Abhiyan process has identified and promoted 1421 potential leaders as committed and regularly involving leaders in the process.

5.              As a result of the intervention, people have formed 772 village level and 80 GP level peace committees in the operational areas. These committees are regularly discussing issues sorting out disputes that have the potential to lead to communal flare-ups.

6.              A total of 1194 villages have been involved in the peace process of Ekta Abhiyan.

7.              Besides numerous success stories (case studies), 66 intense cases of disputes/conflicts between Adivasis and Dalits which would lead to unrest have been settled.

8.              As many as 168 Government officials from different departments have participated in the meeting, witnessed the peace building process and have spoken about peace, harmony and development.

9.              531 people’s representatives (428 Ward Members, 113 Sarpanchs and Samittee Members) have actively participated in the meetings and have contributed to the process as well as accelerated the peace and harmony building.

10.         Besides peace and harmony building among traditional communities as central theme, the Ekta Abhiyan process also addresses other issues like NREGS, RTI, Education and Health, Forest Right Act, PDS and other livelihood issues, land issues, alcoholism  along with discussions on various Government development Schemes. This has given an added value and meaning to the Ekta Abhiyan Process.

11.         Through the Ekta Abhiyan campaign the partner NGOs have benefitted enormously in terms of public and Government acknowledgment, peoples participation, organisational credibility and development/learning.

12.         The local Panchayat Samiti (Mandal) chairmen of G.udayagiri, Daringbadi, Mohana and Rayagada blocks have spoken highly about this peace efforts by the communities themselves. They have participated in some of the meetings and have been seeking active cooperation of the Ekta Abhiyan campaign in promoting peace and communal harmony in the area. The block development officers and the Tahasildars of the said block are also highly appreciative of the process and have been advising the local officers and Sarpanchs to cooperate with Ekta Abhiyan.

13.         Block level campaign meetings were organized covering 10 affected blocks and these meetings got wider coverage in the electronic and vernacular print medias. There were public witness given by more than 50 Sarpanches plus many village leaders on Ekta Abhiyan peace campaign and its need in future.

14.         The Ekta Abhiyan campaign also supports legal activists who are actively involved in providing ground level liaison, case mobilization and logistic support to the HRLN legal aid team in Parlakhemundi in the district of Gajapati.

15.         Ekta Abhiyan facilitators and campaign partners meet and discuss campaign strategies on a by-monthly basis and this has helped in fostering bond, preparing grass-root groups to face challenges providing them moral support to stand up to the local pressure from communal forces.

 

A few examples of impact:

 

Kamal Digal the director of an NGO called POHARA in Balliguda-Kandhmal, was a victim himself as he lost his house and property in the violence. He could neither visit his village nor carry out regular NGO activities anywhere. Through Ekta Abhiyan campaign he was able to first approach Panchayat leaders and able to enter in to Panchayats and sit with leaders. Ekta Abhiyan gave him a space and agenda to go to people and to-day he along with his organisation are actively participating in the Ekta Abhiyan campaign with same local leaders who were after his life. Land related conflict between Antarba and Hikerma villages had reached a flash point. The Antaba Panchayat peace committee representing 20 odd villages intervened by bringing the leaders of these two villages to discussion in the meeting. The dispute was amicably resolved and this timely intervention prevented violence and bad blood between two neighbouring villages. Displaced victims living in Modakia relief camp were prevented from enter their village even after several attempts by the Government authority to relocate them in their respective villages. Ekta Abhiyan campaign took up this issue starting from village level to Panchayat level and helped to not only break ice between the two communities but also continued dialogue. Subsequently people have been able to move from the relief camps to their villages with relative ease and are starting to resume their lives. Khariguda village in the block of Mohana had acute caste feelings and intolerance between the Adivasis-Dalits vs OBCs resulting in social unrest. These communities neither sat together nor ate together. In the  Ekta Abhiyan campaign of harmony building people got a chance to critically analyse the caste system and could internalise its dehumanizing character. Now people, irrespective of their caste and religion sit together to resolve their issues and eat together after the meetings.

 

Future Needs:

1.    The communities, PRI members, local Government officers and the grass-root NGOs feel that this unique campaign is not only appropriate and timely but also needed to be extended for another year and to more Panchayats. This is the only civil society campaign existing in the districts exclusively working for promoting peace and communal harmony by building peace committees and conducting regular meetings in the problem localities.

2.    The local peace initiators, traditional leaders and PRI members need training on conflict resolution, peace building approaches for enhancing their capacities and skills.

3.    Women and youth groups with sole agenda of promoting peace through cross-cultural exchanges and inter-group development cooperation is required to consolidate, accelerate and sustain peace process in the area.

4.    Promoting peace and human rights as an active agenda of education for children/schools in the areas affected by communal violence is a suggested future plan.

5.    It is important to note that the Government supported “Antarang” campaign limits itself with the gatherings of youth mass and promoting three youth clubs in a Panchayat in some of the areas. HRLN and Jana Vikas-Gujrat are focussing on legal justice aspect. The churches are more involved in rehabilitation of the victim families and are facing difficulties due to various factors. The VICALP promoted Ekta Abhiyan campaign is publicly acknowledged and spoke of as the only genuine non-partisan, non-political, non-religious secular approach that focuses on traditional ethnic relationships, historical alliance, cultural co-operations and revival of neighbourly traditions. Its relevance is magnified by the fact that the promoting partner organizations are from the locality and hence are focussed to the roots and its realities. All the affected and concerned parties genuinely desire that this process be nurtured and further strengthened so that a sustainable and lasting peace brought in the strife torn districts of Kandhmal and Gajapati in the State of Orissa.    

 

 

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