Dr. Mohinder Kumar
Gund Ibrahim village is located in Singpora block of Baramulla district at distance of 15 km from Singpora small town and 25 km from Baramulla city. An interior village situated 4 km away from main Baramulla-Srinagar road it is a live case of misery, squalor, wretchedness and acute poverty since decades. Once a vibrating and flourishing village populated by self-sufficient skilled small weavers it has been ruthlessly rendered over-dependent on petty casual wage-labor by loss of their livelihoods.
Muslim population of the village has majority of Shiites (94%) even as minority population is Sunni (6%). In contrast villages in other districts of valley have majority population of Sunni Muslims. Total population of Gund Ibrahim is 5585 persons in 717 households. Around 50% of them are landless laborers. It is exceptional village that presents to the outsiders the image of filth, pathos, diseases, unclean streets and grimy look often witnessed in any suppressed ‘dalit’ populated Indian village. Over 90% population is Below Poverty Line (BPL). Poverty is rampant in Gund Ibrahim for the past four-five decades and now holds a dismal Long March and ramp show. Historically, villagers though skilled artisans in Kashmiri shawl-weaving, did not save and accumulate money or wealth during past 50-60 years to set up own small businesses. Zero savings clubbed with ruthless over-dependence on wholesale traders (for wool-yarn, materials, looms, credit) rendered these traditional skilled weavers resource-less and houseless (just muddy house). Thus spoke Marx in 19th Century: This system of feudal-capitalist over-dependence renders every kind of skill, dexterity and talent to mere “average kind of labor” that ultimately has no value and it de-values human beings who end-up in rotting in wage-labor market as casual wage-laborers to sell their bodily-power which they regenerate today and sell it other day -only if they found a buyer and means to nourish their body with power to work next day. Otherwise what can be said of Gund Ibrahim village, even Bhatindi Chowk near Wave Mall on Srinagar Highway in Jammu city turned into “Labor Chowk” daily in the morning has large number of unemployed skilled/ unskilled/ semi-skilled desperate youth roaming in groups to find any buyers. Marx anticipated MNREGA. Can it though absorb entire unemployed youth as wage-laborers? And it’s to be seen how hereditarily skilled weavers have become wage-wanders!
Village Weekly
Economic poverty is clearly visible in the village, i.e. reflected on people’s faces, their ‘kutcha’ mud-brick houses (93%), grimy kutcha street roads, water-logging, filth and dirt on streets, ragged and discolored clothes, dirty blankets, squalor and dull look of the village presenting a pathetic view to a visitor from outside. Village has four households belonging to the Kashmiri Pandits though now abandoned who have migrated from village in thick of midnight during 1993 even as villagers say they “could not make out how and why they left all of sudden” at that time. They still remember them and hope someday they shall return.
Meanwhile focusing on own-survival villagers reported that irrigation water is sourced by the farmers from Sukhnag Nallah fed by glacier water and flows six months in a year. There is pumping station at some location in-between Gund Ibrahim and Zaddimala. It is functioning properly. There is a canal and network of minors to facilitate canal water reach farmers’ fields. Literacy in Gund Ibrahim is only 10%, which is abnormally low. Villagers maintain harmonious mutual relations, communal goodwill and amity. As per the opinion of villagers and Sarpanch, the village is backward because of these factors: Electrification was done in 1999 and power supply is inadequate; there is no primary school and children walk down to Pattan; households are still over-dependent on kerosene oil; there is no proper footbridge to cross-over Nallah -the wooden one that somehow exists is totally damaged and dangerously hanging & shaking. As footbridge hangs, it starts oscillating sideways whenever any person tries to cross Nallah by walking on foot-bridge. A few deaths have occurred during past couple of years while crossing Nallah using this old wooden footbridge. A groom and old woman died falling in deep Nallah while crossing over to other side of the village using this footbridge.
There are many factors, in fact, which have kept the village economically backward. Negative politics outweighed economics and narrow competition outplayed and outlasted mutual cooperation. Foundation stone for the construction of motorable bridge on Nallah passing through this village was laid by Hon’ble ex-Chief Minister in May 2013. In July 2013 villagers noticed to their dismay that plaque which was fixed with cement and concrete, had been removed and was thrown away on the ground a few meters away from the site of foundation stone. People have been demanding motorable bridge for many years. Now they fear and suspect their dream motorable bridge shall be subject to delays for want of fund release. This motorable bridge is their lifeline. If any person is sick or suffering from serious diseases and in emergency needs to be taken to the doctor/clinic (that is on other side of Nallah), they are scared to cross Nallah using old dangerous footbridge during night in darkness. Pregnant women face the greatest difficulty even as they need to be taken to the doctor/ nursing home facility in the city, which is available on the other side of Nallah, for consultation, health care and medical treatment. Nallah divides the village in two parts. Foot-bridge is the life line of village. The idea of motorable bridge appears ill-conceived and not well planned or though. Work on motorable bridge had reportedly already started before foundation stone was laid. Estimated cost of project is Rs.1.35 crore. Soon after laying the foundation stone in May 2013, work was abruptly stopped. It is strange. In July 2013, plaque of the foundation stone was found removed. Villagers and Sarpanch gave application against this happening to the MLA. MLA promised that the issue would be raised in the Legislative Assembly. Meanwhile villagers are left in the lurch as work on motorable bridge is totally stopped.
There is also other side to the village story that relates to gender justice, social development and economic underdevelopment in Gund Ibrahim. Women members are not allowed to work on family farm. They are allowed to visit farm but not involved in agricultural operations. It is unthinkable to have women farmers in the village. This pattern and practice is in contrast with Kargil district where women members of family are predominantly farmers and free to operate and manage family farm. Kargil district in Ladakh predominantly has women farmers. However, women in Gund Ibrahim are allowed to work on MNREGA works on wage basis. Women could do wage labor but they are not allowed to do farming, particularly paddy plantation. Farmers rather prefer to employ casual wage laborers (though farmers themselves are no more than marginal owner-operators) or occasionally work on each other’s farm on cooperation and need basis. There was reported another aspect of poor gender justice in the village. A villager divorced his wife because he had three daughters and expected baby was also girl child. On the whole, story of underdevelopment and social backwardness of Gund Ibrahim is complicated and it requires a good deal of sustained leadership at village/ Panchayat level with right education and awareness to educate the villagers. Their education, capacity building, competency and skill development for entrepreneurship has to address the basic problem of social and economic backwardness of the village.
Access to basic amenities is extremely poor. Streets are kutcha, dusty and offer a grimy look. Sanitation is still poor. There is no drainage system as rain water clogs streets or fills plain land to form a pond. Villagers are used to drinking unclean water drawn from filthy Sukhnag nallah flowing adjacent to the village; water is not fit for drinking. But due to extremely short supply from piped water supply scheme from neighboring village, they are forced to drink unhygienic water drawn directly from nallah. Even drinking water supplied through piped water supply scheme is not treated properly by the authorities and it is not filtered before supplying. Villagers have raised this matter of unfiltered water before Chief Minister in May 2013 at the time of foundation stone laying ceremony for motor-bridge, and they were assured that facility of “filter shall be installed” for drinkable water supply. Village electrification was done in 1999 but still there is hardly any power supply, particularly in winter. Villagers still depend mostly on kerosene oil and candles purchased from shops for lighting houses even as education of children mostly suffered for this main reason of absence of power supply affecting all households. Village is divided in two parts situated on both sides of Sukhnag nallah. One side of village has four-five grocery ‘karyana’ shops but other side has none (households were too poor to set up petty grocery shop). In fact “there is nothing (no facility)”, as villagers informed and study team saw, on one side of village “basti” across nallah. Even access to both sides by crossing nallah is marred with danger since footbridge is in precarious condition, particularly for children and elderly people. For primary education, children would walk down to nearby village Pattan. However, mobile phone was owned by each of the 717 households.
Economic base of villagers in terms of private economic assets is weak. Primarily they are medieval pastoral type households, each of them owning a cow, one or two sheep-goat, a bullock and 2-4 poultry birds for survival of family. Wisdom of owning bullock with 0.27 acre of owned holding by each farm household could not be rationalized by the villagers. Rice produced from family holding owned by each household is barely adequate for four-five months after which they have to have recourse to the fair price ration shop. Vegetables produced on owned farm are barely sufficient for family consumption for five-six months. They buy meat for consumption only on festival. Out of 717 households, 350 households are landless and depend on meager wage income from selling labor as they have nothing to see but produce and sell bodily labor. They could find job for six months at the most (in summer) and survived on this income for full year. They have strategy of physical survival which may be termed as “tightening of belt” in adverse conditions. Only 74 households are Above Poverty Line (APL) whereas 643 households (90%) are Below Poverty Line (BPL). Of these BPL households, 100 households (16%) are reeling and surviving somehow under Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) and do not have access to adequate food for entire family for whole year. For fuel wood or firewood they use minor branches, shoots of trees and dry leaves stocked in kutcha ‘store room’ in house. Villagers reported that “all households lack money and all households need access to bank loan” (which is exceptional and reflects their state of acute financial poverty). But their main concern is repayment of bank loan: “What shall we repay with?” It appeared that root cause of their poverty is historical. Earlier generations were engaged in Kashmiri shawl-weaving occupation. Since saving and accumulation is not there in Kashmiri traditional culture, poverty struck more acutely. Later generations (50% of them) started weaving carpets and 50% became wage-wanderers in search of casual labor opportunity and wage income. History of Gund Ibrahim is progressive movement of history of poverty, more poverty and acute poverty. The fact of no savings and no accumulation of wealth done by villagers (though talented skilled weavers) during past 50-60 years holds the secret of their poverty.
The village is ensemble of multifarious problems, scarcities, negative politics, discrimination and widespread poverty. All sorts of public amenities ranging from safe drinking water, electricity, medical care, schooling, foot bridge, flood protection, etc. are lacked or completely absent. Damaged and dilapidated foot bridge on Sukhnag nallah is its bane and proverbial Achilles Heel that requires urgent attention and action. Village presents a pathetic picture of poverty though it once used to be a developed center of small weavers. Today they are no more than migrant casual wage laborers living with failed farming. Individual households are surviving on wage labor without access to basic and most necessary facilities.
Gund Ibrahim is traditional weavers’ village which once used to be thriving on household business of weaving Kashmiri shawls (tilladozi, sozni) and carpets though mostly shawls. Later they came to carpets then nothing was left except wage-labor. Their handicrafts have mostly vanished and 50% of them are pure wage laborers. Even their children could not acquire their skills and are left with no option other than being casual wage-laborers. Now only 50% weavers have survived who work for wholesale traders and businessmen as they provide shawls and raw materials (thread/ yarn) for embroidery work (sozni, tilladozi, etc.) on job/ labor basis. Having lost everything weavers do not demand anything. Earlier (50 years ago) they used to be self-employed weaver artisans and owned their means of production and raw materials to sell their products. Out of 717 houses (all Shiite Muslims), at least 100 houses are so poor that they do not have little money to buy fair priced ration from ration store under Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY) scheme. Due to malnutrition, they remain afflicted with sickness for most part of the year. Their children suffer from fever, chest problem, etc. Since they have leased-in land from government on rent for willow plantation, poverty forces them to sell entire wood in the market to pay land rent but keep only dry leaves which are used as fuel for fire in winter. Fellow villagers come to their rescue and help by offering rice for survival.
In 2011 kutcha road was laid by filling pots and undulating land with sand and Earth. In 2013, estimate of cost for the project was made for pucca road but approval for link road is not yet received. There is urgent need for pucca link road with main Srinagar road. Beyond nallah there is no public means of transport available other than ‘tanga’ (horse cart) which charged Rs.5-10 to get them reach-up to the main road. People demand public bus transport service or private mini bus service. Without motor transport villagers face huge difficulties. In July 2013 a pregnant woman died due to absence of medical assistance since transport service was not available from village and there was no first-aid facility available in village. This vllage of 717 households with population of 5585 persons still does not have any dispensary. Villagers are forced to go to nearby village Pattan which is 8 km from Gund Ibrahim. There is no private doctor clinic or medical shop in the village. Villagers demand dispensary. Health problems of villagers could be gauged from aspect of non-existing dispensary. In view of village situated on two sides of nallah, there is urgent need for a foot bridge even as villagers needed to cross nallah and go to Baramulla or Srinagar. The existing foot bridge is totally unsafe and unusable but still people are using it even in its totally damaged condition. The study team using this bridge experienced that it starts shaking perilously when a person crossed over using it. In fact, it deserves immediate abandonment but villagers are still using it as there is no alternative means of crossing nallah. This state of bridge exists at least for the past four-five years. In 2010, a 12 years old boy fell in to nallah while crossing-over by this bridge and died.
The same day a groom (Mr.Gulam Hasan Dar) fell from this bridge and died. In July 2013, a person Mr.Gulam Mohammad fell from this “hanging bridge” and died. Sick persons, disabled, patients, children, elderly persons and pregnant women faced most difficulty in crossing over nallah using this wooden bridge. In May 2013, ex-Chief Minister had laid foundation stone for a cement bridge. However, miscreants removed this foundation stone within few two months. Work was also stopped totally, reason for which was reported as negative politics.
(Author works for NABARD. Views expressed are personal)
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