MKSS - Social change with a remarkable difference
                                                            MADHU & BHARAT DOGRA
                                                  Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan

At a time of increasing, sceptism 'about the possibilities of bringing broad-based social change,
the experience of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan (MKSS), in and around Rajsamand and
Ajmer districts of Rajasthan has come as a ray of hope and cure for sceptics.  Within a short span
of just a decade, this effort has brought about remarkable change in the lives of thousands of people,
particularly in their consciousness regarding resisting injustice and struggling for the creation of a
better world.  In many villages exposed due to the better payment of wages at rural employment
works, a new determination to resist corruption and network of fair price shops set up by workers
and peasants themselves.  What is even more significant is the emergence of a strong feeling of
solidarity, of a sharing of joys and sufferings, of a community determined to change their world
for the better by standing up with courage and patience to secure justice.  Within a very short
time the pioneering work undertaken by the MKSS has attracted nation wide attention and
impressive linkages have been formed to integrate the work started here with national level
campaigns.

One of the most important aspects of any endeavour for social change is its replicability.  It is
possible to pump in a lot of money into an area to show some signs of progress.  But this
process( even if we assume that this excess of money doesn't bring undesirable side-effects,
which is unlikely! ) cannot be found for all areas.  On the other hand, MKSS offers an entirely
different model where dependence on outside funds is almost entirely avoided and the emphasis
is entirely on using the hidden potential of people themselves for initiating broad-based social
change.

The MKSS experiment started very modestly in 1987-88 when four social activists came to live in
a hut in Dev Dungri village of Rajsamand (then Udaipur ) district, about 10 kms away from the town
of Bhim.  This hut belonged to a relative of two of these activists, the husband and wife team of
Shankar and Anchi, for whom it was a home-coming after living with a leading voluntary organisation
for some time.  This group also had young Nikhil De, who had given up his studies in the USA
to search for a life pattern which could be of some help to the weaker sections and in addition would strengthen the overall process of relevant social change.  Somewhat similar yearnings had bought
Aruna Roy, a former IAS officer, to give up her lucrative career and come to live in this hut of
Dev Dungri village.

These activists decided that while striving to serve the poor, they will themselves live within the
limits of a budget which is equivalent to the minimum wage paid by the state government (which
was only Rs. 15 per day at that time).  In the rust of their idealism they sometimes carried this
self imposed discipline to extreme limits-for two months they ate no vegetable other than 'ghiya'
(bottle gourd) because during this period only this vegetable was cheap enough in the market
to be affordable at the minimum wage levels.

Having reduced their personal needs to minimum, these social activists could easily get a
research project which while being useful in their social mobilisation work could also provide them
the equivalent of minimum wages for six months or one year.  While this simplicity of their lifestyle
and very transparent methods of finding their subsistence won the MKSS many admirers, what
firmly established their roots among the people of the area where they started working was their
decision to evolve their ideology and programme of action in close cooperation and interaction with
the people of the area.  Some broad aspects of the ideology - a commitment to the poor and weaker
sections, a strong resistance to communalism - were of course clear from the outset.  But the
precise way in which the problems of the poor should be taken up, the issues and struggles which
will be prioritised - all these decisions came not from any preconceived notions of social change but
from a process of remaining close to the ground reality as reflected in the views of the members
and sympathisers of MKSS spread in many villages.  It was because the programmes of action
were rooted among the people themselves that even new innovative programmes could spread
rapidly in the area.  While some city-based observers found such programmes a bit awkward as
these did not fit their set notions of social change, the new programmes could spread quite easily
among illiterate villagers themselves because these had evolved in response to their own needs.

Another strength of MKSS has been to try to involve a wide cross-section in the process of social
change.  In MKSS movements, the strong grassroots efforts of peasants and workers are
supported by city based campaigners, academicians and media - persons known to be sympathetic
to the weaker sections.  Senior government officials who are known to have the interests of the poor
at heart are also contacted and informed about the aims of the movement.  MKSS has been involved
in many movements of protests, but it also balances this path of struggle by undertaking many
constructive activities (such as starting fair price shops and schools).  MKSS protest movements
even in times of tension and uncertainly have a lot of song and dance to celebrate the struggle of
people.  MKSS has always emphasised the mobilisation of women, who participate in its
movements in large numbers.  While MKSS believes firmly in the equality of women, it sees social
reform as something that should involve the community deeply instead of imposing alien, urban,
upper class views on villagers.

The very first struggle of this group involved a clash with a tyrant feudal lord of Sohangarh village
who had, illegally encroached a lot of public land.  The struggle to release 25 hectares of land from
his encroachment for distribution among rural poor families involved some very tense moments,
such as when the landlord unleashed armed gangsters on villagers and social activists, but finally
the control of the land went to a committee of village women.  Pursuing its policy of struggle with
constructive work, the movement obtained a project from the Wasteland Development Board for
further a forestation on this land.  Today this project stands as a model of afforestation and water-conservation from where a large number of villagers meet their fuel and fodder needs.

Fighting Inflation
While many social activists only protest against inflation, MKSS has gone one step ahead to
actually set up fair-price shops of its own which sell good quality goods of everyday use.

The effort concentrated on reduced retail margins and quality control to provide goods at lower
prices.  It was decided that since those who ran the shop were dedicated MKSS activists, they
would take no more than the legal minimum wage.  Incidentally, the senior - most member of MKSS
also gets the same wage.

Other members of the MKSS also helped to ensure that high quality was maintained by personal
supervision of the grinding and cleaning work.  For example, while getting the coriander seeds
and turmeric ground, they were asked how  much salt mixed in the haldi.  The activists, unlike
other shopkeepers, insisted on absolute purity.

Predictably, the response of the consumer has been very favourable.  The news of the good
quality and low prices spread rapidly, first among MKSS sympathisers, and them among other
people as well.  A high turnover within a short time enabled the new venture to meet its target of
being able to function at a margin of just one per cent.

The new shop not only sold products at a cheaper rate, it also announced its low prices over the microphone.  Thus in a market where many buyers were illiterate, the shop's low rates were
communicated to potential customers.  This was greatly resented by other traders who them
petitioned the collector to take action against the new shop.  When they failed to evoke a
satisfactory response from officialdom, they set up a loud music system near the shop, to drown
out the announcements of the  rate - list.

This , however, had the opposite effect.  Several shoppers, attracted by the loud music came
closer and eventually found out about the new shop next door as well.

The result was that the MKSS venture succeeded in bringing down the market rates to some
extent as other retailers were forced to cut their high margins to compete with them.  This had
favourable impact on inflationary trends far beyond the items sold directly by the new shop.
Later some - other shops were opened on the same pattern.

Significant victory on Minimum Wages
In 1990 the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) launched a movement against violation
of minimum wage laws in rural employment works in the Bhim region culminating in a hunger
strike-cum-dharna.  Despite the administration's heavy handed methods, the movement
succeeded in drawing attention to the issue non-payment of minimum wages at rural
employment works. This led to a two-day discussion on the question of minimum wages in
government sponsored rural employment programmes which was organised at the Institute
of Development Studies in Jaipur.  Senior officials, academicians and social workers who
participated in this discussion resolved that minimum wages should be paid in all government
sponsored employment works including famine relief works, and that too, with in a week of
completion of the muster - roll.

This meeting gave strength to the struggle of MKSS and its activists were hopeful that the
revised minimum wage of Rs. 22 would be paid henceforth.  However, women work on
Jawahar Rozgar Yojana started at 13 places in Barar panchayat, it was seen that payment at
much below the minimum wage rate was the general norm, and i fact no worker was being paid
the legal minimum wage of Rs. 22.  Several workers made requests for proper measurements
to be taken and when this was not done, they refused to accept the lower than minimum wage.
However, several workers, were ultimately forced to accept lower wage due to their precarious
economic condition was confined to 12 workers for cash.  The final confrontation was confined
to 12 workers who steadfastly refused to accept anything less than the legal minimum.

Meanwhile Udaipur district was divided into two parts and the Shim region now came under
a newly formed district called Rajsamand.  This gave a pretext to officials to refer matters back
to the old district, and thereby to delay all decisions.

Officials were quite willing to make an off - the record extra payment to the 12 workers who had
refused to accept the low wage, and thereby to reduce the matter concerning only a dozen persons,
For the MKSS, however, it was of crucial importance to get this extra payment on official record,
so that this decision would prove helpful for similar struggles.  It was in making the payment on
record that the officials faltered, appearing to agree sometimes and them backing out.  Finally
the MKSS had to resort to another dharna-cum-fast unto death in Shim in the first week of May.

By now the decision-making appears to have passed from the hands of the local officials to state
level officials.  Once again the state government adopted an arrogant and in different attitude.
In a particularly glaring act of ruthlessness and insensitivity, the government sent a large number
of policemen to forcibly lift the five hunger strikers and carry them to a hospital a long distance
away.  While the reason given was that their lives had to be saved, in reality some of them were
denied even water for a long time.

Finally what appears to have changed the heartlessness of Rajasthan government was the firm
stand taken by the department of rural development in Delhi.  The state government was not only
asked to pay minimum wages, but was further told that its grants for JRY would be held up if it
failed to do so.

What is more important, of course, is the precedence that was established in this matter.  The
immediate fall-out could be seen in surrounding areas where workers employed at several
employment works started getting the legal minimum wage.

This prolonged struggle against corruption led further to the idea of several jan sunwais or public
hearings against corruption.  These public hearings also provided a good example of how the
participation ( sometimes quite reluctant participation ! ) of various sections including officials,
media persons, social workers elected representatives and other prominent citizens was obtained
to expose the shocking levels of corruption in rural development works.

Public Hearings
The first Public hearing took place at Kot Kirana village in Pati district on December 2, 1994.
The hearings exposed how people shown to be employed in construction of anicuts were not
even living in the area then.  The wage money did not reach the villagers and the anicuts were
so badly constructed that these were washed away by the rains.  Payments had been made for
material never purchased.

The second public hearing was held at Bhim block in Rajsamand district on December 7, taking
up matters relating to Bhim and Kaladeo panchayats.  Kaladeo panchayat has been publicised
for its large number of development  works constructed under a rural development scheme called
apna gaon, apana kaam (our village, our work).  However, the majority of the buildings
constructed were found unusable.  An anicut was found to be full of leaks.  Although this scheme,
as its name implies, is aimed at maximising people's participation and eliminating contractors, in
effect only contractors and a few persons were involved.

In Bhim payment amounting to over three million rupees had been made to a fraudulent company
which existed only in the form of a bank account in the name of the wife of a block-level employee.
Supplies of only about one-eight of this amount had been made, while false bills and vouchers were
exposed at this public hearing.

The third public hearing was organised at Vijaypura village in Rajsamand district.  In this village
the grazing land has acquired high value due to the location of a government hotel.  Without
informing the local people several plots of land valued at about Rs. 1,50,000 each were
'auctioned' to outsiders for a song.  In some cases the names of local villagers were used as
allottees, although they had not even heard of the details till the scandal came to light.  This
scam amounting to Rs. five or Rs. ten million took place at a time when the village school
needed urgent repairs.  This case was discussed at the meeting, including efforts being made
by officials to hush it up.

Several development officials felt that they will be exposed if such hearings continue.  In January
in Jwaja block of Ajmer district, the gram sewaks of the district organised a protest and
demanded that the district collector should not make available details relating to development
expenditure.  Thus, despite the earlier assurances of the collector, the fourth public hearing
at Jwaja had to be held without the benefit of government records.  But the people from eight
panchayat areas who participated in it examined many development projects and prepared
specific complaints.

In Alwar, a public hearing was held on the unfair means being used to grab highly fertile farmland
for setting up industrial units, particularly hazardous units and units to produce liquor. The jan
sunwais were an eye-opener even for some experienced MKSS members.

"The amount involved in a corruption scandal of a village or a cluster of villages may of course
appear small when compared to a state level or a national level scandal, but we must
remember that there are over five hundred thousand villages in India.  Multiply what you see
in a single village by this number and you get what is easily the biggest corruption issue",
says Aruna Roy (MKSS).  Adds Shankar Singh, " The fact that this village - level corruption
generally involves snatching resources from the poorest people makes it all the more important
that such corruption should be fought and resisted ".

The concern of MKSS did not end merely with exposing corruption.  As Nikhil Dey, an activist
of MKSS, says, "it is even more important to try to ensure that the money taken away from
people living in poverty is restored so that it can be used for their actual welfare.  After all our
real concern is the welfare of people".  Towards this end, MKSS has given a lot of attention
to follow up work on its public hearings.

Towards Right of Information
This entire difficult and prolonged process convinced the MKSS that one of the most effective
methods of fighting village level corruption is to provide people the right to obtain copies of
official records ( such as muster rolls, bills and vouchers) relating to rural development and
anti-poverty programmed implemented in their areas.  This soon became a central point in
the demands being raised by MKSS.  Several other organisations were also quick to
appreciate the potential of obtaining this 'right to information' and it began to appear that this
demand raised by MKSS will have state-level or perhaps even national-level impacts.

This feeling was strengthened in 1995 when in his budget speech made of April 5 the
Chief Minister of Rajasthan Mr. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat declared that he would allow photo
copying of all records on development expenditure of the state, at the Panchayat level, for
a fee.  He further said that this right to information will cover development expenditure going
back to five years.  If irregularities are indicated them, the CM promised, there will be a proper
inquiry into this and illegally obtained money will be recovered from corrupt persons.

This was a major step forward in the efforts to obtain the right to information for checking village-
level corruption, especially as nothing like this had been promised earlier by the Chief Minister
of any other state in India.  While waiting for the promise of the CM to take practical shape,
the MKSS quietly continued the work to consolidate these gains, continuing the public hearings
and the follow-up work on them.  It also stepped up efforts to establish state level and national
level linkages with other activist groups, lawyers, officials and media persons so that the struggle
for the right to information could be broadened.  This finally took the shape of state level and
national campaigns for right to information in which MKSS activists played a significant role.
 

MKSS members argued that while providing for inspection of records and noting down details, the
orders do not include photocopying of relevant records.  This not only created problems for illiterate
or near illiterate persons, in addition the legal validity of the information written down by hand is
doubtful.  The order is silent on the period within which records would be available, as also the
number of records that may be inspected for the fee specified in the order.  It also does not
specify how delaying tactics on the part of reluctant officials can be avoided, or how illegally
diverted money will be recovered and refunded to villagers.  On all these accounts this order
fails to do justice to the original promise made  by the CM.  Therefore, after seeing the order
the MKSS decided to continue the dharna which continued for nearly six weeks.  From May 6
( a month after it started) it was also extended to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.

While it was only to be expected that his dharna will attract MKSS members from villages,
what came as quite a surprise was that it also obtained-very enthusiastic participation of the
citizens of Beawar town, many of whom had earlier not even heard of MKSS.  These supporters
ranged from editors and political leaders to vegetable vendors and daily wage workers.  Some
workers donated a part of their daily earnings while some vegetable vendors donated regular
supplies of potatoes and tomatoes.  Some photographers provided their services free while
the tent unions forgot their, difference for the time being to extend joint support to the dharna.
The honest image of the MKSS and the genuineness of the issue also contributed to this
support.

The dharna was withdrawn in mid-August only after the state government constituted, a high
power committee to look into the practical aspects implementing the Right to information.

There was no rest for the MKSS activists, however, as the dharna was followed by a series of
meetings on follow-up action and legislation on the Right to information.  As the Rajasthan
government delayed implementing the Right to Information, jan sunwais and dharnas were
started again to pressurise the government for implementing the Right to information in its
proper spirit and also for taking suitable action, including recovery of funds in cases of corruption
which had already been exposed in previous jan sunwais.

In 1997 MKSS organised a series of dharnas to urge the Rajasthan government to implement
the right to information.  Kavita Srivastava ' who made a significant contribution to this effort says,
" These culminated in a 50-day protest dharna at Jaipur which attracted national attention.  The
stage government issued significant orders in terms of making village panchayats transparent.
To ensure that these didi not merely remain on paper, MKSS activists and other social activists in
various parts of Rajasthan tried to obtain various documents from panchayats.  Meanwhile the
struggle for the enaction of right to information legislation in Rajasthan continued which culminated
in the enaction of this legislation in 2000.  Side by side MKSS activists have continued to play
a very important role in the national campaign for right to information and effective legislation on
this right at the central level.

At a time when the right to information campaign is spreading to many parts of the world, a
special strength if the Indian experience is how thanks largely to MKSS - it was closely linked
up with the struggles of the weakest section.  MKSS was involved in the movement for minimum
wages of workers at relief work sites in a drought prone are, and it was in the course of this
struggle that the importance of the information right was realised.  Poor peasants got the
strength and the confidence to go to meet the highest officials (they even went to meet the
President of India who received them most cordially) because they had realised the importance
of this right while breaking stones in the parched land of their drought affected villages.

The moral force of MKSS campaign increased to such an extent that at jan-sunwais organised
recently in some villages, the persons who faced charges of corruption from people agreed
on the spot to return the money so that it could be used again for welfare of people.  While there
are many campaigns against corruption, such success is extremely rare.  In Surajpura and
Ranwatmal villages of Ajmer district, for instance, the sarpanches agreed to return over
Rs. One lakh cash.

It is not enough to expose corruption, on the constructive side we should present examples of how
honest panchayat representatives can give better results.  Therefore MKSS candidates fought
and won sarpanch elections in Tadgarh village of Ajmer district and Kushaipura village of
Rajsmand district.  Here one can see a working model of how honest and entirely transparent
elected representatives work, leading to much better results than before and much closer
involvement of people in development tasks.  MKSS supports the sarpanch with the equivalent
of minimum wages (at present this amounts to Rs. 1800 per month on the basis of the daily
minimum wage of Rs. 60) other full-time activists of MKSS also get the same monthly
honorarium calculated on the basis of the prevailing legal minimum wage rate.

MKSS has about ten such full-time 'activists.' A significant part of their honorarium comes from
the fair price shops run by MKSS.  At present three such shops are running in Bhim, Surajpura
and Jawaja with combined annual gross sales of about Rs. one crore.  As these shops function
at only one percent profit margin, these yield annual earning of Rs. one lakh which is used
substantially to support MKSS activists.  MKSS has received several awards the interest
earning from which also helps to support activists.  Aruna Roy has donated her Magsaysay
award money to Janhit Trust for helping other self-reliant efforts of social activists.  MKSS is also
known for its collective leadership.

Side by side several other struggle and constructive work have continued teaching children who
cannot go to formal schools, arrangements for creating honest public distribution in a village, anti-liquor
struggle in Sangavaas and several other efforts.  As a result by the sustained efforts of several
organisations in which MKSS has played a leading role, it is now much more difficult to deny
minimum wages at a relief work sites.  Although the legal wage is still not given, the wage given
now is much closer to the legal wage compared to the pre-MKSS days.  Despite this significant
success of MKSS, the livelihood crises' in Rajasthan villages where MKSS works is getting
acute.  This is particularly visible in the drought years such as 2000-2001.  The pressure to
migrate in search of work is more, while work opportunities are diminishing.  Clearly MKSS
still has to do a lot more to.  Resolve the basic livelihood issues in its area of work.

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