Eating is an agricultural act - Wendell Berry

Sunday, April 03, 2011

the mistaken notion of food security...

...is brought out in a beautifully written tragic story - food security and basavi.

basavi and jadiya are a tribal couple in interior karnataka and the transition in their life through interventions of 'development'  is beautifully written.
starting from being landless but enjoying the forest produce to being 'landed' and moving up to cash crops and hence indebtedness to finally becoming an entry in the PDS system with their 'way-of-life' reduced to shambles is tragic.  

through this the author questions the very basis of defining terms like food security, poverty and quite honestly nails the short sightedness of development activists and their ilk. 

the author is....
...Dr.R.Balasubramaniam (Balu) is a development activist, social innovator and leadership trainer. After getting his degree in Medicine, he earned his M.Phil in Hospital and Health Systems Management from BITS, Pilani. He has an MPA from Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University. His living habits were greatly influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda, the great Indian Monk who lived in the 19th century. At the age of 19, he founded the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, based on the principles of Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (Truth), Seva (Service) and Tyaga (Sacrifice). He has spent the last 26 years of his life in the service of the rural and tribal poor in the forests of India. He has built this non-profit organization into one of India’s leading development NGOs. He has now laid down all formal office and passed on the mantle to the next generation.

3 comments:

Manjunath said...

Hi,

When i click on a link on your blog, it goes to the link site rather than opening as a new tap/window ... it this by choice? If not, it would be better and easier to follow if you let the link open in a new tab/window.

Anonymous said...

I love direct cash transfers, i can buy anything i want, from any where i like. Where do i queue up? What? I need a UID for that? Have to go to New Delhi for that queue? But thanks anyway Mr Balu for your love of the downtrodden.

csm said...

padiki - have to make the html edit for this feature. if you know a simpler method, do tell.