Woman of substance--Seventy-year-old woman in literacy movement

Woman of substance
Seventy-year-old woman in literacy movement
Santanu Saraswati
Dumka, April 21--- Shanti Devi packs her tiffin box into her big “ jhola”. In go two books--- one of alphabets and other of pictures. With a stick in one hand and the jhola in the other, the 70-year-old lady leaves early in the morning with her cows. While the cows graze, Shanti Devi reads or at least tries to. If she misses an alphabet, she calls out to the nearest passer-by and asks him to tell her. If he does not know, as is often the case, she starts shouting: “ You useless Santhal. Instead of getting drunk go to an evening school and learn. There is more to life than attending panchayat meetings and abusing pradhans”. When she is not tending to her fields, she takes time off to learn cycling. After all as a leader elected by women of four Santhal villages in the Nala block of Jamtara district, she needs to travel quickly.In the ongoing conflict between tribal biradari panchayats and the constitutionally elected ones, Shanti Devi has chosen the ideal middle path. She has decided to get women and children, especially girls to learn and be educated and decide for themselves how they want to be governed.Women of four villages in the Nala block, about 55 kilometers from the district headquarter, adjoining West Bengal have elected her a leader. Her word is law as far as decisions regarding children’s education is concerned.Shanti Devi stays in a beautiful Santhal village. Sparkling clean with thatched huts and the customary contraception to manufacture liquor outside every home. Five years ago, she decided to launch a campaign for girl’s education when literacy movement was sweeping Dumka under the leadership of then deputy commissioner Anjani Kumar Singh.“ I don’t know why but one day I attended a panchayat meeting where they were discussing how much fine a girl should pay for breaking an engagement with a boy. The girl was sitting crying in a corner. I was enraged and decided to do something about it”. From then on, Shanti Devi who has three sons, four daughters and eighteen grandchildren decided to spread an awareness campaign. First, she visited Government primary schools for an “inspection”. “ I noted down names of teachers who were absent and went straight to the deputy commissioner and said I would not leave his office till new teachers were provided. I was successful,” she says.She then got villagers to campaign to save buildings. Some school buildings were then repaired.During the lean season after crops have been cut and taken from the fields, Shanti Devi makes the rounds of the four villages under her charge. She goes from school to school on a bicycle with one of her well-wisher. She shows no signs of tiredness as she talks. “ I can talk the whole night if you wish. You will start snoring but I will talk,” she said.A complete illiterate five years ago, she now knows Hindi alphabet and can also write few sentences. This enthusiasm has rubbed off on the local children. An NGO working in the area, Jago Behna has decided to take her help to reach out to the tribals and convince them to attend school. Shanti Devi agreed and launched a mobilization campaign in the four villages in the block. Today, children attend the non-formal schools and their parents come at night for classes too. Shanti Devi herself sits through the classes.From organizing pulse polio campaign to advising women to have less children, the only person who is complaining is her husband. “ She has no time for me,” he says in jest but there is a proud grim on his face. EOM. Words: 632
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