A role model for the entire country

By Reeta Sharma

The year was 1967. The place was the U.S.A. An Indian student, Parmaswara Rao, was being awarded a doctoral degree in nuclear science by Pennsylvania State University. His thesis was described as "a rare and original idea". So impressed were the dons by his work that they had even offered him an associate professorship at an attractive salary of $ 2,500 per month.

However, the young scholar shocked them by refusing the offer. Parmasawara Rao was so driven by the passion to return to his remote village Dimli in Vishakhapatnam that even two other job offers on a much higher salary by two American companies failed to stop him. The university then offered to hold the job for him in case he changed his mind.

But Rao never changed his mind. He took the first flight to India and came back to his village. As many as 28 years have gone by but he has not changed his mind. As a result, this village, which was poverty-ridden and barren, is today a model for entire India to follow.

Dr B.V. Parmaswara Rao had returned to his village despite strong opposition from his "feudal" and "authoritarian" father. He had no assured income to run his home. But something sustained him in Dimli for the next 28 years. What was it?

It was a dream from his childhood days. A dream which invited ridicule and jeers from villagers, government officials, clerks, politicians et al. But nothing could intimidate him or dampen his spirit. He wanted to transform his village into a model village where all would be gainfully employed; where all children would be able to attend school; and where the shackles of poverty would be broken forever. And it all actually happened. Today, it is not only Dimli which stands transformed but also about 50 villages in 20 panchayats in Vellamachili area of Vishakhapatnam. They bear the stamp of Paramaswara Rao’s dream becoming a reality.

The nuclear scientists journey began in 1967 when he returned to Dimli. By 1968, the villagers were inspired enough to build a high school with their own funds and through shramdaan.

Today, 50 villages have salt factories, cooperative farming, community development programmes and wasteland development activities (5,000 acres have already been reclaimed). Women have formed thrift societies, and villagers have been freed from the clutches of money-lenders. Hospitals are functioning and employment opportunities have been created. Successful literacy campaigns, non-formal education centres, movement against alcoholism etc have become a part of the villagers life.

Dr Rao obviously had the vision that nothing short of an all-out and multi-dimensional approach would help the villagers to grow out of the never-ending poverty and drudgery of life. He had initially thought of dedicating his life to his own people and his village alone. But he soon realised that all Indian villages have the "same face". No wonder he began working for each village that came his way.

Each action bore fruit. Discussing each activity is not possible in this column, so let me just open one window which would take you into the world of women of 50 villages who have come out of their primitiveness without shedding their innocence.

Was it Dr Rao’s own upbringing in an orthodox, conservative South Indian home that he never paused to think about the role of village women? Perhaps, yes! He remained engrossed with dozens of actions, all unknowingly aimed at helping only the men of the villages. However, one day, he was baffled when an old women remarked to him, "You have all these programme meant for men only. Have you got nothing for women?" This touched a chord. Soon his ever inquisitive mind surveyed the plight of women in these villages.Thereafter, he spent the next two decades changing the mind-set of villagers about the role of women-- something even the urban India has not achieved till date.

The year 1980 was a land mark year towards the fulfilment of his dream. His father had by then realised the commitment that his son had towards the welfare of the villagers. So he decided to give him money to start a trust in the name of the family. Thus was born the now famous Bhangvatualla Charitable Trust (BCT). Rao used BCT to realise the potential of village women as catalysts of change.

Beginning with 10 paise a day, women were encouraged to form thrift groups, which was soon followed by the formation of "Mahila mandals". The BCT began training poor landless and illiterate women to become paramedics, thrift collectors, para vets and village animators. This brought manifold results. These women gradually became skilled workers playing a constructive role in the villages. They came to be respected. Today you will find villagers addressing para vets as "doctor-amma."

Wide-spread ignorance and ill-health were tackled by organising awareness programmes. In 1985, BCT floated the Gram Arogyalayam Trust. Illiterate women were trained to become health-workers, besides traditional midwives were imparted modern techniques to conduct deliveries in a more hygienic and safe manner.

For the first time in their life, women of the villages were trained in the traditional craft of toy-making, "Etikoppaka".

These toys, made from a particular tree and painted in bright colours, are now mostly exported. Besides, women were also trained into making "leaf-plates" (on which food is served), nursery raising, screen printing, tape-weaving, dairying, poultry, papad-making, making of jute bags and animal husbandry. All training programmes were evolved and designed by BCT so as to suit the needs of women.

I was happy to see the vocational training being imparted to children in BCT premises. Girls were being trained to repair bicycles, which are a major mode of transport in villages. However, it is the revolution brought in by the women of Marripalam village which has become an example for other women to follow. Till early 80s, women of this village were not allowed to step out of their huts. Sometimes they were even locked up when the men went out to work. But Dr Rao’s personal visits finally broke the ice and the men yielded. Initially, Dr Rao sent ‘adda’ leaves for women to stitch as eating plates. BCT marketed them and paid wages to women. Soon thrift programmes followed and, finally, a mahila mandal of 150 women was formed in the village. With their savings women began poultry farming, sheep rearing, nursery raising and adopting improved agricultural practices under the guidance of trained volunteers of the BCT. Women even built a road linking the village to the main road.

A day came when nine women formed a "salt production and marketing centre" under Dr Rao’s guidance. Men of the village, on the other hand, were indulging in cheating and excessive billing so as to get money for their liquor. While men’s performance fell due to alcoholism, women’s income increased with each passing day.

Women of this village made national news when they broke all the bottles of liquor in a local vend. They then paid the owner for the loss incurred by him. Nobody can dare open another vend here as mahila mandals are ever vigilant. Their men have finally stopped boozing, and today Marripalam is a "dry" village.