Eighteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This work is an attempt to thrust the community towards becoming active claim makers rather than just passive beneficiaries. The members of the community work together, in order to achieve one common agenda, which has not been addressed for a long time. This work draws upon my experiences, working in Mohgoan Ryt–an adivasi inhabited village, block Karanjia, district of Dindori, Madhya Pradesh. The village is comprised majorly of the Gonds, followed by the other noticeable castes in the village which are Panikas, Laman Banjaras, Yadavs and Lohar. It has shifted me towards discovering the various policy mechanisms of the government, the functioning of schemes within the community and the receiving of it. It also pointed towards the patterns of exclusion and discrimination within the very dynamics of the village. In this proposed action research work, I try to draw upon my understanding of community participation and activating the mode of claim making in Mohgoan, working with a group of women from one particular hamlet, Neecha Tola. They have been kept out mostly from accessing resources which were available for the people of the other hamlets. It also becomes a journey, which is marked by constant negotiation of the self and the other coming together in order to make a claim and thus thrust the authorities towards acknowledging these issues that has been neglected for quite a few years now. While understanding the dominant development discourses, I try to rethink the ideas of development and practice with them.