Droughts in Thar Rajasthan: need for a ‘vulnerability index’

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The signs of deficient and erratic rains could be seen vividly inscribed on the face of the desert. Different hues of sand, the dramatic play of the bright sun illuminating the moist grainy patches on the otherwise dry surfaces of the dunes strike the eye. Saplings struggling to survive, stunted growth of crops, abandoned fields, dried up ponds are telling signs of a period of prolonged scarcity and a winter of misery that is in the offing.

For most of the villagers, the process of assessment of drought finally culminates in the state asking for assistance from the Central Calamity relief Fund a fat sum of money, a whooping figure of around 12691 crore rupees for responding to drought in 26 of the 32 districts of the state. The narrative about destitution and misery is cemented with impressive display of statistical evidence garnered during the visits of different teams of experts during drought assessment. What is developing is being already termed as the third worst scarcity in twenty eight years, out of which twenty six were drought years anyway. In districts of Barmer, Jasialmer, Bikaner, Churu there is almost hundred percent drought in most villages. On 3^rd September the team from the GoI visited the Bikaner district and assesses the damage drought has wreaked. The press release by the Divisional Commissioner stated that in Bikaner and Churu districts, almost all villages face scarcity. The Commissioner further informed that more than six thousand families have already been earmarked as those needing assistance in Churu district. The state declared that it would have no option but to open drought relief works from October to March next year. This completes the chain of events that is repeated every year with its own share of farces and tragedies. The final salvo to inaugurate the infamous and manipulative politics of drought relief has been fired.

Apart from the criteria used by the state to assess and declare ‘drought’, there are many other indicators that are useful for measuring the impact of long -term processes as well as the short- term precipitating factors leading to a ‘drought’. Even after five decades of development planning, that has seen many area- specific (like the DPAP & DDP) as well target group specific (like the IRDP) development schemes the assessment process still takes into account ‘drought’ as a natural disaster. The drought assessment process mainly relies on the measuring the extent of ‘rainfall failures’ & ‘crop losses’.

There is a need to broaden the assessment processes for ascertaining ‘drought’ in western Rajasthan. We propose the need to develop a ‘vulnerability’ index for assessing the long- term processes at work in the different regions in the Thar. Apart from factoring macro variables of well being, the vulnerability index has to be firmly rooted in regional contexts, as impact of droughts is highly variable in different micro regions. Then there has to a segregation of local data along different communities factoring their historical role in facing droughts in Thar.

In the making of the vulnerability index the following two processes are very critical:

• Inclusion of new criteria to cover many communities left out by the current assessment process like the pastoralists, migrating workers, cultural workers like craftspeople, musicians, etc.

• Take into account the long-term processes that enhance vulnerability to ‘drought’ not only of a region but also of different communities.

Photo: Village Bandhali, Kolayat tehsil, 1994, Bikaner

An Appeal to MNREGA in Barmer, Thar

Combating Drought for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage

Barmer region is richly endowed with exquisite cultural traditions be it textiles, woodwork, or folk music. These are famous both nationally and globally. Folk musicians from Barmer and Jaisalmer have proudly represented Government India in many august cultural performances in India as well as abroad. And textile traditions of Barmer are some of the finest folk culture traditions of India.

It is quite paradoxical that musicians known nationally and globally for their ecstatic renditions, enticing overtures and robust dissemination of secular culture are languishing away in destitution.

There are around 35000 families of artisans, ten thousand weavers and around as many folk musician families in Barmer and Jaisalmer districts. A majority of them continue to dwell in rudimentary habitations and have poor access to basic needs of habitat, education, health and social security for the old and destitute among them. Most of these communities occupy the lower rungs of the society and have long survived as fringe groups, stigmatized, subordinated and discriminated against in access to natural resources.

There are hardly any govt. policies or schemes that deal with developing collective initiative around the promoting entrepreneurial growth among these marginal practitioners of culture. The pervasive economic recession has badly hit the trade in handicrafts and opportunities of folk singers for performances outside.

As the specter of an extended period of heightened scarcity haunts the region they would have no option but to try and access drought relief work that involves digging earth, uprooting bushes, etc that does not build upon their existing skills. This has been the stock emergency drought relief response of the state year after year.

NREGA is an opportunity for creating sustainable rural livelihoods through rejuvenation of productive capabilities of rural people. And many of these capabilities lie in the robust folk cultural traditions of people. These communities need opportunities to graduate from mere wage employment to sustainable rural livelihoods and hence realizing right to dignified work and reduction of vulnerabilities.

We humbly request the GoI to consider the following options for these bearers of the intangible cultural heritage of the Thar:

· Provision of at 200 days of work in a year for weavers and other craftspeople in sustainable livelihood generation interventions that support the primary producers in developing backward and forward linkages.

· Provision of recreation and awareness programmes by folk musicians on drought relief work sites and public places.

· Recognition of folk music skills as viable for developing sustainable livelihoods and provide trainings to young artists in singing, making and playing instruments, etc.

· Opportunities to folk musicians for live performances in cities and metros of India.

Text of the Memorandum Submitted by Society to Uplift Rural economy (SURE) & Marudhar Lok Kala Kendra (MLKK) to Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India on 29th August 2009 during his visit to Barmer to inaugurate Cairn India’s Mangala oil fields in Rajasthan,

For more on work with folk musicians of Barmer, please click

Contact:

Lata Kachhawaha- 09414107465

Narendra Tansukhani- 09414200892

Chronicle of Drought 2009 in Thar

notes: gazing clouds, waiting for rains

visit to the IGNP Canal Stage II area

(work in progress)