GANDAK CONSORTIUM Shramdan Gandak is one of the major rivers of North Bihar, which originates in Nepal and traverses through parts of North Bihar and Uttar Pradesh before merging into the Ganges. Another river called Budhi Gandak also flows in this region and floods about 8.21 hectares of land annually. Floods are common during monsoons…
Bihar is the worst flood affected state in the entire country. According to a state government report, 37% of the total geographical area of the state is flood prone. North Bihar is especially vulnerable to floods with as much as 76% of the region coming under the influence of floods. This phenomenon has aggravated largely…
GENDER AND WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT Swaraj since its inception has strived towards equal participation and representation of women at all levels. However, it became evident that in practice this was more difficult and women did not come forward and participate as much as expected. Women face many constraints due to tradition and culture. Like most parts…
Swaraj is a forum of like-minded institutions and people who have deep convictions in the Gandhian ideology and approach. It is a people’s organisation with an aim to empower the local communities. The culture within Swaraj is in many ways humane, equitous and non-hierarchical. As stated earlier, the structure and the vision, mission of Swaraj…
The society in today’s Tamil Nadu has a prestigious place in Indian History and the nation’s Freedom Struggle. Chakravarti Rajagopalachri, Kamraj Nadar, M. G. Ramachandra and “Periyar” are among many of the leaders down the history has played vital roles in Nation Building. Tamil Nadu was part of the erstwhile Madras Presidency, which during the…
SWARAJ – KERALA Keram means coconut in Malaya. Kerala is, of course, the land of coconut palms. A land full of coconut palms and deep green cover has many inland waterways called the backwaters. Thus, some call it the Venice of the East. Kerala is known for the highest literacy rate in India. Besides, the male/female…
SWARAJ- MAHARASHTRA Maharashtra has long traditions of social reform movements and its literature abounds with support for such movements. The tradition goes back to the middle of the 20th Century, when saints like Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram brought religion to the common people, at a time when it was the bound within the exclusiveness of the upper…
ORISSA Orissa as the English has named it, is properly named in India’s National Anthem as Utkal. It means advanced in art, crafts and sculptures. There are great number of such historical monuments having finest pieces of arts and architecture. It is evident that Utkal was once prosperous. The ancient export communities called “Saadhaba were…
SWARAJ- JHARKHAND Jharkhand became a full-fledged state in November 2000. There has been a long and sustained struggle for statehood for many years in the region. There are many activists, people’s organisations and social action groups in most of the districts in the state. Many of these organisations, activists, social action groups and individuals came…
SWARAJ- GUJARAT Gujarat is another state where Swaraj has not really made any major impact. Although the PSP process like in other states were conducted at the village level in 1999, one fails to see significant outcomes. There could be many reasons for this; firstly the state has been witnessing major tragedies in recent years…
Bihar has evolved from the word ‘Vihar’. This word itself has originated from the words “Boudh Vihar”. Bihar has had a glorious history as could be ascertained from ancient Indian Literature and Archeological Findings. It is the place where Gautam Buddha attained true spiritual knowledge. It also the birthplace of Mahavir, the propagator of Jainism and…
The 73rd Constitution Amendments came into being in April 1993. It is an enabling provision, re-empowering Gram Panchayats and rural masses. Gram Panchayat, with all its limitations, remains the best possible local body created by the Constitution to elicit people’s participation in development process. Impacting and empowering the PRIs would lead to more sustainable development process.…
Pernem Taluka Mith Utpadak Sangha (For Assistance to Salt – producers of Pernem) Agarwado – Pernem The father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi undertook the famous DANDI MARCH to offer Salt-Satyagraha, in 1930. During this period Goa under the Portuguese occupation was exporting Salt to rest of India and countries in Africa. After India’s independence Salt-production,…
The Save the Western Ghats Movement (SWGM) was a landmark event in environmental activism in India. It was one of the first of its kind in the country and became the model for numerous campaigns all over India. In October 1986, PS organised a national consultation on environment, during which it was decided to organize…
Modern farming promotes the growth of crops in isolation, with the use of hybrid seeds & excessive chemical fertilizers, giving rise to monoculture. This has resulted in soil erosion & decreased soil fertility. The dangers of Conventional fertilizers as human health hazards & their pollution of the environment has encouraged the search & application of…
(Organised Jointly By Peaceful Society, Econet-Pune , In Collaboration With Institute Of Safety, Occupation Health And Environment, Govt. Of Goa. Nov. 1, 1996. Isohe Complex Altinho, Panaji – Goa.) Objectives Of The Workshop The local organisers had aimed at exposing influential participants to several areas of biodiversity in local language and to focus priority areas of biodiversity…
Among the aims and objects of Peaceful Society is preservation of bio-diversity, Medicinal Plants are an important species, which help preserve bio-diversity. Besides, they form the foundation of traditional medicine, which is the answer to monopoly of multi-national companies, which is being strengthened in today’s economic policy of globalisation and Marketisation. Botany students of Goa…
Peaceful Society’s concern with the environment was manifest very early in its existence. In 1984 itself, it hosted a meeting of Environmentalist from the South of India to examine the process of environmental degradation and the need for social protection of forests in particular and the environment in general, through mobilizing and involving local communities.…
In her enlightening speech, she emphasized upon following important health-related precautions and measures. This information may prove vital to one and all: 1. Man should have balanced and nutritious diet. Besides rice and wheat, the diet should also include cereals, milk, eggs, green vegetables (both cooked and uncooked), fruits etc. 2. The vegetables should be washed properly…
The following were the educative talk were held on women & child health at Peaceful Society Measles: Exact presentation of measles, misunderstanding, prevailing, about diet during measles, other rashes confusing with measles, complications of measles, care of the patient with measles, vaccination importance. Mumps: Presentation of mumps, misconcepts and confusions, other swellings confusing with mumps, care…
AIMS & OBJECTIVES With the prevailing ‘misconceptions’ and attitudes of people in the society regarding essential aspects of health and nutrition, Peaceful Society decided to have a concrete initiatives on Health for a year with monthly follow up health check ups and health talks in the year 1987. Dr. Poornima N. Usgaonkar kindly agreed to…
I. Putting Down Roots (1 9 8 4 – 1 9 8 9) Each of the three branches can be traced to activities or events in the first years of PS’s existence and though closely inter-related the branches can nevertheless be tracked through the years as they each took a different direction, not so much geographically initially,…