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.
SWARAJ Forum was initiated in November 1996 by Peaceful Society and like-minded groups and individuals to work towards a Society based on Gandhian principles. The manifestation of globalisation and fundamentalisation led to emergence of such formation. FORMATION PHASE The formation phase of SWARAJ is from December 1996 to June 1997. A three-day consultation on growing fundamentalism…
DAMODAR CONSORTIUM Damodar is one of the major rivers in the State of Jharkhand. The Damodar Valley Corporation is one of the largest and oldest thermal power stations in the country had lead to large-scale displacement of the local population affecting their livelihoods. A number of coal mining units, thermal power plants, cement and tin…
KOSHI CONSORTIUM Save Koshi Padyatra: The Activists and people of Koshi starting 126 KM long Padayatra. The Koshi River, a tributary of the Ganga, emerges from the Central Himalayas, and after a turbulent fall from the heights of the mighty mountain ranges through Nepal, continues its turbulence before meeting the Ganga in the Terai and…
GANGA CONSORTIUM Swaraj National Convenor Mr. Kumar Kalanand Mani deliberating his views in 4th annual convention of Ganga Consortium in Bihar. Ganga Consortium working for environmental balance and retention of natural resources in hands of the village community through the gram sabha is active in Bhagalpur and Banka Districts of Bihar on the banks of the river. Till…
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.…