COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

Introduction: NASA works for the upliftment of people through participatory development. Each village has sanghams (groups/associations) for women, men and youth at the micro level and all these sanghams have been federated into one association called the Dalit Pragathi Ikya Sangham (Dalit United Front). Sanghams are formed with the purpose of providing a common platform for the people to meet, discuss and find solutions for their problems. These sanghams promote leadership, unity, and collective decision making. The lkya Sangham plays a vital role empowering people and driving out dejection.

Evolution of Village Sanghams

In the beginning, NASA started with small groups called Village Sanghams in order to empower Dalits to agitate and organise. Before the intervention of NASA there was no organisation for Dalits in the targeted area. So NASA organised Dalits by educating them about Dalit leader Dr. Ambedkar's ideology that combats the myths of caste superiority and the sub-human status of Dalits. In the beginning, NASA struggled to mobilise and motivate Dalits. Regular training on human rights and the Indian constitutional and legal provisions was given. The Dalit community in the area was geared up towards systematic struggle to demand its rights and entitlements.


Dalit Pragati Ikya Sangham Meeting ( Dalit United Federation )

In the process, the Dalit Pragati Ikya Sangham (DPIS) was formed, strengthened, and consolidated. It became an independant area-level Dalit organisation. DPIS is the macro-level federation of all Dalit village sanghams. The central idea in forming DPIS is to forge unity among Dalits at the area level and to create a positive Dalit movement for land rights and to defend Dalits against atrocities.

Macha Appa Rao
A Case Study of how the illicit relationship of a landlord caused the death of a Dalit boy
Macha Appa Rao was 17 years old when he died. He was working as a bonded laborer under a landlord and supporting his mother as his father haqd died due to illness. For 8 years he was working for the landlord for the meager amount of Rs. 6800 per annum and 2 bags of rice. He belonged to Sringavaram village of Nathavaram mandal.

The landlord was having illicit relationships with other women in the village and Mr. Appa Rao witnessed one of those incidents. His master grew suspicious that the boy would reveal his affairs to others in the village and started ill-treating him and abusing him time and again. In May 2007 the boy told his mother about his hardships and said he would give up working with the landlord.

But he did not reveal the illicit relationships of his master. His mother went to the master and requested him not to ill-treat her son. This intensified the doubts of the master and he decided to eliminate the boy.

On 19th May the landlord and his friends took the boy from his home, after which he disappeared. In spite of his mother's requests, the landlord refused to reveal the whereabouts of the boy. After 3 days the dead body of the boy was found in the well of a nearby village, tied in a gunny bag.

The mother explained the entire saga to the DPIS leaders in the village, and blamed the landlord for killing her son. With the support of DPIS, the case was booked in the police station. In the police interrogation the landlord agreed that he had killed the boy fearing that the boy would reveal his illicit relationships to the villagers. He and his friends were arrested and charged with murder.
Ravikampadu
A Case Study of the Sangham's united action

In Ravikampadu village, Dalits live in a segregated place. Separate glasses are used for Dalits in hotels. They are denied entry into Hindu temples. They cannot go to a barber to get a shave or a haircut. They are not allowed to draw water from the public wells.

During the village festival a young Dalit boy sat on a merry-go-round. An upper caste youth seated there told him to go away, as he should not sit with them. The Dalit boy argued that he too had paid for the amusement and so refused to vacate the seat. The upper caste youth dragged him off the rise and beat him up severely. The Sangham and about 200 Sangham members went to the police station demanding the arrest of the culprits, and eventually five persons were arrested.

The upper caste people then launched a "social boycott" of the Dalit community by not allowing them to work in the fields and households of landlords upon whom the Dalits depended for their livelihood. The lkya Sangham reacted by collecting one hundred and twenty-five bags of rice from the Sangham member villages and distributing the food to the victims of the boycott, rescuing them from starvation. They demanded the Government take stern action against the persecutors of this social boycott.

In retaliation, the upper castes humiliated Dalit women, a house was burnt, and a family was beaten while conducting a family prayer. The upper caste women stopped selling milk to Dalit communities which meant Dalit children did not have enough milk.

The Dalits organized hunger strikes and processions against the atrocity. Other villagers participated in the hunger strike to show their solidarity.

After this period of protest the Government established several different schemes for the economic sustainability of the Dalits. Forty-five acres of land has been allotted to the victims of the social boycott. The assault on the Dalit boy is pending in the courts. Dalits now have an awareness of their self-dignity and they are capable of "questioning" and making their own efforts to secure their rights.

Receiving Land documents from Government is the achievment of Village Sanghams

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