Santa, now a respected elder in the village, gazes sadly at the official notice.
“Banta,” he says with a sigh that seems to carry the weight of years, “do you remember the days of our youth?”
“When our mothers and sisters, with fire in their eyes and songs on their lips, stood up to save our forests in the Chipko movement?”
“When the entire village would rise as one voice against the liquor mafia, or to demand better schools?”
“Our voices then, even from these remote hills, echoed all the way to Lucknow and Delhi!”
Banta nods, his eyes distant with memory.
“I remember well, Santa.”
“Those were times when the awaam ki awaaz truly shaped our vikas ki disha.”
“We fought for and got our own state, Uttarakhand, believing our mountains, our rivers, our way of life would finally be understood and governed by those who truly knew them, with our active participation.”
Santa gestures towards the notice.
“And now?”
“Twenty-five years later, this!”
“A massive project, decided by bade sahib and bahar ke consultant in some air-conditioned room far away.”
“They say it will bring vikas.”
“But did anyone from this village, anyone whose family has lived on this land for ten generations, get to say a word about whether this kind of vikas is what we need, or what impact it will have on our remaining forests, our water sources, our children’s future?”
“It feels like someone has pressed the ‘mute button’ on the common villager.”
Banta puts a comforting hand on Santa’s shoulder.
“Your pain is the pain of many, Santa.”
“It seems somewhere along the way, after the state was formed, the path diverged.”
“The expectation that grassroots wisdom, the Himalaya ka anubhav that runs in our veins, would guide our policies has faded.”
“Now, often, solutions arrive in sealed blueprints, filled with technical jargon that means little to us, designed by experts and consultants who might have many degrees but have never truly ‘lived and breathed‘ our mountain air, our struggles, our deep connection to this land.”
Santa looks dejected.
“So, have we lost our voice forever, Banta?”
“Are we just to be silent spectators as they decide our fate?”
“Our voice is never truly lost, Santa, as long as we remember its power,” Banta says, a spark returning to his eyes.
“The spirit of Chipko, the spirit of the statehood movement, was born from the collective will of ordinary people who knew what was best for their land and their lives.”
“Perhaps that spirit has been dormant, lulled by neglect or broken promises, leading to this udasinta or avishwas you see.”
“But the mountain still speaks through its people.”
“The solutions for our receding glaciers, our polluted streams, our chaotic tourism, lie within our accumulated wisdom, blended respectfully with genuine, well-intentioned expertise that is willing to listen.”
He adds with a wry smile, “Maybe these bahar ke consultants and experts, with their fancy reports, first need a compulsory ‘internship‘ with a village elder, learning to read the signs of the weather in the wind’s song, or understanding water management from the woman who walks miles to the dhara every day.”
“That might make their ‘capital-intensive‘ solutions a bit more ‘common-sense-intensive’ and truly sustainable!”
Santa manages a weak smile.
“An internship with old Heera Mausi for water management!”
“She’d teach them a thing or two without any PowerPoint!”
“You’re right, Banta.”
“Our voice isn’t dead, just perhaps a little hoarse from disuse.”
“We need to find it again.”
#piyoosh #piyooshrautela #riskavoider #riskavoideracademy
संता – बंता की इस जुगलबन्दी से आज हमने क्या सीखा:-
- हिमालय ने विशेष रूप से यहाँ की झुंझारू महिलाओ द्वारा सिंचित कई जमीनी आंदोलन देखे है जिन्होंने इस क्षेत्र में विकास की दिशा का निर्धारण किया है और आज के समय में सामुहिक सहभागिता की इसी भावना को पुनर्जीवित करने की आवश्यकता है / Himalaya‘s history is rich with grassroots movements where people, especially women, shaped development; this participatory spirit needs to be revived.
- प्रायः स्थानीय लोगो से पर्याप्त विचार-विमर्श किये बिना, हिमालय को पूरी तरह न समझने वाले बाहरी परामर्शदाताओं व विशेषज्ञों से प्रभावित हो कर विशेष रूप से इस संवेदनशील क्षेत्र में बड़ी परियोजनाओं को ऊपर से थोपे जाने से सतत विकास की अवधारणा का ह्रास होता है और साथ ही लोगो का विरोध भी झेलना पड़ता है / Top-down decision-making on major projects, often driven by external experts and consultants without adequate local consultation, leads to alienation and unsustainable solutions.
- जलवायु परिवर्तन के प्रभाव, संसाधनों की दुर्दशा तथा विनाश को न्योता देने वाला विकास सहित हिमालयी क्षेत्र की प्रमुख समस्याओ की हल ढूंढने में यहाँ की लोगो का परम्परागत पर्यावरणीय व संसाधन प्रबंधन का ज्ञान तथा उनका जीवंत अनुभव की महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका हो सकती है / Locals possess invaluable traditional ecological knowledge and lived experience crucial for addressing regional problems like climate change impacts, resource degradation, and unsustainable development.
- असल मायनो में विकास को सहभागितापूर्ण, स्थानीय लोगो की आकांशाओ व सपनो के अनुरूप, लोगो की परम्परागत ज्ञान के साथ ही उपयुक्त बाहरी विशेषज्ञता व तकनीक का समावेश करने वाला होना चाहिये / True development must be participatory, integrating local aspirations and wisdom with appropriate external expertise.
संता – बंता की यह जुगलबन्दी आपको कैसी लगी, कृपया हमें जरुर बताये
व
इस जुगलबन्दी को बेहतर बनाने के लिये अपने सुझाव अवश्य दें।
हमें हमेशा की तरह आपके सुझावों, प्रतिक्रियाओं व कटाक्षो का बेसब्री से इंतजार रहता हैं और सच मानिये इसी के आधार पर हम अपने आप में, अपनी सोच व रचनात्मकता में सुधार करने को प्रेरित होते हैं।
सो अच्छा – बुरा जैसा आपको महसूस हुवा हो, कमेंट जरुर करते रहें।
संता – बंता की यह जुगलबन्दी आपको कैसी लगी, कृपया हमें जरुर बताये
व
इस जुगलबन्दी को बेहतर बनाने के लिये अपने सुझाव अवश्य दें।
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