As the rest of the world celebrated International Literacy Day barely a fortnight back, there wasn’t the usual soul-searching on the one constant red mark in India’s report card, Bihar. The state did figure in the seminar rooms, but for an entirely different reason. Five of its districts—Kishenganj, Araria, West Champaran, East Champaran and Supaul—received letters of appreciation from the National Literacy Mission (NLM) in the Capital for efforts in improving women’s literacy. Another, Muzaffarpur, got the Satyen Maitra Memorial Literacy Award for its impressive overall performance. To understand the distance these districts have travelled, you have to come a long way from Delhi. Bihar is the only state in the country that marked an absolute growth in number of illiterates between 1991 and 2001 censuses. Of the 35 districts in India lowest in terms of women’s literacy, 15 are in Bihar. And Champaran is dacoit country where no one thought the pen had a chance against the sword. Over the last year, 30,000 volunteers have been at work in Muzaffarpur alone to change those statistics. Now they have some new ones—like nearly three lakh neo-literates in one year in Muzaffarpur, using half the money allotted. That is an almost 7 per cent increase in its literacy figures in one year, though under the project, only specific areas of the district are targeted. Before that, between 1991 and 2001, there had been an increase of 12 per cent in the district’s literacy figures. Or take Kishenganj, among the worst districts in female literacy (18.49 per cent as per 2001 Census), where one lakh women have entered the world of letters in the past year. The Muzaffarpur success story is the result of people’s participation, clever planning and a few good men—District Magistrate A.L. Meena; Jila Saksharata Samiti Secretary Arun Kumar Kunwar and members Virender Paswan and Rajan; and thousands of volunteers who agreed to work without pay. ‘‘We decided to do an intensified campaign in five months,’’ explains Meena. That was the first innovation, different from the usual NLM norm of teaching over 18 months. Local body representatives were made in-charge of their wards, and transparency in purchase of study material ensured by inviting all block panchayat presidents to the Samiti. ‘‘They could select the material and supplier in my presence,’’ says Meena. In another innovation, the distribution of the first and second primers was clubbed, saving about Rs 3 lakh. The Jila Saksharata Samiti then selected volunteers and each one was allotted 10 learners. The classes were scheduled according to the learners’ convenience. Hence while women groups studied in noon after completing household work, the men studied between 6 and 8 pm. However, at least two hours of study everday was compulsory. Those reluctant were drawn in using everything from lures to threats. For example, the villagers were warned, half-jokingly, that only those taking the classes would be allowed to collect PDS supplies or that henceforth they would have to sign on the PDS register rather than put their thumb impression. At other times, they were told all government schemes in the future would be restricted to literates. Volunteer Niyaz Ahmed, a PhD who says he joined the programme to ‘‘help the society’’, adds: ‘‘Now less people of my learning centre waste money on liquor and gambling.’’ In West Champaran, even dacoits were roped in. ‘‘We asked them if they wanted to lead ignornt people or literates. And it clicked,’’ says Rajeshwar Prasad, a district coordinator. At the same time, the Muzaffarpur district administration kept a close watch on the learning centres. ‘‘We have 6,000 government servants and 30,000 learning centres. We allotted five centres to each government servant who would inspect one everyday,’’ says Meena. According to an independent evaluation conducted by the Jaipur-based Indian Institute of Rural Management, the result is that 86.14 per cent of the targeted 15-35 age group have been turned literates. And at a cost of Rs 43 per learner against the allotment of Rs 90. To sustain the success of the literacy campaign, these learning groups will now be turned into self-help groups, says Dr A.N. Safeena, Deputy Development Commissioner, Muzaffarpur. He hopes the trained volunteers can lead future projects too. For now it’s enough to visit Muzaffarpur’s Chako Chapra village on any given day, and see a new sight. Women sitting under a tree, books in hand, children by their side, and a song on their lips: It’s everyone’s earth/it’s everyone’s rightLive in unity/that’s our strength.
