It started as a long march. The 1974 JP movement, with the objective of total revolution, attracted thousands of students but there are few crusaders left now. For Pankaj, though, who has since deleted his upper caste surname Singh, the movement is still on. And while inheritors, usurpers and pretenders to the JP mantle are sharing the spoils of power, Pankaj carries on with his small army of 30 volunteers.In a two-year-old initiative called Janata Checking, the group goes on surprise checks to schools and hospitals, monitoring teachers and doctors. They cycle to the dispersed villages of this district and mobilise villagers to demand that government-paid doctors and teachers do their job. They lodge complaints, substantiated with letters from villagers. ‘‘But instead of acting on the complaint, some officials use them to blackmail the accused and extract money,’’ says Pankaj.Skeletons of the Lok Sangarsh Samiti and Chhatra Yuva Sangarsh Vahini, both established during the JP movement, still remain in several districts of Bihar, including West Champaran. Away from the noise of mainstream politics, they carry on with limited energy and resources.On October 11, 2003, rich and powerful disciples celebrated JP’s birth centenary in style; Pankaj and his colleagues did so in a modest way. ‘‘For every pamphlet, we make a collection but we don’t accept more than Rs 50,’’ he says. The samiti and vahini put together have 260 members, but only 30 are active. The check venues are picked at random. Members gather at the office and instantly decide which village to go to. The group of 20-25 split into smaller groups — some set to wall writing, others gather the villagers. ‘‘All students attend school, all teachers do their duty’’, is the standard slogan. The slogan is followed by the names of the teachers found playing hooky.Of the 30 schools they covered, 19 are being regularly inspected. ‘‘There is a marginal improvement in the attendance of teachers,’’ says Prakash, a college teacher. While the administration has ignored Janata Checking’s campaign, the education and health mafia in the district file fictitious cases against the activists. Pankaj has just come out of jail after being charged with extortion by a doctor.
