2013 Update

Dear Saathis, Friends, Supporters,

Zindabad from the JJSS!

We had hoped to provide regular updates in 2013, but it did not materialize given the busy start to the year. So here is a six month update of all that has been happening with the JJSS (please see below for snippets, or click on the links for full section).

Please do make financial contributions in Indian Rupees to the JJSS work, we have nearly used all our funds for this year and need all the support possible in this fund-raising drive! Also, help us spread the word and help us raise funds from other like-minded friends.

We always start our updates with sangharsh, sit-ins …. protest rallies, but this time we will start with small seva oriented gesture of JJSS saathis  …..  

1. Compassion: Blanket drive in the winter and the disability certification camp in Araria
2. Fight for minimum wages in Bihar
3. Mobilization for universal pension
4. May Diwas and aam sabha
5. India Untouched on Ambedkar Jayanti
6. Bringing justice to Ram Thakur
7. NREGA and related activities
8. The Centre takes shape
9. Buniyadi nirmaan
10. Insaan hai hum
11. Building democracy & linkages outside
12. Accounts And Upcoming Events

Compassion: 

Blanket drive in the winter: Last winter, we distributed around 300 blankets to landless laborers in Araria district, primarily elderly men and women without anyone to look after. It was triggered by the observation of JJSS karyakarta Arvind who noticed that many of our saathis did not have any protection against the cold, which hit record lows last year. [Click here to read more…]

Participating in the disability certification camp in Araria: On 14^th May 2013 there was a camp organized by the Araria block office for on-the-spot processing of disability certificates. Beneficiaries were being given a yellow card after examination by the orthopedic doctor in attendance, all free of cost. But the Primary Health Centre (PHC) worker responsible for issuing the cards decided to sell the blank cards for Rs. 50 each. [Click here to read more…]

Fight for minimum wage in Bihar: On 26th March, the Bihar government released a circular lowering the MNREGA wage from Rs 144 to Rs 138 per day with effect from 1st April 2013. Workers and peasants, who were already facing the blow of delayed payments in MNREGA, were shocked. It was beyond comprehension. How can any Government reduce wages? [Click here to read more…]

Mobilization for universal pension: The elderly from across the country have been assembling at Jantar Mantar during every parliament session since April 2012 to demand universal pension that would enable the elderly in our country to live with dignity. In a first for the JJSS, over 1000 JJSS members and supporters boarded 4 different trains to Delhi to join a national protest organised by the Pension Parishad on 6th March, 2013. [Click here to read more…]

May Diwas and aam sabha: Given the unprecedented decision of the state government to reduce NREGA wage in the state, JJSS members were split in whether to continue their tradition of celebrating Mazdoor Diwas on May 1st. Some said that we should not give up the one day we celebrate our existence as mazdoors, but others felt that we were in the midst of a fight and celebrations had to wait. [Click here to read more…]

India Untouched on Ambedkar Jayanti: The JJSS has decided to organise its karyakarni meeting evry year on Ambedkar Jayanti, this 14th April, was made special by the screening of India Untouched, a film made by Director Stalin, over a period of ten years document acts of untouchability across the country. [Click here to read more…]

Bringing justice to Ram Thakur: Ram Kumar Thakur, a lawyer and RTI activist was shot dead in Ratnauli village of Muzaffarpur district on 23^rd March. No arrests have been made in well over three months. He had been actively raising the issue of corruption in his village, Ratnauli, for the last few years, including filing a number of RTI applications on the implementation of the MNREGA and IAY. [Click here to read more…]

NREGA and related activities: Saathi Ranjit was active in organising a kaam maango yaatra in Forbesganj block of Araria in June this year. Large scale works are supposed to be opened on 15th October every year.  To make sure that these works get opened, our saathis have already prepared unemployment allowance (UA) letters to ensure that there will be pressure on the administration to open works as soon as possible. [Click here to read more…]

The Centre takes shape: The JJSS has been talking about the need to politicise its members, to talk about issues other than NREGA and other survival issues which would help us understand and form a common articulation on the issues of caste, class, gender and religion. Each such effort has been in the form of meetings, held in rented spaces, sometimes with the rent reduced or written off. The plan to have a space of our own finally has taken some shape with our centre, in Araria. [Click here to read more…]

Buniyadi nirmaan: Our last update ended with the news about the small but important start we made regarding JJSS children’s club in Araria RS. Since then, the club has grown in leaps and bounds in both the number of activities and membership. Any given Sunday morning, there are over 50 children waiting excitedly for the 2-3 hours of fun and learning. [Click here to read more…]

Insaan hai hum: a musical presentation by Vinay and Charul brings out different forms of social, communal, and development led violence in our society and appeals to our inner beings to reflect and question the hate and violence within and around us. It is an appeal for peace and justice. The programme in Araria was organised at the Town Hall on 9th Feb, 2013. [Click here to read more…]

Building democracy & linkages outside: Resources are an important part of building  a vibrant and democratic organisation. A panchayat level initiative of Gram Panchayat Chitoriya has set a new and much needed trend. The units in Mohanpur and Chitoriya had been facing a lot of trouble at their local PDS outlet (ration shop). [Click here to read more…]

Accounts:

Audited accounts for the year ending 31st March 2013 (please see here)

Unaudited Accounts for 1st April, 2013 to 17th October, 2013:

** donations for these events were raised separately from those raised for the JJSS.
* these and other small expenses were covered for the Bihar MNREGA Watch (BMW), Muzaffarpur from the 60,000 rupees donation received specifically for the BMW.

Upcoming Events

• Karyakarni meeting of the JJSS in Araria on 26th and 27th October, 2013. Please see invite  (page 1, page 2)
• 25th November 2013 – Pension Parishad one month sit-in to start in Jantar Mantar, Delhi.
• November 2013 – Kam Maango Abhiyan in Katihar district as part of the initiative of the PAG (Programme Advisory Group), set up by the Central Government. The PAG has been set up to revive the NREGA across the country, Ashish and kamayani (of the JJSS) are part of National Resource Groups created as part of the PAG.
• November-December 2013: Social Audit of Mid Day Meal scheme in Bihar. An initiative of the Central Government and SSAT (AP) of which JJSS is one of the support organisations in Bihar.
• 2nd February, 2014 – Nation wide mobilisation of the Rashtriya Mazdoor Adhikar Morcha, in Delhi on the poor state of NREGA. The Morcha was formed after the first national convention of the Rozgar Guarantee Sangharsh manch in Bhopal from 18-20th September, 2013. JJSS has been active int he formation of the Manch and hopes that it will be able to build workers’ representatives to take up their own issues. An important slogan from the convention which also goes with the JJSS thinking was “jiska mudda uski ladai, jiski ladai uski aguvaee”.