A job, home, and new life: Rajasthan tribe rewrites its story

Behind their success lies a nearly year-long campaign, which brought Jhalawar’s district administration; its police; the many departments, including health, social justice, Information Technology, zila parishad etc.; as well as social activists, private firms and schools together to lift Kumar’s tribe out of the margins of the society.

Recently, two of Kumar’s brothers also landed jobs at the private Rajasthan Textile Mills (RTM). (Express Photo)

From margins to mainstream

Such has been the condition of the Kanjars that their settlements are known as up-basti, or sub-settlement.

Almost a year ago, Assistant Sub Inspector Madan Lal and Head Constable Babulal were tasked by Jhalawar Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar with leading a special team to conduct a survey of these sub-settlements.

The SP, who was posted in Jhalawar in July last year, had noticed a pattern: For decades, a number of crime cases such as theft, burglary, robbery, and dacoity had been registered against the people living in these camps. In Jhalawar alone, approximately 150 to 200 criminal cases were registered annually against people living in these settlements.

“But it is not enough to understand this situation only through crime statistics… I never saw anyone from the community in a sprawling house or a big car. Even those who were involved in crime couldn’t amass wealth. Their settlements had kutcha homes. The crimes they were committing were out of pet ki majboori (the compulsion of hunger),” the SP said.

He said that long-term absence from education, combined with poverty, limited employment opportunities, and the criminal stereotype associated with the entire community had created a vicious socio-economic circle. “On one hand, the stereotyping limited respectable employment opportunities, on the other, lack of education and resources led some in the new generation into taking to the same path,” Kumar said.

With about 165 new enrolments in the current academic session, about 900 children from these camps are enrolled in schools. (Express Photo)

A door-to-door survey by ASI Lal and others revealed around 4,100 persons from the Kanjar community in Jhalawar concentrated in two locations in the district: Jhalrapatan and Gangdhar, with a difference of about 130 kms between them.

The exercise was not without challenges. “Many of them had no documents at all; no Aadhaar, no voter ID, no ration card… no one cared for them,” an official associated with the campaign said. “Even among those who had voter cards, many were not interested in voting. Reason: A number of them had a standing warrant and the sight of police personnel at polling booths would send them scampering away,” the official added.

A new dawn

Over the past year, different arms of the government stepped in, with the police leading the campaign called ‘Naya Savera’ (new dawn). In one of the meetings, the people of the community were motivated to renounce crime. Many took an oath in front of the SP himself. So far, around 2,000 people have taken such oaths.

Next, the district administration brought the departments together to create their Aadhaar, Voter ID and other documents. Additionally, they were taught about the banking system. So far, about 154 persons have been connected to the banking system.

Then came free health camps organised in coordination with Sajid Khan, Chief Medical and Health Officer, Jhalawar, and private medical institutions to raise awareness about sanitation, treatment of diseases, malnutrition, and family planning.

The settlements also got interlocking pathways, through coordination with village panchayats, and a cremation ground.

Prahlad Singh, head of Biriya Khedi sub-settlement, said, “Earlier, we used to cremate our elders wherever we could find space. But now, a pucca cremation ground has been constructed.”

Officials said that members of the community have also been involved in making and consuming illicit liquor. “In many cases, even the children consume this liquor. It’s not common to find people over 60 in these camps, as a lifetime of consuming illicit liquor creates many issues, such as liver cirrhosis, and cuts their life short,” an official said.

Health camps were also organised in coordination with Sajid Khan, Chief Medical and Health Officer, Jhalawar, and private medical institutions to raise awareness. (Express Photo)

Here, the Social Justice and Empowerment Department’s Navjeevan Scheme was implemented with extra diligence. Largely, the scheme provides rehabilitation and educational support to children of such families to help them continue their schooling.

“Children from the community were enrolled in five schools through the scheme but due to a lack of awareness and extremely poor economic conditions, they…often dropped out midway, leading to a steady rise in illiteracy,” ASI Lal said.

The rehabilitation programme, therefore, focused on motivating members of the community about the importance of education and the fact that it was available for free. Children were provided with free uniforms, study materials, nutrition, and transportation. With about 165 new enrolments in the current academic session, about 900 children from these camps are enrolled in schools.

Next came human-trafficking. Multiple families, owing to financial crisis, had allegedly been selling off their minor daughters into prostitution. The district police ran a campaign to bust an inter-state gang and rescued 14 minors jointly with the police of other cities and states. In the operation, 12 persons – bar owners and middlemen – hailing from Mumbai, Karnataka Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have also been arrested.

Stable jobs and homes

One of the key breakthroughs in the campaign came when an MoU was signed with the Rajasthan Textile Mills in March.

Employment camps were organised in the settlements to encourage people to join permanent employment opportunities at the mill with free housing facility at the company’s labour colony.

So far, 170 women and men from the community in the district have been provided skill development training. Around 100 families have been linked to permanent employment at RTM. Youngsters are also being provided guidance to participate in competitive examinations for government jobs.

RTM president Rohit Arora said, “We initiated them as apprentice and connected them with various government schemes, including the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana to not only enhance their skills but also provide them the benefits of the government schemes.”

So far, 170 women and men from the community in the district have been provided skill development training. (Express Photo)

Flaunting his employment documents, Bhagwani Singh of Biriya Khedi said, “We had no employment and used to create moonshine. Now I am working in a mill.” Sujan of Kishanpura said seven of his family members work in the mill.

To ease their housing woes, as many as 360 persons from these settlements have been allotted residential leases under government schemes.

Jhalawar District Collector Ajay Singh Rathore said that the idea behind the leases is “to facilitate their… integration into the social mainstream while abandoning criminal tendencies and… bringing about a change in public perception towards them.”

There has been a significant decrease in the number of criminal cases involving people from the community; from an average of 150-200 criminal cases earlier to only nine such cases between April 1 and August 15.

Terming the campaign as “exemplary”, Kota Range IG Harendra Kumar Mahawer recently said, “It shows that crime control is possible not only through punitive action but also by providing education, employment, housing and respect to the deprived sections of the society.”