Foreigners to development

A seven-time Member of Parliament and a seven-time Member of the Legislative Assembly 8212; surely one would expect more development in thi...

A seven-time Member of Parliament and a seven-time Member of the Legislative Assembly 8212; surely one would expect more development in this far flung district in Maharashtra almost 600 km from Mumbai. Enter Nandurbar, a district with a population of five lakh, and reality sinks in 8212; consecutive victories by any single politician is no criteria for development.

The indicator for development here is the increasing number of beer bars-cum-restaurants, two-wheelers, beauty salons and the Punjabi and Chinese cuisine in the greasy-floored single-room hotels. 8216;8216;The beer drinking population has increased. Earlier the Adivasis drank mhawa, now they drink beer and eat Chinese food. Is this not development?8217;8217; queried a Congressman. For a better part of three decades Congress has been the ruling party here. The Congress has no opposition and therefore no watchdog.

If there was one, the poor in Nandurbar would probably lead better lives as the Congress politicians would then be forced to develop constituencies , opine many.

Cast a glance around and the poverty hits you in the face. The soiled torn dhotis and patchwork speak their own tale. According to the Nandurbar District Congress president Chandrakant Raghuvanshi, who is also a member of the Legislative Council, women wear patchwork sarees as a celebration of their friendship.

8216;8216;If two friends buy two sarees, they will tear it into half and keep the other8217;s half as a symbol of their friendship,8217;8217; said Raghuvanshi. In reality, when they share the torn halves of their sarees they are richer by one more. The mismatched sarees and blouses gives Nandurbar its colour. Look anywhere and it is a riot of colours.

It is very difficult to find anything Maharashtrian in this district, 64 per cent of whose population are tribals. Due to the district8217;s proximity to Surat, Gujarati migration is high. For an Adivasi in this district a cup of milk tea with sugar is a treat they will remember for life.

8216;8216;Only the rich drink tea with milk and sugar. If you give an Adivasi a cup of such tea he will be indebted to you for life because you have accorded him respect he is not used to,8217;8217; said Harish Tamboli of Kunal Photo Studio, the only high tech studio in the district.

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For a population of five lakh there is only a single cyber cafe, which will take hours to locate as it is tucked away in an obscure lane. Few have heard of it. In Nandurbar, freedom of the Press is a myth. Congressmen, big and even the very small, have unleashed such a reign of terror that reporters find it difficult to do their jobs. Those who dare are threatened and beaten up, confessed reporters who had congregated to cover Congress president Sonia8217;s January 31 rally at Dokare village in Nandurbar.

When Sonia talked about development and a subsequent revolution, Adivasis stared blankly as she had spoken a foreign word, a word they never understood. It will probably be a long time before they begin to understand its meaning as the Congress is expecting a clean sweep yet again.