1 - Introduction

Summary

‘Rozgaar guarantee amra kanoon che!—the employment guarantee is our law!’ This is a common refrain among activists of the Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS), a local movement of Adivasis and Dalits in Badwani district in western Madhya Pradesh (Nayak 2008). The statement is remarkable in many respects, not least because it represents a distinct reversal of the entrenched disenfranchisement that has characterised Adivasi relations to the state in the western districts of Madhya Pradesh. As the narrative in this book will show, it also expresses how claims for citizenship mediated by the law have been instrumental in animating this reversal. Indeed, one of JADS’ main achievements over the years has been to secure accountability and efficiency in the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in Pati block of Badwani district.

Ever since the NREGA was introduced in early 2006, JADS activists have confronted the local administration to ensure transparent and effective implementation of the programme—making sure, for example, that job cards are issued, that written applications for work are accepted by the administration, and that the minimum wage is in fact paid. Initially in 2006, state authorities refused to implement work schemes under the NREGA. Consequently, JADS demanded that an unemployment allowance should be given to people who would otherwise have been able to find work under the NREGA. A long and passionate agitation followed, in which activists faced threats of violence and trumped-up criminal cases. Lasting from June to October 2006, the struggle ultimately succeeded in forcing the authorities to pay unemployment allowances to 1,500–2,000 applicants. In the following years, Pati block attracted attention as one of the areas in India where the NREGA was being implemented with the highest level of success. A 2008 survey that covered ten districts across six Hindi-belt states showed that almost half the workers from Pati who had been interviewed had been able to obtain nearly 100 days of employment through the programme, and on average workers from Pati block had secured 85 days of work under NREGA in the 12 months preceding the survey. This compared very favourably with results from the other states, where the average number of work-days obtained under the scheme numbered a mere 43, and only 14 per cent of all interviewed workers had managed to secure a full 100 days of work under the scheme.