It is all about water – that
flamed the States to become warring
factions and placed at Parliament and doorsteps of Apex Court. In a land fuelled by perceived notions, a
movie Dam 999 further fuelled the hysteria. Besides Cauvery water dispute, another river issue, that originates from the Sivagiri peaks (1800m MSL)
of Sundaramala in Tamil Nadu; runs a
total length of about 244 Kms, flows northwards for 48 kms and at
Thekkady joins the west-flowing Mullayar – it is the river Periyar on which the
dam constructed became a bone of
contention – the Mullaperiyar dam.
Speaking
to the Central Board of Irrigation and Power in November 1958, Jawaharlal Nehru
emphasised the need for irrigation
projects and electric power and uttered ‘dams are the modern temples’ !! ~ here is a photo
of an otherwise ordinary woman in a Public function getting limelight and photo
appearing in Newspaper – sadly, she would only rue that coverage !!
Damodar River flows
across the Indian states of West Bengal and Jharkhand. Rich in mineral
resources, the valley is home to large-scale mining and industrial activity. It had a forgettable past of being called ‘
the Sorrow of Bengal’ due to ravages by floods.
The dams built across changed this notion. The valley rich in coal is considered as the prime centre of coking coal
in the country. Three integrated steel plants (Bokaro, Burnpur and Durgapur) of
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and other factories are in the valley. There also exists Panchet dam, constructed
across Damodar river. As a result of
the catastrophic flood of 1943, the Governor of Bengal appointed the Damodar
Flood enquiry committee to suggest remedial measures. It suggested creating an
authority similar to that of the Tennessee Valley Authority in the United
States. While earlier construction of eight dams and a barrage was
envisaged, it boiled down to four dams - Tilaiya, Konar, Maithon and Panchet,
and Durgapur Barrage. The last of them
at Panchet was inaugurated in 1959.
The dam or the
water crisis is not the subject matter of this post – but a woman in news ! ~
the sorry plight of a tribal woman, now appearing in Financial Express/ MSN and
searches indicate that the story had appeared in many media earlier also. To me this is the first time and it does make
a sad reading – of women position in the lower echelons of society.
Here is the story
of Financial Expess reproduced as it is
What could be the punishment
for a woman who holds a man's hand in India? In urban centres of the country in
2016, this may seem like a useless question. But in some rural pockets, that
continue to remain conservative, she could be thrown out of her village or
killed even today. Imagine what could have been the situation in 57 years ago.
A tribal woman of West
Bengal has been the victim of such conservativeness and fighting for prestige
since 1959. It is ironic that the name of India's first Prime Minister Jawahar
Lal Nehru, who stood for progressiveness, is associated with her plight. It so happened that Nehru had visited a West
Bengal village to inaugurate a dam in 1959. On his request, the dam was
inaugurated by Budhni Manjhiyan, then a 17-year-old girl. She was probably the
first labourer in the country who got the opportunity to inaugurate a dam.
During the programme, Nehru handed over a garland to Budhni. This one incident
changed Budhni's life forever.
Danik Bhaskar reports that
at night a panchayat of the Santhali society was called to discuss the
incident. To her utter shock, Budhni was told that according to tribal
tradition she was now the wife of Nehru as he had given her a garland. However,
as Nehru was not a tribal, Budhni was thrown out of the village and boycotted
from Santhali society on the charge of marrying a non-tribal man. At that time,
Budhni was a worker in Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). She worked there for
some time, but she was removed from there also in 1962. Later, Budhni went to
Jharkhand and struggled there for seven years. Bhaskar reports that later she
met a man named Sudhir Dutta, who befriended her. However, both couldn't marry
because of fear of the society. But they remained together and now she has
three children.
In 1985, Nehru's grandson
and then PM of India, Rajiv Gandhi learnt about Budhni's story. She even went
to meet Rajiv in Odisha. Later, the DVC took her back on job. Now retired,
Budhni told Bhaskar that she had visited her village after several years. She
goes there even now on occasions but still she can't see a respect in the eyes
of people for her. Budhni now wants Rahul Gandhi to get her a house and give a
job to her son so that she can spend remaining years of her life in peace.
Damodar river has
really been a sorrow in this woman’s life !!
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
2nd Nov
2016.
http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/punished-as-wife-of-jawahar-lal-nehrus-in-1959-budhni-manjhiyan-of-dhanbad-seeks-rahul-gandhis-help/436248/
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