Community Empowerment by Dr. SBM Prasanna, Dr. K Puttaraju, Dr.MS Mahadevaswamy (books under 200 pages TXT) 📕

It is very interesting to note that, out of 100 respondents under study 100% of the respondents opined that they have a bank account. This is clearly indicates that all respondents involve in banking services.

Out of 100 respondents majority of the respondents opened the deposit account in commercial banks that is 43% and 34% of the respondents opened the deposit account in RRB’s and only 23% of the respondents opened the deposit account in co-operative banks.

Out of 100 respondents 61% of the respondents involved in taking decision in financial matters and 22% of the respondent decision making in children education matter and 17% of the respondents decision making in buy the land and other assets.

Suggestions

On the basis of the study, the following suggestions are recorded to make micro finance programmes to be more effective and purposeful in empowerment of weaker sections of the society:

For the sake of consistency and administrative expediency and also in order to foster a genuine micro credit movement in the country, there must be uniformity for all micro finance schemes of different departments such that the subsidy element does not attract and wean away individuals from other genuine savings and thrift groups.

There must be a provision for the compulsory capacity building and training of the individual or group being targeted before the loan is sanctioned rather than after the sanction of loan. Targeted capacity building as well as the formation of SHGs should be taken up in the weaker states on a priority basis and funded separately through either NGOs or MFIs by giving them outright grant for this purpose. Training and capacity building should not be a part of the loan portfolio but should be seen as separate.

Subsidy for micro-finance or enterprise should be done away with. Scarce resources devoted to subsidies should be spent instead on (a) enhancing expenditure on the infrastructure and support services envisaged under SGSY, much of which will be of benefit also to the general micro-finance programme and (b) on organizing and training and providing handholding support to the groups at each of the four stages both directly by the DRDAs and by NGOs and individual facilitators.

References

Banerjee G.D, Karmakar K.G, Mohapatra N.P (2011): Towards financial inclusion in India, Sage publications India pvt. Ltd

Kochhar Sameer, Chandrasekhar. R, Chakrabarty K.C, Phatak Deepak B (2009): Financial inclusion, Academic foundation, New Delhi

Kochhar Sameer (2009): Speeding financial inclusion, Academic foundation, New Delhi Articles

Agrawal Amol (2008): Economic research: the need for financial inclusion with an Indian perspective, IDBI Grill Ltd. Mumbai

Bell C (2001): post-independence India: a case of finance-led industrialization”, Journal of development economics

Dr.Chakrabarty K.C (2006): Financial Inclusion: concepts, issues, and roadmap, Institute for development and research in banking technology, Hyderabad.

Chakrabarti, R. (2006): The Indian microfinance experience-accomplishments and challenges, Indian development foundation, Gurgaon

UNTOUCHABLES COMMUNITY RULED IN INDIA

Dr. SUDARSHANA.S

Post Doctoral Fellow, Dos in History, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-06.

An attempt is made in this paper to trace when we look into the history of India it can be found that this country was ruled by Untouchables Community once upon a time. I would like to register some of the historical facts here.

There were 16 Mahajanapadas and Ganarajyas or republics in India during the time of Gautama Buddha. The Mahajanapadas were-Anga (Eastern Bihar), Magadha (southern Bihar), Kashi (Benares),- Kosala (Anadh and Kashi), Vrijji (Northern Bihar), Malla (Gorakhpur, Kushinagar and Basti district), Chedi (region between Yamuna and Narmada rivers), Vatsa or Kosambi (Allahabad region), Kuru (Delhi, Meerut and Thaneswar regions), Panchala (Bareily, Badaun, and Farookabad regions), Ashmaka (Godavari banks), Avanti (western part of Madhya Pradesh Malava), Gandhara (Peshawar, Rawalpindi-some areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan) and Kambhoja (Southwestern Kashmir).

Ganarajya means a republic ruled by democratically elected people’s representative committees. Vrijji, Malla, Kapilavastu of Shakyas, Pippalivana of Moriyas, Lichhavi etc…

Kosala was the most important among the Mahajanapadas and Ayodhya was its capital. Sakela and Shravasti became capitals in the later years. Mahakosala was the king of this kingdom. His son was Prasenajit. His daughter Kosaladevi was married to Bimbasara of Haryanka lineage (545-491 B.C) who was the king of Magadha. Kashi was gifted to him during the marriage. Later Bimbasara’s son Ajathashatru (491-466 B.C) acquired the throne killing his father, and Kosaladevi dies of grief. Augured by his sister’s death Prasenajit takes back Kashi and declares was on Ajatashatru and is defeated in the war. After his defeat Prasenajit gets his daughter ‘vajara’ to Ajatashatru and gifts Kashi to him again. Ajatashatru and Prasenajit were contemporaries of Buddha. It has to be noted that Mahakosala, the king of Ayodhya (Kosala), and his son Prasenajit belonged Matanga i.e. Madiga community.

When we look into the history of Tamilnadu it can be found that Pallar, Paraiyar, Chakliyan, Arundhatiyar and Valluvar were among its untouchable castes. Regarding its communal basis the Pallar community proclaims itself to be “Devendra Kula vellalar”, and calls itself to be the descendants of Pallavas Sangam period means the times of Chere, Chola and Pandyas. The Pallar community traces its ancestry on this basis. This community started agriculture in Tamilnadu for the first time. The Pallars called Devendra Kula Vellalar, that means the Mallar community, were the first to cultivate paddy. Pallars ruled Tamilnadu once upon a time. Cheras were the descendents of the Nagas.

In Karnataka the Holeyas first started agriculture during the transition period from Mesolithic to Neolithic age. History tells that the word ‘Holeya’ was derived because they were the owners of ‘hola’ agricultural land.

With reference to Karnataka Kadamba kingdom was established in 325 C E by Mayuravarma. What popular history tells is that Mayura went in disguise to Kanchipura seeking education and was insulted there by the Pallavas. As revenge he raised an army, defeated the Pallavas and established a kingdom. According to the Talagunda inscription “the Kadambas were Brahmins, and were Harite putras belonging to Manavya gotra”.

According to the history of Tulunadu Holeyas and fishermen were powerful in the malnad region. The Brahmins of Tulunadu created Mayuravarma of the Kadambas to uproot them. “Nand” was the king of the Holeyas. He was very powerful and defeated Mayura. The King of Koragas, Hubhasika had also defeated Mayura. During this time a few Brahmin families were brought from Ahicchatra of Uttar Pradesh and were settled in 32 villages. But Nanda defeated Moyura and the Brahmins. Nandas son Chandrsayana was inspired by his mother and started respecting Brahmins. He decreased the respect for the people of his own community and pushed them to inferior levels. His mother was a temple-dancer.

Another source says that “Chandrasayana was not the son of Nand, king of the Holeyas, but was a descendent of Mayuravarma and defeated the Holeyas that becomes clear from these two points is that Brahmins uprooted Holeyas through Mayura and Chandrasayan.

What was the reason for Pallavas to insult Mayura when he went to Kanchi disguised as a Brahmin? Was it because he was not a Brahmin or was it because he was the one who uprooted Holeyas in Malnad region? Historian D. Kosambi clims that the Kadmbas were Aranyakas. N. Subramanian, a historian from Tamilnadu claims that the Kadambas were tribals and not Brahmins. What he says is, “It is necessary to remember that in this context that in early medieval India, there was a general attempt on the part of founders of dynasties or one or the other of their powerful successors to assume brahminical origins. This was best done by the resumption of brahminincal gotras. In fact originally the gotras were all brahminical. This meant an attempt to project a superior ancestry as they thought it to be. In fact reigning monarchs even when they were Kshatriyas merely adopted the gotra of their purohits who naturally were Brahmins. The Sungas who were perhaps Iranians assumed Brahminical origins and Satavahanas followed suit. In the case of Kadambas who can be properly identified with the piratical clan with peacock and Kadambu totems mentioned in ancient Tamil literature, were really not even Kshatriyas but later so persistently called themselves brahminical that many gullible historians believed in those claims. In the case of the Kadambas, it is significant that sarma and varma are alternatively used in the case if Mayura Varman, the founder of the dynasty. The pallavas too, no doubt, assumed to Bharadvaja gotra from their purohitas. The statement in Talaginda inscription that the Pallavas were no Brahmins, was perhaps strictly true and a contemporary must have known. They overlook the entire mass of evidence which connects the Pallavas with the Tondaiyar and the Tiraiyar”.

Kadambas were pirates and were today tappers by profession. They were defeated by Chera king Senguttuvan of the Sangam era. Kadamba means ‘palm tree’. Those who tap toddy from palm trees are Eedigas. On this ground I had put forth my argument in ‘prajavani’ (vachakara vani, 14-06-2005) that Kadambas were Eedigas. But Dr. M. Chidanandamurthy had rejected this argument.

During the same period in 350 C.E, a community which migrated from the Gangetic plains of Ahichatra of Uttar Pradesh started ruling under the name Gangas According to history they were Gangawadikars or Gangadikar Vokkaligas, as they came from the Gangetic. Kolar was their first capital and later it was shifted to Talakadu on the banks of river Kaveri. Even today in the areas surrounding Talakadu, such as T. Narasipura, Mysuru, Nanjanagudu, Chamarajanagara, Yelanduru, Kollegal and Malavalli, we can see that there is considerable population Holeyas. It has to be given thought seriously that the Ganga Kingdom was established in this region. The time of Gangas and Kadambas which were established at Talakadu and in Malnad was a dark age for the Holeyas. Because it can be stated beyond doubt that the rise of these kingdoms signaled the exploitation and downfall of Holeyas. The Pallars and Holeyas who had once started agriculture and ruled in Tamilnadu and Karnataka have became untouchables today.

When we compare Tamil and Kannada grammars we can see that ‘pa’ in Tamil become ‘ha’ in Kannada. ‘pa’ in Kannada become ‘ha’ or ‘ga’ in Tamil. Similarly ‘ka’, ‘cha’, ‘ta’, ‘tha’ and ‘pa’ in Kannda became ‘go’, ‘ja’, ‘do’, ‘dha’ and ‘ba’ in Tamil. ‘cha’ in Kannada becomes ‘sha’ in Tamil.

Therefore, ‘polava’ becomes ‘hola’ and ‘poleya’ becomes ‘holeya’. ‘Mohan’ in Kannada becomes ‘Mogan’ in Tamil. Tamil word ‘pola’ is derived from the root word ‘poonjai’. ‘Pallan’ has become ‘pallar’, ‘pollan’ and ‘pollar’. It means that there are chances that ‘holeya’, ‘holer’, ‘holar’ and ‘haller’ have come from ‘poleya’, and that ‘pallar’ and ‘holeyas’ have common roots. In this background it is necessary to do a comparative cultural study of ‘pallar’ and ‘holeya’ communities. Because even though both ‘pallar’ and ‘paraiyan’ communities are untouchables in Tamilnadu both have remained separate from one another. But ‘holeya’ and ‘pariah’ have been identified with common roots. The word ‘pariah’ is used to denote bothe these communities in English.

It is said that ‘pallar community is descended from ‘Mallas’, similarly the roots of ‘holeya’ community are also in the ‘Mallas’. The word ‘mala’ is derived from ‘Malla’. ‘Malla’ (Gorakhpur) community was one of 16 Mahajanapadas of ancient India.

The ‘Madras census report’ of 1901 says about ‘chathi’ as follows. “Chatri-Recoreded, in the Madras Census Report 1901, as an equivalent of kshatriya. It occurs also as the name of an exogamous sept. meaning umbrella of the Holeyas” . That means ‘chathri’ community was equal to Kshtriya and was an internal community of holeya that married outside the community.

It is believed that the ‘kshtriya’ sect among Gangadikar Holeyas are of royal lineage. My family is also a sect of Gangadikar Holeyas and belongs to kshatriya clan. Our ancestors are called ‘satti’, According to ancient belief we are of royal lineage, but it is not clear to which royal family. According to Kannada dictionary ‘sattige’ means ‘chathri’ (umbrella) I history ‘sattiga’ was a title of the kalyani chalukyas. Probably ‘sattige’ is a modification of ‘sattiga’, or ‘sattige’ means ‘chatri’ is equal to ‘Kshatriya’.