Author: PRIA Blog
by Ms. Sudha Samyukta Mutnury
When a researcher goes in to the problems and lives, in however small a way, he/she carries the burden of hopes and expectations the people on the other side have in them. This I learnt from hands on experience during a field visit. This visit was to a village called Vedadri in Krishna district, organized by one NGO, Vani Educational Academy who were a part of the State level Training conducted by PRIA as a part of supporting the Decentralized District Planning in Andhra Pradesh.
The purpose of the visit was to trial test the formats to be used for data collection pertaining to the 20 non-negotiable commitments made by Government of Andhra Pradesh. These commitments are given by the Government of Andhra Pradesh as basic indicators for making the state the best state in the country by 2029. This is also the "Vision 2029.” The data thus collected will be the basis on which a plan for the Gram Panchayat and municipal ward will be prepared, which can later be integrated in the Mandal, district and state plans in this order. This will facilitate the state government in planning and implementing the plan to achieve this vision.
Initially there was a meeting with the village level officials which was a formal discussion on the data from the records. The latter component of the visit had an actual emphasis on a Gram Sabha (village assembly) like meeting. What was interesting and intriguing in this meeting was that both the village authorities as well as the villagers had a unified voice on the problems they face and identify.
During the informal session, quite a few issues were raised regarding the School Building, Check Dams and irrigation facilities.
This was followed by a woman expressing her discontentment of being in a meeting. This discontentment I understood is because of the failure of numerous meetings of this kind which she said would be forgotten in a week’s time. This situation was quiet thought provoking for me, in the sense that, in a country where democracy is exercised through political power, meetings are but another day where you discuss, spell out, make false promises and forget that it ever happened. Despite the number of meetings conducted, the change is either negligible or does not happen at all.
Another dimension to this discontentment, the way I understand it, is the presence of an inbuilt hope from the villagers, officials and government employees for "change” when such meetings are conducted. They were hoping PRIA will bring about a change by addressing their issues and transforming it into a better village.
I could not answer to these issues that a few villagers raised and others sure had them on their mind. These thoughts remained with me all through my journey back, and it struck to me out that it is very important for a researcher to instil in the researched, the fact that he/she is not here to solve their problems or giving them false hopes but to interact and talk to them and take a true assessment, for the intended purpose. That in my opinion becomes a good research. This has been a true learning of sorts for me; because what academic training imparts in you is a lot different than what experiences teach you.
PRIA’s MobiliseHER team traveled to Bangalore during the week of June, 10 – 14, 2024. The aim of the visit was to gain relevant insights into the civil society ecosystem in Bangalore and meet different organisations to understand the city through a lens of gender and inclusive mobility.
Working at PRIA, often leads us to various cities across the country. Each trip is an opportunity to witness firsthand the challenges and triumphs of different communities.
Mr. Yedukrishnan V has recently joined PRIA after gaining valuable experience in the development sector. Drawing from his journey in the social sector and personal encounters in Kerala, he emphasises the importance of participatory governance and research in empowering marginalised communities.'
