“They said they were an hungry; sighed forth proverbs-- That hunger broke stone walls, that dogs must eat, That meat was made for mouths, That the gods sent not Corn for the rich men only. With these shreds they vented their complainings, which being answered and a petition granted them, a strange one, To break the heart of generosity, And make bold power look pale, they threw their caps As they would hang them on the horns o' th' moon, Shouting their emulation.“
William Shakespeare
Field action constructs the base
Malnutrition has been a common phenomenon in Madhya Pradesh, so normally nobody bothered about the highest rate of infant mortality as well in the state. Right to Food Campaign (RtFC), a nationwide informal alliance of the people’s organizations and civil society groups started working on the issues of food insecurity, or rather we can say on the issues of chronic hunger in the year 2001. The Right to Food Campaign had started as the offshoot of a petition filed by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties in the Supreme Court of India claiming that Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution also includes Right to Food and Right to Work. The campaign considers that everyone has a fundamental right to be free from hunger and under nutrition. Realizing this right requires not only equitable and sustainable food systems, but also entitlements relating to livelihood security such as the right to work, land reform and social security. The campaign considers that the primary responsibility for guaranteeing these entitlements rests with the state. Lack of financial resources cannot be accepted as an excuse for abdicating this responsibility. In the present context, where people's basic needs are not a political priority, state intervention itself depends on effective popular organization. The campaign is committed to fostering this process through all democratic means.
The campaign has already taken up a wide range of aspects of the right to food. In the supreme court, it has argued that the best way to protect the right to food would be to introduce an all India ‘employment guarantee’ act, supplemented with social security arrangements for those who are unable to work. Other abiding concerns of the right to food campaign includes,
- Effective implementation of all nutrition related schemes.
- Introduction of cooked mid day meals in all primary schools.
- Reform and expansion of the public distribution system
- Realization of the right to work, especially in drought affected areas.
The secretariat has been sending the updates to as many as 320 persons / institutions involving various people’s organizations, NGOs and government representatives such as District collectors, CEOs etc. These Hindi updates mainly cover latest judgments by the Supreme Court and the micro and macro level action on the right to food campaign so that others would get acquainted with the activities and achievements. This is to ensure that relief judgments get translated into action at the field level and to ensure that the eligible population would actually get benefited by the same.
All alliance members and fellows have been working for the same. The process of case of non compliance with the Supreme Court order is clearly laid down. The concerned organization along with families concerned takes up the matter with the local administration. It has been done in various ways. Organizations have resorted to memorandum submissions to organizing jansunwais (Public Hearing) as strategies to raise these cases and seek justice. The fellows and the secretariat have been supporting local organizers with back up support for organizing the same. If the issue doesn’t get resolved at this level within a stipulated time frame, the same is raised at the state level. The secretariat then takes up the matter and then reports it to the Commissioners’ office that in turn takes action and seeks explanation from the chief secretary. The local partners / organizations / fellows do the required follow up.
Issues of concern
Since its inception, experiences of Right to Food Campaign proved that Children and Women are the worst affected classes of society, in terms of discrimination in food distribution and prioritization processes. Various organizations, those who are a close and integral part of this alliance first time intervened in to the politics and economics of the Children’s hunger and Malnutrition while working on the other issues like Tribal rights, self help group or Capacity building of Panchayati Raj representatives. Initial experiences of working on the issue insisted Campaign alliance to formulate a strong practical strategy to establish the credibility of the issue and understanding towards the processes of the democratic struggle to ensure the availability of the Children’s fundamental right to survival and development.
In Shivpuri (a Saheriya primitive tribal group dominated district of Madhya Pradesh) a number of starvation death and chronic hunger stories were reported occasionally by the local media. In this context a group of representatives of different organizations (Right to Food Campaign, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Actionaid, Catholic Relief Services, Parhit and Center for Integrated Development) went for a joint visit and prepared a report on the situation of food insecurity and acute poverty. This report was largely based on three aspects – Statements of the community members, Situation of welfare scheme and the response of the Government to the crisis. As we all accepted honestly that there a need to understand and study the theory and reality of Poverty. Usually social scientists manufacture reports and documents of Hunger, although the pain of people’s living with hunger doesn’t get reflected in most of these papers, but in the same condition Joint Group released an in-depth qualitative report on the starvation deaths in various villages of Shivpuri district. Largely it was a first report widely used for learning and planning of action to address the situation of Hunger. The major learning was shocking for all of the alliance members that the majority of deaths were of Children and the old age. It was really a ground for long term action and so it was considered as well. After initial interventions of external agencies, local organizations like Center for Integrated Development and Parhit took the responsibility to work for the Rights and Dignity of Saheriyas.
It is important to note here that though number of cases is important, what is more important is that the impact of raising these issues was far beyond those cases or those particular areas. For example, the issue of ICDS was raised by the alliance along with sahariya people’s organization and other partners. This issue was raised by looking at non compliance of the Supreme Court order at the village level where the civil society organizations were operational. However with the help of secretariat it was discovered that there is gross underutilization of ICDS money in the district which had reported starvation deaths. This issue was taken up at various levels, collector, and commissioner with sustained pressure; one could notice significant impact on the functioning of centers. The issue of non payment of wages in the same district is being given priority by the Commissioner’s office and the district administration has started distributing the long pending wages of laborers.
Secretariat of Right to Food continues to bring fact finding reports on Malnutrition deaths and acute poverty. It followed a strategy (can say activity) of regular active communication through publication of regular Updates of action, situation, cases and brief of fact finding reports for other alliance members.
In due course of time, Sheopur district (a near by district of Shivpuri) was highlighted for acute poverty situation. In the month of February 2005 the campaign woke up to the horrible news of the death of 13 children in Sheopur, a Sahariya dominated district of Madhya Pradesh. Prima Facie the deaths had been caused by post measles complications but the main cause behind the death of the children was the high degree of malnutrition among the Sahariya children. As soon as the RTF Fellow in the Gwalior- Chambal region came to know of the incident she reached the concerned village (Patalgarh) and intervened in the matter providing assistance to the villagers. The fellow also kept updating the Secretariat on the grave situation in the village and the secretariat in its turn kept sending regular updates to the different organizations and groups on the situation building up in the region.
The secretariat then prepared an Alert Note analyzing the situation in the village (Patalgarh) as well as the situation in the whole of the state of Madhya Pradesh. This Alert Note was then circulated among a large number of organizations both at the State level as well as the National level. The Alert note created quiet a bit of stir among organizations as well as the administration.
After alert note was circulated, DFID asked the state government to include Sheopur in the MPRLP list after which, 25 Saheria villages were covered under this program.
As a result of this the State government and UNICEF together called up a State Consultation on the issue of services rendered through the ICDS, combating malnutrition etc. At the Consultation, it was decided that a State Action Plan would be made to counter these issues. A draft of the Action Plan was made by UNICEF and circulated for comments, and the Secretariat has made a number of suggestions on it.
Apart from this, taking into consideration the general deteriorating condition of the State, a state level alert note was also prepared including the State level data on malnutrition, data from the Kuposhan Nivaran Abhiyan, budget analysis of the State government, Government’s response to the starvation and malnutrition deaths, answers given by the Minister for Women and Child Welfare to the questions put forward at the Assembly, Supreme Court Commissioner’s report, data from the grassroots and case studies. This note was also widely circulated, as a result of which the issue got a lot of media attention (Celia Dugger from the New York Times and Annie Zaidi of Frontline have written on the issue).
Right to Food Initiative along with its fellow, Uma Chaturvedi constantly kept an eye on the said village and found that even after the Supreme Court Commissioners intervention, State has not responded the Child Death issue in a systematic manner. Ant this negligence caused many more child deaths in the Patalgarh Village of Sheopur distict. This time issue was raised with more intensity and preparedness. The issue relating to malnutrition cannot be singled out and seen. It is linked with a number of other issues like the functioning of the PDS in the region, the break up of the traditional food security system of the people, the non functioning social security schemes and the ICDS, lack of means to earn livelihood, and above all the irresponsible attitude of the government The health status of a family is directly dependant on the earning capacity of the family. The Sahariya community that depended mainly on the forest and its produces for livelihood has been ousted from there for the simple reason that, the state can earn more revenue from its control over the forests.
There is a temporary Anganwadi in Patalgarh village and the nearest anganwadi is situated in Hirapur village, 17 kms away. A worker, Mithilesh who is also holding a temporary post, looks after the temporary Anganwadi in Patalgarh village. According to the villagers there are 70 children in the village who have been enrolled in the Anganwadi. The enrolled children have been given Supplementary Nutritious Food only till January 2006.There is no ANM or Dai in the whole village that tends to the needs and advises pregnant women. This is perhaps the reason why one finds that the instance of women and children dying during delivery common. There is a Multipurpose Heath Worker for the village who manages to make a round once in a month. However one cannot blame him for this because he has to look after 3 panchayats. He has also been entrusted the duty of registration of births and deaths and in the given circumstances he leaves out many children. This is the main reason why the government has been denying the deaths. Most of the new born die within one month and neither their birth nor their death gets registered. It was found that not only children in Patalgarh are dying but huge number of Maternal Deaths has also become a part of the daily life here. Now Right to Food alliance demanded a joint commission of enquiry from the Commissioners for fixing the accountability and to identify the policy level gaps. At this moment Joint Commission of Enquiry is in the process to finalize its report on the matter of malnutrition deaths. After these incidents Madhya Pradesh RtFC filed and interim application in the case Peoples Union For Civil Liberties vs Union of India and oths (Civil Writ Petition 196/2001) to make state more accountable towards the issue.
Interim Application on Malnutrition in the Supreme Court of India
The Secretariat has also filed an interim application in the Supreme Court with the help of PUCL and HRLN (Human Rights Law Network) on the issue relating to the death of 13 children in Sheopur District of Madhya Pradesh. The Secretariat has pressed on the issue of fixing the accountability of the Madhya Pradesh administration and government on issues relating to deaths caused by malnutrition and also on the payment of compensation to the families of the children who died due to the negligence of the State machinery along with other relief’s. The case is pending before the Supreme Court with the Court asking the State to file the written Statement within a certain period of time. The pressure of the Supreme Courts notice on the state can be seen and felt enormously. Since then they have started making efforts for the proper management of data, transparency and most importantly they have started giving response to the malnutrition cases. As far as policy level steps are concerned, State department of Women and Child Development initiated Bal Shakti Yojana (Under this scheme there is provision of urgent hospitalization of all the severely malnourished children and financial support to their parents during the hospitalization period) and now state organizes Bal Sanjeevani Campaign more frequently.
Alliance building
Any people’s centered movement can not move ahead in isolation. In last six years campaign for food rights has reached to the various ideologies, various issue based interests and different geographical zones of Madhya Pradesh. It doesn’t work as a typical non-government organization, but it has also tried hard to create a space for every like minded group or individual. Now 78 organizations throughout state are working on the issue of Food rights. As an strategy to involve different activities like district level training programs, consultations, documentation and informal communication etc were planned. RtFC state office also played a role of resource center for the activists, researchers and media persons and provided regular inputs to them.
Knowledge generation
Considering the fact that like any other institution, media also needs availability of specific information, clear analysis and guarantee of authenticity of the provided data. Alliance of the CSOs has been making efforts to generate, compile and analyze the data & information on various issues. Information packs were made on different issues, which include a detailed, updated data, budget analysis, infrastructure analysis, grass root level data, policy analysis etc. These packs highlights the present situation of the state regarding the status women, children, tribals and the marginalized and also using the media to follow up of these issues in their own way, which will create pressure on the state. It also contain the description and analysis of schemes related to the marginalized. Recently RtFC secretariat has completed a detailed study of 8 districts on the Status of ICDS and its Impact of Women and Children.
Coordination with Jan Sangathans
The past six years saw a lot of change in the approach of the Jan Sangathans towards the Campaign. There was considerable change in the earlier attitude, which was a hostile one. There was always a difference of opinion based on the ideological differences regarding acceptance of funds from foreign agencies. However, lately there has been a marked change in the attitude and approach of Jan Sangathgans on working together on the issue of food security. Most of the Peoples organizations have all come around cooperatively with the campaign.
Right to Information - The secretariat has constantly collected and analyzed information on the food security of the poor and the marginalized in different parts of the State of Madhya Pradesh. For this the Secretariat has constantly made use of the Right to Information Act. The fellows of the Right to Food Campaign as well as the other partner organizations have filed applications and extracted information from the government. Till now approximately 280 applications have been filed in various parts of the State.
Mainstreaming of the Issue
In the meanwhile in the other part of Madhya Pradesh, considering the state’s rigid attitude of denial and social negligence towards the seriousness of Malnutrition in Madhya Pradesh, Right to Food Campaign decided to work in a strategic process. In the very first step Civil Society organizations like Dhar based Spandan Social Service Organization, through a news item (an 8 line news item published in news paper) received the information of Death of 5 children due to malnutrition related causes and in consultation with the RtFC secretariat decided to move in to a fact finding process. On the basis of the report prepared by the organization Supreme Court Commissioners issued certain instructions to the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh to take immediate and long term measures.
This concept has played a very important role in concretizing grass root realities. Through a very small single column news in a regional edition of a newspaper secretariat came to know about death of three children due to malnutrition in Saidabad village of Khalwa block of Khandwa District. Immediately secretariat contacted the fellow of malwa region based in Dhar district. Seema Immediately visited affected village for data collection and situation analysis. The moment she reached the district headquarter, she sensed that the administration is not at all serious about the action on this matter. She silently collected the death certificate of the children and moved to the village. In the village all other data was collected and then a compiled report was sent to secretariat. On the basis of this report advisor to the commissioner prepared his report and submitted to the commissioner’s office and subsequently, action was taken on the matter.
The Secretariat mainly assumes the role of a facilitator of the state level activities of the National Campaign. The main function of the secretariat is to monitor the implementation of the various schemes of the government. The Secretariat strongly believes that the mere proper implementation of the schemes is not enough to create a hunger free society, never the less the schemes will definitely provide an immediate relief to the downtrodden. Also here one has to look into the aspect of entitlement. The poor definitely have the right to entitlement of the benefit of the schemes. It mainly collects information regarding the various orders of the Supreme Court relating to Campaign and circulates the same among the different groups working on various issues of social relevance.
Food security is a political issue which needs to be carefully analyzed and studied. There are a large number of aspects to it like the allocation of the Central and State budgets, the policy decisions made by the ruling party etc which affect the food security of the poor greatly. Though there are a large number of organizations working on various social issues they do not have a very good perspective or understanding on this issue. Hence there is a need for the creation of awareness among the various organizations on the issues relating to food security, who in turn could educate and mobilize the poor and the marginalized to stand up for their rights.
The Right to Food secretariat has been constantly facilitating training and orientation programs for different groups and organizations so that they can develop a perspective on the issue of food security and also so that they may also be persuaded to take up Children and Women’s food security issues in their respective regions.
Media advocacy and Malnutrition in Madhya Pradesh
As part of the larger media advocacy strategy, Vikas Samvad (with the support of Actionaid, Unicef and The Hunger Project) offers media fellowship to mainstream journalists. The idea is to ensure that the mainstream journalists get in depth knowledge about the issue and also write on the same to ensure mainstream media coverage to raise advocacy issues as well as support the local action. One such fellowship is dedicated to the issue of food security and other one is on Maternal and Child Health which has been offered to the mainstream carrier Journalists. The coordinator of the secretariat also is a journalist who covers issues of food security in leading Hindi dailies. Totally, one hundred twenty one articles have been published in the last 2 year on this issue in Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Navbharat, Nayi Duniya, Jansatta, Thehelka, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, India Together, Frontline etc. In addition, the media fellowship offered on the issue of governance also is helping raise this issue from the angle of governance.
The rapid growth of advocacy training in the last decade has generated a wide variety of definitions, approaches and strategies. Diverse advocacy approaches are not just different ways of reaching a similar end. They embody different values, political views and goals, and thus seek different ends. The distinctions have important implications for excluded groups such as women, indigenous communities and ethnic minorities. Advocacy initiatives concerned with empowerment, citizenship, and participation appear different from those that only focus on policy reform
[VeneKlasen and Miller 2002]
One of the indicators of the identity of the Madhya Pradesh has been the high level of child malnourishment. In the development sector an idiom has become prevalent that Madhya Pradesh is a BIMARU state. This idiom has been continuously making the state government and the active groups in development sector restless. This is the reason that the government has been undertaking large development projects to end poverty and serious situations of starvation. It was thought that the construction of roads, establishment of industries and digging many water ponds would lead to development. Perhaps development took place on these parameters but despite laying of 17 thousand kilometers long roads, 1.70 lakh water structures and receipt of 50 thousand crores rupees worth of investment proposals no significant change could happen in the situation of food insecurity in the state. The reason for this is becoming evident that half of the state's population is leading a life with such substandard nutrition that it appears a deceit to accept their much productive participation in this process of development. Basic fact is that the starving people are not in a position to bear the real burden of the development of the state or society.
The situation of malnutrition has been such that though more than 50% children remained malnourished, the Integrated Child Development Services faced deprivation at all steps at all times. Here there has been merely 50 thousand Anganwadis against the needed 1.26 lakh and the management of existing Anganwadis supposed to be a center for poor and deprived children has been with total neglect. State government was providing just one-forth of the required budget for managing this service. The matter was not limited to this. Madhya Pradesh has remained in front in the list of states for infant mortality rate (79/per thousand) and the child mortality rates but still then the question of nutrition never became the headline of the mainline media. When the struggle for Right to Food began in Madhya Pradesh in 2001, the initial analyses clearly showed the greatest problem of food and nutrition insecurity confronted the children. The crisis could not be viewed generally; the malnutrition in fact was playing a crucial role at ending children's lives. The children had lost the immunity to fight common infections and diseases like diahorrea and cold. The sad part of this analysis is that the media was not playing any role in debate over right to nutrition. The group working on public issues in Madhya Pradesh held that the arsenal of media would prove useful at changing the indifferent attitude of the state and so it was decided that a dialogue be established with media.
Starvation Deaths is always a political issue that government realizes but never accepts. This is the reason that the issue of deaths due to malnutrition or hunger is strangulated in the net of debates and discussions and no significant change appears in the system. This principle was in vogue in politics that death due to malnutrition never occurs among children. The government had taught this principle to media and to change the same was the prime challenge of the media advocacy. They were never oriented to the real definition. We believe that establishing proactive dialogue is more essential than publishing the news of an event. During 2001-2002 altogether 2 articles and 270 news items appeared on the ICDS issue in MP; most of which were promotional items meaning the media had no strong base for policy amends and political analysis. Then Vikas Samvad, an Actionaid supported initiative, along with the grassroot civil society organizations began a process of need–based education and training of local media persons. In this process the discussions were initiated not on the allegations of malnutrition but on its scientific and social aspects. Instead of targeting media as a broad structure the dialogue was initiated with the identified journalists sensitive to the social issues. Working as a worker organization of Right to food we felt it more important to prepare information packs having analysis of ICDS and malnutrition than issuing political statements so that it may fulfill their information needs along with influencing them. Media has its own information needs; they need information that may be made into news items. All the information needs to be authentic, valid and legitimate; after all it’s a matter of trustworthiness. Often the issues of starvation or malnutrition are made controversial on which allegations and counter allegations ensue but a healthy debate never happens. In this situation the media has analyzed their role among peoples' representatives and legislature. During 2004 and 2005 the study oft–occurred in media on the number of questions raised in Parliament on the issues related to women and children. After this even the peoples' representatives themselves began to assign importance to these issues of voluntary groups. In fact the media played a crucial role at not only making the voice loud but powerful.
In 2004 a study report on the serious problem of malnutrition among Sahariya tribal community children in Shivpuri district was issued strategically. After that a detailed analysis was done on the death due to malnutrition of 13 children in Patalgarh village of near by Sahariya dominated district Sheopur. Following similar cases in Ganjbasoda tehsil of Vidisha district in April- May 2005, Vikas Samvad and Right to Food Campaign Madhya Pradesh Support Group initiated a planned process. At the onset the representatives of five voluntary organizations under the Right to Food Campaign did fact-finding and compiled a detailed report. Then there was an option that this group could organize a Press Conference at Bhopal (capital of MP) and made public the report but it was not done so. Vikas Samvad instead discussed this report with a state and nationally reputed newspaper. Since the matter was serious and could cause problems for the state government the newspaper took a week to think over it. After a week’s proactive efforts of Mr. Om Prakash Singh, then Resident Editor of the newspaper, it was decided that Dainik Jagran (one of the biggest Hindi Newspaper of India) will publish the Ganjbasoda incident but will also publish in a sequence the cases of malnutrition and ICDS in other parts of the state and Vikas Samvad will have to do the preparations as well. Thereafter Dainik Jagran began to publish materials on nutrition crisis and the role of government with a subtitle "Jagran Abhiyan (Jagran Campaign)". A freelance Journalist Arti Pandey, who was also a part of the fact-finding group, wrote a series of news analysis, which ultimately published on the front page of the newspaper. This campaign had not only the information on children's malnutrition and death but budget analysis and the outline of scheme as well. The published material had news but articles, editorials and news analyses as well. The entire case was forwarded to Hon. Supreme Court with report of the independent investigation team and the affidavits of the affected persons, and the Court acting hastily summoned the State Government. As a result Vidisha Collector provided false information o the Supreme Court that too became the Headlines. Till date the Administration's trend of denial continued. In the same process a Hindustan Times correspondent, Shravani Sarkar appeared on the spaces of importance in the publication with number of byline stories on Infant Mortality and Maternal Health issues and policy analysis. It is a worth mentioning fact that civil society organizations like Actionaid India and The Hunger Project continue to search effective strategies, through Vikas Samvad, to work with the mainstream media through fellowships and media dialogues. When, at the end of the initial phase, State Government accepted the malnutrition deaths, Dainik Jagran took the ownership of the issue and published State’s action with a sub-title – ‘Jagran Jeet’ (Jagran’s Victory). Ultimately civil society organization should have the clear-cut understanding that the concept of media advocacy doesn’t reflect the sense of Publicity (of the organization). Media has always been a part of the various social struggles and movements and as Jannifer Chapmen says ‘Rights are not bestowed from on high. They are part of a never-ending human struggle to improve people’s lives drawing on both visions of a better future and a desire to prevent reoccurrences of past atrocities and abuse. As such rights have been articulated, defined and put into law by the collective efforts and struggles of many people over many years, and will continue to evolve (or be lost) as time goes on. One key success of these struggles is the wide recognition that the actual concept of ‘rights’ applies to all people in all places at all times. Yet, as with any right, this concept in itself needs protecting and strengthening as it is challenged by ideologies such as patriarchy, racism, neo-liberalism and fascism.’
While on one hand the dialogue continued with the Supreme Court Commissioners, the media carried on news and articles the people's representatives facilitated a debate in the Legislative Assembly. Widespread reactions were recorded. By now Legislature, Judiciary and Media has clarified their stands.
By now the issue has become a mainstream issue and its roar was heard till Government of India level. During this time the Government of India in August 2005 declared 6 villages of Ganjbasoda as special effected area with regard to malnutrition. Pressed on all sides the Commissioner of Women & Child Development Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh visited these villages and in a Press Conference at Vidisha, the District headquarters accepted that the situation of malnutrition is serious and the incidents of deaths cannot be denied. Now in those six villages the Jhoolaghars (crèches) will be started where the children will receive nutritional supplements, hygiene and health facilities.
Next phase of our struggle began here that what can be gained by declaring only six villages as specially effected when the situation is more or less similar across the state with every second child is malnourished. So in this context a Press Conference was organized at Bhopal on 18th August 2005 wherein the partners of right to food secretariat and the other friends working elsewhere also present. In this Press conference not only the grave situation of malnutrition was presented but the fungused Dalia that was distributed in the Khalwa block of Khandwa district was also displayed.
A report on the present situation in the state and the efforts being taken was compiled for this Press conference. After the Conference the Media admonished the government through news and situational report articles. After being apprised on situation in the Conference "Aaj Tak" News channel visited the villages with Campaign partners and highlighted the news in their telecast.
When one newspaper was raising this issue with all seriousness the other media groups were forced to involve in the debate on this issue. As the issue of malnutrition appeared continuously in the press the ongoing Legislative Assembly session could not ignore it and an extensive debate took place on the news related to Ganjbasoda issue. The question was not limited to the indifference of the media, in fact for many of the social organizations not considering it to be an important issue the media became a school of learning for them. This was the time when Women & Child Development Department became a primary department of the government and for the first time the department tried to view the issue of malnutrition beyond the government perspective and began to pay attention to aspects of monitoring and evaluation along with increasing the budget. During 2004 to 2006 most (seven) projects and schemes related to women and child health and nutrition were implemented. The Commissioner W&CD due to the media alertness accepted for first time those deaths due to malnutrition have occurred. It was this time that Star News through telecasting an investigative report on serious situation of infant mortality rate gave a national importance to the issue.
Once again serious cases of malnutrition recurred in Patalgarh (Sheopur). Now the media highlighted the accountability and responsibility of the state because despite death due to malnutrition of 13 children and the Supreme Court Commissioners' directives the ICDS status there had not improved and resulted in more cases of deaths of children. Now the question posed was -why the government is not accountable? Here the experience of association with media appeared in a new fashion. The Patalgarh report (2006) was first shared with the local media but no one gave it a space. When NDTV raised this issue the national English dailies like Hindustan Times, The Hindu, The Statesman, and Pioneer were associated by this report. When local dailies realized that the issue ahs become prominent they were forced to pick up the same. It has been experienced that whenever information in a proper format reaches, Tehelka all the time covers it with high intensity. Though it may have been their commercial compulsion. In Madhya Pradesh whenever the micro cases of deaths due to malnutrition were raised the care was taken to refer to the facts related to the broader issues, budget and structures. Whenever the policy issues were raised the situation of villages likes Patalgarh and Sahaba were referred to prove that the issue is not mere principle. Today the groups in Madhya Pradesh do not have to debate with media over whether the deaths occur due to malnutrition and whenever government does any effort it goes media analysis.
After this effort hardly a day has passed when the issues of food insecurity, nutrition-malnutrition or government policies related to children has not occurred in media. It is not important that the number of published items totals more than 2771 but more important is the fact that now media does not merely highlights the figures but analyses the same on a regular basis. It is a worth mentioning fact that now most of the regional and district bureaus of the daily newspapers have identified the issues on nutrition as issue for routine coverage. In Madhya Pradesh we have the media in support of government and the media influenced by the different political ideologies. In this scenario the experience reveals that the debate over the issue needs to be made so strong and broad based that media on any side cannot ignore it. In this entire process we only attempted that what it means when out of every 1000 live births 79 infants succumb to death? If during 2005-06, 17 lakh children were born in the state then it means that 1.32 lakh children below one year did not live and 2.40 lakh children witness at the most five birthdays. Then we ask the question: is not the situation grim?
To carry on the process of media dialogue the reliable sources to get the information, data and facts were identified. Usually the voluntary agencies generate their own facts but in case of ICDS and children's food security the Madhya Pradesh group relied on government and authorized agency sources. The microanalysis was done of the websites of MP government's Women & Child Development, Health, Education and Finance Departments. Learning was had from the evaluation and annual reports of these departments. Importantly, the figures and performance analysis in annual report of Comptroller & Auditor General, reports of the Parliamentary Committee, minutes of the National Advisory Council meetings and reports of the various bilateral agencies continued to authenticate the process of advocacy. Presently it is also true that the voluntary agencies working on the Right to Food issue in the state have undertaken successful efforts at revealing the real situation through extensive field level studies. These were the sources that always existed but were hidden from the media. Right to Information has been an important source to collect information for media. In the advent of consumerism the priorities of media have changed but the social responsibilities have not. Media advocates are trying to utilize whatever is available.
Sachin Kumar Jain |
