On my first visit to India on behalf of Trickle Up, I visited several of our rural partners in Bihar. Bihar is the poorest state in India and suffers from bad governance and natural disasters such as drought and floods. I was surprised to hear the state suffers from both, simultaneously, but there is drought due to a lack of rain, and the northern part of the state is flooded by water coming from Nepal. Because of its reputation for lawlessness and lack of infrastructure, few people travel to Bihar and businesses are reluctant to work there. However, it has a beautiful countryside with much potential.
Bihar is one of the few states in India where land reform did not take place after India gained its independence, so land is still largely held by a few landlords. A major target group for Trickle Up’s partners in Bihar are landless agricultural laborers.
Many of the freedom fighters in India’s fight for independence came from Bihar, and there are still strong social movements in Bihar. I was able to spend Independence Day (August 15) with our partner, Jan Vikas Kendra (JVK). The dedication of the staff is amazing. They live and work in remote villages that are only accessible by foot because the roads have been washed out or are just impassable. Prior to 1960 the village where the head office is based had electricity and telephone, but the wires for these services were stolen, and presumably sold. Since then, the government has not done anything to return these services to the village.
Vimala Palaniswamy - Program Associate for Asia
