Today, I
stumbled upon this picture on my computer, and the 20-year journey of my
research flashed before my eyes. This photo is from 2016, during a trip to
Jaipur with my NGO colleagues. The grace and hard work of the woman I met near
a farmhouse made me pause right there.
 |
| Raajasthani women with organic dungcake basket on her head. |
As a
researcher, my connection with Valmiki Nagar began in 2001 when I approached Rajasthan
University for my PhD under Dr. M. Kapur. After a long struggle with
university rules and equivalence, my admission was confirmed in 2004. During my
fieldwork in 2005-06, I was deeply impressed by a woman who had passed 12th
grade. She lived a very organized life, had secured her boundary, and managed
her own water supply. Seeing her, I believed education would transform the
slums.
However,
the 'Decadal Change' study in 2016 revealed a bitter reality. That same woman
had become an 'Anganwadi worker' in the same slum. Our first Prime Minister,
Pandit Nehru, once seeing the slums of Kanpur, spoke of burning them down
to build anew (Eradication). But today's system focuses on making them
permanent by providing minor facilities. This journey from 2005 to 2026 is now
taking the shape of a book and research papers.
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