THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, Oct 24: It was a real, genuine and down-to-earth SVEEP (Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation) programme for the ‘people of lesser god Parhaiyya’ at Homia hamlet under the Paton block in Palamu.
District Election Officer Shashi Ranjan and Nodal Officer of SVEEP Md Jawed Hussain shed their officialdom behind by sitting on ‘khatiya’ (rope and wood seat) amidst the Parhaiyyas who are the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) at Homia hamlet to know why there was 48 per cent of voting by the PVTG here in the Lok Sabha election and what are their issues that keep them away from the polling station.
Building trust through simplicity
As the two sat on khatiya (a kind of village sofa) the crowd of Parhaiyyas felt it was not before any stereotyped officers but one who is sensitive to them.
Shashi Ranjan and Jawed didn’t look any awkward sitting on the khatiya rather they looked comfortable much to the delight of the Parhaiyyas.
It has been seen villagers start looking to bring in time-worn chairs for the Sahibs when they descend their villages.
Homia hamlet until these two DC Shashi Ranjan and nodal officer SVEEP Md Jawed Hussain reached there, was unvisited by any such top of the officers in the past.
When these two arrived, there was first a sense of disbelief which with simplicity of these two officers choosing to sit on khatiya, the sense of disbelief turned into trust sooner than later.
These two officers just wanted the trust of the PVTG and it came in abundance. They assured en-masse they would vote this assembly election. These two officers knew it was more than they got here through SVEEP- a community pledge to voting.
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Addressing accessibility challenges
Speaking to this correspondent Nodal Officer of SVEEP Md Jawed Hussain said, “The PVTG told DC that a group of voters had to negotiate a hillock up and down to reach the polling station. It’s an arduous job. This dampens their spirit and they abstain from voting.”
They need easy access to the polling station which right now is difficult to arrange so the DC and the Nodal Officer assured them that their easy access would be taken care of by the administration. The Parhaiyyas believed the duo.
This PVTG hamlet has a strong 587 voters. 60 per cent of them are females. There are senior voters and fresher voters too.
Nodal Officer of SVEEP said, “It’s the 60 per cent female voters that we are to draw towards the polling station on November 13. Once the woman folks walk down towards the polling station, the male voters will just toe the line.”
Creating a culturally resonant polling booth
“Our DC has a point when he stressed for a polling booth here having a similitude to the Parhaiyya culture. I also feel strongly that a polling booth is not just a table, CU, BU, VVPAT. It should look more than these machines which are very very important.” said Jawed who is known by this name only.
“Our booth here on November 13 will be in tune with Nature as Parhaiyyas live in Nature. We will try to give our booth here an ambience with Parhaiyya ethos and culture so that when they enter the booth, they don’t feel they are on any different or strange soil but on their Mati and surroundings. Our booth will be decorated with fresh leaves whose colour and smell the Parhaiyyas are so well acquainted with,” said the Nodal Officer of SVEEP.
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Jawed repeated, “Our booth will be living and breathing. We will try to make it vibrant. Our Parhaiyya voters must feel at home with the booth. This at-home feeling is to be a part of the AMF which is Assured Minimum Facility at the booth.”
“Voting should not be just a matter of left first finger indelible inking but an event. It should not be any stale affair. Here we are cautious. The look of celebration with voting here at the PVTG hamlet booth has to commensurate with the culture of the PVTG. The celebration has to be absorbing and not an imposing or superimposing one,” opined the Nodal Officer.
“The Parhaiyyas here are no longer ignorant of the election or the date of voting. In fact, I came across a first time girl voter who told me that she has a cell phone and she will vote and take shot of the booth as well. I told this young voter to have a selfie with the polling station,” added Jawed.
There will be more such push-offs for more and more percentage of voting in areas where voting at the booths, 146 of them, recorded less than 50 per cent of polling, added the Nodal Officer SVEEP here.
