Rural Un-employment – Lot to Learn

I recently visited 4 villages, where I met a lot of village parents, who have opted to send their children to our English Medium school. I took the opportunity to discuss an issue, which keeps troubling me about rural un-employment. In most houses I visited there is at least one “Son”, who is sitting idle at home. Education varies from 10^th fail to BA pass (and some time BA and B.Ed.).

So, why are they sitting at home and not working?

Answer from parents: There is no jobs.

I drilled down further. What is the kind of salaries they want, the starter said 4500 – 5000 per month. Why work for less, as there is always NREGS, which offers Rs. 100 a day with minimal effort if you know the right people (youth typically seems to know the right people). Somebody from my camp tried reminding the NREGS is only for 100 days and not everyone can get away without working. However, not many people registered that small flaw in the argument pegging salary to Rs. 4500/- per month for the lowest of jobs.

Then suddenly one person (taking my side) quoted that people are preparing from government jobs (and are will to pay for it EXTRA) where salaries are as low as Rs. 950 -1200 / month. The other person agreed, but countered me by telling “It is a government job. It is different”.

I again asked them, what stops someone from taking up even a Rs. 100/- per month job from a scenario of not earning anything, as it anyway does not prevent their WAITING and in some cases PREPARING for their dream government (OR high paying) jobs. All of them agreed that it makes sense. One old man suggested that it makes you an earning member of society and exposes you to other people who see your work and help you move up the earning curve with your efforts.

I won the argument, and they were intelligent people who added to my argument. Hurray. However, will these people be willing to take up the jobs at an average of Rs. 3000/- per month that I was offering them in Bangalore and Sikar. Possibly NO.

A senior colleague of mine commented strongly (and rather harshly) about the possibility of converting the “non-working” rural youth to “working” youth once they have sat idle for more than an year. He said, “They are corrupted in their youthful vigor and addicted to politics, power, dada-giri and roaming around with friends and will never make good workers”.

May be he is right, but I hope only partially so.

MAY BE

• May be, they are addicted and it is difficult to break their habit.
• However, may be there is something more to understanding their reasons and the way to get them addicted to working instead.

There is a way out - SEEKING HELP

I was reading a case study on “Jaipur Rugs” in the latest addition of Prof. C.K. Prahlad’s “Bottom of the Pyramid”. The average income offered by Jaipur rugs ranges from Rs. 1800 to Rs. 3000/- per month for the weavers and they have more than 40,000 rural weavers working with them. A possible connect in this case is, that Jaipur Rugs offered to WOMEN something to earn from their home, and villagers were willing to experiment and learn.

I have met Mr. N.K. Chaudhury and he is one of the most humble chairmen I have ever met. He smiles and asks me to keep up to it, keep the offering simple and people will come around and work.