February I2. I965

SCARLET AND BLACK

Page Fin

(ourtriglit: The Road To KoIIiewatIi

Ed Note: The following article
was written by Yaill 3. Court-
right, ’54, who is serving as a
Grinnell College Travel Service
Scholar this year at Ahmednagar
college, Ahmednagar, Maharash.
tra, india.

it was a sunny winter day, the
sky was cloudless, blue as the
Arabian Sea that washes India’s
western coast, the temperature in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

form a formidable political power
in the present state oi Maharash-
tra, as individuals they are mainly
rural, semi-literate, and intensely
proud.

Kolhewadi is a poor village. Be-
cause there is no motorabie road
connecting it to the outside world,
no trucks or buses come into the
village bringing with them the in-
fluences of modern, urban life. Per-

,haps located in another place, K01»

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE AHMEDNAGAR College Library. to be opened this

month.

the mid-80's The Jeep bounced
over the chuck-holed road, honking
intermittently to ward the two-
wheeled oxcarts meandering along
or the people walking, the dull
shininess of the brass vessels on
their heads reﬂecting the sun,
of our rapid approach. When a cow
or oxcarts would not respond to
our warning, it would mean jam-
ming on the brakes lest there he a
Collision. After some time we ar-
rived there. it was nothing spec-
tacular, nothing you would stop to
watch it you happened to he pass-
ing by. it was about a hundred peo-
ple building a road, the kind of ac-
‘tivity that is going on in rural
areas all over India. But to me, an
outsider, this project said a great
deal about the awakening of India
in the present day. But the story
does not begin with the building
of the road, it begins at another
time and in another place.

First there is Kolhewadi. It is
a Village of about 375 people Sit-
uated about l5 miles from Ahmed-
nagar on the rambling, greenish-
brownish slopes of the Western
Deccan. Koihewadi, like many of
the hall million villages in India,
is small, poor, and isolated. Most
of the villagers belong to the
Maratha, a subrcaste of the Kshat-
rya caste. The Marathas formed
the bulk of the army of Shivaji, the
Hindu rebel»hero, in his revolt
against the Moghul rule during the
17th and 18th Centuries. After the
consolidation of British mle, they
took up farming where they have
remained since. As a group they

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hewadi would have remained iso
lated continuing its rather self-con-
tained way of life following ancient
was according to long standing tra-
dltions,

The story of Kolhewadi’s awak-
ening begins in the oiiice of the
Rural Life Development and Re-
search Project oi Ahmednagar Col-
lege and cosponsored by World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the actual organization of the labor
is done by the villagers themselves
through the traditional leadership
patterns. in adition to these activi-
ties, the Project works closely with
the Zilia Parishad, Government,
rural community level agency for
the improvement of agricultural
production and village weliare.
Students at the college who elect
a major in Economics or Sociology
have the opportunity to participate
in the Rural Life project in order
to gain practical experience with
rural social and economic condia
tlons. Because this work requires
long hours spent in villages and
occasional manual labor which is
associated with low caste jobs and
socially distasteful to some, not as
many participate in the Project
as might be hoped. Nonetheless,
in the three years of the Project's
existence rather astonishing re-
sults have been achieved. It must
be remembered that the Village
population is deeply rooted in their
traditional way of life and there-
iore somewhat suspicious of mod-
ernization because it brings with
it social changes to which the
traditional pattern cannot adjust
itself. The fear of social chaos as
a result of economic betterment is
in the backs of these people's
minds. The first things that must
he done is to convince them that
poverty is not an unalterable con-
dition in their lives, a better life is
not only possible, but Within their
reach. When they are willing to
listen, they must be shown how
this can be done. in response to
this challenge, the Project has un-
dertaken certain experiments to

 

demonstrate what is possible. in

 

 

 

 

 

PATILS of four village: consider the project.

Neighbors Inc. Under the able
leadership of Prof. S. K. Hulbe and
a faculty of four economics pro—
Iessors, the project is presently di-
recting work in land reclamation,
village housing construction, im«
provement of farming methods,
and education, Although much of
the leadership work is handled
through the Rural Life Project,

one village, as an example, they
provided the necessary 'materials
for the construction of a medical
clinic. The village Patil, or head-
man, organized the village into
constniction teams. After the clinic
was built and they saw what they
had done, the villagers were so
pleased with themselves that they
carried on and built a community

h,all library and an addition to the
village school which doubled its
capacity.

In the case of the village of Kol-
hewadi, the college’s Work there
to date has centered in two main
areas: land reclamation and housA
ing construction. The land around
the village is rocky and dry, re-
ceiving only some eighteen inches
of rainfall which is dumped on the
land during the June to September
monsoon. If the rains come too
late, the seed will not sprout due
to the dryness of the soil; if they
come too early, it means a longer
dry season and the risk of a poor
yield. In the files of the Govern-
main: office, Kolhewadi i listed
under the heading, ‘ Famine

Area ” To the human beings who
spend their lives in this village, it
means uncertainty, and in a dry
year, hardship and starvation.
Under the leadership of Prof.

.I-lulbe and the staff of the Rural

Life Development and Research
Project, extra land has been pro-
cured from the Government. The
students and village men and wom-
en work together to clear rocks
from the heretofore uncultivated
slopes. it is a slow process, each
rock must be lifted by hand and
each iurrow must be plowed by
oxen. it is a slow process, but it
means the difference between
enough food for these 375 people
and malnutrition and despair.

(Continued Next Week)

 

Harrell Visits Campus

(Continued from Page 1)

dent groups, delivering an all-col-
lege lecture, and speaking at a
joint meeting of the Grinneil Cham-
ber of Commerce and Kiwanis
Club.

The lecture, “The Role of Gov-
ernment in the New Age,” is sche-
duled for 8 p.m. Feb. 15 in the
South Lounge at the. College
Forum. The Chamber of Com-
merce and Kiwanis Club will
hear Harrell discuss “The Citi-
zen and His Government” at
noon Feb. 16 at the Country
Club.

Harrell, who holds an AB. de-
gree irom Randolph-Macon Col-
lege, an MA. degree irom Cul~
umbia University, and an M.S. de-
gree from Syracuse University, has
been a city manager for more than

Programming Seminar:
Gain Computer Skills

A computer programming
seminar will begin weekly
meetings Tuesday afternoon
from 4:25 to 5:25 in the science

1 lecture room. The first session

will be on FORTRAN IV pro-
gramming.

The seminar will be con-
ducted by David A. McBlain,
(mathematics) who was pre-
viously a research assistant at
the State University of Iowa
computer center.

The seminar is open to jun-
iors, seniors, and faculty mem-
bers. “It is difficult to find a
major in which_knowledge of
a computer is not valuable,”
McBlain said, He added that
he is assuming a knowledge of
high school algebra, nothing
higher in math,

The seminar will run from 8
to 10 sessions, McBlain said.
The seminar is offered on a
nonacredit basis. and there will
be no required text book.

 

30 years, serving the cities of
Portsmouth, Ohio; Binghamtnn, N.
Y. Schenectady, NY.: Norfolk,
Va, San Antonio, Tex, and Cincin-
nati, Ohio.

He has also been associated with
the National Institute of Public Ad-
ministration and with the Depart-
ment of industrial Economics at
the Southwest Research Institute.

During World War II, Harrell
was a consultant to both the Na-
tional Defense Commission and
War Production Board. He has au-
thored many articles dealing with
various phases of municipal gov-
emment.

Listed in “Who‘s Who in Amer-
ica,” Harrell is a past president of
the International City Managers‘
Association and a former first vice-
president of the National Council
for Community improvement. He is
also affiliated with numerous other
public administration organiza-
tions.

GLASSES
Made and Repaired»
in Our Laboratory

Contact Lenses

Cases and
Solutions

Eyes
Examined

E. J. Jensen, 0.D.

OPTOMETRIST
Across from Post Office

 

PASTRIES

as you like ihem

From

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DANISH MAID

 

DON'T SLIP OR SPIN!
gel' Ailas Snow Tires

FROM

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