By I Jothi

Kalna: Basanti Soren, a tribal woman of West Bengal, says the demonetization drive by the prime minister has brought the worst crisis of her life.

“I didn’t realize the implications in the first few days but it has affected me and my family drastically in the last one month,” the Food Right Activist told a meeting on December 10, the International Human Rights day, at Kalna, a town in Burdwan district of the eastern Indian state.

She said the prime minister’s “sudden and shocking decision” on November 8 to demonetize currency notes of 500 and 1,000 rupees have violated people’s basic rights. Women in villages have neither bank accounts nor the knowledge to use mobile phones. “Many tribal women in my village are single and illiterate,” she explained.

The meet was part of several programs organized by the members of women’s Self Help Groups in Jamalpur and Kalna blocks of the district on December 9 and 10 to celebrate the International Human Rights.

The groups work under Udayani Social Action Forum, a NGO managed by the Calcutta Jesuit province.

Jharna Begum, another activist, narrated the plight of Chhobi Kisku of Nabagram village in Jamalpur block saved 7,000 rupees over many years for unexpected emergency days. However, the demonetization forced the elderly tribal women to hand over 500 and 1,000 notes to her sons, who divided the money among themselves and went away, leaving her in a lurch.

Ruma Chowdhury of the Sabapati of Kalna Block, lamented human rights violations and said she was forced to fight for women and children in the block along with Udayani activists even on the issue of demonetization.

Mary D’cruz, a medical doctor, spoke to the women at Nabagram village in Jamalpur Block and conducted medical check-up and distributed medicine.

The highlights of the celebrations were the ‘community meal’ where the women irrespective of their caste, religion and status worked in preparing the meal that shared with villagers in sisterhood and joy. The women were Hindus, Muslims and Christian.

“This is something very unique and no political parties could ever mange to do this communitarian celebration of cooking and eating together,” Chowdhury said.

The community dance by women to the sound of drum beats concluded the celebration.

Udayani Social Action Forum manages around 450 Self Help Groups in six blocks of South Bengal. They are preparing the SHG leaders to register their federations at the block level as independent NGOs in the coming days.