By Matters India Reporter
Patna: A voluntary organization of the Patna Jesuits on June 26 distributed Covid-19 relief kits to some 650 poor families in the capital city of Bihar.
Jesuit Father Juno Sebastian, director of Manthan (Churning), said that this time they focused mostly the hamlets of Musahar, the Dalit community at the bottom of the former untouchables.
Around 4,300 people in Danapur, Phulwarisharif and Bihta areas of Patna district received the kits containing rice, dal, wheat flour, edible oil, mask, soap and detergent powder.
“This time Manthan made a special effort to reach out to the sick and those with no support,” Father Sebastian said.
They also helped families of Manjhi, another low caste group.
The Jesuit priest thanked Azim Premji Foundation for funding the project.
Manthan works in more than 70 Musahar villages in Danapur, Phulwarisharif and Bihta blocks. More than 90 percent of the Musahars are daily wagers who work in nearby towns as construction laborers, road cleaners and rag pickers.
The Jesuit NGO has been active for more than 45 years in Bihar, mostly among the Musahars. It was among the first NGOs to come forward to help when the coronavirus pandemic hit India.
In 2020, it led Bihar Church groups to reach out to those severely affected by a nationwide lockdown to contain the pandemic.
The lockdown was imposed on the midnight of March 24, 2020. It was eased in early June but the pandemic continues to affect thousands in India.
On June 19, 2020, a 45-member Manthan team, led by Father Sebastian, distributed relief materials to 1,000 families in three blocks of Patna district.
The Jesuit priest regrets the worst group affected by the pandemic is the Musahar community. They live in unhygienic conditions with little benefits from the government. They are forced to live only in hamlets that are earmarked exclusively for them.
Bihar has nearly 2.2 million Musahars, according to the state Mahadalit Commission’s interim report. Activists working among them, however, say Bihar’s Musahar population is around 3 million. About 96.3 percent of them are landless farm laborers.
Their literacy rate is only 9.8 percent, the lowest among Dalits in the country.
The Church’s mission among them began with Jesuit Father Philip Manthara in mid 1970s. The veteran social activist and former president of the Bihar unit of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties started Manthan as a center for awareness, action, research and training. It became a registered society 24 years ago.
Manthan activities are mostly in and around Khagaul, 12 km west of Patna, and spread over Phulwarisharif, Danapur, and Bihta blocks. The major activities include education, cultural, health, sanitation, training, human rights, women empowerment, and research.