Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Good Men doing Nothing.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil
Is that good men do nothing”
- Edmund Burke
-Pre-title page for Muhammad Yunus’ autobiography, Banker to the Poor

The quotes and ideas important to great men hold immense value to people trying hard to make a change to development and poverty. Muhammad Yunus is arguably the most pioneering facilitator of poverty mitigation that we’ve seen today: he founded the Grameen bank, a microfinance giant, and changed the lives of poor farmers across Bangladesh. However, what puzzles me is why Yunus chose this quote in particular. Sure, it vilifies inaction, and calls for a change, but this sounds like something that the Head of State would say to justify a war. In fact, the quote's author, Edmund Burke was a proponent of the American Revolution and a government figure in Ireland, strongly suggesting that the quote is about governments and war.

Are we really at war, and if so, who or what are we at war with?

What got me thinking about this is a conversation I had while conducting the Land Use survey on a farm in Hallusarige. One of the farm owners, Sripath Hegde, kindly agreed to help us with the ownership and area aspects of the land being surveyed by going through village records. We found that a lot of the data the Indian Institute of Sciences had about land ownership and use was quickly outdated, and it was difficult to understand the dynamic of land ownership, because we assumed that ownership transferred by inheritance, and the occasional sale. Sripath had a different story to tell.

All that is necessary…

According to him, land sale happened more frequently because of urban-rural migration. Farmer’s children, seeking to move to the cities, lose interest in their parent’s property and let it fall into disrepair, either selling it themselves or forcing it to be sold. Farmers also fell heavily into debt due to low profits, and the only way out is to take more loans from lending institutions like banks and moneylenders. Hallusariges’s situation is a lot better than that of the farmers across India, who are heavily in debt to local landowners.

...for the triumph of evil…

In my previous blog post I made a reference to Vidarbha, a region in India where there was an abnormally high suicide rate amongst farmers in heavy debt to money lenders. Repeated drought, low demand and no profits led to them being driven to despair.

…is that good men do nothing.

The people who advocate development ARE at war. We just haven’t realized it.
This makes it easier to understand why Yunus chose the quote that he did. His microfinance solution was simple, and the situation could be solved simply – it was the inaction that permitted the cycle of poverty and despair to continue.

The situation in Sirsi may not be as dire as that in Vidarbha, but it promises to exacerbate in the coming years. With the newer generations having a more intense desire to migrate to the cities, the yield from the farms is low, building up on the interest-heavy loans that these farmers have to repay to banking institutions. There is no one to guide the sale of farmland, or ensure that farmers have the best knowledge of the market situation, or the financial advice needed to sell the plot that has been their flesh and blood for generations. Before the situation comes to a head, we need to educate the farmers about handling their finances, and introducing microfinance to the community in a bigger way.
I asked one of the speakers who addressed us on the second day, Bhushana Karandikar, about Vidarbha and its suicidal farmers, and what we can do to help. Bhushana worked for the government for over 20 years, which enabled her to be a good person to answer this question. I expected a response on microfinance, which she did give, but what interested me was her idea of providing psychological and moral support to the farmers. How she emphasized educating farmers about loans and finances.

I suppose it’s time for us to think beyond just microfinance, and give a holistic solution to the people who we are at war to help. Because, if we address only ONE manifestation of the “evil” we are trying to combat,
we are doing nothing.

Signing off,
Anvisha

References:
1) Banker to the Poor- Muhammad Yunus
2) Grameen bank website
3) Edmund Burke

1 comment:

Didi Da said...

We are indeed doing nothing ...
Your conclusion was shockingly true.
I just stumbled upon this blog following a thread from MIT university student blog, and just read the lsat part of your journey.
Thank you so much for sharing it