Dr Madhavanji... Messiah of the Tribals

M. A. Siraj

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had once famously remarked that only 10 per cent of funds allocated for development and welfare schemes reach the beneficiaries. Madhavanji, renowned social worker who heads the NGO AWARE says, only 2% of what is allocated for development of tribals actually reach the beneficiaries.

Madhavanji who hails from Kerala and has dedicated his life for the development of members of the Chenchu tribe says 62% of the Government funds are used for the administration, 31% are siphoned off by corrupt officials, 5% are mishandled by those powerful among the tribals and residual 2% actually reach the individuals at the grassroots.

Chenchu habitations are spread over Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Odisha and adjoining areas from other states. Dr. P. K. S. Madhavan, who came to be known as ‘Madhavanji’ hailed from Kerala and wanted to study the conditions of tribes. He had arrived in Hyderabad in 1975. He roamed through the rural hinterland and found the conditions of the tribals pathetic. He initially thought of writing a book. But then he gave up the idea as the books have limited reach and study and writing about these people would only be ‘intellectual exploitation’ of a people mired in abject poverty, illiteracy and disease. Guided by Gandhian model of development, he conceived a development plan by pegging himself in the area and registered the NGO AWARE in November 1975. The acronym stood for ‘Action for Welfare and Awakening in Rural Environment’. It was to pursue the Gandhian principle of Gram Swaraj, making the villages self-reliant.

Madhavanji holds a doctorate in anthropology. He entered the civil service in 1964 following selection for the Indian Administrative Service and was posted as collector at Kohima in Nagaland. He had tenures as an officer in the Prime Minister’s Office during the reign of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. But a strong urge to do something for the people was coursing into his veins. He resigned from the civil service and travelled as a monk in the Himalayas. But a prick of conscience made him engage with the realities of life and the society.

His study of society and research helped him penetrate into the rural areas and study the habits and habitats of tribals. The life took a turn when he witnessed tribals getting yoked in place of bulls to draw water from well by moneylender in tribal belt, merely because they were unable to repay their loan amounts which were rapidly gathering manifold interest.

His work began from setting up schools for the tribal children, imparting them values and orienting them with rights as citizens. AWARE’s monthly medical camps provided free medical care. Today its services are being accessed by over 2.5 lakh people annually. It even introduced a boat hospital to cater to the healthcare needs of villagers on the banks of the Godavari. It is moored at Kunavaram. Its 300-bed super specialty hospital came up in L. B. Nagar at Hyderabad at the turn of the century.

AWARE’s campus was established on a 100-acre area at Bhagwathipuram Viswavanam, 24 kms south of Hyderabad which has so far imparted training to 5,600 rural people to become effective citizens and integrate with the mainstream society. This campus is being now converted as Madhavanji Centre for Excellence in Education & Development. Soon this campus will have Global Green School and several higher educational institutions. These include plan for a university and an international sports academy.

He identified the lack of modern skills as a major handicap and began to set up vocational training centres. These gradually were developed into Aware College of Nursing, a college of medical lab technology, college of education, agricultural polytechnic and a degree college. It currently provides higher education to around 1,500 students annually. It will be finally named after the founder as Madhavanji Centre for Excellence in Education & Development.

Dr. Madhavan says: “it is the basic need to awaken the people and to prepare them to identify their own problems and to prepare them to devise their own solutions and plan of action. The oppressed should not only recognize that they are oppressed but must also be aware of what they can do, legally, peacefully, and constitutionally, to overcome their oppression”.

This has proved to be the bedrock of the struggle Madhavan had been waging against the poverty and illiteracy. AWARE started its three villages but has now 8,760 villages in nine states under its umbrella. Natural disasters such as cyclones, quakes and famine have witnessed his team fanning out into the affected areas with food packets, and rebuilding shattered homes and providing succor to the injured. Nearly six lakh families have been rehabilitated by the AWARE volunteers