Abstract
Several reasons make the anganwadi workers’ movement rather unique. The most distinctive challenge of this ‘all-women’ workforce, spread across the country, is the need to be recognized as ‘workers’, to start with! As ‘volunteers’ they are offered an ‘honorarium’, which few would agree is a decent return for the functions they carry out. This chapter is an attempt to profile the precarities that characterize the anganwadi workers, narrate the process of organizing them, describe their ongoing struggle including strikes and legal battles to be considered as being ‘workers’ and achieve other entitlements and describe the varied challenges that confront them. The entire story is also reminiscent of the way the role of women is perceived: women must look after themselves and nurture others with a total sense of commitment but do so completely unconditionally! Can this workers’ movement that has dared to dream beyond the limited ‘bread-and-butter’ goal sustain itself through these challenges? Are there any lessons to learn for other practitioners in the workers’ movement from this experience? These are some of the questions addressed in this chapter.
We wish to thank Com. M.A. Patil, President, Maharashtra Anganwadi Karmachari Sanghtana, Ms Shubha Shamim, Secretary, Maharashtra, All India Federation of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers and Ms Sangita Kamble, AW from Trombay, Mumbai. Our thanks to Ms Sarika Rachuri, faculty, IBS ICFAI Business School, Mumbai, and Dr Devayani Ganapule, Associate Professor of Economics, R. Ruia College, Mumbai, for their valuable suggestions. Thanks to Professor P.M. Sandhya Rani, Professor, School of Development Studies, and Professor T. Sundararaman, Professor, School of Health System Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, for their valuable inputs on nutrition, ICDS and health policies in India.
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Notes
- 1.
See https://community.data.gov.in/operational-anganwadi-centres-awcs-as-on-31-12-2015/. Accessed on 23 July 2018.
- 2.
‘Govts sit on 24 lakh vacancies amid debate over job drought’. Times of India, 05 August 2018.
- 3.
Handbook for Anganwadi Workers, National Institute of Public Co-operation and Child Development (NIPCCD), 2006. Accessed on 20 July 2018.
- 4.
Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY) seeks to empower adolescent girls and provide them with an opportunity to realize their full potential. The broad objectives of the scheme are to improve the nutritional, health and development status of adolescent girls, promote awareness of health, hygiene, nutrition and family care, link them to opportunities for learning life skills, go back to school, help them gain a better understanding of their social environment and take initiatives to become productive members of the society. See: http://wcd.nic.in/kishori-shakti-yojana. Accessed on 20 July 2018.
- 5.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme, Implementation Guidelines, 2018. See: http://www.wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/BBBP%20Guideline.pdf. Accessed on 20 July 2018.
- 6.
The number of registers to be maintained varies from State to State and also between urban and rural areas. We learnt from Ms. Sangitha Kamble, AW from Trombay, that as many as 16 registers have to be maintained, giving quite complex details (interview on 29 July 2018), in Mumbai.
- 7.
The MAKS is proposing to ask for summer vacation in May to avoid extreme heat, water and power shortage typically faced during these months. Also families are most likely to move to native places due to school vacations, leading to large-scale absenteeism during this time.
- 8.
World Bank Report, Institutional Arrangements for Nutrition in India, 2014. Accessed on 20 July 2018.
- 9.
2008–09 Budget speech by former Minister of Finance P. Chidambaram. See https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/ub2008-09/bs/speecha.htm. Accessed on 20 July 2018.
- 10.
See Appendix Table 14.2.
- 11.
- 12.
- 13.
The rent allowance was ₹750/- per month in 2011 in Maharashtra. This is an unthinkable amount in a metro like Mumbai. https://www.livemint.com/Politics/BLKSJwLlFqNAa1wzgXNFMN/Preschools-leave-no-room-for-learning.html. Accessed on 25 June 2018.
- 14.
In 2013, the rent for anganwadis in Bengaluru was increased in rural, urban and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits. The revised rent for anganwadi centres in rural and tribal areas was hiked to ₹750, from ₹200. In urban areas, the rent was increased to ₹3000 from ₹500. And in BBMP limits, the rent was increased from ₹750 to ₹5000. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/monthly-rent-allowance-for-anganwadi-centres-increased/article5058833.ece. Accessed on 23 July 2018.
- 15.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/bathinda/anganwadi-centres-grapple-with-shortage-of-funds/536907.html. Accessed on 25 June 2018.
- 16.
In July 2012, in two separate incidents of wall collapse of anganwadi centres in Odisha, 7 toddlers were killed and 18 others injured. At least four children were when wall of an anganwadi centre collapsed in Nayagarh district of Odisha on Monday. Sources said when 22 children were having their midday meals. http://zeenews.india.com/news/odisha/anganwadi-wall-collapse-toll-mounts-to-7_786653.html. Accessed on 25 June 2018.
- 17.
- 18.
- 19.
A senior AW revealed in an interaction (on 07 July 2013) how the new recruits ridicule the ‘petty raises’ the protests have been able to eke out and whether it is worth the effort after 20 years of service, as there is hardly any difference between their pay and that of a fresh recruit. Another AW noted that their children, as fresh recruits, earn a lot more in BPOs than them after such a long and fatiguing struggle. These are the changing realities on ground that could affect the zeal and fire that bind these workers to the movement.
- 20.
I confirmed this through my interaction with Ms. Shubha Shamim on 24 June 2018.
- 21.
A study of Kerala AWs shows that representation of Scheduled Castes and OBCs in AWs was larger than their share in population or government departments. http://www.cds.ac.in/krpcds/seema.pdf. Accessed on 28 April 2016.
- 22.
For 45th ILC, https://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/45th_ILC.pdf. For 46th ILC, https://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/46-ILC-Record_of_Discussion.pdf. Accessed on 22 July 2018.
- 23.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)’s central board of trustees (CBT) on Thursday decided to extend social security benefits to over 61 lakh unorganised workers. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/social-security-cover-for-scheme-workers-soon-epfo/article17744228.ece. Accessed on 23 July 2018.
- 24.
For instance, in 2015, the Maharashtra government launched Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Amrut Ahaar Yojana (a scheme to ensure nutritious meals to pregnant mothers wherein the AWs are required to procure the grocery, cook the prescribed meal and serve it at the doorstep of the beneficiary!) This was in addition to the other routine work mentioned earlier. https://www.maharashtra.gov.in/site/Upload/Government%20Resolutions/Marathi/201608021325159824.pdf. Accessed on 25 July, 2018.
- 25.
In her personal interview (07 July 2013), Ms. Maya Parameshwar, Former Secretary, MAKS, revealed how they had learnt to identify an AW with a mere glance at a passer-by woman having a bag on her shoulder! The activists would simply approach such ladies and on confirming that they were indeed working for an anganwadi, they began to discuss their issues. The other mode was to simply ask any villager about the anganwadi in the vicinity and directly approach the workers over there. Other options were catching the AWs at their monthly meeting place or even at the training centres.
- 26.
As per the press release dated 9 July 2018. Source: Office of Maharashtra Anganwadi Kruti Samittee.
- 27.
In Karnataka, 12 anganwadi workers were dismissed as they were elected in gram, zilla and taluk panchayat elections. See https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hubballi/Anganwadi-workers-elected-to-gram-taluk-panchayats-dismissed/articleshow/17632270.cms. Accessed on 23 July 2018.
- 28.
As revealed in my personal interview by Com. M.A. Patil (as on 07 July 2013).
- 29.
See Appendix Table 14.3.
- 30.
See https://indiankanoon.org/doc/426019/. Accessed on 22 July 2018.
- 31.
See https://indiankanoon.org/doc/171546011/. Accessed on 22 July 2018.
- 32.
See http://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/Reservation%20of%2050%25%20of%20vacancies%20from%20amongst%20AWs.pdf. Accessed on 25 July 2018.
- 33.
See http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:13101:0::NO::P13101_COMMENT_ID:3299926. Accessed on 23 July 2018.
- 34.
The petitioner was appointed as an anganwadi worker on 31 January 1996. Her political ambitions led her to contest the election of panch/sarpanch in the gram panchayat elections held in Haryana in June–July 2010, but before doing so she sought a clarification from the fourth respondent, that is, programme officer, Integrated Child Development Scheme, Panipat, on whether an anganwadi worker can contest the election for the post of sarpanch or panch. She was informed by the child development project officer, Bapoli, Panipat, that since anganwadi workers are paid honorarium, they are free to contest elections. Fortunately for her she won the election on 6 July 2010. She was elected as panch. She won the further election of sarpanch of gram panchayat, Tamsabad. She then started performing the duties of both anganwadi worker and sarpanch. She was terminated as AW and the court upheld the decision. See https://indiankanoon.org/doc/147624810/. Accessed on 24 July 2018.
- 35.
In Veena Devi vs State Election Commission (SEC) Bihar, the petitioner who was an ASHA was unseated from post of mukhiya of gram panchayat raj, Akhtiyarpur, Manjhauli, in the district of Patna, as SEC had issued guidelines whereby it was instructed to all district magistrate-cum-district election officer (Panchayat) to hold ASHA workers not eligible to contest the Panchayat election. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/52274058/. Accessed on 25 July 2018.
- 36.
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/85913/. Accessed on 25 July 2018.
- 37.
http://www.supremecourtcases.com/index2.php?option=com_content&itemid=99999999&do_pdf=1&id=23011. Accessed on 26 July 2018.
- 38.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-narendra-modi-felicitates-anganwadi-workers-1670100. Accessed on 25 June 2018.
- 39.
Former Minister, Women and Child Welfare, Ms. Varsha Gaikwad, while lauding the work done by the AWs, attributed the improvement in the ratio of girls in Solapur to their hard work. MLA Ms. Praniti Shinde congratulated AWs for a significant reduction in the number of deaths among children due to malnourishment. http://www.loksatta.com/vruthanta-news/government-to-try-for-pension-of-anganwadi-sevika-145035/. Accessed on 25 June 2018.
- 40.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/state-suspends-mesma-on-anganwadi-workers/article23326559.ece. Accessed on 25 June 2018.
- 41.
See Appendix Table 14.4.
- 42.
See Appendix Table 14.4.
- 43.
https://thewire.in/featured/government-planning-dismantle-icds-programme. Accessed on 25 June 2018.
- 44.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/education-needs-private-sector-push/article20536664.ece1. Accessed on 25 June 2018.
- 45.
- 46.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/govt-vedanta-to-upgrade-4000-anganwadis/article7350824.ece. Accessed on 25 June 2018.
- 47.
These views were expressed by Ms. Shubha Shamim during my interaction with her on 24 June 2018.
- 48.
“Why Inclusive Growth is Indispensable to India?” https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/S0FE91jpvLOv4bn4aVdBNK/Why-inclusive-growth-is-indispensable-to-India.html. Accessed on 05 August 2018.
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Krishnaprasad, S., Peer, K. (2019). An Ongoing Battle for Rights: The Case of Anganwadi Workers with Special Reference to Maharashtra. In: Shyam Sundar, K.R. (eds) Globalization, Labour Market Institutions, Processes and Policies in India. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7111-0_14
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