Two out of every three Indians live in rural India. Rural India feeds the nation, it drives the economy and decides who will rule the country. Yet a large number of happenings in the villages of the country either go unreported or remain undocumented.
‘The State of Rural India: Report 2020’ by Gaon Connection, India’s biggest rural media platform, released today, is a unique report that provides an overview of key events of the year 2020 in rural India. Right from lack of immunisation services in the villages due to COVID-19 to growing hunger in BPL families and how cyclones uprooted lives of rural poor, this annual report divided under 12 broad themes is a one-stop-source of information regarding rural India in 2020.
The report is available for free download at www.ruraldata.in
The themes included in the report are health, agriculture, water, forests & wildlife, Adivasis, livelihood, gender, climate change, disasters, education & youth, art & culture, and agents of change.
Apart from providing the broad overview of the key happenings in rural India in 2020, the ‘The State of Rural India: Report 2020’ also includes over 40 ground reports of Gaon Connection from across the country.
For instance, the Adivasis chapter discusses COVID-19 impact on tribal communities, Forest Rights Act 2006, education of tribal kids getting affected. Additionally, it has ground reports on the Chopan nomadic community of Jammu & Kashmir; poultry project by tribal women in Palghar, Maharashtra; land conflicts in tribal areas; and the teenagers of Santhal tribe in Jharkhand using DSLR cameras and the Internet to chronicle their cultural heritage.
Similarly, Water chapter has ground reports from Guwahati in Assam about the Bharalu river, sand mining and its impacts, revival of rivulets in Chhattisgarh under the Narwa Vikas Yojana, etc.
Apart from taking stock of the COVID-19 impact on rural India, the Health chapter has reports on how villagers in northeastern states struggled to access healthcare during the nationwide lockdown, the crucial role ASHA workers played in spreading information about coronavirus precautions and monitoring patients.
The Disaster chapter provides insights into the key disasters that struck rural India in 2020. These include floods in Bihar, Assam and Uttar Pradesh; lightening deaths; oil well fire in Baghjan, Assam, which burned for over five months and displaced many.
Art & Culture theme documents the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on artisans across the country then be it on puppeteers, folk singers, or shehnai player. It has a positive story on a veteran artist who is using the Phad art form to raise awareness on the pandemic in Rajasthan.
‘The State of Rural India: Report 2020’ would help the state and national level authorities see the rural landscape with a wider spectrum and help in planning and implementation of suitable solutions.
