The history of Faridabad refugee’s community and role of Ms. Kamaladevi Chattopathyay in their rehabilitation

A. Research Question.

Trace the history of Faridabad refugee’s community with respect to Kamaladevi Chattopathyay's role in helping them to rehabilitate.

B. Abstract.

Reason for choosing the topic:

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay'srole in reuining the textiles, tribal art and handicrafts of India is a very well known fact. She isinfact called “Hastkala Ma”

Her lesser known aspect of work is in resettlement of the refugees from west Pakistan to India. Hence I wanted to know more about the problems faced in rehabilitation of refugees and how Kamaladevi single handedly overcame all challenges to help them.

Methodology

• Excerpts from books about Kamaladevi
• Memories and research papers about her
• Internet
• Various transcripts of lectures by personalities who knew Kamladevi.

HYPOTHESIS

Through this interdisciplinary project I will try to research the role of Kamaladevi in Rehabilitating ten of thousands of refugees from west Punjab seeking asyhem in India. This essay will depict how Kamaladevi sympathically & with presence of mind relevantlessly found solution to provide them shelter.

Background.

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was a person of many talents and various pursuits. She was an author, social activist, politician, Freedom fighter, actor of Kannad & Hindi films, a revivalist of Indian handicrafts and much more, all rolled into one.

Born on 3^rd April 1903 married at the age of 14, widowed two years later and remarrying Harindraath Chattopadyay, Sarojini Naidu's talented brother.

Kamaladevi founded the All Indian Women's Conference in 1927 with branches and voluntary progravimes run throughout the country. She actively participated in the salt Satyagrah Movement led by Gandhiji in 1930 and was front runner in processions against British going to jail several times.

Post independence, her travels abroad opened her mind to western methods of factory based production in Indiaand their consequences on the traditional handicrafts of India. To protect the artisian she set up a series of crafts museums, Cottage Emporium and set up exbibitions. Theatra Crafts Museum, National School of Dramam Lalit Kala Academy, Lady Irwin College are only a few of the several pioneering works she did.

Rehabilitation of last crafts was only a starting point to relocate the influx of refugees from west Pakistan later.

Kamaladevi unwaveringly took the responsibility of rehabilitating refugees after the partition of India. She avercame the turmoil of post partition to bring to life her vision of revitalising the crafts and looms of India in the spirit of Co-operative. She made sure that the refugees, who had gone through a lot of suffering lives with dignity and self esteem not on charity.

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay from Refugee camps to Co-operatives

In the first months following Partition, a group of young Congrss party socialists formed the Indian Co-operative Union. Throught the Union whe made plans for a township on co-operative lines.

The temporaty refugee camps at Kingsway Camps in Delhi housed thousands of refugees during 1947 partition even till 1949 government didn't take enough measures to rehabilitate them. Kamaladevi questioned L.C Jain one of the founders of the organization of the Indian Co-operative Union, “What is the future of the refugees? 'How long are they going live in the camps?

This was the beginning of the coperative movement, when a group of volunteers met and drew up plans for the co-operative Union of India (ICU) to bring about a great revolution in the way of thinking and values in the larger society slowly but steadily. There was a spirit of democracy, self sustainability self governance, mutual assistance filled with social concern.

This was the start of later developments in rural marketing and production, small industries, handicrafts and handloom textiles. It is worth mentioning here also the origin of best known ICU projects – Delhi's Cottag Industries Emporium.

           

A Saga of the Uprooted

Kamaladevi apthy wrote the whole story about the refugee community in work called 'A Saga of the uprooted'.

The mass influx of refugees was in population’s unparalled in history. Not only psychologically scarred but were left penniless, women raped, children killed, properties burnt and all worldly possessions lost.

Indian government which had just formed and to still learning to govern was faces with daunting task of settling and healing them.

The problem was of great magnitude and needed speed, efficiency and compassion. The refugees had to report to any available open piece of land with four bamboos and a cloth shelter. Government and several agancies provided kitchens with free food & doctors worked to treat and prevent any outbreak of epidemic.

Root for the uprooted

Kamaladevi was severly distressed by the way whole situation was being handled. Being a true misionary, Whe did not lose sight of the deeper proble. The works of authorities was appreciated by her but to her they were merely providing inmediate relief while the situation demanded settling the refugees providing them with a foundation, rooting them, giving their own homes.

The refugees were full of despair, helpless and huddled up in various far clung camps, exposed to sun, rain, cold and stripped of self pride. The ceaseless talks of rehabilitation did little to occomplish any results.

Kamaladevi garvered a co-operative movement with thousands of refugees with banners, placards and slogans. They were pround artisans, farenrs, workers who had erected a township Faridabad, out of nothing.

It was Kamaladevi who thought of collecting all the scattered masses to pool their talents and gifts to give a new life to themselves.

The two questions whe asked herself and found the answers herself ever “What was the future Of refugees? How long were they to live in these camps?"

Kamladevi seeking Gandhiji’s refuge to solve refugee problem

She went to Gandhiji with her plan of forming cooperative she had amassed a group of refugees who were willing to experprimentwith kamlaldevi's ideas.

Gandhi asked kamladevi to leave the blueprints and details of the plan with him to be shown to the them PM Pandit Nehru was quick to conclude that the plan was a “Utopian” dream which held no practicability and was totally unworkable. He found the plan as one thought off only by socialists. Gandhiji still gave kamaladevi his concent to go ahead with her plans provided she did not expect any help from the government because cooperation meant “self help”. Kamaladevi, the rebel agreed.

 Struggle for- Inner Resources Outer Spaces

In her book by the same name inner resources, Outer spaces she discribes the struggles faced to obtain relief and rehabilitation of refuees.  Kamaladevi had to chase government departments for weeks to fight red tapeism of bureaucracy who found her intrusive and infariatingly persistent.

The land she had earlier identified was left by migrants who had fled to Pakistan.  To her utter dissappointment that land was allotted to the migrants from west Punjab in lieu of the land they had left there.  Her furious comment was how can the government preach socialism and at the same promoting zamindari system. With Gandhiji's demise, her sole moral support was also gone.  The Delhi state co operative department was hostile towards her as she was trying to set up an independent cooperative which was a challenge to their authority.

Land in Chattarpur obtained

Kamaladevi's efforts and zeal helped her in identifying a piece of land in the outskirts of Delhi. She was again persistent and gave an ultimatum to the government officials that if it was not allotted to refugees she would simply make the refugees stttle there in 3 days. The authority dumped the whole responsibility of rehabilitating the refugees on her frustratingly but with relief that the responsibility was no longer their's.

Kamladevi with her vibrant, never say die sprit kept the refugees motivated to overcome their dismay of living in the dry, arid land who were used to lush, green and well irrigated lands of Punjab. She was the main instrument making men and women who had never ever lifted any tool to plough the broken earth, level the ground, put up huts and tents and dig wells.

Kamaladevi too shifted there with the refugees, collected money from friends and relatives to buy tools and seeds working with unwavering enthusiasm till the first crop was ready.

Nehru gets the taste of refugee's efforts

Kamaladevi sent two trucks full of radishes, tomatoes, gourds and greens harvested by the refugees with the general secretary of the Indian cooperative union Gopi  Krishna to PM Nehru's residence with a letter. 

Fiery spirited Kamaladevi was proving to Nehru that her plan which he had dismissed as unworkable was bearing fruits. Nehru let the refugees enter his house and responsibility asked if they had come to seek his help to which they replied that they had brought vegetables for him grown by them. Nehru called for the director of horticulture Mr Mathur and told him to see if he could also grow crops like the refugees.
  
The refugees refused for any help by Nehru saying that Kamaladevi had helped them emotionally with a positive approach towards self reliance naturally not as much as materially. Kamaladevi was a true leader to make refugees work as a team.

Kamaladevi profitable co-operative

  

At Nehru's insistence to help refugees in any way possible, Gopi Krishna said that water and housing were serious problems during summers.He asked if they could erect a canal from the Okhla  sewage plant till chattarpur then their irrigation problem could be solved .

The refugees without any outside support in a span of ten months dug the canal themselves, without any money, helping the chattarpur and jaitpur farms that lay along that route. The price of that land starting at Rs 400 per acre has since multiplied in tens of lakhs all due to Kamaladevi’s foresight, determination and inspiration.

Fight for concrete housing 

With the winters approaching, the temporary shelters would be of little help. Kamaladevi wanted refugees to develop skills to be self sustained while most of them were unskilled being either zamindars, rich businessmen or pathons who were warriors but most of them without any skill in building houses or masonry.

For Kamaladevi the situation was a deadlock the refugees though did not want to stay in mud houses, refused to build concrete houses on their own and were uncomfortable being reduced to masons or mud carrying construction workers.

Kamladevi on the other hand adamantly reiterated that if government built mud houses came up, new concrete ones would never take shape. She put up a strong fight with the government that refugees can’t wait for housing but mud houses as an alternative was impossible. She insisted that the choice should be given to refugees to which exasperated. Nehru again shifted the responsibility to the Indian Cooperative Union. Kamladevi along with Mridula Sarabhai force Nehru to write a letter to the president of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad to do away with the contractors or middlemen for the housing project.

Kamladevi’s struggle emotional and physical

She had to fight the war on two ends, fighting the government and the refugees who considered it below their status to be reduced as labourers.

The ego of the men was stumped by the refugee women who came forward to do any kind of work as it was for their benefit.

Kamaladevi’s dogged approch and motiviting women put the refugee men to shame and they came forward first in few hundreds then a thousand and then in thousands.

Kamladevi – Finding alternative solutions to problems

When Nehru declared in his letter to do away with contractors, irking public works department, the engineers walked off from the project.

Kamladevi being an assertive woman located an engineer Sethi among the refugees. Nehru sanctioned a cheque of Rs.35,000 for bricks and timber.

Thus lay the foundation on India’s first cooperative village.

Setting up a Faridabad township

Faridabad was at that time a refugee colony of the Pathans from the Northwest frontier. They were staying in makeshift camps and getting their rattions from the nearby army camps. The Hindus of this region were aggressive and in Kamladevi’s own words, “ They were more diffuclt than problem children, quick tempered and hasty to act they could become quite terrifying at times”

Faridabad: A vision to build the country’s first Industrial Township

Kamladevi set up Faridabad Development Board with Dr. Rajendra Prasad as its chairman. ICU (Indian Coperative Union) was entailed to carry out the process of organising the works.
  
It was Kamladevi’s multifaceted personility which helped in cajoling the refugees to work hard and they subsequently managed to pay all their loans the whole experience was formenting yet exhilirating for her.

Soon Faridabad acquired its own railway station and became a part of country’s Map. The 6000W power plant was also repatriation plant without any takers. The Indefatigable Kamladevi’s Mentoring Sudhir Ghosh tracked down an engineer and put together the plant without a single working drawing.

The refugees laid road, erected houses, built a hospital school and soon a fully fledge township with their own infrastructural inputs. A recreational center was also built by Kamladevi to unwind after hard day’s work.

The Hospital was named after Badshah khan (frontier Gandhi ) Today Known as BK hospital soon, Bata set up its shoe factory!

Kamaladevi was always around to arrange fundings from the government loans and solving disputes.

It is not always that one woman's zeal makes a city Fridabad was on its way!

 

Conclusion

Kamaldevi Chattopadhyay, is my opinion whose accomplishments have been so understand deserve a very high pedestal is the history of India.

She has constantly proved that with hard work, persistence.zeal and never give up attitude can help build an entire city, be it Chattarpur or Faridabad.

 Kamaladevi’s achievement can’t be replicated in India .she is true misionary who converted an arid land of chattarpur to lush green form land highway settlement to a bustling industrial township.

Even if she had done nothing else like setting up of various handicraft emporiums writing books setting up theater societies going to jail as a freedom fighter with endless list but words fail, this project alone is enough to place her among the builder and promotes of modern india kamaladevi s contribution to socitey is more psychological imparting  optimism. Self - assurance self reliant and empowering people to reduce their dependency to lead a meaningful life as a community. She was a game changer always found solution when other gave us.

“I want india to be a cooperative commonwealth, to make development meaningful and real for the people Nehru.

This quote was Nehru way of acknowledging   and paying tributes to Kamaladevi Chattapadhyay plans far from Utopian.

      Bibliography  

• www.probashionline .com /Faisalabad:
• http://ignca.nic.in/n1002806.httm
• Kamaladevi chattopadhyay: A Romantic rebel (book) by – Sakuntala Naeasimhan
• www.akaharakriti.org