As
part of my district training, I attended 6 weeks of settlement training in a village called Chakmoh
in district Hamirpur of Himachal Pradesh. This training was all about learning the process of Bandobasti
(settlement), how it is done, what revenue records are prepared during the
process, Girdawari (Assessment of crops on the spot) learning to read and write
revenue records and understanding the roles of Patwari, Kanungo and Tehsildars
who work at the cutting edge of the revenue system of state government.
Toughest
part of the training was
learning the words being used in revenue records since the Mughal times of Raja Todar Mal (coincidently the name
of my Patwari was Raj Mal). Plethora of words like Min, Labald, Tafriq Bach,
Shamlat, Inteqaal, Wazib-ul-urz, Bainama, Hibba, Barast, Aadrahain, Tarq Hakuk,
Takseem, Baraani Avval, Khadaitar, Gair Munkin, Kita, Gau-Mairuseean, Mahfuja,
Rafayeaam, Sabik, Goswara, Kaifiyat, Indraaz, Majkoor and Badastoor can throw
an english educated youth like me tangentially into a new universe altogether. On top of that you have the records of last Bandobasti prepared in 1911
totally written in Urdu to cross check the current settlement work. And trust me both should match to the last details.
Land
may be a commodity in cities and towns but in villages it’s an emotional issue. One day I was out in the field to
learn survey work. We identified three base-points
(Chanda) for Chandabandi. We set up all our apparatus and instruments and the
musabi on the table was fixed in appropriate direction using a compass. I being
an engineering graduate could easily figure out what they are going to teach
me. I asked Patwari now let me do it and you verify whether I am doing it right or not. Patwari said, “Sir do minute ruk jaiye” (Sir wait for 2 minutes). He took out
agarbatti, dhup and a small packet of sweets, washed his hands with water and
started performing pooja. This was totally unexpected scene on the spot. First
of all he was not there for actual survey for settlement per se. He was out
there to teach me how it is done. But still such emotional attachment with his
work was a delight to watch.
Another
day we went out for demarcation of a land in a nearby village, Jaral. Owners of the land were no longer residing in the village. They had applied for
Nishan-Dehi (demarcation) long back as the Takseem (Partition) was done some 15
years ago in their absence. All they wanted to know was the exact location of
their share of land so that they can pay obeyence to their ancestors by
performing some
rituals on that land. It took us
half a day to figure out the exact location consulting the lattha (Cadastral
Map with Patwari) and copy of mommvi (Cadastral Map with Tehsildar) attached
with application of demarcation in the scorching sun. Finally when the location
of his Khasra (Land) and Rakba (Area) became apparent the owner performed pooja and kissed the
land facing east direction. While making the Kaifiyat Indraz (Remarks Entry), I could not suppress my
curiosity and asked his story. While narrating his four generation old story of
land he was almost in tears.
There
was this tea stall near my guest house. First day when I had this special tea
there I paid for it like a normal customer. Second day when I
went there in the evening and ordered for a special tea I could see a change in
his mannerism while serving me. He must have come to know of my identity. And
when I offered money this time, he said “saab aapse paise nahi lenge bura
mat maniye aur mujhe sharminda mat kijiye aap log to kitna kuch karte hai logo
ke liye” (That's what I understood of what he said in Punjabi-Kangri-Hindi mix). This sentence and gesture induced Avogadro sense of responsibility in me which i can’t encapsulate in my
limited vocab. These kinds of social gestures can lead to sudden gush of
adrenaline given the intensity of emotion and genuine expectation. The takeaway from this encounter was that such exchanges will keep the true spirit of public service firing in
me. But then I had to stop visiting his tea stall in the evenings.
Innocence
is still alive. You need to visit some remote village in Himachal to experience
it. These villages are the last bastion of this rare emotional phenomenon which
make us most
warm blooded animal in the Animalia kingdom.
I
used to walk down to settlement office from PWD guest house each day, a short
trek of 5 Kms. This was a conscious decision to shed some unwanted ounces of
fat around the abs to look fit on my soon to be solemnized marriage. It took just two days when the whole area came to know
that I was an IAS officer and had come down to this remote place for settlement
training. And third day onward people in cars and bikes started offering me
hitchhikes. I had to very humbly turn them down for the reason
mentioned above and trust me it used to be a challenge. So I started taking
short cuts in the hills to avoid the delay and hurting genuine people extending
help on the way. Chakmoh is seat to famous Shri Baba
Balak Nath temple where annual collection of offerings is around 20 crores INR.
Mythology of Baba Balak Nath, an ever twelve year old hermit is a pilgrim
pulling factor for the district. Due to presence of temple in-numerous battalions of monkeys live in the area and they are a big menace
for the pilgrims as well as for the residents of the village. So everyday I had
to carry a stick to ward them off on the way. It was
an experience in itself living a simple and no fuss low frill life.
 |
| Stairs Lading to Temple |
 |
| Baba Balak Nath |
Everyday
during training period I used to go out in fields for Jaiza (survey), Nishan-Dehi
(demarcation), Paimaish (measurement) and Durusti (correction) of revenue records which are
like the most reliable records in the possession of government. Guy Fawkes masked “V” of “ V
for Vendetta” had rightly said that if you
have to dig out the historical truth then unearth revenue or Tax records as they are
the most reliable records in the government irrespective of tirade of time. No wonder the whole process of record preparation is a
tedious and time consuming process as attention is given to details and many layers of attestation and verification at
various levels are carried out during the process. At times for a single
revenue village in Himachal it may take 6-8 years to complete the settlement
process. If you get down to field you will realize computerization
of the whole process is a Herculean task and may in fact lead to more problems
if brought in haste without due consideration to grass-root realities and
complexities involved.
Not
even a single day passed without people in this village offering me lunch and
they used to actually compete for who will serve food to me. I was asked for
and served tea and water almost every hour. People used to run to fields with
thermos-flask filled with tea and cups. This was overwhelming and touching. Money
is not that important for good hospitality or to entertain your guest. All that
is needed is a large heart and this you can witness in villages in ample
amount. In villages unlike urban areas, hospitality is still a rule and not exception.
Respect
in the Indian Administrative Services is not for the person in the hot seat but
its for the role and responsibility the officer carries on his shoulders.
Recognition that an IAS officer gets is infectious and many of my colleagues do
get a kick out of it. I feel they have every right to get a high from their
infinite job profile which actually keeps them refueled and helps them to
endure the rigors of the job. In a normal size district balancing the verbal
orders of a dozen odd all powerful politicians, innumerable laws and acts,
supervision and co-ordination of 50 odd departments, a vigilant high court of
the state, expectations of the millions and one’s own moral and ethical
standards is no child’s play. So the respect and recognition is well deserved
except for the odd foul fish in the pond. I think IAS must be the only job
where in hand is greater than CTC. Respect, recognition, job satisfaction and
pathetic in hand salary will add up to astronomical figures.
On
a serious note, living in these villages makes me more aware of my future
roles. Last stay was more fulfilling in the sense I got to understand what a
person sitting in the village expects from the administration. Their demands
are very simple and officers sitting in high offices ignore them for being too
trivial. One great
learning from this settlement
training apart from revenue knowledge would be to unlearn differentiating
between problems. Problem of a village folk unable to get a caste certificate
is as important if not more than as a problem of an industrialist seeking
single window clearance for all his permits and licences. By differentiating
between the two problems an officer will be creating a small and invisible
division in the society as of now of which integral summation over a long
period would translate into a social
unrest. So better appreciation of uniqueness and gravity of each problem
pertaining to any person irrespective of his status is must for social,
political and economic justice as our constitution envisages for this country.
And IAS officers are suitably placed to ensure the same in these changing
times.
