Essential Reading for Social Workers!!

Once we start reading this book we will realise that just nurturing big dreams, passion for doing good and hard work is not enough for serving the Humanity. We need to equip ourselves with tools for rigorous research to study the Humanity and to serve it more meaningfully. This book is very well written with lot of examples and scenarios from actual social work. Any social worker will find immense value in this book to improve efficiency of the programmes aimed at human service.

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation

Exploring the Possibilities for Capacity Building

On Lack of Vision Statement

A detailed examination of the document named ‘Mission Statement and Guidelines’ pertaining to AMRUT draws my immediate attention to the lack of vision statement anywhere in the document. I am not sure whether I am wrong in expecting the vision statement in a document which has been explicitly named as a ‘Mission Statement’ but since my fundamental area of focus here is on the topic of capacity building I find it essential to have a vision statement which can actually help multiple stakeholders to work coherently to achieve the goals of the AMRUT.

Based on my experience and observation I consider it to be a natural human tendency to draw a vision for our individual lives by looking at successful persons around us. We find abundance of literature and media content on prominent movie actors, sports persons, scientists and politicians to ignite our aspirations. I see the same pattern here in this context when we are only looking at cities that are thriving and which have been fairly successful in meeting the challenges of urbanisation like Singapore, Tokyo or New York which gets a mention in the AMRUT document. Certainly they offer us great lessons but these lessons can only become much more meaningful and complete if we also take time to look at cities that have failed. The recent example for one such city is Detroit. Without going into the details of what led to the failure of Detroit I will jump into the question of how I see the Urban space. My intention is to draw ourselves into thinking the unconventional way for capturing the complete picture.

Urban space as a true embodiment of the human complexity

I see Urban space as a true embodiment of the human complexity. Unlike urban, rural space offers limited scope for nurturing the diverse capabilities and interests of Human Being. Urban space brings together people from diverse cultures to thrive together in harmony with each other. All this is aided further by the wide range of avenues opened up as a result of the advances in the information, communication and transportation technology. Most failed cities are victims of either flight of the capital or disintegration of the societies unable accommodate diversity. Hence if we are looking to transform a city that is sustainable in the long run; our vision should go beyond infrastructure. We need a vision for the city that is truly global and all inclusive in its nature. It should be a kind of city where people from across the geographies and cultures show eagerness to come here, to live here, to work, to invest and to lend their expertise in building the city further. Mere focus on infrastructure without tying it to such a vision will see the consequences like for instance the flight of textile industries from India to Bangladesh and elsewhere whenever there is an opportunity to lower the operational costs and maximise the profits. In such cases cases it is the other aspects of the city that will help retain the industries and investment. The point that I would like to drive home here is that building a city is more than just efficient infrastructure and this has deep implications for how we will go about capacity building of Institutions and personnel who have stake in implementing AMRUT.  This will further help in minimising the cost as a result of foresight brought in during planning and implementation itself.

Essential components of Capacity Building

The essential component of the capacity building  of Institutions and personnel implementing AMRUT should involve sensitising and educating them about the stereotypes with regard to particular race, gender, age, language, religion, ethnicity, region, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, social status etc. After all who wants to be in a city where everyday there is one or the other protest? Who wants to work in a city which has been labelled as a rape capital  or a capital of communal violence? Who wants to live or invest in a society where crime rate has spiked due to income inequality or poverty? Corruption and discrimination in the provision of many public services arise as a result of entrenched stereotypes held by the personnel regarding particular caste, religion, language etc. Further rise of ghettos of minorities and poor in the city with insufficient infrastructure actually are long term result of such stereotypes and neglect. Proactive, successful and effective implementation of ‘E- Municipality as a Service’ mentioned in the action plan of AMRUT will be directly linked to the heightened awareness about such stereotypes amongst the personnel. Further most of these provisions of e-services has to be in multiple languages or at least in three languages. Here I see lot of scope for tying up with the local educational institutions for the translation work. For students interning to translate; it is also a great learning opportunity to familiarise themselves with the challenges of public administration. Another important element that I see in E-MAAS is the provision of online grievance redressal mechanism. While the provision of online grievance redressal mechanism is a very significant step in increasing transparency and accountability in the administrative machinery; most often it fails due to sheer volume of grievances received and the lack of specific personnel to deal with it. In such a case Urban bodies instead of dealing with individual cases should welcome universities to do an in-depth study of the grievances who can pick up the nature and patterns from the thousands of grievances to inform the civic bodies in a better manner. This will serve the mutual interests of both civic bodies by equipping them with evidence and our universities by aligning their academics to actual social problems.

Initiatives to have websites for urban local bodies , periodical publication of e-newsletter are all welcome steps which will serve to inform the citizens effectively on the work done. Capacity building in such cases needs to focus on training the personnel to monitor and to keep the website up to date with accurate information. True manner of realising the Digital India Initiative in this context is through aiming for proactive disclosure of all the information related to the work of civic bodies which will help citizens to assess the performance and to play an effective vigilante role.  The extent of transparency and accountability will be the actual benchmark for the quality of services delivered.

The next essential component that I would like to stress with regard to the capacity building of Urban bodies and its personnel is the principle of lifelong learning. For Example on 14th October 2015 roughly around 8 lakh pharmacists in India went on strike to protest against the national government’s move to regularise the online sale of medicines ( Daily Mail, 2015). Then there were violent protests across the world against the online taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber by traditional taxi service providers. Simultaneously on the other hand there were research studies which were coming out with a long list of endangered jobs which included taxi drivers, factory workers, news reporters, farmers, clerks etc which had the heavy risk of automation. Even the most aspired profession by youngsters in India like certified chartered accountant was revealed to have heavy risk of automation. Science and Technology is acting as a powerful agent in reducing the middlemen between producers and consumers. When compared to activities like construction of dams, thermal power plants or mining the number of people being displaced from traditional occupations or jobs as a result of evolving technology is much larger. On the positive side reduction in intermediaries in the supply chain will considerably bring down the cost of medicines and other 'goods and services' given the condition that there is no monopoly. While on the negative side it will continue to displace large number of people from traditional occupations. It is also a formidable challenge for our nation which has now embarked on a 'Digital India' initiative. The whole world will be curiously looking forward to see how we are going to tackle issues arising from technology in the development of a Nation.  

In this context Personnel involved in government services are generally insulated from such risks of losing job due to lack of efforts to update their skills. On the other hand it becomes their responsibility to put in efforts to perpetually learn new skills to do their job efficiently. Here there is multitude of scope for capacity building of the personnel. They need to be introduced to new and better ways of doing their job with the help of technology. Every service needs to be coupled with its Geographical Information. For instance along with the online grievance if the geographical information is also captured it becomes easier to analyse and effectively deal with the problem at a very large scale. This enables to view the geographical distribution of various grievances or even lack of services and to respond quickly based on the degree and scale of the problem. Further geographical information has to be captured, collated and analysed with respect to each and every provision of the services made by the Urban Body. Planning and implementation based on such large scale data holds the key to success be it sanitation, water supply or even collection of taxes.

Peer networking, focus group discussions and visits to corporates moderated by domain experts will stimulate the personnel to seek and arrive at better ways of doing their job.This should be coupled with familiarisation of the potential of ICT in streamlining various services. There is also immense potential in collaborating with private sector. Like for instance collaborating with online taxi aggregators to come up with a similar solution for public transport system where the commuters can have the accurate information of the arrival and departure of the nearby buses along with online payment options will make the system demand driven while also plugging the loopholes wherever there is scope for the revenue loss. The same kind of ICT applications hold significant potential in the area of Health. For instance if we come up with the system of real time updation of information related to nature of illness reported at hospitals across the city it becomes so easy to ensure the availability of essential medicines and also to contain the spread of epidemics. The same applies to power transmission, water distribution , waste segregation etc where integration of ICT will drastically reduced the loss of revenue and improve the monitoring of the efficacy of the work undertaken. Integration of ICT at every level of administrative machinery in every department is an imminent and non negotiable task. The potential it holds towards improving the quality of our life is obvious. All that we need to do towards capacity building is to identify the islands of innovation here and there and facilitate a platform to bring them together to work towards finding innovative solutions.

Learning to appreciating domain expertise

Another essential component in the capacity building of the urban institutions and personnel is to  make them appreciate the value of domain expertise. The discipline of management offers a kind of expertise whereas the discipline of technology offers another. Each has its own value for the holistic functioning of the urban body. Seeking and building the collaboration with the domain experts in the area of science, technology, management, social sciences, jurisdiction etc brings in quality and efficiency in the functioning of urban bodies.

Government machineries need not end up doing everything. They need to focus only on the areas that are most neglected. Many things can be achieved by educating the masses and changing their behaviour. Here we need to employ behavioural psychologists to come up with innovative ideas to reform the behaviour and beliefs of the masses. For instance a simple research into housing industry gives us an idea about the huge adherence to Vaastu Shastra. People willingly spend lot of money just to make their living spaces Vaastu compliant. Here we need to organise campaigns that challenge the dominant and traditional mindset. Why is that none of the Vaastu pandit does not even delve into the issue of rain water harvesting? Why don’t they speak of making our living spaces energy efficient? Why don’t they educate the masses on efficient and scientific management of waste?. The guidelines in the AMRUT suggest of giving tax rebate for those going for green building but it is not just the monetary incentives that will motivate people to comply with the laws. They need to be convinced of the fact that for a sustainable urban space we need to minimise its negative impact on environment.

Prerequisites for any capacity building or training of Individuals

One of significant indicator of superior professionalism is when the demand for training is coming  from the department personnel itself. Better employment status or promotion has to be linked to higher professionalism exhibited. Unlike the government employees the ones working in the private  sector proactively indulge in updating their existing knowledge , learning new skill sets even if it means self financing. This is to emphasise that capacity building needs both structural reforms in the organisation of the institutions and also facilitating the training of the individuals. The educational universities has to be funded and allowed to study the functioning of the government departments to push evidence based structural reforms in the organisation of the urban bodies.  

The individual workshops, seminars or public lectures organised has to be documented and video recorded to be uploaded for access to anyone including citizens. The participants should be motivated to give their feedback as comments under such videos. This makes it possible to carry the impact of such workshops beyond the specific set of people. This also helps ensure the validity of the training programmes and offers lot of scope for improvisation based on the feedback from the diverse set of people. Further the focus group discussions should be carried forward to online forums. Apart from planning the training programmes systematically step by step like the need analysis, curriculum design and impact assessment the elements of transparency like video documenting the workshops, seminars etc has to be simultaneously given enough priority. This will help avoid the redundancy that might creep into the capacity building programmes at any time.     

Maram Women’s Social, Cultural, Economic and Educational Status

    

 Source: Personal collection, Maram women in traditional dress

 

    In Manipur there are as many as twenty tribes such as Romei, Poumei, Mao, Maram etc but among them I will be discussing just the Maram women’s social, economic and educational status. The focus of this article also revolves around questions like what are the rules and regulations adhered by the women as per Maram customs and in what way men support women’s education and economic well being. This article further discusses the pros and cons of certain aspects related to these women with reason. Here and there few solutions are also prescribed for issues related to women. This article comprises ten parts as given below.

1)      Women’s gathering in Dormitory or Rhaliiki (in Maram).

2)      Women’s role in Domestic labor.

3)      Rules to be followed by Men and Women in Agriculture.

4)      Important Rituals done by the Women

5)      Marriage system

6)      Rituals around Mother giving Birth.

7)      Naming of the Newborn Child

8)      Funeral and Widow’s Life

9)      Important festivals for Maram Tribe

10)   Conclusion

Part I: Women’s gathering in Dormitory or Rhaliiki (in Maram)

   Here I will narrate in detail about women in Maram tribe. These details were gathered by interviewing the elder parents and also from the textbook of Tiba (History and Culture of the Maram Nagas,2013). According to the Maram folktale human population first started with Madungkasie (men in maram) and Samwtingrangpui (women). There was one common place for the women to be  together which was called “Rhaliiki” (dormitory) in Maram. Rhaliiki was a good place for the spinsters or un-married women to stay together during night. Rhaliiki was constructed by males with the help of women. All the women who ever have reached their adolescence can be a part of these groups and stay together in Rhaliiki. Women will go for their own work during the day time but when they come back from their work, they will be in the Rhaliiki. In Rhaliiki, women will share their work with each other, sleep under the same roof, sing songs and compete with each other through folk song between the gender (when women sing a song men will not join it and when male sing a song women will not join in singing), or they will sing it together to make a melodious song and discussing among other topic etc. From the dormitory women used to communicate everything such as love story and so on. Bachelor or males will be visiting in their dormitory room at night.  But in case among the women’s who made guilty to other person in her group than, she will be out-of the group for some time like one day. She will be back after her friends made her understand the problem of her. This home was the main hall for the women to involve among themselves no other places and not joining in any making decision by the women as the custom of Maram tradition.

Part II: Women work in the domestic labor

   Women used to work daily as domestic labour like collecting firewood, dehusking and fetching water etc. Women will be fetching water from 3 or 4km distances far from her home. Some of the women used to fetch water early in the morning before her husband; children wake up from the bed. When she is back from fetching water, she will start making fire to cook. Cooking for the food will depend upon on the family member, if the family member was large than she will cook in a bigger pot which the family member can satisfied. For instance if she is inviting guest or any other people in her home for having common meal then, while she was serving food from the rice pot she should not put the top rice to the guest plate instead of that she should put it aside or the owner of the family member will taste it first later on it can be given the rice to any other plate.  She did not give the top rice to other because to show her respect. She will serve food to her husband, guest and their children at the first place before she ate food. Apart from that she will give some extra curry to her husband because of her love. In economic or financial thing will be in the hand of the male person because father was the head of the family and any maintenance or control over anything should be taking permission from father. In Maram tradition it follows the paternal system because it was follow males hierarchy in the societies.

     Part III: Rule to be follow by both the gender in agriculture

   The main staple food for the Maram tradition was rice. For the living of his/her life it was depend on the agriculture production. Rice was needed in every ritual or any ceremony as the culture. Some of the points which were important to both the gender to follow in agriculture, especially for the women to be remembered:

a.      For farmer they will start first by digging the field before anyone dig the field, the male from the family member will dig first in his field. This was done because to harvest a good quality of paddy from the field.

b.      While plantation in the field, the male will plant first in the field after that women women can follow it. But on the other hand if there was not male in the family member than the parent will called any males to start the plant during the plantation time because to get a good paddy during the time of harvesting.

c.       The drainage in the field to flow the water in each and every field, should be clean and arrange it in proper order from the starting point till the end of the field. The beginning of the drainage should clean or arrange by male not by the women because if women join in starting part they belief that the field of the drainage will destroy.

d.      At the time for harvesting there was a particular place for harvesting in Maram we called as “Atai-ki” (small place where paddy was gathered). When he or she was in that particular place he or she should not speak to any other person because it will become poorer.

     When the paddy was harvested, the paddy will keep in the granary as the Maram tradition. When the paddy was needed by the family then she will cover her head with any kind of cloth and she should not talk to any other at that moment because if she speaks to other than her richness will lost. Taking out of the paddy from the granary was mostly done early in the morning by women. Most of the time women did not spent her time for wasted but women task was continuous. Women used to make handloom task like weaving in any month accept the three month will not allow to weave by the women that is, Pokjing khii (July), Tarou khii (September) and Kanghi khii (December). Women use to weave for the traditional dress both for the genders. There are different kinds of the dress to wear it example dress for the war, dress for the festival etc. The handloom was mostly making by women, when there is free time from agriculture task.

     Part IV: Important of ritual done by the women

    Most of the ritual was done by the women in the festival in the months of Tarou khii (September) and Matai khii (October). Each month will have one ritual each. If there was not mother’s in the family, father can take in-charge for the ritual in both the months.  During any festival there will be providing non-vest, not allow to have vest. While cooking food in the festival, from the food pot like water or rice should not drop down into the fire place as a Maram tradition. There was the specific ritual called “Mallaa” for both the months. In this Mallaa day, they will kill chicken and do a ritual. The chicken which they are going to use in Malla should select a health hen, pure hen which is not a sick hen (female hen before given chick) and not cock chicken will be used as ritual.  The food will cook in the morning. After finish her cook, she will take some rice, curry and put it in the basket with the help of pure gumsang leave (banana leave). In this ritual women will use two bamboo baskets. In one bamboo basket she will put food it into three pieces with food and in another bamboo basket food will kept into two pieces. The bamboo basket was made by hand-make basket and put it on top of the pillar in the right side of the house. This ritual will be done by the women and the basket will be used it against when the time of Mallaa has come again in the next month by the mother. Other festival or the ritual was done in the month of Punghi khii (July). In this festival some of the people will kill only hen and cow (both should be pure, health not the sick animal) because it was going to make a ritual with pure meat in the festival. But it was very rear to fine it, a person who kills an animal on this ritual. In this ritual parent will be searching to a particular home to get some meat from the person who kill an animal. Through this meat mother will do the ritual early in the morning.

      Part V: Marriage system

      The marriage system for the women was made by the parents’ wishes with the help of the dream. Dream was one of the most important significant in Maram tradition because it gives the way of future like choosing life partner. There was not differentiating between the rich and poor in marriage arrangement, because the same material thing is provided such as food item etc. In Maram tradition the holy marriage will be done in a specific month only that is, Kapok khii (January), Lung’n rou khii (February) and Tingpui khii (April). But there is prohibition to engage the same clan or Siidung (siidung mean clans, we called in maram dialect) because as a Maram custom. Marriage should be done in exogamous system. When there are going to engage with her daughter, there was one person will be involving in the programme that will be any person who has good in speaking with other especially an old lady. The old lady will interact between them (bride and groom parent decision) and finalised it the marriage programme.  And in the processing an old lady will do one task secretly that is without announcing to the bride, the old lady will take-off thread or linen wool which was belongs to the bride and she will give it to the boy parent. The old lady who took part in this (taking-off the thread or linen wool from her) should not have any child and she will be the main person involving in the marriage party and also she will carry the blanket of the bride  gift when the day of marriage. The old lady will not announce to the bride that she was going to marriage to him. Now the linen wool or thread will be handed over to the groom by his parent. He will tie it linen wool or thread in his one of the finger for a while and he will sleep. Later he may or may not get any dream. But if he got a good dream or no dream then it was a sign to get marriage with her but on the other hand if he got the bad dream then he will no marriage to these woman. In marriage “Dream” was one of the most important subjects in Maram tradition and belief as one of the ritual or in the festival or in agriculture etc as a custom. Later when the engagement was ready by the parents from both the gender, the bridegroom will not know to each other but later their friends will come to know it first for their partnership for the life. When the bride it going to leave from her home to groom home, people used to distribute the chicken curry to the young children. During the marriage party women will not get any property from her parent, comparing to the male. The groom parent will give a shawl and coins as a custom to the bride parent after the engagement was ready.  But some of the rich parent will give some gift to her daughter such as necklace/Maram we called as Sapfii-chii, utensil but one basket/in Maram called as Kiirang is compulsory gift from her parents during the marriage. This basket was mainly used in carrying food iteam, fetching water any other material things. On the marriage day it will put the stuffed into Kiirang (basket) which the bride was receive a gift.  The property will depend on the rich and the poor parents. If she was from the rich family, parent used to give some of the property to her daughter when she got marriage such as field, land else but in poor parents, they could not able to make her daughter satisfied but all this thing was depend on the wealth of parents. The bride will lead to the groom house but before she enters into the house the bride had to stamp on a piece of iron mental, which was place in the threshold of the house. The bride will enter the groom home with her right leg. The old lady will hold the bride leg and touch it to the iron mental. This was follow by the bride as a sign for the women to bring peace and harmony in the family in her future life.

     

    The next day against it will kill the chicken for husband and he will eat all the chicken curry. The fiancée will not allow eat these curry on the day. The left-over of the chicken pieces will bury it. After she got marriage the bride will not go outside for one day from the home. Later early morning she will be visit to her parent home and from there she will bring some food that we called in Maram as “A’tum Kapung”. The A’tum kapung will be carry with her friends alone with her. In A’tum Kapung she will bring such as wine, rice, curry etc and handed over it to her groom parent. The bridegroom will be live in the one roof of the house and now two become as one as a nature. After he got marriage the groom will be permitted to visit in Rhalii ki (dormitory for the girls) still but he will be back before the bride sleep.

      Part VI: Mother giving birth and ritual

      For giving birth for a mother there was not limitation number but instead of that it depend upon what ‘God’. There was not restriction between the bridegroom giving birth of the genders due to that most of the family have large children’s in one household. This thing was happening because the parent consider as both the gender are equal in given birth.  Mother will deliver birth on top of the mate as a custom from grand-parents.  And there was a ritual when she gives a birth the mother will feed to the child after the ritual has done. The child will be crying on the mate before the ritual was done by her mother’s.

     Suppose if the mother give birth in the morning then the ritual will be done in the evening. There was not difference between the giving birth of boys and the girl child by the parent. The parent will do some ritual for both the gender (baby). But if the mothers give birth a son, then the father will hold spear and if mother give birth daughter then the father will go for fetching water. The water should be fresh and it will used for every purpose such as food, boiling water for baby bath. The father will fetch water in the morning and evening. Every day they will use fresh water for five days. In case if the mother give birth a boy baby then the parents will kill cock and if it is a girl baby then the parent will kill a hen as a sign of the gender birth.  In Maram custom there was a special pot for boiling water for the child to take bath, with that water the mother breast will clean it and take a bath for the child. On this day she will eat only rice bear, ginger, salt, jungle bird and not allow having food such as fish, meat, chilli etc. While she is cooking food, the food should not drop into the fire place from the pot as a custom while she was doing her ritual. If in case the food drop it down into the fire then the cook person should pour some water and salt again it into the pot to use the same food. This way of food cooked was doing in every festival or ritual programme by the parent. Due to that most of the parent did not move around while he/she is cooking.

     Part VII: How to give naming of a new born child

     If the parent giving a birth for the first born baby then both the parent will do the ritual for ten days but for the second, third and so on baby child will do ritual for five days. The naming of the child will be done after three day. The naming for the child will be given as the parents wish. But for naming the baby there should be a person to name it the child, by selecting by their parents. If baby was a son then the male person will hold the baby son and will give the name. A person who is going to name the child should be the family member who does not late or die the elder child from his family member can name it to the child.

     Part VIII: Funeral and widow women life

    For instance if the husband death, there is the old men to take in charge for funeral service we called as A’tingba (Priest) in Maram. After the funeral ceremony the family member will be scarify of cattle or any domestic animals such as dogs, chicken etc. The meat will be using only for three days. While they are cooking food, the food pot or any other food cook like water or rice should not drop from the pot as a Maram tradition. Now she will be in the condition of a widow life, in Maram we called as “Kamipuimei”. Widow can be remarriage if she is willing, there was not any restriction for the women to marriage again; even men can remarry it. In the widow or a woman there were not differences about the dresses to wear it. But in case if she remarried to other person than she will not take any properties from the previous husband. On the other hand if the women get pregnant and did not able to found out her real husband then she will be out-of the villages, until she deliver a baby. This was totally prohibited in Maram custom. Later she can come and settles again in the same village without bringing the child. But in case if she bring back with her child as a belief of Maram tradition, it will take an incident in the village. If she came back again then she will follow the restriction of the tradition till her die.

    Part IX: Important festival for men and women

      Source:https://www.google.co.in/search?q=maram+picture+from+manipur&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9_vvi-YbMAhUDLaYKHSTeDrwQ_AUIBygB&biw=1366&bih=667#imgdii=nblTMJsQ0XuF4M%3A%3BnblTMJsQ0XuF4M%3A%3Bee1MxUBuWF4sGM%3A&imgrc=nblTMJsQ0XuF4M%3A

     Another women were prohibited to participate in the festival programme ie, Kanghi-kii (December) because this festival was mainly for the male. In this festival for men there was a specific place like a playground to be settling together by all young and old males for two days. On the first day they will be gathering only their own Siidung or Clan and on the second day they will be together all male’s member in one specific place. On the day, there will be wrestling by pairs and also challenging to other Siidung/clan. But the result is that to won the wrestling and to show his strongest and power among the people. In this particular place women will not allow to enter in that ground because it will take an incident (like fracture, hurting) and also women was consider as un-clean. And women will not allow carry Kiirang during this festival for two days if anyone found it carrying kiirang than it will take sum of rupees as a fine. In this month even the first day of the moon light should not watch by the women because if she looked around the moon light then she will become a prostitute women due to that women refuse to watch the moon. In this month, male will not visit to women dormitory for ten days because the male was going to celebrate a great festival.

   

Source: Personal collection, Piiha-ki ja (Dance place)

Source: Personal collection, Piiha (dance)

    Women festival was done in the month of Tingpui khii (April), on this festival it will kill chicken and made chicken as a curry. Both male and female will have together a food but later in the evening all the women will go for dancing called as “piiha” from one specific place called piiha ki ja (Dance place in Maram). Women will wear the special dress and jewellery to attain in the festival. From this function parents will watch over it a good girl advance for their own son wife.

     Part X: Conclusion

     In my own understanding women task was one of the most important in the family member as daily done even the Brahmin, women were doing the task in the domestic labour at home example in Calcutta, Brahmin women work in domestic labour (Timothy J. Scrase, 1993). Most of the Hindu culture in any festival, women was involving the main part like the Maram tradition. There was different kind of the labour which will be paid and un-paid labour work. Most of the un-paid labours were done by the women whereas most of the male (Jobs) task is paid labour. In any kind of the task the hard task was done by the male like in Maram the male ploughing the field and handicraft with bamboo craft by men. This type of task was general differentiate between the genders. In the widow condition all the culture or the belief like Hindu, Islam and Christian were in the same rule that widow can be remarry. In Christian belief the Bible said in first Corinthian 7:8-9, “To the unmarried and the windows, I say that it is good for them to stay unmarried…..but if they cannot control themselves they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” But for the Islam belief men is permitted to marry more than one woman but not more than four women. In other Hindu belief that if the husband was death then her wife will also allow to die with him because as their custom if she die with him she will be in the heaven with him. But overall belief of the religious (Hindu, Christian, Islam) widow can be remarry as Maram Tradition follow. If the widows remarried then she will be with her newly husband without bringing any of her property.There was good law for the people in safety in the society such as preventing of the child trafficking of issue and concern for the pregnant women will be prohibited to stay in the village if she did not able to fine it out her real husband in the village. In modern day when this thing has happen by the women then she will give birth the child and keep it in the Juvenile Board. The Juvenile board will take care of the child (Patkar and Patkar, 2003).

     But as of now the Maram tradition for the women rule and the regulation was become more and more westernised in the villages and the old ritual was very rear to follow by the women in her living environment. This thing was change because majority Maram people were converted into Christianity. Everything was negotiated by the people and bringing the new way of living such as women got jobs, women scheme, gives education equal by the parents, involving in any kind of the programme bad and good like initiated NGO for the women empowerment etc. And women eat anything she likes the food in modern but in earlier Maram tradition who got married will not allow to eat some food like meat of pork, cat, monkey etc. It was very good to know about the women condition in Maram in earlier because there was a huge change in modern world. Not only the Maram tradition but overall there was changing in the country mostly done by education. Education reduces a financial issue like educating the young children especially for the young girl. By educating women it give more educating to other such as her children, in school or other institutions. This was the perception of the Gandhi the father of our nation. In present women living was totally difference from the earlier. Most of the women were important in involving the domestic work but today it was changes for the women to participate in some parts of the society.

Reference

     D’Souza, P. (2005). Woman:Icon of Liberation, Mumbai

     Patkar, P. and Patkar, P. (Feb. 2003). Child Trafficking: issues and concerns, CHILDLINE India Foundation, CIF

     Pinto, J. (2003). THE INDIAN WINDOW: From Victim to Victor, Mumbai

     Tiba, R. Th. (2013). History and Culture of the Maram Nagas: A Reconstruction From Oral and Folklore Tradition, New Delhi

     Timothy J. Scrase (Jan.1, 1993), Image, ideology, and inequality: Cultural domination, hegemony, and schooling in India, Sage, New Delhi.

     Maram tribe in Manipur: www.indianetzone.com/8/maram_tribe.htm

     Story shared from the elder parents.

A Look at Race Relations through a Child's Eyes