As the organisation’s work towards empowerment of the powerless progressed those associated with the activities realised that empowerment could not be achieved only through certain ‘developmental’ initiatives because stumbling block in the way was mindset of the haves. One such mindset was disparity in the payment of wages to women and for this the women had to launch an agitation. This was followed by Pather’s anti-liquor agitation, a few years later. The lives of women had become miserable from a country liquor vend in their village and after prolonged agitation they were successful in getting it closed.

Equal Wages Agitation

Up to 1989, agricultural labours were paid much less than the minimum wages recommended by the Government – Rs 20 a day. Moreover, women labours were paid much less, 25 to 50 per cent less than their men counterparts. Because of increasing awareness, women started murmuring why not they be paid minimum and equal wages. During the kharif harvesting season, women labours refused to work on low wages and demanded equal and minimum wages. When they were pressurised, women labours of Sultanpur went on a lightening strike. Soon the strike spread to other villages too.

After a month, the powerful landlords tried to break the strike by enticing small and marginal farmers to join their bandwagon. They got striking women labours intimidated through their men. They would not allow the striking women to cut fodder from fields’ boundaries or village common lands.

Women bravely faced these threats. They sent their cattle to the forests to forests below the Shiwalik range in the overall control of Ghad Kshettra Mazdoor Morcha. In several homes there was no grain. Those who had surplus took their care by contributing to the common pool.

Striking women asked the small and marginal farmers not to oppose their struggle as the latter were themselves labourers. They said if they won the struggle they (small and marginal farmers) would also be benefited. Small and marginal farmers understood the point and sent a proposal to the landlords for a dialogue. But the landlords backed out at the eleventh hour.

The striking women then unilaterally declared that they would continue their struggle till they got minimum and equal wages, but would work on the fields of small and marginal farmers at the rate of Rs 15 a day. Offended by this declaration, the landlords approached the police for help. Because of stiff opposition from the striking women the police did not help the landlords, but they did not help the striking women either.

To give further impetus to the struggle, Disha organised a Mahila Mazdoor Evam Laghu Kisan Sammelan on December 27, 1989. Despite various hurdles created by the landlords, the Sammelan was a grand success. It passed a 19-point charter of demands and on January 2, 1990, it was submitted to the district authorities. It is at this Sammelan that Mahila Mazdoor Evam Laghu Kisan Morcha was born.

Gradually the landlord fell in line and started paying men and women labours equal wages, though minimum wages fixed by the government are still a distant reality.

Anti-Liquor Agitation

A country-liquor vend at the Pather village, about 6 km off Sultanpur, was causing lots of inconvenience to the women of Pather and neighbouring villages. These affected women decided to fight the vend under the organisation’s guidance. The agitation spanning 100 days led to the vend’s closure.

Despite poverty and illiteracy, life was an easy going one in Pather and adjoining villages till 1989 when a country-liquor vend was opened there in April. In a few days started opposition to the vend from the area’s women. When their attempt to pursuade the shop employees to shift the vend to some other location failed, they approached the Saharanpur district administration to get it closed. The administration promised to do the needful when the next auction was due. But it failed to honour its promise. Three years passed this way.

Now the women of Pather and neighbouring villages were restless as the ills draining out of the bottle had ruined their lives. They wanted to get the shop closed immediately. They held a demonstration at Saharanpur on March 24, 1993, the day the auction for the financial year 1993-94 was to be held. But the auction was not held that day.

On March 31, 1993, the women of Pather stormed the shop and sat on an indefinite dharna before it. The organisation’s workers were there not only to support the dharna, but also to participate in it and mobilise people for it. In the days to follow, they braved chilly nights, hot days and often strong winds and rain. But they would not budge from the scene till their mission was complete.

On June 23, 1993, when the sun was shining at its peak, the women faced police lathis on their way to the district magistrate’s office where they wanted to give him a memorandum demanding the vend’s closure. About 50 women were injured in the lathicharge. Finally, their leaders were successful in raising the issue before the Governor who visited the city on June 29. The vend was ultimately closed down for good on July 2. That was a red letter day in the history of Saharanpur and a feather in the cap of the organisation’s workers.

So many women suffered so much during the agitation. They faced wrath of their families who did not at all kike their participation in an activity like that. There was threat to them from the local goondas and the henchmen of the liquor contractor. On one point they also faced the threat of being kidnapped. Three women lost their children during the agitation.

Within a year after the vend was closed life in Pather improved drastically. Calm returned to homes, lanes and streets. People were fast progressing towards prosperity. There were instances in which certain shopkeepers who got hooked to liquor and ruined their business revitalised it.

A year after the Pather agitation, villagers from another village in the district Haria came to the organisation’s workers to tell them they too wanted to launch an agitation against the liquor vend in their village. After mutual consultation the organisation’s workers and Haria villagers gave January 13 as the date of the commencement of the agitation. But well before the declared date, the vend was abandoned for good.

The spread effect of the anti-liquor agitation continues even today. In the beginning of 2003 a country liquor shop was opened again in Pather village as a branch of liquor shop located in neighbouring Chilkana. The shop was causing a number of problems for the residents, particularly for women. The villagers led by morcha members went in delegation to the district magistrate with an application and got order of closure of the shop in February 2003. This shows the strength of collective leadership.

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