The 'bottomup' leaders of India

The bottomup leaders- creating a different kind of change!

Ever since we have known leadership, we have known it in the context of few select people belonging to the rigid administrationcalling the 'shots'. What was wrong in this way of leading?Why should it not continue?The answer is there was no change in the system of things because this 'topdown' leadership only permitted ideas, instruction, assessment of needs and delivery of implementation from the top heirarchy percolating to the beneficiaries with no room for feedback, opinion, likes and dislikes and assessment by the beneficiary. The rigidity of this leadership has been the biggest barrier to innovation and experimentation. No change occured and if it did, it changed only few segments of the society and the wrong segments in most cases. The poor and the needy remained unchanged. That was to happen because the person who made decisions for their present, future and survival did not belong to their community, status, group. He/she could not possibly discern their situation as well as they themselves did.They remained unconsulted on what they needed and how would they like to receive their needs? The former leadership was nothing short of pushing food down a person's gullet.

It was in the year 2006 when I first witnessed a new form of leadership and it was at the grassroot level. I was the field officer in anagriculture-based, rural development project in north-eastern region of India with International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). My job was to visit all the seven blocks in the district and meet women, talk to them, tell them of the benefit of 'coming together' in groups, the avenues that would open to them financially when they became a Self Help Group(SHG) and then when these women showed signs of wanting to formalize their group, I gave them trainings on formation of SHG- the first steps,the principles of a SHG, keeping the book of accounts, taking decisions collectively on what kind of income generation activity or enterprise will the group engage in and finally help them with linkages to banks which funded these SHGs. Monitoring their progress was done side-by-side along with keeping group dynamics at bay.

A revolution of grassroot leaders had begun. From these groups of women were coming out leaders who had the ability to focus attention on issues of the people which were being overlooked and paying way to accomplish tasks that top level administration could not hope to achieve owing to institutional and organization barriers. The memory still excites me.

These women were mostly cultivators or housewives before they got together in Self Help Groups.They had no voices of their own and were accustomed to just listening to others when I first met them. They had been struggling to manage their households let alone think and worry about their community or society at large. They did not contribute to other's life quality because they themselves had no capacity to secure theirs.Over the years, I saw these very women transition into leaders within and outside the Self Help Groups.Irrespective of the extent to which they prospered individually and monetarily, each of these women became evidently empowered- they knew the benefit of collective action, the value of savings, business, sales and marketing and most of all they became contributors to their groups, families, village and community. These women became speakers in contrast to the listeners they had been before.

These SHGs congregated into a bigger body to form a federation and called themselves BILCHAM.They went ahead to have many enterprises, one in perfumery business andpatchouli oil. They achieved global success and recognition when they began a micro-credit bank which would give loans to poor women in the community. Their group went ahead to achieve financial stability and impacted quality of lives of the women in these groups and their families and led by example others in community on how real leadership does not wait to be asked or directed but instead leads. That is the 'bottomup' leadership and this form of leadership at the grassroot is what my country can look forward to for a new India. A better India where the community is the most important stakeholder in planning its future; where social justice gets an opportunity to advance by creation of equal opportunities for all.

A link to an old newspaper report on the success of BILCHAM:

http://www.merinews.com/article/women-in-meghalaya-make-micro-credit-ban...

http://www.merinews.com/article/women-in-meghalaya-make-micro-credit-banking-possible/131898.shtml