: Ex-IAS Officer Uses Craft of Weaving Baskets to Help 300 Tribal Families Fight Poverty #IndiaNEWS #Jharkhand For 50 odd years, no government officer or minister visited us, and if not for Suchitra

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Ex-IAS Officer Uses Craft of Weaving Baskets to Help 300 Tribal Families Fight Poverty #IndiaNEWS #Jharkhand
For 50 odd years, no government officer or minister visited us, and if not for Suchitra madam, our tribe would have probably been extinct,� says Ajay Sabar, a tribal from Burudih village.
The 50-year-old belongs to the Sabar tribe, one of the most primitive and endangered tribes listed among the 32 that exist in Jharkhand. “We were struggling to survive and had no land to farm, nor houses to live in but bamboo huts in the forests. We made a meagre earning of Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 a month,� he says.
This is not the story of Ajay alone but 300 plus families from 25 villages who live about 60 km from Jamshedpur, the capital city of Jharkhand.
The tribe was listed among the 68 de-notified languished communities by the British for their insubordination towards them. The tribe was declared as ‘criminal’ under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871. Years of neglect made their end seem near as the tribals were at the mercy of dwindling forest resources and donations.
Today, they are not only surviving but thriving. All thanks to compassion and years of hard work by Suchitra Sinha, a former IAS officer.
‘The Only Hope’
Artisans at work.
In 1988, Suchitra cleared the Bihar Public Service Commission examination and, since she belonged to the region, she was aware of the underdeveloped area and the plight the locals suffered daily. The region was also known for Naxal rebels.
The gritty young girl, who studied to become an IAS officer, joined as a deputy collector at Jamshedpur in 1996, which was a turning point in her life.
“A few members of Bharat Seva Sangha paid a visit to my office seeking donations for Sabar Tribes, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). They informed me that the tribals were in a dire state and would die of hunger if adequate donations were not received,� she says.
Suchitra was intrigued by the news and decided to visit the Nimdih block located in Saraikela district, now a part of Jharkhand.
“I saw the tribals living in abject poverty and were dependent on forest resources. The children did not have clothes to wear, and families struggled to make ends meet. “The situation was no different to other 216 families in the area,� she recalls.
Suchitra decided to find a way to improve the lives of the residents. “I learned that the tribals weaved baskets and brooms from palm, date, bamboo plants and kanji grass. The artisans sold them at Rs 30 each. The tribals earned barely Rs 2,000/month,� she says.
Moved by their economic condition, Suchitra decided to work towards their betterment. She released funds under the tribal schemes to encourage and generate livelihoods in poultry, food and other areas.

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