In this village of Bhavnagar district, a cluster of about six makeshift huts make an odd sight. Unlike most urban centres, where slum scenes have become ‘normal’, these ‘rural slums’ point towards a section of population losing out in the pursuit of ‘development’.

Amid scores of social and financial schemes by the government for the poor including Jan Dhan yojana for financial inclusion, Ujjawala Yojana for affordable and clean domestic energy or affordable housing scheme — Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Gramin, this family of Rajubhai Maharaj, 28, finds no place on the page of the chapter named ‘development’.

For Maharaj, who belongs to a community of Nath Bawa — a Socially and Economically Backward Class known to be surviving on donations or begging — this is the third generation abandoned begging and involved in labour work.

“Last it was my great grandfather who used to beg for survival. My grandfather turned to labour work in agriculture and masonry, since then, we have left begging. But even after three generations post Independence, our economic condition has remained static,” says Maharaj, who lives in an extremely fragile structure, which he calls his home.

Having lived in a different part for about eight years, the family moved to the other side of the 5,000-population village about seven years ago. A merchant ‘allowed’ them to ‘camp’ on his piece of plot as long as the it remained vacant. “We don’t pay rent, but as a quid-pro-quo, we give our service for their domestic work and masonry requirements,” says, Maharaj, who stays with a family of 15 spread in these six huts.

Erected with wooden support having a plastic sheet as its roof, these huts, however, are equipped with DTH and TV for the entertainment. No toilet is available, as they defecate in open. Maharaj gets a metered power, but and enough water from the nearby pump without paying for. “We watch DD Gujarati news and Hindi serial of Jetha Lal that are available on free-to-air channels,” he says.

Maharaj dreams big to have his own house some day. Supporting his ambitious is his mother, Gitaben, who says, “My son couldn’t go to school as we couldn’t afford. But his children are able to get education at government schools and also get meals. This is a positive change and we hope for our children to get self-reliant and make a better future for themselves.” Gitaben and the female members of the family work as farm labourers to make the total income of ₹7,500-8,000 a month for a family.

Plenty of struggle

But the ordeals are aplenty for the family, as they battle monsoon. “With no pukka house, all our belongings, utensils get swept away in rainwaters and we have to go hunting to recollect them. Most of the time we don’t get it and we have to look for some donor for basic utensils such as cookers and plates. At times such flooding gets life threatening also. The least we demand is a protection against such extreme uncertainties,” she says.

Ironically, barely 500 metres from Maharaj’s habitat is the renowned Gandhian educational institution, Lokbharti Gramvidyapith — founded by noted Gujarati educationist Nanabhai Bhatt in 1953 to uplift rural community through the principles of Sarvodaya.

Maharaj, however, has still not lost his patience as he understands his illiteracy causing the task difficult for him. “We tried to open a Jan Dhan account. But the public sector bank official demanded money for the same. When countered, he rudely got us out of the branch,” he says, adding that things are tough for people like us. But someday, I will be able to make my pukka house. While he dreams of making his son a healthcare professional and make his two daughters teachers, Maharaj is yet to get a taste of freedom.

“Independence day is no different than any other day for us. It is irrelevant whether we celebrate or not, our life doesn’t change. We haven’t been able to liberate ourselves from poverty. That’s the present reality.” he says.

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