Developing Initiatives for Social and Human Action (DISHA)
Disha is a grass-roots organization in Gujarat that started in 1985 with the aim of altering societal power relationships in favor of the poor to produce social change. Disha believes that only through altering the power balance among different communities may our current society be transformed into a more equitable one.
Disha espouses the ideal of self-determination for all. Individuals are entitled to control the natural, economic, political and other resources necessary for them to determine the course of their own lives. In reality, however, the vast majority of people are deprived of the ability to choose for themselves, instead, economic hardship makes choices for them. The founder of Disha, M.D. Mistry recognized this and was inspired to fight for economic justice in order to work towards social justice.
Since its inception, Disha has worked alongside socially marginalized communities in tribal societies and other landless laborers to support organized action from within the community against the social structures that promote an unjust distribution of wealth and power. Disha is issue based rather than geographically based or project based.
The main objective of DISHA's activities is to bring about social equity, and to increase the self-respect and self-confidence of adivasis so that they can assert their rights. DISHA is engaged in collective mobilization and social action among the tribals, to enhance their knowledge, skills, leadership, as well as bargaining power. DISHA's approach is rooted firmly in the village level institutions, which the tribals have formed and strengthened, to ensure sustenance of the movement. In a sense, DISHA is an umbrella organization and it has adopted different organizational structures to facilitate the process of raising and solving various issues effectively.
For instance:
- As a trust DISHA raises public interest issues,
- As a trade union (Agricultural Labour Union, Gujarat Forest Produce Gatherers and Forest Workers Union), it monitors and fights for the implementation of the Minimum Wage Act,
- As a district-level organization (Land Rights Protection Committee), it takes up cases of harassment of adivasis, land transfer, etc.
In the last twenty years Disha has accomplished much - getting legal right to forest land for over 80,0000 families, workers rights for daily wage workers, and an increase in minimum wages for farm laborers.
Disha's current goals are:
- Increase in number of Forest Rights Committees formed at village level,
- Increase in number of forest land cultivators claims over the forest land,
- Increase in wages/benefits for agricultural workers, e.g., women tendu leaf pickers, forest laborers, and construction,
- Increase in number of cases of human rights violations registered and responded to,
- Increase in number of tribals/poor in Gujarat able to benefit from government schemes and services (e.g., widow pension, Public Distribution Scheme, health care, electricity, hand pumps, etc.),
- Increase in number of laborers in Gujarat employed under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA),
- Increase in number of people securing 100 days of work under NREGA,
- Effective monitoring mechanisms at the village, and district level to ensure just implementation of NREGA,
- Increase in number of people becoming members of DISHA and its unions.
Last updated on Thursday, October 9, 2008.
