A recent visit for a project evaluation, the first since the world emerged from the pandemic, was enlightening, to say the least. One could reminisce about glimpses of a popular Hindi film as the protagonist crooned on about his homeland in the swaying yellow sea of the mustard fields under a wintry sun. The vast expanse of green fields, haystacks, and modern methods of tilling the land demonstrates the progressive modern practices nestled with a few that remain from an older time.
Project field assessments bring learnings and insights that are unparalleled; they reveal much more, often to one’s wonderment. A different reality is the latent aspirations of a population that most urban dwellers do not necessarily know about and the extent to which the population is informed, albeit in the hinterlands where they reside. The signs of progress are visible even to the untrained eye, with rustic dwellings filled with the gadgets of today. The power of the internet and digital media penetration is reflected in the choices that the younger demographic is making, the ease of direct credit fuelled by digital wallets, and financial transactions that are digitally driven, replacing the serpentine queues in dusty old bank branches. Some of the things that are impossible to miss are the affordability of basic smartphones, which have allowed for a view of a world beyond their own in the palm of their hands.
Rural India holds a fascinating narrative of a wave of new ambitions and aspirations that have only begun to unfold. The transformative nature of a number of programs that have placed informed decision-making at the helm of change, awareness, and knowledge building as the key cardinals and the infusion of social capital into the primary areas of education, skilling, and livelihoods have spurred a new economic future in the region. The mobility of young women, which has been restricted for decades, remains, but alongside them are young women who have begun to chart their own destiny, moving from the borders of their homes to cities across the country.
The desire and will to create a different life from the older generations is huge, and the channelizing and sharpening of that intent allowed me to be a witness to the power of change across households. From changing power dynamics in male-dominated households to challenging societal norms that frown on financial assistance extended by the girls in the family, the ease of information and learning fuelled by self-learning videos downloaded from the YouTube channel, a demographic that is rising in India has just begun.
Much like the rising sun on a winter morning, the path ahead is filled with the brightness heralding a new economic power rising in the years ahead, adding to the strongest belief in the wealth of unlocked potential that India possesses.
The author is the founder and CEO of Social Lens Consulting (www.slens.co) a boutique impact-driven consulting company located in Mumbai. She can be reached at vijaya.balaji@slens.co
