February I2. I965 SCARLET AND BLACK Page Fin (ourtriglit: The Road To KoIIiewatIi Ed Note: The following article was written by Yaill 3. Court- right, ’54, who is serving as a Grinnell College Travel Service Scholar this year at Ahmednagar college, Ahmednagar, Maharash. tra, india. it was a sunny winter day, the sky was cloudless, blue as the Arabian Sea that washes India’s western coast, the temperature in form a formidable political power in the present state oi Maharash- tra, as individuals they are mainly rural, semi-literate, and intensely proud. Kolhewadi is a poor village. Be- cause there is no motorabie road connecting it to the outside world, no trucks or buses come into the village bringing with them the in- fluences of modern, urban life. Per- ,haps located in another place, K01» THE AHMEDNAGAR College Library. to be opened this month. the mid-80's The Jeep bounced over the chuck-holed road, honking intermittently to ward the two- wheeled oxcarts meandering along or the people walking, the dull shininess of the brass vessels on their heads reflecting the sun, of our rapid approach. When a cow or oxcarts would not respond to our warning, it would mean jam- ming on the brakes lest there he a Collision. After some time we ar- rived there. it was nothing spec- tacular, nothing you would stop to watch it you happened to he pass- ing by. it was about a hundred peo- ple building a road, the kind of ac- ‘tivity that is going on in rural areas all over India. But to me, an outsider, this project said a great deal about the awakening of India in the present day. But the story does not begin with the building of the road, it begins at another time and in another place. First there is Kolhewadi. It is a Village of about 375 people Sit- uated about l5 miles from Ahmed- nagar on the rambling, greenish- brownish slopes of the Western Deccan. Koihewadi, like many of the hall million villages in India, is small, poor, and isolated. Most of the villagers belong to the Maratha, a subrcaste of the Kshat- rya caste. The Marathas formed the bulk of the army of Shivaji, the Hindu rebel»hero, in his revolt against the Moghul rule during the 17th and 18th Centuries. After the consolidation of British mle, they took up farming where they have remained since. As a group they WILLIAM F, BUCKLEY JR. TN NATIONAL Renew: "I out to Mr. [Steve] Allen . wnek no - tamer. prom-I, Ind woe reunited to hm In animal which he m. Ina porn-r.- n to pubiirh. Nam-1y, out he would join m. in lpprovl'nl e vii-slur mih by our Str-nllr. Air Comm-rid mind the nuclur mil-i. lotion. in Red ch nanny mm out In .iomlo dart, N‘llo.N. hewadi would have remained iso lated continuing its rather self-con- tained way of life following ancient was according to long standing tra- dltions, The story of Kolhewadi’s awak- ening begins in the oiiice of the Rural Life Development and Re- search Project oi Ahmednagar Col- lege and cosponsored by World the actual organization of the labor is done by the villagers themselves through the traditional leadership patterns. in adition to these activi- ties, the Project works closely with the Zilia Parishad, Government, rural community level agency for the improvement of agricultural production and village weliare. Students at the college who elect a major in Economics or Sociology have the opportunity to participate in the Rural Life project in order to gain practical experience with rural social and economic condia tlons. Because this work requires long hours spent in villages and occasional manual labor which is associated with low caste jobs and socially distasteful to some, not as many participate in the Project as might be hoped. Nonetheless, in the three years of the Project's existence rather astonishing re- sults have been achieved. It must be remembered that the Village population is deeply rooted in their traditional way of life and there- iore somewhat suspicious of mod- ernization because it brings with it social changes to which the traditional pattern cannot adjust itself. The fear of social chaos as a result of economic betterment is in the backs of these people's minds. The first things that must he done is to convince them that poverty is not an unalterable con- dition in their lives, a better life is not only possible, but Within their reach. When they are willing to listen, they must be shown how this can be done. in response to this challenge, the Project has un- dertaken certain experiments to demonstrate what is possible. in PATILS of four village: consider the project. Neighbors Inc. Under the able leadership of Prof. S. K. Hulbe and a faculty of four economics pro— Iessors, the project is presently di- recting work in land reclamation, village housing construction, im« provement of farming methods, and education, Although much of the leadership work is handled through the Rural Life Project, one village, as an example, they provided the necessary 'materials for the construction of a medical clinic. The village Patil, or head- man, organized the village into constniction teams. After the clinic was built and they saw what they had done, the villagers were so pleased with themselves that they carried on and built a community h,all library and an addition to the village school which doubled its capacity. In the case of the village of Kol- hewadi, the college’s Work there to date has centered in two main areas: land reclamation and housA ing construction. The land around the village is rocky and dry, re- ceiving only some eighteen inches of rainfall which is dumped on the land during the June to September monsoon. If the rains come too late, the seed will not sprout due to the dryness of the soil; if they come too early, it means a longer dry season and the risk of a poor yield. In the files of the Govern- main: office, Kolhewadi i listed under the heading, ‘ Famine Area ” To the human beings who spend their lives in this village, it means uncertainty, and in a dry year, hardship and starvation. Under the leadership of Prof. .I-lulbe and the staff of the Rural Life Development and Research Project, extra land has been pro- cured from the Government. The students and village men and wom- en work together to clear rocks from the heretofore uncultivated slopes. it is a slow process, each rock must be lifted by hand and each iurrow must be plowed by oxen. it is a slow process, but it means the difference between enough food for these 375 people and malnutrition and despair. (Continued Next Week) Harrell Visits Campus (Continued from Page 1) dent groups, delivering an all-col- lege lecture, and speaking at a joint meeting of the Grinneil Cham- ber of Commerce and Kiwanis Club. The lecture, “The Role of Gov- ernment in the New Age,” is sche- duled for 8 p.m. Feb. 15 in the South Lounge at the. College Forum. The Chamber of Com- merce and Kiwanis Club will hear Harrell discuss “The Citi- zen and His Government” at noon Feb. 16 at the Country Club. Harrell, who holds an AB. de- gree irom Randolph-Macon Col- lege, an MA. degree irom Cul~ umbia University, and an M.S. de- gree from Syracuse University, has been a city manager for more than Programming Seminar: Gain Computer Skills A computer programming seminar will begin weekly meetings Tuesday afternoon from 4:25 to 5:25 in the science 1 lecture room. The first session will be on FORTRAN IV pro- gramming. The seminar will be con- ducted by David A. McBlain, (mathematics) who was pre- viously a research assistant at the State University of Iowa computer center. The seminar is open to jun- iors, seniors, and faculty mem- bers. “It is difficult to find a major in which_knowledge of a computer is not valuable,” McBlain said, He added that he is assuming a knowledge of high school algebra, nothing higher in math, The seminar will run from 8 to 10 sessions, McBlain said. The seminar is offered on a nonacredit basis. and there will be no required text book. 30 years, serving the cities of Portsmouth, Ohio; Binghamtnn, N. Y. Schenectady, NY.: Norfolk, Va, San Antonio, Tex, and Cincin- nati, Ohio. He has also been associated with the National Institute of Public Ad- ministration and with the Depart- ment of industrial Economics at the Southwest Research Institute. During World War II, Harrell was a consultant to both the Na- tional Defense Commission and War Production Board. He has au- thored many articles dealing with various phases of municipal gov- emment. Listed in “Who‘s Who in Amer- ica,” Harrell is a past president of the International City Managers‘ Association and a former first vice- president of the National Council for Community improvement. He is also affiliated with numerous other public administration organiza- tions. GLASSES Made and Repaired» in Our Laboratory Contact Lenses Cases and Solutions Eyes Examined E. J. Jensen, 0.D. OPTOMETRIST Across from Post Office PASTRIES as you like ihem From Jlamwn'd, DANISH MAID DON'T SLIP OR SPIN! gel' Ailas Snow Tires FROM Collum's STAN DARD ‘ll'