Katira, Paralegal, Coastal Intervention
Katira is from Somnath district in Gujarat, and he views himself as a paralegal who is involved in social activities, defending the rights of the oppressed and acting as a link between the common man and the legal system. Since his school days, he has been involved in social activities and would actively participate in functions and festivals and this inspired him to pursue his social justice inclination professionally and complete BSW. He has always wanted to work in an organization that is looking to work for the benefit of the community. Katira also has a lot of faith in using the law, which he feels is reinforced by working with CSJ, with respect to the framework within which CSJ operates and the institutional space it occupies in the social justice sector, as an organization which is looking to utilize the law, and create a space for integrating grassroots level work with policy-level advocacy.
Katira comes across as a soft-spoken, shy and reserved person, but once you see him in his work or engage him in conversations regarding the ground-level effects of the social and governance structures that exist today, you can feel the passion the fires his work, you can see the energy that drives him to take his work forward and you can understand the connect he has with the community as well as the issues that he is attached with
One of the biggest inspirations in his life has been Gandhi, specifically his programmes and principles, whether they are in the form of prohibition, self-reliance, food, healthcare and respect towards women. He has always found these teachings to be useful and tried to apply them in his life, work and philosophy. While he was unable to point out specific spaces where he has been able to integrate Gandhi’s philosophy into his work, it is his belief that the rights-based approach followed by CSJ broadly follows the template set by Gandhi’s teachings
Katira shared that as a Dalit, discrimination has been an experience for him and not a theoretical concept. He has always faced discrimination, in his community and the society that he exists in. He shared that when he would be doing his field work in college and going to villages and small cluster communities, whenever there was an interaction with the upper castes, they would disregard his presence and highlights his lower caste status, questioning his capabilities to tell him anything. This would make him feel helpless and prosecuted for something he did not know how to change. He also shared how some people from the backward community, who had been selected for a paralegal scheme, were not allowed to work in the field and faced similar problems as he himself experienced. This acted as an obstacle in his capacity to bring about a positive change in the community, even though he had the passion and the inclination for the same. This was because his identity as a Dalit overshadowed all other capabilities and attributes that he possessed as people would be fixated by his identity and refuse to look beyond it. However, CSJs contribution in helping him fight these limitations is reflected by how the perception of Katira as a person has changed in his community. He shared that over a period of time, as he started working with CSJ; he established an identity which was independent of his caste or his religion. He began to be identified as a paralegal and as a community leader associated with CSJ. He shared how people’s perceptions of his capability to engage with them has changed positively, both due to his own hard work as well as CSJs reputation amongst the community as well as the large body of work already done. He shared how this association, as well as the opportunity granted to him has helped to establish his credibility and helped him to move away from the negative aspects of being identified as a Dalit.
In terms of professional experiences, he shared how when arranging village visits, a lot of time, effort and resources, as well as coordination and planning is required, but sometimes, even after arranging and confirming everything, there is no presence of villagers. This can be frustrating since the people for whom the efforts are being made defeat the purpose of any intervention made for them. However, there are many instances which have given him immense satisfaction with his work. One incident which he shared was when a village in Madhavar Taluka was flooding due to increased sea-level, where he immediately reached, along with some media personnel and was able to convince the Panchayat as well as influential villagers of the danger, as a result of which people who were in danger, were shifted to safety. He shared how this has helped him win the trust of the people and establish a relationship with them and made him very happy.
In terms of the success story shared by Katira above, it is important to understand how his association with an organization such as CSJ helped him to do his work. He shared that with the organization having a huge body of work already achieved; it acts as a source of inspiration, knowledge and learning. In terms of specific issues, he shared how there have been specific inputs, with relation to knowledge of laws and regulations as well as creating a deeper understanding of the issues that he comes in contact with. He also shared how along with an increase in his knowledge, there has also been an improvement in his ability to share that knowledge, which is where CSJ’s emphasis on communication skills can be reflected. He also credits Arvind Bhai, the Coastal Centre coordinator for providing constant support and guidance and also acting as a link to the organization
He described his relation with the state as a clash between methods of work. In his view, while our work as an organization is more focused and efficient, the work done by the state is often sloppy and counter-productive and there is no clarity or targeting in the work. With reference to engaging with the larger community, Katira wants to influence his family and friends towards his philosophy and wants to place special emphasis on kids in the community. He mentioned how the biggest challenge that remains for him in the future is to engage further with the Muslim community, as he feels that they are the ones most deprived of access to even the most basic facilities. He shared how he had observed a distrust of the state amongst the community, wherein they refused to engage on any schemes and policies as they did not have any hopes left. With their hopes and aspirations being constantly let down over the years by different agents and intermediaries, he feels it is a challenge to engage with them in a constructive manner. But Katira remains confident in himself, as well as in CSJ, to improve the situation.