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DIGITAL DIVID+End: The Messenger of Knowledge

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"Sreyan dravyamayad yajnaj jnanajajna partamtapa

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sarvam karma ’khilam Partha jnane parisamapyate"

verse 33, Ch. IV (Jnanayogah), Bhagvad Gita

<…all work without exception culminates in knowledge>

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When Ramdin Chacha took to a cellphone–nicknamed buzzerbattoo if you recall–not

many of his fellow village-folks were surprised. Since his youth, Ramdin Chacha

has always been different. He actively participated in the Eid celebrations, not

much to the liking of the village priest. Yet, the same priest was dumbfounded

when faced with Chacha’s knowledge of the Gita and Upanishads. The way he

quoted slokas from the Gita and used them to understand and solve daily problems

of the people was well beyond the understanding of ordinary men. He always

encouraged people not to accept anything at face value, without satisfying

themselves first.

Knowledge, Chacha says, is the first step to being enlightened. That is the

way great Upanishads say. "All Upanishads", he would tell an

ever-attentive audience in his weekly village get-together, "are actually

questions and answers between teachers and disciples. All through the

Upanishads, the teacher encourages disciples to ask questions. And only through

that great quest for knowledge by a few inquisitive people, has the human race

progressed". Here Chacha starts with the example of ‘Prasna Upanishad’

where Mahrishi Yajnabalkya answers questions of his disciples and ‘Katha

Upanishad’ where Yama himself answers questions of Nachiketa about things

beyond death.

And Chacha goes on to end with the example of Sir Isaac Newton, whose simple

quest resulted in the discovery of the gravitational force. "East or west,

the true seekers of knowledge are the world’s greatest army devoted to good

work", he says. "And that is the teaching of Hindu Dharma, too",

he emphasizes, "including tolerance and not hatred towards other

faiths".

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Since the last few months, Chacha has been preoccupied with new thoughts. He

has been reading about ‘distance learning’ offering the possibility of a

person receiving education sitting at home, almost about anything under the sun.

No wonder, he has been excited. Chacha has always believed that Ramu, the

seven-year-old son of his neighbor Kishen, is capable of becoming a scientist.

Ramu is so intelligent. But, will he ever get the kind of education he requires

for his early development? Chacha used to worry about this. Now, that problem

does not appear to be a problem anymore, thanks to technology–another love of

Chacha.

Just a few years back, he had to travel so many times to Rampur, the nearby

town, to convince the telefoon department to give a phone to his village. He had

almost given up hope, when the cellular salesman visiting his village gave him

his buzzerbattoo calling it a cordless phone. Life has never been the same for

Chacha or, for that matter, his village Chust Rampur (earlier called Sust Rampur).

He has started believing more in the power of technology. The arrival of

Internet and distance learning, tele-medicine and what not, have further helped

change things.

And now that he has heard about "Gyandoot", Chacha has found true

hope for the Ramus of not only his village, but the entire nation. Let us listen

to Chacha’s thoughts:

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"Gyandoot" Project (Madhya

Pradesh)

Gyandoot was launched in Dhar District in January 2000. Dhar or

Dharanagari of the legendary King Bhoj, is the soya and cotton belt of

Malwa & Nimar and boasts of a rich wealth of arts, flourishing

soya markets and Pithampur, the largest industrial estate, of Madhya

Pradesh. Dhar handles agricultural commodities worth Rs 4 billion,

principally soya, cotton and wheat. Dhar District has a population of

1.7 million, with 54 percent being tribal and 65 percent of families

living below poverty line.

Gyandoot project uses an intranet and a web site connecting rural

cybercafes catering to everyday needs of the masses. The project

involved setting up of information kiosks called Soochanalaya,

initially implemented in thirty-three villages and soon to reach

seventy-five, all wired on intranet. The first twenty-one were set up

with the help of the panchayat, the next twelve were set up with the

help of private entrepreneurs. The important thing was that the

expenditure of Rs 2.5 million was borne by the Village Committee (panchayat)

and entrepreneurs, and not by the government. Average cost per café

or kiosk is around Rs 60,000 for which banks have agreed to offer

loans. So far, there are believed to be over 40,000 users.

The kiosks are located in Gram Panchayats either at block

headquarters or prominent villages on highways (bus stops) or haat

bazaars (weekly markets), each catering to twenty-five to thirty

villages (a population of 30,000 approximately). These are managed by

rural youth entrepreneurs, who run these cybercafes-cum-cyberoffices

on commercial basis, pay Rs 5,000 as license fee per year to the

District Council, and look after day-to-day management of

server/system locally (under a three year MoU). Annual revenue is

expected to be Rs 45,000. They have started earning extra revenue

through innovative applications like horoscopes (Rs 50 each).

Services Offered Include

  • Agriculture produce auction (Rs 5) with opening/closing rates of

    about thirty-four commodities (middlemen removed).
  • Land records at Rs 15 per information (no more harassment by

    patwari). Earlier, people had to run to district headquarters

    which led to wasting time and precious earnings. Nearly, about two

    lakh farmers require it during two agriculture seasons every year

    to obtain loans.
  • Online Public Grievance Redressal (Shikayat Nivaran).
  • Online Registration: certification for

    income/caste/domicile/loan-passbook (Rs 10). Readiness is informed

    by e-mail, and then



    collection is done from the court.
  • Net supported health services.
  • Gaon ka bazaar: Village Auction Site: for land, agriculture

    machinery, cows/bullocks, etc. (middlemen eliminated).
  • Rural e-mail, e-news, information on over 100 government

    programs for rural development.
  • Vaivahiki/Vivah Sambandh: Matrimonial service.
  • Loan Project Preparation.
  • Salahkar: Career Counseling, ask-the-expert, free e-mail on

    social issues.
  • Online Employment Exchange.
  • Local Weather Report.
  • "Right to information-Citizen Charter" put on intranet

    to achieve transparency.

Key Requirements

Availability of telecom infrastructure is critical and the project

was implemented only where OFC reached. Intranet covers only five out of

the thirteen developed blocks and three out of the seven revenue Tehsils

in the district. Leased lines/VSATs are considered expensive from

affordability angle.

Gyandoot project has attracted worldwide attention and has been

awarded Stockholm Challenge IT Award 2000. Other gains include education

(computer institutes have gone up by 60 percent), e-learning project

being implemented with networking of thirty-four High Schools and

changed political allocation of resources. Now other governments are

planning to replicate similar projects to remove ‘digital divide’.

Web site: http://www.gyandoot.net/

The Call of Gyandoot

"I have many aspirations from Gyandoot–a true messenger of knowledge.

I want it to spread light in the darkest corners of ignorance. Corners of

oppression, exploitation, corruption and all other ills pervading the system.

However, the demise of a few ill-conceived business prepositions–some dotcoms–cannot

cloud the first ray of the sun, the arrival of hope. That would be the end of

the road even before the journey has begun".

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Believe in Technology

"I am a believer in technology. It has been said believing in science is

like believing in God. Vivekananda believed it too. Einstein’s ‘mass-energy

equation’ endorses it. Over ages, the only human problem has been an

incomplete or half knowledge. For want of knowledge, the truth gets suppressed.

Knowledge is the light that brings out the truth and human progress".

Education is the Key

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"Therefore, one cannot give up just because one’s knowledge is

incomplete…half baked. We cannot let ignorance come in the path of salvation

of our people. The only solution to solving their problems, be it clothing or

food or water or even their daily livelihood, is through spreading knowledge or

education".

"Today, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is the only

tool that offers a way to spread education and knowledge to the masses. But

knowledge about ICT itself is still in infancy. Its applications and

implications are incomplete just like science and will take some more time to

reach complete understanding and faith. Till then, it runs the risk of being

misunderstood or half-understood. Also, there is a resistance to change by

vested interests, however costly the delays may prove to be for the vast

majority. We have to be wary of such motives".

"Technology can be a curse or boon, we need to understand it first

before applying it. We should apply it first for human welfare and later for

business adventurism, which obviously comes with risks. The widespread human

misery cannot wait any more and needs to be addressed immediately with whatever

tools we can find. This is the biggest mass market if we want to look at it that

way. Let technology pave the way for knowledge and hope for prosperity. Dot.coms

or no dot.com, we need to end the Digital Divide" …Ramdin Chacha.

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