India   Shining,   India   Rising   says the story of a country which has moved from Pathshalas to Pink floyds, from Makke di Roti to McDonald’s. But far away from the neon lights and towering skyscrapers, lies a world unknown to most of us. An India within India embattling darkness  and devoid of the basic amenities which the world deems to be necessary, an India of which 35.46% of the   population is below poverty line and where people are happy and satisfied despite their limited resources.

Recently, first year students of IIM Udaipur had chance to be a part of this rural India and experience the life this India goes through. This experience was part of the curriculum of Post Graduate Program of IIM U and has been named as ‘Rural  Immersion Program’. The program for this year was held from 11^th Feb’13 – 15^th Feb’13.

Hundred students were divided into twenty groups. With the help of various NGOs these groups were sent to twenty different villages. NGOs like Sewa Mandir, Jatan Sansthan, Prayatna Samiti, GMKS & Hanuman Van Vikas Samiti participated and extended their help to conduct the program successfully.

The idea of the program was to help students observe and do in-depth study of environment and rural livelihood systems, education systems and public health systems and rural health care. Students met various families to understand their socio-economic conditions. The same was done with the help of a survey form which covered different aspects like sources of income, food consumption, assets ownership pattern, health and education facilities, credit facilities, employment opportunities and expectations from government and panchayats.

Analysis of the data collected will provide significant insights into varied dimensions of village life and may suggest ways of bringing about positive changes on some of these dimensions.

For the students involved, there were few pleasant as well as unpleasant unexpected observations of various groups which would vary from village to village, observations which contradicted the so called image about our villages. It was a surprise for one of the groups, to see girls in the concerned village were being motivated to not only pursue education but also were motivated to participate in sports.

On the other hand, electricity was not available in many of the houses, at places girls get married at the age of 15-16 but still continue with their studies.

As observed, some common remarks were about failure of MNREGA, inability of farmers to sell of their produce because of lack of production, dependency on rains for irrigation, and migration of villagers to city like Ahmedabad to get sufficient work.

Students also spent some time studying village panchayats, with a particular focus on the financial aspects like how do panchayats get their budget and manage their finance? Do they have the power to levy taxes? How are the funds used? – were the focal point of understanding the working of panchayat system.

These were some of the dimensions of rural India and its people that students tried to examine during rural immersion.  They also discussed ways of improving the conditions of villagers and shared ideas which could help in sustainable development with the villagers as well as other bodies which they contacted.

As informed by the participating students, the experience of rural immersion was enriching and will prove very valuable, not only in giving students a firsthand view of village life and its challenges, but also because this experience may be used to develop innovative solutions to rural problems.