Importance of Employee Engagement

Importance of Employee Engagement

Recruiting talented employees and retaining them is a big challenge in this knowledge economy but to engage employees in their work is even tougher task for today’s HR Head’s and HR professionals. Let us try to understand what is employee Engagement and I will define it as degree of measure of employee’s commitment and involvement in completing the organization task, in other words we can say voluntary extra efforts put by employees at work in completing the task without any external stimuli.

Employee engagement is important because:-

1. Engaged employees shelf life in the current company will be much higher compared to other employees. Since they are staying for longer in the company they can give better feedback and opinions.

2. They will put their best effort, and give higher performance consistently all the time. Since they are emotionally connected with the employees, passively they became the brand ambassadors of the company automatically, and they might take care of customers and other colleagues as family member since they are emotionally connected and in return company benefits by increased bottom line.

3. Engaged employee results in repeat and referral customers.

4. Engaged employees participate actively in change management initiatives of the company without any negative resistance.

5. It increases trust and loyalty in the organization, and forces other employees to research why they have so much trust and loyalty with the company and in due course those employees will also be converted into the engaged employee’s category.

6. Engaged employee behaviour will create a competitive and vibrant environment and fresher who join them look at them as role models.

7. It will help the company to have higher level of profitability.

8. Actively engaged leader will be able to cascade the company goals, vision, mission and core values effectively compared to a disengaged employee.

9. Engaged employee will actively promote the health and safety in the company.

10. Actively engaged employee will do any work from start to finish and also can do half completed job of others with full dedication.

11. Engaged employees will have more motivation compared to any other.

12. Engaged employees will sail with the company in good and rough weather without any negative thoughts.

13. Higher level of engaged employees in the company will help to reduce the attrition.

14. Engaged employees will have the sense of responsibility and they will own the work /role what they have.

15. Engaged employees will take the extra mile to understand their roles and project milestones being explained by the project manager.

16. Engaged employees will try to build the relationship with clients, peers and vendors.

17. Engaged managers will coach and mentor the new joinees and who are lacking the skills or knowledge.

18. High level of employee engagement will help in maintaining the job satisfaction level.

19. Engaged employees are regular to office and even if they are on leave, they try to get connected with happenings in the office.

20. Engaged employees don’t get into office politics.

21. Engaged employee will be showing a high level of constructive behaviour, which is useful for increasing the organization culture effectiveness.

The greater challenge lies is converting the “Not Engaged Employee “ into “ Engaged Employee” but before that organization needs to identify the Not Engaged Employee, now the question arises do the employee engagement surveys will help to identify ? but according to my views; by the time we do survey and come out with identifying the not so engaged employee; the time is ripe and already the damage is done , we need to have employee engagement done before his joining itself , probably the day recruitment team calls him for interview .

To manage “Not Engaged” employee; Theory X aptly fits in and for Managing “Engaged” employee Theory Y aptly fits in. In today’s fast paced culture HR has to discover / identify the drivers of the employee engagement and suitable interventions to be bought, the successful intervention adopted in one company may be utterly flopped in another company because every companies cultural DNA is totally different.

CHARACTER PROFILING

CHARACTER PROFILING

Few months back I was reading Mr. Elango’s article in “People Matters” and I was very impressed with his briefing of character Sketch I & II, from that time I was pondering to jot down my thought’s, learning & observation’s which I had made in my last 8+ years of my corporate life regarding interesting characteristics of different employees, the idea of penning my thoughts had purely arise after reading Elango’s “Character Sketch” and kudos to him for writing such thought provoking lines.

In the character sketch he had described many of the professionals today had “1 year of experience repeated 15 times” this has made me to think about myself and employees’ with whom I am currently working and whom I had worked and parted ways.

During my introspection I had realized that many characters (different kind of employees) exist in the corporate world and they exhibit certain kind of characteristics. I had experienced and understood your character is built through “Experience”, “Education” & “Environment”. (Character =3E).

Being a people manager it is utmost important to understand the character profiling of the Talent in your organization by understanding their characteristics will give you cue in terms of how to manage them and what impact they will have on your behaviour.

FEVIQUICK TYPE:

You can find these kind of employees sticking to their bosses anytime you go and visit them , most of these type of employees are very quick with data & numbers and they had Eveready with information on topics, from health to family to country to culture to everything on this earth, they are the mini human Wikipedia’s for their bosses and these type of employees are very quick in suggesting to their bosses about their opinion whatever happen in the cabin, they basically influence the boss to make decisions.

INVINCIBLE CAMERA TYPES:

They are the characters in the organization who acts like “INVINCIBLE CAMERA’S “and records whatever is happening in the workplace through their eyes and ears, these invisible camera types are basically very good at office networking and have contacts everywhere in the office and incidentally they are the people with whom most of us confide everything from work issues, family matter, girlfriend issues, office romance and negative description of attitude, mood swings of bosses in great detail , not knowing after sharing such intricate details suddenly boss attitude changes towards you , your “Good Morning” wishes are retuned with a vengeance smile or vengeance nod of head.

Invincible cameras are of two types:

A) Tape Recorder and Player:

These type of employees are little harmless they just play the entire things as it has happened with no additions and deletions basically they just describe what happened at workplace and gives the visual picture to boss.

B) Tape Recorder & Player with Editing:

These type of employees describe everything what had happened and at the same time tweak the information to suit the boss mood or explain the scene or information in such a way that they can be in comfortable situation for their personal professional needs, these type of employee are basically very dangerous because they interprets the situation from their perspective and gives and one sided information to boss and if boss believes it and make decisions in his favour truly and undoubtedly he gains , Good managers need to identify these kind of people and have action plan ready how to deal with them effectively.

POP CORN TYPE:

These types of employees are like popcorn, burst out very fast if the surrounding temperature, environment of office heats up slightly and make isolated voice up’s, these employees play big brother role to other employees, not necessarily these employees are of generation “Veterans” “Baby Boomers”, “Generation X”, these employees may be from generation Y, and they are assertive and actively voice upon on policy deficiency, and other things which normal employee would not like to talk, most of them complain about Cafeteria and logistics and no need of saying their displeasure about HR, it has to be understood

Engagement professionals can describe them as actively –disengaged employee.

ACCESS CARD TYPE:

Without access card you cannot enter office and access card is required to navigate with in the office premises, in the same way Access Card type of employees are who visits and meet you on a regular basis their aim is to be in touch with you on a personal level and occasionally comes and make situations where in if not alert enough you end up giving some kind of favours to them.

CORPORATE CHARMER TYPE:

In HR language they are known as engaged employees, who display all the qualities what an employee engagement manager define, they talk good about the company, meet internal and external customers with gusto and passion and they intended to stay in the company and recommends everyone to stay and grow with the company.

Many of these types of employees are “High Potential” employees and Management Trainees look them in the same way how a new budding cricketer admires or look upon Sachin Tendulkar for inspiration.

FACEBOOK +TWITTER TYPE:

They are the brand ambassadors for Facebook & twitter websites unofficially, they are very social in the company they interact with all the employees make friends and if something happen to any employee will help them, if you are not feeling well he/she will take in his car and drop you to your house and don’t hesitate to buy lunch for you if you had forgotten your lunch box. Just check their Facebook or twitter you will have all information what mood or what thought process currently this employee is into.

They are the types who capture the picture in the Smartphone and adds caption “My first Laptop”, “My first work station”, “My first Lunch with VP- Sales” etc.

WORKHORSE BACHELORS TYPE:

This type of employees take up the work of their married colleagues and colleagues who are in serious dating and colleagues who had ailing family members, they are so helpful and come forward or upon request come forward to help their troubled colleague by taking up their work and finishing them, they are like workhorses and their married colleagues treat them with home lunch on Sundays and are invited to get together at evenings with bunch of friends on weekends.

GURU GYANI TYPE:

These are the type of employees who will actively involve in free coaching and give free guidance basically they are “veterans” who are on the verge of retirement, they help the generation X & Y by sharing books, article & newspaper cut outs of 20 years back, they treat you like your son and daughter, a true guru gyani is asset to every learning and development team. There lifelong wisdom and experience can help you to learn things which normally would have taken years together to learn in few days.

BLACKBERRY EMPLOYEE TYPE:

Initially blackberry was only given to senior team and that time you can see senior team spending more time with their blackberry than at their regular pass time of checking, reading & replying the inbox mails, later more or less you can find blackberry with most of the employees since cost had come down they are the breed of the employees’ who exchange information quickly with their family, girlfriends, mother, father, sister whatever is happening in office on hourly basis..

TV-TEA- COFEE- LUNCH TYPE:

These are the type of employees who takes frequent break during their work most of the time you can find them having tea/coffee, lunch or catching news in the TV room, these employees are basically focus on finishing the activity, loses the sight of the “Goal” and generally rated “Meets Expectations” they think if I am rated “3” why I should work hard and get things done by sweating out in front of laptop or in shop floor.

AIR (ALL INDIA RADIO) TYPE:

These are the employees who can’t digest any information and informs everyone what is happening in office, In HR language they are the gossip mongers. Anything shared with them formally or informally is sure to share with “N^th” people.

DRAMA QUEEN TYPE:

Everyone in office looks at her or talk to her at least once in a day by everyone from office boy to senior leaders and if she is absent everyone notices it and communicates to other fellow employees’, she might not be having very high end KRA/KPI, but if she is absent then entire office notices it, she might not be very good looking but she make everybody’s day with a sweet good morning and customers bestows her with flowers and chocolates.

She knows how is coming and who is going and who is where at what time, which senior leader will be found in which discussion room etc.

SURVEY MONKEY TYPE:

www.surveymonkey.com   is a popular website through which you can seek people’s opinion through surveys, these are the type of employees who seek opinion on everything from personal to professional, and they will seek opinion of others also even if a minor adjustment is done in their work profile.

You can find these employees seeking opinion of others most of the time. They concrete their decision making by doing surveys and seeking opinion of other employees’.

SILENT KILLERS:

Very rare breed of employees who don’t brag about anything, there are mostly not visible in the company but contribute to the high end quality work and their productivity always exceeds 10 times of the so called “5” rate’s and you can’t find them in any of the office get together and outings. They are introverts and poor in expressing their thoughts and ideas in front of a group of people.

!!Business Leadership!!

A manager’s leadership behaviour is what makes the difference between effective and ineffective organizations. No organization is so well designed and managed that it can describe clearly what everyone must do on every occasion. All organizations rely and are clearly dependent on non-routine behaviour of which only human beings are capable. No organization can be effective if it relies only on performance. Effectiveness results from utilising the talent of human resources in a useful way. It is said to be an integral part of effective management although competent performance is closely related to quality of leadership. Competent leadership is not the only important part for successful operation, it is an essential one.
Strong leadership can change a dull team into a strong, successful and initiative taking organization. Many business organizations that are seen as not doing well have achieved new strength when their presidents were replaced.
Without leadership an organization is but a mixture of men and machines. A management activity such as planning, organizing and decision making are just words until the leader acts and induces the power of motivation in people and guides them towards the goal. Leadership activities are directed to getting effective work team members. It is the leadership that guides, inspires and directs group members for achieving a unity of purpose and efforts. Without leadership, a group disintegrates, destroys its team-spirit and the energy is lost on unnecessary activities. Leadership is, therefore essential if organizations are to be more than warehouses for machines. It is necessary in order to create work environments in which human beings can live part of their day in a productive and satisfying manner. Leaders play a critical role in helping groups, organizations, or societies achieve their goals. Leadership is the process of influencing others towards the achievement of goals. It is the ability of a manager to induce subordinates to work with zeal and confidence. It is the activity of influencing people to work with motivation for group objectives and organization.
Existence of followers: Leadership does not work without having a team and motivates them to achieve Team tasks and organisational goals.
Leadership envisages the idea of inert-personal influence. It is actually the knack of getting other people to follow you and to do willingly the things you want them to do. Without influence there can be no leadership.
Leadership is a two way process. A leader not only influences his followers but is, at the same time influenced by them. Leadership implies that the followers must consent to being influenced. Leaders gain their authority over a group by consensus only.
The basic objective of leadership is to rally men and women towards common goals. It involves a happy reconciliation of personal and group objectives. The qualities, skills and characteristics of a leader are determined to a large extent, by the demands of the situation in which he is to function as leader. It is possible for almost anyone to become a leader of circumstances allow him to perform functions dictated by the situation.
To be a leader, one must have followers. A manager, on the other hand, may have people to supervise, but these people may not follow the manager’s lead. Employees may comply with the manager’s directives, but such compliance may not yield a sense of commitment that leadership creates.
Leaders are expected to be charismatic, exciting, and visionary. They are capable of altering the mood of followers raising their hopes and aspiration. Managers and leaders are responsible for meeting the needs of individuals and their organizations. However, managers are expected to be more concerned with attaining organizational goals, whereas leaders are expected to be more sensitive to the needs of followers.
Leader develops teamwork and a sense of collectivism in the employees and forces them to work as a team. Individuals, within the groups may have different interests and multiple goals. The best leaders, when their task is accomplished, their work done, the people remark, we have done it ourselves. Dynamic leaders provide a satisfying work climate where the individuals and organizational goals are well integrated and find meaningful expression.
Leader is a representative of subordinates: He is the linking pin between the work groups and top management. As a representative of the subordinates he carries the voice of the workers to top management. He forces the followers to have an identity of interest, outlook and action.

!!Managerial planning and Implementation!!

!!Managerial planning and Implementation!!

Planning is done for the entire corporate group. As the title makes it evident, the planning and review is done by managers (functional heads), Executive Directors, Managing Director and if required higher management or Board of Directors. The planning is done for a short term say may be a fiscal year and long term 3 to 7 years. The planning takes into account the market situation for the company’s products, production facilities in their factories, Resources (both financial and human) and others linked to the group’s products.
The growth and future of any organization largely depends on its policies, planning and its implementation. It is the responsibility of the manager and other higher authority to guide the organization in formulating plans, organizing and implementing the plans and policies. Today the corporate world is full of uncertainty if there are various ways and means to help you for the growth and expansion of the business then there is equal number of pitfalls which could bring the organization down. It is the responsibility of the higher authority to implement the managerial planning and policies in the organization for the smooth and fast growth of the organization and help the organization in achieving its vision and mission.
For the better growth of the business and organization it is necessary to introduce new changes from time to time or else the business will get caught in the routine circle and will deviate from its purpose of continuous growth.
Planning is a crucial factor and it is a continuous process. An organization and business follows uninterrupted planning throughout its life for the continuous growth.
• Goal oriented
• Priority
• Universal
• Flexible
• Continuous
• Involves choice
• Futuristic
• Mental exercise
• Planning premises
A proper planning makes the process of policy implementation easy and positive for the organization. It helps organization in many ways. A good planning helps in exploring the available resources and identifying the new resources that could help in planning and achieving a better and promising future.
The scheduling of the strategic planning process depends on the nature and requirements of the organization. For the successful implantation of the strategic plan it is essential to review the changes from time to time and evaluate it effects on the organization. The frequency of review depends on the level of change in and around the organization.
Planning makes objective clear and specific.

• Give meaning and purpose to activities
• Reduce uncertainty
• Helps in achieving coordination
• Helps in decision making
• Good for creativity and novelty
• Leads to efficiency
• Improves adoptive behaviour
• Facilitates integration
Strategic planning and its implementation decide the future of an organization. To make the process simple and successful organizations are following various techniques. To make the managerial planning and its implementation successful make sure that you follow certain steps before moving ahead:
• Get full and active executive support
• Effective communication
• Involvement of the employee
• Deep and clear analysis of the situation
• Realize the need of change
One of the biggest obstacles the organization faces in implementing the policies in an organization is the resistance by the employee and another member of the organization. It is necessary to educate the people before implementing changes and create a positive environment for the new changes.
The scope of managerial planning is wide and it touches almost all spheres of the organization. From recruitment procedure to business processing everything comes under the management planning and there are great chances that a change in one sphere directly or indirectly affects the rest of the parts of an organization.
Successful strategic planning implementation requires commitment and involvement from executives and senior managers. It doesn’t matter whether the strategic planning is concerned to any specific organization or it effects the whole organization a top level manager must play their part with full dedication and should provide required lead, support, and follow-up and should evaluate its effect from time to time to make it successful and beneficial for the growth of the organization. Planning is beneficial for all kinds of corporation and company. Planning is essential for all phases of growth and development. They are often short-term, medium-term or long-term plans.
The process of managerial planning and implementation is critical for the existence of an organization and each step should be taken with care and attention in order to achieve higher goals.

Employee behaviour in the organisation!!

!!Employee behaviour in the organisation!!

We live in a civilized society and each of us our bound to follow certain etiquette and manners depending upon the demand of circumstances. Whether you work for a private organization, government office or work in a local store you have to follow certain manners within the organization, here behaviour’s not only imply how you talk and interact with others but it includes the employee’s attitude, motivation and personality as well. Each of us has a unique personality and we respond differently to similar situation, our attitude and thinking reflects in our response and usually it is the attitudes that lead to specific behaviour. An employee’s behaviour in an organization not only affects him or his performance but it affects others as well.
Organizational behaviour study about how people, group and individual behave in an organization. The link between employee’s behaviour’s and the organization’s cultural are deeply connected to each other. It is the organization’s culture that sets the foundations of the strategies to be followed in order to achieve organizational goals. The employee behaviour is seen as the outward expression of an employee’s perception of organizational culture.
There are four major models or frameworks that organizations operate out of, Autocratic, Custodial, Supportive, and Collegial: the organization is a reflection of its vision, mission, philosophies and values. It directly affects the organization’s culture which in turn reflects in an employee’s behaviour.
Organizational culture can be viewed in three realms, these are;
• behaviour
• values
• assumptions and beliefs
The success of an organization depends on highly motivated work force. It has become crucial for the organization to manage the employee’s behaviour and keep them motivated so that an organization can get the best from the employee.
Happy and satisfied employees are an asset to the employer. An employee with a positive outlook, positive motivation and balance view will not only complete his task but will motivate others in performing well. The employee’s attitude is influenced by several factors, and job satisfaction is one of the most crucial factors. Major factors influencing employee’s behaviour in an organization are:
• Dispositional Influence
• Job Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction
• Cultural Influence
• Work Situation Influences
Mangers play a dominant role in affecting organizational culture and hence it indirectly affects employee’s behaviour. A manger should display a character and personality that he wants to see in his employee. A good manager is also skilful in dealing with organization’s issue and mostly come with the solution that is acceptable to all the parties and no one feels offended or ill-treated. Such a culture will influence the employee’s behaviour and will help them in following an acceptable behaviour within the organization. Following organization’s culture will help employees in controlling their behaviour and attitude and will help them to fit well in the organization.
It is the task of the human resource department to keep the employee motivated and inspired. An employee with high motivation, positive attitude and co-operative outlook is an asset to an organization and such behaviour helps in achieving higher mission of an organization with ease. Here the role of the HR department is very crucial a good HR manager knows how to keep an employee happy and satisfied so that he will give his or her best for the growth of an organization and for the personal growth. Though one cannot neglect an employee’s personality and character but an organization’s culture and HR policies also affects employee’s behaviour within the organization.
The employee’s attitude and behaviour are affected by many factors it includes factors like age, level of ambition, social status, political and social activity, environment within the organization, family life etc. A positive encouragement for better performance and good work motivates and inspires an employee to give his or her best. It is the job performance that led towards job satisfaction and not vice-a-versa. An employee’s behaviour truly depicts the organizational culture. An employee’s behaviour reflects the organization culture, to change the employee’s behaviour and outlook for the job as it is important to bring significant changes in the organization’s culture.
Employee behaviour also mostly depends upon 1) home environment and 2) working environment. Manager or employee’s superior can take care of work environment. It is better to send the employee for counselling to the HR department or even outside counselling expert. To a large extent the employee’s problems can be solved this easily.

महाराष्ट्रातील शेती - एक दुर्लक्षित प्रश्‍न!!!!!!!!!

हवामानबदलांमुळे येणारी अस्थिरता, जागतिकीकरणामुळे सहानुभूतीदार सरकार असलेल्या विकसित देशांकडून सुरू झालेल्या जागतिक कृषी व्यापारातील मोठ्या भांडवलावर आधारित स्पर्धेमुळे बाजारातील अस्थिरता, केंद्र सरकारचे स्वतःच्या विशिष्ट कृषी प्रश्‍नांवर आणि राज्य सरकारचे स्वतःच्या निवडक प्रश्‍नांवर लक्ष केंद्रित, दोन्ही सरकारांना मोठ्या व माहिती तंत्र उद्योगांबद्दल असलेले आकर्षण, महाराष्ट्रात औद्योगीकरणामुळे झपाट्याने वाढणारे शहरीकरण इत्यादींचा संयुक्त परिणाम शेती व शेतकऱ्यांकडे व्यवस्था म्हणून पाहण्याकडे दुर्लक्ष होण्यात होत आहे. त्याचे परिणाम एकीकडे शेतकरी भोगत आहेत, तर दुसरीकडे उपभोक्ते भोगत आहेत. १९९०-९१ ते २००७-०८ या काळात धान्याचा आधारभाव रु. २०५ (प्रति क्विंटल) पासून रु. ६४५ (सुमारे तिप्पट) पर्यंत वाढला. कापसाचा आधारभाव रु. ६०२ पासून रु. १४४० (सुमारे तिप्पट) वाढला, तर गव्हाचा आधारभाव रु. २३ पासून रु. ८९.२ (सुमारे चौपट) वाढला. पंजाबात ९७ टक्के पीक क्षेत्रात व हरियाना ८५ टक्के पीक क्षेत्रात ओलित असल्यामुळे आणि पाणी-वीज फुकट दिल्यामुळे, गहू पिकविणारे शेतकरी (सर्वच) श्रीमंत झाले; परंतु महाराष्ट्राचे (२००३-४ मधील) ९७.४ टक्के ओलित क्षेत्र ऊस पिकविणाऱ्या पश्‍चिम महाराष्ट्रात केंद्रित असल्यामुळे ऊस शेतकरी श्रीमंत झाले आणि विदर्भातील कोरडवाहू कापूस शेतकरी तुलनेने गरीब राहत आत्महत्येच्या अवस्थेपर्यंत पोचले.

महाराष्ट्रात विषमतेचे पाच स्तर आहेत. सर्वांत वर अतिकेंद्रित औद्योगिक विकासाचा मुंबई-पुणे-नाशिक हा महापरिसर. देशातील निम्मे अब्जोपती या परिसरात आहेत. अब्जपेक्षा कमी संपत्ती असलेल्यांची संख्या हजारोंनी असली पाहिजे. हे संपत्तीचे शिखर आहे. नागपूर, औरंगाबाद, कोल्हापूरकडे यांचे लहानभाऊ शोभणारे श्रीमंत उद्योजक-व्यापारी आहेत. त्यानंतरचे समृद्धीचे वर्तुळ ओलित शेतकरी-सहकारी उद्योजक-राजकीय नेतृत्वाचे आहे. त्या खालच्या तिसऱ्या वर्तुळात व्यावसायिक व नोकरपेशाचे, स्थिर उत्पन्नवाले लोक आहेत. त्या खालच्या चौथ्या वर्तुळात कोरडवाहू शेतकरी-शेतमजूर येतात. त्यात ग्रामीण कारागीर वगैरेंचाही समावेश करता येईल आणि सगळ्यात तळागाळाच्या पाचव्या वर्तुळात आदिवासी, भटक्‍या जाती इत्यादींचा समावेश होतो. महाराष्ट्रात सर्वांत वरच्या दोन वर्तुळातील लोकांना खालच्या दोन वर्तुळातील लोकांच्या जीवनाशी काही देणेघेणे नाही व त्यांची विश्‍वेही अतिभिन्न आहेत. महाराष्ट्र सरकारचे धोरण या लोकांमधील विषमता कमी करू शकले नाही, हे उघडच आहे. त्यामुळे हे राज्य निर्माण करण्याचे मूळ उद्दिष्ट, विविध प्रदेशांतील लोकांमध्ये भावनात्मक एकात्मता घडवून आणावयाची हे थोड्याही प्रमाणात साध्य झालेले दिसत नाही.

महाराष्ट्रात (प्रामुख्याने विदर्भात) ज्या शेतकऱ्यांच्या आत्महत्या झाल्या, त्यामुळे राज्याच्या राजकारणात, प्रशासनात, आर्थिक धोरणात कोणताही मूलभूत फरक घडून आलेला दिसत नाही. कोरडवाहू शेतकरी हा शेतमजूर व भटक्‍या जमातीपेक्षाही प्रतिकूल परिस्थितीत वावरताना आढळतो. तो शेतमजुरांप्रमाणे कुठल्याही प्रदेशात स्थलांतरित होऊ शकत नाही. कारण तो अल्प/अत्यल्प भूधारक म्हणून छोट्याशाही जमिनीच्या तुकड्याला चिकटून राहतो. स्थलांतर हे चांगला रोजगार, उच्च मजुरी यांच्या दिशेने होत असल्यामुळे स्थलांतर करणारे आत्महत्या करीत नाहीत. स्थलांतर न करू शकणारे प्रतिकूल आर्थिक परिस्थितीच्या उलट्या भोवऱ्यात सापडून खाली-खाली जात आत्महत्या करतात किंवा निराशेचे जीवन जगतात. आज महाराष्ट्राबाहेर शेतमजूर, अल्प-अत्यल्प कोरडवाहू भूधारक यांचे "मेरी मजदुरीका मोल क्‍या है भाई?' असा प्रश्‍न विचारणारे आंदोलन सुरू आहे. या सर्व पीडितांनी अहिंसात्मक मार्गाने आमचे प्रश्‍न सुटावेत अशी अपेक्षा करणे चूक आहे का?

ही परिस्थिती सुधारण्यासाठी जे प्रश्‍न सोडविणे आवश्‍यक आहे, ते शेतकरी-शेतमजुरांच्या चळवळीतून सोडविले गेले पाहिजेत. चळवळी या विविध प्रश्‍नांची तीव्रता समाजाच्या आणि सरकारच्या ध्यानात आणून देण्याचे महत्त्वाचे कार्य करतात, असा सकारात्मक अर्थ जाणून घेतला पाहिजे.

१) संयुक्त राष्ट्रसंघाचे "सर्वसमावेशक विकास' हे उद्दिष्ट केंद्र-राज्य सरकारने स्वीकारले आहे. कोणालाच अनुदान देऊ नका, पण घर-अन्न-वस्त्र-शिक्षण-आरोग्य विकत घेता येईल अशा मजुरी दराची आणि कृषिमालाच्या किमतींची व्यवस्था करा, अशी मागणी पाहिजे. २) देशात आणि राज्यात उच्च वर्गाजवळ अतोनात संपत्ती साठत आहे. ती संपत्ती पाझरेल असे कायदे करा म्हणजे विषमता कमी होईल, असा आग्रह पाहिजे. ३) खेड्यांमध्ये शेकडो वर्षांपासूनची अनियोजित घरे बदलून नवी घरे बांधणे, शेतांपर्यंत रस्ते असणे, शेतकरी-शेतमजुरांना शेतीत काम करीत असतानाच शेतीचे शिक्षण मिळणे, खेड्यातील तरुण-तरुणींना शेतीशी जोडलेल्या व्यवसायांचे तंत्रशिक्षण व व्यवस्थापनशास्त्राचे शिक्षण मिळणे, सामूहिक-सांस्कृतिक जीवन उन्नत व्हावे म्हणून कला-संगीत-खेळ इत्यादींच्या सोयी निर्माण करणे, या सर्व बाबींकरिता शेती आणि ग्रामीण विकासावरील खर्च कितीतरी मोठ्या प्रमाणावर करणे आवश्‍यक आहे, तो नियोजित पद्धतीने केला गेला पाहिजे. ४) आज निश्‍चितपणे म्हणता येते की संविधानातील मार्गदर्शक तत्त्वे बाजूला सारून देशाच्या नैसर्गिक संपत्तींवर मोजक्‍या गटांचे नियंत्रण वाढत आहे आणि ते छोटे शेतकरी-शेतमजूर-आदिवासी यांच्या कल्याणवृद्धीला बाधक ठरत आहे. ५) जागतिकीकरण व त्याचे परिणामस्वरूप स्थलांतर, ग्रामीण लोकांच्या उत्पादनाशी जोडलेल्या कला-कारागिरी नष्ट होत जाणे, सांस्कृतिक व कलात्मक जीवन नष्ट होणे, हे सर्व आपल्या डोळ्यांदेखत घडत आहे. शेतकऱ्यांच्या संघटनांनी अशा जीवनाची मागणी करावी आणि लोकप्रतिनिधींनी ते कार्य करून संविधान अमलात आणावे, हीच अहिंसात्मक क्रांती ठरेल.

भारतासाठी लाजिरवाणी गोष्ट!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

केन्द्रीय मनुष्यबल विकास मंत्री श्री कपिल सिब्बल यानी राज्यसभेत कबूल केले की देशात तब्बल १२ लाख शिक्षकाच्या जागा रिक्त आहेत .ही अतिशय लाजीरवानी बाब आहे.आज देशाचे पंतप्रधान एकीकडे सांगतात की देशाचा आर्थिक विकासदर वाढला आहे आणि महागाई दर घटला आहे.भारत हा जागतिक महासत्ता होण्याच्या मार्गावर आहे।

मात्र ज्या देशात शिक्षकाच्या १२ लाख जागा जर रिक्त असतील त्या देशाने जागतिक महासत्ता होण्याचे स्वप्न कशाच्या आधारावर पहावे?

ग्रामीण भागातही बुद्धिमत्ता मोठ्या प्रमाणावर आहे मात्र त्याना दिशा देणारे शिक्षण उपलब्ध नाही व जे उपलब्ध आहे ते इतके महागडे आहे की सामान्य माणसाच्या आर्थिक क्षमतेच्या बाहेर आहे।

एकीकडे आर्थिक विकास दर वाढीच्या चर्चा हॉट असतानाच दुसरीकडे कृषि प्रधान असलेल्या भारतात ख़त विकत घेण्यासाठी रांगेत उभ्या असलेल्या शेताकर्यावर शासनाचे नोकर असलेले पोलिस गोळ्या झाडतात,लाठीचार्ज करतात ही केवढी विसंगति आहे?
स्वातंत्र्य मिळून आज सहा दशके होउन गेली आहेत परन्तु शेताकर्याना त्याना पाहिजे असलेले ख़त पुरविन्यास शासन असमर्थ ठरत आहे आणि तिकडे विकासदर वाढला आहे असे रोज वर्तमानपत्रात छापून येते।
ज्या शेतकर्याच्या कश्तातुन,त्याने रक्त आटवून केलेल्या मेहनतिमुले देशाच्या राष्ट्रिय उत्पन्नात वाढ होते
त्याच्या नशिबी पोलिसांचा लाठीचार्ज,गोलीबार? ही कसली लोकशाही?
ख़त दुकानदार वातानुकूलित केबिन मद्धे फिरत्या खुर्चीवर बसून संगणकावर गेम खेलत बसतो आणि इकडे बिचारा शेतकरी आपल्या सर्व कुटुम्बियाना घेवुन उन्हातान्हात रांगेत उभा कारण की प्रत्येकी एक पोते मिलणार असल्यामुले तर आपल्याला पाच पोते तरी मिलतिल ही आशा ...
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काय तर कृषिप्रधान देश!!!!!!!

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