Santbal A Saint with a Difference

Author(s): T U Mehta
Publisher: Navjivan Prakashan Mandir

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however, decided that the Society's leaders should go to the respective villages and put this matter before the village meeting. Such meetings were held and it was explained that the Society was not a body foreign to them because they were the members of the Society and hence they were themselves the creditors as well as the debtors, and since the farm yield for the year was good they were all able to repay the loans taken by them. Under these circumstances, it was not fair to remain in arrears.
Some villagers strongly suggested legal action, but the leaders, who were trained in Santbal-methods, ruled out legal action saying that it would increase bitterness and the co-operative spirit would be lost for ever. Others opined that if legal action was ruled out, there was no other way to realise the dues as the defaulters were not in a mood to repay saying that they had already spent the amounts in meeting other expenses.
The alternative remedy which was in the mind of Society's leaders was to adopt the method of “Shuddhi Prayog” by going on fast. This was totally unknown to the people. They did not expect the Society leaders to go on fast instead of taking legal action. Both the villages were given seven days' time to consider before the fasts were actually undertaken. On the third day village people came to the Office of the Society and reported that four defaulters were really unable to repay during the year and five others were able to repay only half the amount in arrears during the current year. Both the groups would repay the arrears next year and the village leaders would remain as surities for the said repayment. Remaining twenty-six defaulters would repay the whole amount of arrears. Society leaders verified the facts about the defaulters who were not able to repay the whole amount in arrears and accepted the proposal.
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