The Hindu Business Line : Peace and more

Maya John Ingty (born 1932) plays a unique role in the conflict-ridden Northeast region, bringing together powerful Christian and secular organisations to work for peace. Several states in the Northeast have been torn by conflict and strife, both internal and with the security forces. This conflict has left the economy and society in a shambles. The region has a high number of school and college dropouts and there are a number of young widows who have to fend for themselves and their young children.

Maya, the first woman from the Karbi tribe to complete a Masters degree, was involved in social work right from her college days. In 1956, she was appointed Special Officer (Social Welfare) through an application and interview in undivided Assam, when Shillong was the capital of Assam. Meghalaya was formed as a separate state only in 1972.

Although Maya continued with her government job for some time, her heart was in grassroots activities. So, in 1958, she quit her job and joined the Union Christian College (UCC), where she mobilised and formed a women's association. The association conducted several health programmes and started a primary school in the village. It continues to work in the area.

Maya has conducted many workshops and discussions related to women's development. Much of this work has been conducted with people who work in the midst of conflict. She regularly visits conflict-ridden areas of the Northeast region and attempts to support women and women's groups struggling to bring peace to their villages.

She strongly believes that social work should not be limited by caste, creed or religious divisions. She is also involved with mobilising the youth and women towards education and employment as a means of drawing people away from the culture of the gun. She uses group discussions, skill-building and alternative ideas for sustainable development.

Maya, now 73, is well known in the region and is often sought out for counsel by people from various communities. Her genuine warmth and outgoing personality make it easy for people to connect with her. In 1967, she once saw a young boy at the UCC school with a bleeding nose. She promptly fetched the leaves of a plant (locally called Nephuga), which she crushed and applied to his bleeding nose. Years later, a young paratrooper came up to Maya at a bank in Shillong and introduced himself as the young boy she had cured with the "wonder plant". He said that he would always remember her as a friend of the village people.

Maya is also a respected member of the Church and plays an important role in critiquing the regressive positions of the Church. She has pushed for greater involvement of the Church with social issues and with other secular and non-Christian organisations in their work for peace. As Secretary of the Diocesan Board of Participatory Development, she has undertaken several programmes to help young people develop self-employment skills. She firmly believes this will lead them away from the gun culture.

The activities include natural resource management, weaving and tailoring, vermicomposting, fishery, and training people to be barefoot veterinary doctors, automobile drivers and electricians.

With no training, and often no forum behind her, Maya has worked with marginalised people since 1956. She has also been active in ecological and conservation programmes. Many young people received training in vermicomposting in Tinsukia (Upper Assam) under an eco-friendly waste control programme. Since then, many of them have taken up organic farming.

In her individual capacity as well, Maya has been a member of important peace missions and committees in the strife-torn Northeastern region.

Women's Feature Service & Sangat

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