Rampura, a remote district inhabited by a tribal population, is marked by extreme backwardness and abject poverty. Agriculture is the mainstay of the local population, though it is primarily subsistence due to the very small land holdings. There is insignificant industrial or mining activity. Even the targeted welfare programs have inadequately benefited the tribal population. In this restrictive scenario, the youth has begun to migrate to other states to supplement the family income. Plight of minor girls is that their parents are persuaded by labour contractors to send them to work in the Bt Cotton farms of a nearby state. The soft fingers of the minor girls are well suited for plucking the cotton. The inadequate living and working conditions in these farms have caused serious health issues for the minor girls. NGOs in the districts of domicile and the cotton farms appear to be compromised and have not effectively espoused the twin issues of child labour and development of the area.

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Toppers wrote this one in a test series: “Singh Garh is a primarily rural district with minimal relatively insignificant industrial activity, except for one consumer goods manufacturing plant, which was the primary source of employment. Development indicators such as health, literacy, etc., were much below the national average. Along with developmental issues, another grave concern was the slow rise in child marriages. Despite the legal sanctions, child marriage continued to rise unabated. Rashmi, a social work postgraduate who escaped an early marriage, started an NGO for rescuing and rehabilitating child marriage victims. In the last five years, she saved a lot of young girls from becoming victims of child marriage. Her modus Operandi was simple. She had developed a network of informants in villages who relayed information to her, and after verifying, Rashmi with help from local law enforcement personnel, prevented the marriage from happening. Rashmi did commendable work, but she made some enemies in the process. The local leaders resented her popularity with women and young girls in particular. To expand her activities, Rashmi contacted the management of the only industrial unit in the district. She successfully persuaded the company to contribute to her activities and the NGO. The company even gave her access to their facilities to conduct workshops for workers to raise awareness about the issue of child marriage. As she started her workshops and campaign on the company premises, the initial response was lukewarm and, at times, complete indifference. But she persevered. After a couple of months, one day, the company union members stopped her from entering the company and even threatened her with violence. Rashmi spoke with the management, who supported her and ensured her safety. The management issued a circular supporting Rashmi and her NGO. To management's surprise, after a week of the circular, the Union called for a flash strike and threatened to continue the work stoppage if the NGO activities continued. The workers believed that Rashmi's campaign was corrupting the women's minds and disrespecting their traditions. The company's management seeing the aggressive reaction sought to assuage the workers by stopping the NGO activities. Rashmi tried to persuade the management by highlighting their social responsibility to the community. But the management was curt in replying that every social problem is not their moral responsibility. Rashmi was disappointed with the management's decision and wondered how best to involve the company in her campaigns. (a) What are the issues involved in the above case? (b) What do you think Rashmi should do? Would it be a good idea for Rashmi to involve local administration? Suggest an implementable course of action. (c) Do you think companies should also accept responsibility for the social problems of the region where they operate? Why/why not? (d) What could be the reasons for such an aggressive reaction from the workers union? How do you think Rashmi should handle the workers union?”