In the last 25-30 years, a large number of Indians have migrated from India to North America. Once settled here, many of them think about the problems facing India and ways to overcome them in light of the new world they have seen. During the initial period of decolonisation in India, there was a marked emphasis on industrialisation and development according to the Western model. As time went by, it became apparent that many solutions borrowed from Western technology were not necessarily applicable or desirable in India. With this in view, a group of dedicated people came together and founded India Development Services (IDS) in Chicago, Illinois in 1974. Their original idea was to learn about technology available in North America that would be helpful and appropriate in India, then go back to India and carry out development work with these technologies.

The founding members, Mr. and Mrs. Hiremath, did indeed return to India, and have done very successful work in Medleri, a village in Karnataka. A number of their friends who initially stayed back in the U.S.A. raised money for them while they were beginning to establish their work in India. The Medleri project formed dairy cooperatives, planted fodder farms, trained young people for rural industries, and conducted camps for adult literacy, education and health. This project which benefited more than 25,000 people in twenty-one villages also inspired the formation of a group that is fighting against industrial pollution and takeovers of village common lands in Karnataka.

As time went by, it became apparent that there were a large number of other organizations and people doing grassroots development work in India. Over the last 10-12 years, the focus of IDS has changed in the direction of supporting as many of these organizations in India as possible. India Development Services (IDS) is thus a non-profit, non-sectarian and non-political organization based in the United States that supports grass-roots economic and social development programs in local communities in India.

IDS-Chicago also recognizes that on-going education is an integral part of development, and therefore every year arranges one seminar dealing with development issues. Speakers and activists are invited to conduct sessions and workshops that share information on approaches to development, and publications that report on current economic and social conditions in India are also produced.

IDS's growth over the past twenty years has been quite impressive. Today the organization has support groups in several cities and university campuses across the United States; some have adopted projects on their own and others support the main organization with funding and resources. Membership in IDS has continued to increase and is currently at an all-time high. Its members and board of directors are sincere, committed volunteers who are not paid for their services, come from many different regions and communities, keep IDS free from party affiliations and support only those projects whose benefits are available to all individuals regardless of caste, creed or sex.

Members of the Champaign, Illinois Chapter came to Ann Arbor in December 1994 to talk to people here about IDS, how they started their college chapter and to urge people here to do the same. The Cincinnati, Ohio Chapter has been very prompt in sharing their knowledge with us. Since January 1995, I have made it my goal to set up a Chapter here, and therefore wrote an article for the Winter 1995 PRATIBHA, the Indian Student Association Journal, and made announcements at local Indian gatherings. We have grown slowly over the past year, and surely because of interested and dedicated people who contribute in various ways, big and small, with different skills. As you can see, we even have a website now!

IDS-MI is now a chapter in the Ann Arbor community, with a Board including all those interested in India and/or development, and working towards effecting change in any small way possible. While membership is open to everybody, we decided to officially register at the University of Michigan in Spring 1995 as a student organisation in order to avail of all the opportunities it provides. As a community that is largely composed of a floating population, many members come and go. Therefore we are in constant need of committed student members as well as Faculty, Staff and other community members who can provide stability to make things work, change and continue beyond our time here at the University of Michigan.

The goals of IDS-MI are three-fold; firstly, we seek to educate ourselves and the community around us about developmental issues; secondly, we are committed to financially supporting grassroots developmental projects in India; and lastly, as a student organisation, we want to learn to work with each other as a group to effect change amongst ourselves and others. Our interest in developmental issues led us to organise two conferences - the first one in Fall 1995 dealt with "Changes in Welfare in the USA - Its Effects on the Grassroots" where we invited local social workers to participate, and the second one in Winter 1996 dealt with "Economic Development in India and the Grassroots" where Gail Omvedt, an social worker/activist/scholar spoke. With our second set of goals in mind, we organised a Kuchipudi dance recital in August 1995 and a raffle in January 1996 to raise funds for a project we would like to support in Maharashtra, India. This project, SITA SHETI, will educate peasant women about their property rights and teach them environmentally-safe agricultural practices. As for our third goal, learning how to work together constructively as a group, while we have undergone a restructuring process recently, this is an ongoing, continuous process which teaches us necessary skills to face in everyday work life. We invite you to join us so that we and you may grow and learn together.

Let us all join hands in making our MICHIGAN CHAPTER of IDS work towards a better future for all. When you join IDS, you become a catalyst for change. Your singular reward is the satisfaction of knowing that your efforts can make a difference to yourself, the community around you and help the disadvantaged in India.

sukumari polavaram
(IDS-MI Board Member)

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