Suchitra Sinha has over 27 years of experience working for the government of Jharkhand and Bihar. During her tenure, she has undertaken initiatives to empower women and tribal communities through skills training and developing markets for their handicrafts. In particular, she helped the Sabar tribe in Jharkhand by organizing workshops with NIFT designers to improve the quality and design of their cane weaving. This provided additional income and helped preserve their cultural heritage. While progress has been made, continuous support is still needed to establish infrastructure, training, regular orders, and improved living conditions to fully integrate these communities.

1.
Suchitra Sinha
Government of Jharkhand
PROFILE BRIEF:
Suchitra has over 27 years of extensive administrative experience with Government of Jharkhand / Bihar.
She has been associated with different departments during this period of time such as Department of
Industry, Board of Revenue, Bihar State Export Corporation, etc. Currently, she is working as Director,
Directorate of Tourism, Government of Jharkhand. Her area of expertise and interest are women
empowerment, child health and education, livelihood enhancement, entrepreneur development, rural
development, social development, sector development, etc.
As Director, Directorate of Tourism, she has taken many initiatives for bringing state tourism on global map.
She is working towards Craft Development in Jharkhand in line with Sanga Craft (Rajasthan) for direct
Market Linkage which will help tribal artisans to leverage their earnings. Some of the major initiatives
started in her leadership are Rural Tourism, Craft Tourism, Tribal Fairs for capacity building of tribal artisan.
She has worked toward allotment of 9.1 acre land from Development Commissioner near NH 33, Sahbora
for tourism development for which Detailed Project Report (DPR) is under preparation.
During her tenure as Joint Director (Industries), she has undertaken many transformational initiatives which
helped department in claiming 1st prize for four consecutive times in Indian International Trade Fair. During
her tenure Department of Industries get empaneled with TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Welfare,
Government of India. In her stint for entrepreneurship development, she facilitated a two months training
for students of NIFT. She further engaged designers from NIFT for designing of handicrafts for tribal
artisans. As Joint Director (Industries), she got an opportunity to meet one of the most primitive and
languishing communities of India. She was invited by the Bharat Seva Ashram Sangh to visit its center at
Samanpur village of Nimdih Block in Saraikela –Kharsawan District. She was very curious to meet the
Sabar tribesmen and to know about their culture as she had heard that the Sabars have an age-old history
of rich culture and patriotism. They had offered strong resistance to the British Dominance and hence are
among the 68 de-notified tribes of India who were tagged as criminals under the Criminal Tribes Act of
1871. Their glorious history can also be traced back to the mythical times of Ramayana & Mahabharata. It
is believed that Shabari who tasted the plums before offering them to Lord Ram, so as to assure that the
Lord didn’t have to eat sour fruit, belonged to this tribal community.

2. So she accepted the invitation and reached the village “Samanpur”. It was about 60 kilometers from
Jamshedpur and the village was surrounded by hills and forests. There was no connectivity with roads and
she and her team had to walk down to the village. She was moved beyond words to see the pathetic
condition of the Sabars. It was quite unimaginable for her to see that about 60 km away from a developed
city like Jamshedpur, people had not seen the light of civilization and were living in abysmal conditions.
Picture: Condition of dwelling of tribal people
Picture: 20th
Dec, 1996 during her visit to the Samanpur Village, Nimdih Block, Saraikela – Kharsawan
District
She found that a paradoxical situation of abject poverty prevailed in the prosperous forests. She came to
know that these tribal people lived in small huts of three by four feet, which they could enter only by crawling

3. into them. She also came to know that Bharat Seva Ashram Sangh supplied food for the tribes but when
food could not be supplied to them on time, they survived on dead animals and birds. She was taken aback
when she learnt this frightening truth about these people who had once formed a proud ancient community
and had braved the British.
But there was a ray of hope when she found a woman weaving a basket of Kanshi grass in one of the
many shoddy, petty dwellings. She saw a huge potential in this intricate weaving that rested in the hands
of these primitive people. She came to know that these articles had an unorganized market with meager
incentives to sustain living. The whole experience of meeting these people compelled her to meet them
whenever she could get time. She developed an emotional connect with these innocent people.
Picture:
Their faith and respect for me, demonstrated through their gestures in return for the small and insignificant
help I was rendering by spending time with them, kept me tied up to the community. In course of time, this
relation grew stronger although, even today, we talk to each other more through gestures as we are unable
to understand each other’s language very well.
As I could realize that their creativity had mettle, I thought of taking this forward when I got transferred to
Bihar State Export Corporation (Delhi Office) in the year 2000. Here, I came to know that there was an
office only for the development and welfare of crafts and craftsman. One day, I took one of the boxes,
weaved with Kanshi grass and went to the Office of D.C Handicrafts, West Block-7, R.K Puram, New Delhi,
to show it to the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textile. He was impressed with the
work and we discussed the various schemes in which a training program could be chalked out for the
indigenous natives of the region so as to further refine their weaving styles and improve the product

4. varieties. Since there were no takers for this program, we volunteered for starting it. We consulted the
prestigious institution, NIFT Delhi, and requested them to help us in organizing Design Development
Workshops in the Saraikela-Kharsawan District. Consequently, 5 designers simultaneously started 5
workshops imparting training to 50 artisans from Makula, Samanpur and Bhangat villages. The designers
stayed over there in the remote villages for a month .The first of its kind in Jharkhand was inaugurated by
then Minister of Welfare, Govt. of Jharkhand, Honorable Shri Arjun Munda.
Picture: Interaction with “Sabar” artisans in their villages
This initiative showed promising results and the local artisans, in a month’s time, grew their skills and
became adept at making many articles of great utility and ornamentation, ranging from CD covers and night
lamps to designer hats and beautiful wall clocks. Orders started pouring in but since it’s a slow craft and
we had only 50 trained artisans, we could not meet big orders. So the next challenge was to increase its
production base.
A group of ladies working as voluntary social welfare organization also expressed their interest to work for
the cause. We helped them register as an NGO named “Ambalika.”

5. Picture:
This was a group of dedicated ladies who offered their services by looking after the workshop operations
and taking care of the tribals. Their association and contribution to this program is of great significance. But
due to lack of adequate funds, the outcome was not significant and the artisans again resorted to wood-
cutting and migrated to cities as they did not see any benefit in continuing with their traditional craft.
During her stint as in-charge of the Jharkhand state’s pavilion in the India International Trade Fair (IITF)
2011 (an annual trade fair organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization in Delhi) under the capacity
of Joint Director Industries, Government of Jharkhand, she provided a platform to these tribal group to
showcase there handmade crafts. With her intervention, Department of Industries facilitated these artisans
from Saraikela –kharsawan with expenditure on Travel and arranged there food and lodging at Pragati

6. Maidan (New Delhi) during November, 2011. This support proved to be an opening gate of huge
opportunities for these artisans.
Picture: Mrs. Vandana Dadel, the then Director Industries (Now Secretary Industries) at Jharkhand Pavallion in
I.I.T.F 2011 with Hon’ble ex C.M Sri Arjun Munda
They got huge response from the visiting crowd including Mr. Ranjan Chatterjee, I.A.S who was working
as Senior Consultant for Planning Commission, Government of India and was In-charge of Jharkhand state
affairs. He appreciated the work done by artisans and recalled his visit to the workshops organized by
Ambalika, NGO at Chilgu and Asonbani villages of Chandil Block. He visited these workshops with the then
Development commissioner Mr. Devashish Gupta and Deputy Commissioner Mr. Ashok Kumar Mishra,
during his tour for review of Integrated Action Plan program. Sri Chatterjee emphasized the sensitization
for these products that not only carry market potential but also carry a potential to bring back these
relinquishing tribes of the Maoist affected areas to the main line of society apart from preserving the
traditional crafts of the region.
Mr. Chatterjee asked her to come up with a similar proposal of providing workshop based training
programs for design upgradation of handicrafts. She presented a proposal along with his recommendation
and approval of District Administration of Saraikela –Kharsawan led to setting up of such workshops under
Integrated Action Plan (a planning commission sponsored program in Naxal infested area). These

7. workshops employed 350 households for 7 months, further sharpening the skills of the artisans. It was a
successful effort which fetched befitting results.
Picture: DC Sri Kripa Nand Jha IAS explaining Sri Ranjan Chatterjee IAS, Planning Commission at the
Workshop (IAP) at Ketunga village of Nimdih Block ofSaraikela-Kharsawan
The project aimed at holistic approach where the artisans were provided all the facilities required by them
for earning a decent living The arrangement was done in such a way that vehicle will go to the villages and
bring the artisans to the training center. At the training center first they will have their breakfast and then
will start the training program. At one in the afternoon they will be served lunch. They will also have two tea
breaks in between. The entire project was conceived in such a way that all the meals will be served at the
training center itself and the artisans will not have to bother about their daily chores. The craftsmen were
also paid a stipend of Rs. 120.00 per day during the training. The project was implemented by District
Administration and she was made in-charge of Co-ordination and monitoring.
An immense sense of pride and dedication towards their craft prevailing among the Sabar tribes was
apparent during the workshop. They kept on churning out useful prototypes with the help of NIFT designers.
Enthusiasm and devotion displayed by the Sabar was palpable and they were working like crazy, totally
oblivious of the time and work hours. Many newspapers in the area reported this aspect in their coverage
of the workshop.

8. Picture: Shri Ranjan Chatterjee(R) and Shri Kripanand Jha (L) interacting with an Artisan at the IAP
Workshop
Another important contribution of this workshop was teamwork. Earlier, the artisans from one village were
totally ignorant of the work being done by their counterparts in another village. Teamwork and exchange
of art & craft was totally missing, the workshop brought together the artisans from twelve villages and
inculcated important lessons of teamwork and mutual cooperation amongst them. If this spirit continues
after the conclusion of the workshop it will immensely benefit them and their timeless craft and will also
help improve artisans who are lacking in skill and efficiency.
With improvement of efficiency and upgraded modern design and technology, the craft caught the attention
of one and all and was highly appreciated in fairs like I.I.T.F 2012, Dilli Haat and other exhibitions. This
rekindled the interest of the young Sabars in their age-old craft and commitment to preserve and protect
their art form too.

9. Picture: Mrs. Vibha Puri Das, Tribal Welfare Secretary, Govt. of India seeing the products at IITF 2012
The prototypes developed during the workshop had the potential to become viable alternatives to the cheap
and hazardous plastic goods. Natural resources like palm leaves and Kanshi grass – available in
abundance for free or at very low price – were used as raw materials for making all the prototypes. These
products reflect an ethereal beauty and are very cost-effective as well. Needless to say, the marketing and
adoption of these products will go a long way in checking environmental degradation caused by plastic
goods.
MCC Militants are quite active and are rapidly spreading their wings in the block of Nimidh, Chandil and
Lchagarh of the west Singbhum Districts. They feast on the frustration of the Sabars at the failure of
administration to improve their lot and encourage them to join their ranks and rise in revolts. The poorer
Sabars become easy victims of these false hopes and promises made by these militants. It is hoped that
the workshop will help them earn good income and join the mainstream and will improve their economic
lot. This, in turn, will eventually put an end to the nefarious designs of the militants.
Under the guidance of Mrs. Snehlata Kumar, I.A.S, then MD, TRIFED and Consultant Planning
Commission of India, Sabar’s products were bought for test marketing. She has always been a great source
of motivation and encouragement to her team even today when she doesn’t hold the post of MD TRIFED
she helps us explore various channels to make the products commercially viable.

10. Picture: Mrs. Snehlata Kumar I.A.S appreciating the products made by PTG)
However, she understand the need for continuous handholding support and the journey has just begun.
Basic Infrastructure such as a Common Facility Centre (CFC) is needed in their villages where craftsperson
can work in groups and showcase their products and at the same time, regular training can be provided.
Also a market needs to be created for their products so as to assure a continuous business. Alongside, the
development of society also needs to be done in this area to link these primitive people with the modern
age benefits. Improvement of the basic amenities such as roads, drinking water is over-due. An orientation
towards a better living with adult education, health awareness programs etc. need to be generated to align
the development process.
She is working towards the upliftment of such people who have been left behind un-integrated in the
society. This is just the beginning of a glorious page in the lives of these intrepid people. As for the
indomitable spirit of this supremely talented tribe, their promises are endless.