KARSANG TAKAR

“One Youngster is enough to change a village” – Fr. K. A. Thomas

Karsang Takar Leadership Training Center empowers school dropouts to take up rural development as I-CARD’s Field Volunteers.  This one-year residential programme focuses on personal, social, cultural, spiritual and community development and skills of 20 young men and women every year. 

It began all with a dream in 1988 that told Fr. K.A. Thomas, “the stages of growth are not something transitory, but an experience of life valid in itself, and having its repercussion on the future.” 

Karsang Takar, meaning ‘Rising Star’, started in 2002, under the direction of Rajen Perme and Indira Perme in their residence.  It hopes to revive and keep alive the concept of the Mising Murong Ghar (youth dormitory), where young people, at the threshold of their adult life, stayed together for a brief period of time in order to get acquainted with and be trained all aspects of Mising socio-cultural life. 

Karsang Takar seeks to develop leaders who are empowered and who will reach out for the development to the whole tribe. It creates servant leaders for the Mising community. 

The end result of the course is to create agents for socio-economic, socio-cultural, educational and developmental work in villages. Karsang Takar will give birth to young leaders who are committed to ethics and who will become working models for other young people.

Course Content

Academic English Speaking; 

Health and Family Health Care, Family life, Yoga and reflexology, Herbal Medicine;

Cultural and Artistic Performing arts in Mising dance, and singing, Creative dance and other local  dance forms, Street Theater, Stage Acting, Miming, Radio Plays, Script writing, Drama preparation and stage work, Fine Arts, Drawing and painting, Story Telling, Alternative Media 

Self Improvement: Personality Development, Grooming, Communication skills, Public speaking, Organization of Public functions, Public Relations and  manners, Conflict Resolution, Group Dynamics, 

Social and Community Development 

Participatory Rural Appraisal, Social Analysis, Political Education, Entrepreneurship, Cooperative system, Self Help Groups, Agricultural and Animal Husbandry, Agricultural practice and livestock management, Politics of medicine

Religious Scriptures, Religious living, ethics, village empowerment.

The Institute gets the help of professional resource persons each week, who teach the different modules, as per the grasping capacity of the students. 

The activities of the Karsang Takars include field work, training in data collection and animation in villages for short periods during the year. After seven months of training at Karsang Takar, the trainees are taken for an exposure trip to different institutions of North East India. The cultural programme displayed during their exposure trip to various schools and institutions enables the trainee to appreciate and to have cultural exchange between the Misings and other tribes of North-east India. 

Selection of Students

The new candidates are selected by those already trained

by I-CARD staff

by ARDA / Young Misings members

by personal contact

by parents who would like to send their children. 

Ispiration of Karsang Takars

Karsang Takar is inspired by the teachings of Sankardeva, following the Satra traditions, deeply rooted in the life and mission of Don Bosco, called to serve the poor by the compelling examples of Mother Theresa, propelled by the transforming strategies of  Mahatma Gandhi. Grounded in the teachings of Jesus, the eternal Guru. 

Keeping Connected

The best part of the experience happens twice  each year, when all the past students come back to their  alma mater, for a family get together. They ‘recap, refill and resolve” during these two weeks. 

The other good experience is when Fr. Thomas, Rajen and some staff member take their time every year for their ‘annual pilgrimage’, visiting the homes of every trained youngster.

The Impact

The project has brought the tribe to the limelight, and exposed the gem hidden within the Mising youngster, hithertofore unknown to the outside world. 

It has proved that being a dropout is not because of the lack of intellect, that the larger society is to be blamed 

Karsang Takar has shown that any young person can be transformed and be motivated to become a servant leader through personal interaction. 

It creates a unified Mising tribe by ensuring that different clans, dialects and traditions mix, and teaching with diligence various traditions.

It has promoted research into Mising language, tradition, history, and art forms and helped analyse problems

Karsang Takar has become a model transforming strategy, a trend setter, for other tribes. 

It reinforces the peace-building mechanisms of the community and keeps youth away from violence. 

Future Plans

Every Mising village should have a Takar (trained leader) as a result of the Karsang Takar training programme.

“Rice comes from paddy, but the paddy in the rice is searched for and thrown away” Fr. K.A. Thomas, sdb

TAKARS – Field Volunteers

The KARSANG TAKAR  (Rising Stars) trainees graduate to become TAKAR (Stars).

After the one year training, the students  have six months of probation or field experience.  Once a Takar, ever a Takar. The relationship to I-CARD never ends, even if the Takar is married. Just as the relationship is permanent, so are the expectations of I-CARD. With two years of training, and empowered with skills and learning, these Takars become Field Volunteers (FV) of I-CARD, and return to their own villages.

Capping Ceremony

During the first Lekop Silmel, common meeting of all Takars, after their field trainings, the Takars are given a cap,  inscribed “Servant Leader, Shine like stars, bring life”. They are accepted as the field volunteers of I-CAR. 

Pledge Ceremony

During the second Lekop Silmel, they ,take a solemn public pledge and commit themselves to work for the total development of the Mising society, by developing their own villages. They are given a medal with the inscription “Shine Like Stars Bring Life”. 

Takar Activities

  • All Takars becomemembers of the regional TakarNet,
  • The smart Takars join the core group of KARDA. 
  • They engage themselves with an income generating project to support themselves while working for the community.
  • They form ‘Young Misings’  groups in their own or neighbouring villages. 
  • They form Self Help Groups in their own villages. 
  • They help in the programmes of I-CARD. 
  • Takars help organize community celebrations,  receptions and dance groups at celebrations or visits of dignitaries, and are even invited to talk at public meetings. 
  • Takars help create awareness in villages about Government projects, and bring corruption to public notice.

Takarnet

After probation when the Takar, as an individual,  returns to his/her own village, he/she finds it difficult to initiate development action. He/she sometimes lacks the self confidence to act in one’s home village. 

Besides, the Takars feel left out and alone in a sea of differing opinions, because I-CARD selects only one youth from a village to become a Takar. 

To solve these problems, Takars are grouped into TakarNets, networking of Takars, according to their own regions. 

Formation of TakarNets

There are now nine such groups : Dergaon, Majuli, Gogamukh, Sivasagar, Jonai, Paglam (Arunachal), Amarpur, Menkeng and Santipur (Sadiya). 

Each TakarNet elects its own president and secretary.

Activities

  1. The TakarNets become resource persons for youth of other villages, besides taking up other activities for the development of their own regions. They take up one project every month.
  2. Constructing village toilets, more as an inspiration and model rather than as a systematic activity.
  3. Planting trees. 
  4. Repairing roads. 
  5. Construction of club houses and study houses in their own villages.
  6. Keeping the platform houses and their base clean, to encourage hygienic living. 
  7. Teaching songs, dances and street plays to Young Misings groups. 
  8. The TakarNet groups take up primary school development programme.
  9. The Takars contact the headmaster and after getting due permissions, begin the hygienic and personal deportment care of the students.
  10. 10. They teach songs and dances, and conduct small competitions for the students.
  11. As the parents gather, the Takars interact with them, talking about the need for hygiene, and for more involvement by parents in the lives of students.
  12. 12. Takars teach Young Misings Groups and other local youth to take up such primary school development activities.

Impact

  • Teachers, parents and the public warm up to the Takars.
  • There is more enthusiasm in the students to come to school, and in caring for the environment. 
  • Greater interest in education. 
  • Takars gain a name in the vicinity. 
  • Teachers learn new ways of interacting with students, and engage in self criticism. 
  • Youth of the village are kept busy.

Planning

  • Each group chalks out its plan of action for its  area of operation.  These plans are usually developed during the common meeting of all Takars (Lékop Silmél).
  • TakarNets meet in their own regions and prepare other plans as per need. 
  • These plans are submitted to I-CARD Youth Director for verification.

Coordination

  • The Youth Director corresponds with the TakarNets, and coordinates their activities and plans. 
  • TakarNets organize their own meetings in their regions. 
  • TakarNet groups elect their own presidents and secretaries. 
  • There are periodic meetings of presidents and secretaries, in Jorhat. 
  • I-CARD field staff are given special responsibility to keep in touch with all TakarNet groups, and to monitor their activities. 
  • I-CARD Director and Karsang Takar Director meets every TakarNet group in their own regions every year to discuss, advice and to monitor their activities.

Remuneration

  • TakarNet activities are purely voluntary. They are not paid for their services. 
  • Their travel and other expenses are met by I-CARD.

Future Plans

  • With the increase in number of Takars, every ARDA circle must have one TakarNet. 
  • TakarNet will support Young Misings and ARDA committees in their activities.