A team of authors who investigated the quality of life in one of India's youngest states have been awarded the Human Development Award of the United Nations.
The independent Chhattisgarh state Human Development Report, commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme and published in 2005, recounts the voices of more than 19,128 villagers from across the state.
It is one of the five reports from around the world that would be lauded at a ceremony, taking first place in the category for "excellent in participation". The team will be joined in the spotlight by four other winning entries hailing from China, Costa Rica and Guinea-Bissau, along with an Asia-Pacific regional report on trade.
The villagers who participated provided detailed information about their experiences, concerns and aspirations, speaking out against inequality in education and health and sharing their local insight -- which often contrasted with state views -- on such topics as the use of water, forests and land.
The result of the report: more informed debate between all sectors in the young state, according to analysts, and the voluminous data collected is now being used by the government to better chart Chhattisgarh's future.
"The Chhattisgarh Human Development Report is path-breaking, as it expresses the people's aspirations in their own voice from 19,000 villages," said Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Raman Singh.
"This will help us in evolving a development model for inclusive growth that factors local needs, and at the same time help retain the state's culture and traditional wisdom while restoring the ecological balance," Singh said.
