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Dhaniram was married when he was just 15, the age when he did not even realize what marriage was. For him it was just an opportunity to show his newly acquired takat and jawani. By the time the urge was satiated, he realized marriage was more than what he had been thinking of.
 Now he had a family to feed, a wife and a newly born child. He had to look after the ailing father and mother as well. There was no source of earning, except a piece of land. Paddy, peas and few seasonal vegetables is what is grown on the field after toiling for months – which at times is not even enough to sustain the family needs for a year.
Dhaniram has no other skills. No vocational training. He did not even go to the school. He regrets it now. “Jab padhne ka umar tha tab mai-baap padhaye nahi. Us samay hame bhi utna gyan nahi tha.” He never tried to go out and look for better employment opportunities like many of his friends have done. Perhaps the family responsibilities have been holding him back. Who knows, it was probably his lack of confidence and the fear within that is preventing him to go out and explore.
 At the age of 19, Dhaniram Tuddu – a Santhali adolescent, certainly can’t be termed as an epitome of the life of most of the Santhal boys residing in remote areas of Jharkhand. But for sure, there are many Dhaniram’s for whom life is just confined to the village boundaries, or at the most it stretches till the nearest haat. They have seldom visited a town or a city. They know nothing about a television or a movie.
The ages old tradition and cultural practices prevent them from accessing the health services, if at all available in remotest areas in dense forests and across the hills. They have the local ojhas and guniyas in name of the primary health service providers. Unlike their urban counterparts, they have no access to the pool of knowledge and information.
 Dhaniram brings forth Other India, which is in stark contrast of the Shining India that we know. The various welfare schemes are yet to reach them. The Tribal Sub Plans are yet to make provisions for this part of India. The most unfortunate fact is that all this makes Dhanirams vulnerable and a soft target of separatists, who often lure them into their fold.
The Shining India needs to stretch a hand to pull out Dhaniram, and many alike, from their world of ignorance, squalor and deprivation to bring them into the mainstream, to make them a part of the developing and prospering India, the Shining India.
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