People of Bantoli

A conversation with Linda Pascotto, President of The Prem Rawat Foundation, about the people of Bantoli.

The Bantoli area in autumn

TPRF is currently taking the first steps to develop a humanitarian initiative aimed at bringing free food to children and adults in the Bantoli area.

Where will this initiative take place?

This will take place in the area of Bantoli, which is near the city of Ranchi, in the state of Jharkand, a new state of 80,000 sq. km. (31,000 sq. miles) carved out of Bihar in 2000. It is a glorious, colorful, and ancient land, which is also the poorest and most backward in India. It has been written that life there is "nasty, brutish, and short." Social and economic conditions do not measure up well even against Indian averages. From adult literacy to maternal mortality, this area rates at the bottom in India.

Children of Bantoli working in the fields

Tell us more about the land and climate.

Jharkand means "forest region." It is a mountainous region, 3,000 ft. high in northeastern India, south of the Indo-Gangetic Plain and west of the Ganges delta in Bangladesh. The mountains are heavily forested, and some of the plateaus have been deforested. To the north lies the Himalayan land of Nepal, and to the west is Uttar Pradesh. The Bantoli area is home to 4,000 inhabitants. It has a dry winter, followed by heavy rains.