The Left-backed youth organisation DYFI has taken inspiration from an age-old small savings tradition prevalent in Bengal households to raise funds for its January 7 rally at Brigade Parade Ground to celebrate its Insaaf Yatra (march for justice).

The Yatra, which started on November 3 in Cooch Behar and ended in Calcutta on December 22, covered over 2,200km across 22 districts.

A month ago, the DYFI distributed improvised plastic piggy banks to one lakh families across the state.

DYFI members requested each household to drop into the piggy banks whatever money they could spare from their expenses every day for a month.

These small deposits would go into funding the January 7 rally, they told the householders.

The decision to use the small savings tradition as a crowdfunding exercise was done to serve two purposes, a DYFI leader said. One, it helped raise funds for the January 7 rally. Two, it served as a personal mass outreach exercise.

"The Left tradition has been to visit people's doorsteps with a pot or box to collect funds for political and organisational activities. As part of the new strategy, we purchased plastic pots or piggy banks in bulk and distributed them to one lakh families a month ago with only one request, to deposit some money, coins or currency, from their daily savings into the pot. The outcome of this initiative by our youth wing has been overwhelming," said a senior CPM leader.

The plastic money pots distributed by the DYFI workers look similar to traditional earthen pots that many Bengali households, especially women, use to make small savings. Popularly known as Lakshmir Bhar, the earthen pots where savings are kept — especially in the form of coins — are broken to help the family in times of need.

A researcher said the rural people of Bengal still deposit coins in earthen pots.

The tradition is believed to have started during the Pala Empire of 750-1161 CE, Aditya Mukhopadhyay, a researcher of Bengal's rural history and culture, said.

"It is a tradition of over 1,000 years. It started during the Pala Empire when women used to save some rice every day in an earthen pot for emergencies. Gradually, women started saving coins for the same purpose. The tradition is still prevalent in Bengal districts such as East Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura and Purulia," said Mukhopadhyay.

DYFI state secretary Minakshi Mukherjee said her comrades had collected pots or piggy banks from individuals across Bengal and names of contributors would be made public.

"Daily wage-earners, farmers and even beggars gave money to support our Brigade rally. We believe politicians have to come forward to establish an environment of corruption-free politics," said Mukherjee, who asked people from all walks of life to join the January 7 Brigade rally to demand jobs for youths and right to education for students in Bengal, as well as to fight "communal politics" of the BJP and "corruption politics" of Trinamul.

Mukherjee said the state government had tried to ensure that the Army did not permit the DYFI's rally at Brigade grounds. "However, we were determined to hold the rally at the Brigade grounds. The Army, which is the custodian of the grounds, has given its nod," the DYFI leader said.

“A family means at least four or five people. We requested them to keep the pot in such a place where it can be visible to all and tell the guests or friends visiting them about our Insaf Yatra and Brigade rally. In that way we could reach out to many people,” said Gautam Ghosh, a CPM state committee member and Birbhum district committee secretary.

The amount of contribution also increased with this initiative, a DYFI leader said.

“Many people can’t give you Rs 100 at once. But the same person can give you Rs 500 if he gets a month’s time,” said a DYFI leader. “Also, this exercise helped us activate workers in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.”

A senior DYFI leader said the organisation also adopted modern fundraising methods such as digital wallets.

“Digital wallets are popular with the younger generation. We have also shared QR codes to help people contribute to our fundraising drive,” said a senior DYFI leader.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Minakshi Mukherjee urged people from all walks of life to join the Brigade rally on January 7, not only to demand jobs and education for youngsters in Bengal, but also to protest against the BJP’s “communal politics” and Trinamul’s “politics of corruption”.

“Migrant workers working in the states like Kerala and Karnataka have been raising funds for the Brigade rally. They have arranged to telecast the mega show at the Brigade (grounds) live at their working places too,” she said.

She added that people would gather at seven points in Calcutta and Howrah before marching to the Brigade Parade Grounds.

“The largest marches will start from Howrah and Sealdah railways stations,” she added.