The year was 1978. The country witnessed great political upheavals, the waves of which did not fail to reach even the remotest areas of this backward district. People had seen the political changes and they were expecting a change in their lots in the near future. That the message has found its proper audience was evident as groups of youths started getting organized in the form of youth clubs in several villages. By that time Lokasiksha Parishad of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur had already started its activities through Nehru Yuba Kendra in the district of Purulia. Eventually, the youth groups came in contact with the Parishad. Swami Prabhananda the first Director of Lokasiksha Parishad was, at that time, incidentally heading the Ramakrishna Mission located at Purulia. Swami Prabhanandaji’s vision was to initiate developmental activities in this backward district. He then became the moving inspiration of both the youth groups as well as of the Parishad. Thus, the Ramakrishna Vivekananda movement of Awakening the Masses was initiated jointly by Lokasiksha Parishad and the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia through these youth groups. At the formative stage the local Nehru Yuba Kendra also played a very significant role. The then Co-ordinator of Nehru Yuba Kendra who had his initial training and orientation at the Lokasiksha Parishad gave proper guidance to the youth groups and worked with them in line with the Parishad.
As the youth groups started expanding its activities in more and more villages, the Parishad felt the necessity of forming a district level central youth organization which would be able to undertake all sorts of developmental activities systematically in the district through its associated village level youth organizations. This idea led to the formation of KALYAN in 1979, KALYAN started operating from a mud house with tiled roof built with the labour of the members of KALYAN on a land donated by Sri Kenaram Mahato of village Bongabari. It was registered under the Societies’ Registration Act, Government of West Bengal in the year 1980.
Members of KALYAN took part in various training programmes conducted by Lokasiksha Parishad and finally KALYAN got affiliated with the Parishad in 1981. Several Non-formal and Adult Education Centres were set-up by KALYAN with financial assistance through Lokasiksha Parishad. Running the Centres prompted to extend the scheme to cover more number of villages.
However, as the activities started increasing, need for space became too pressing. The foundation of the first pucca building was laid down by Swami Asaktanandaji, Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur in the year 1983 and was completed in the next year. The building known as KALYAN Bhawan was dedicated to the service of the people of Purulia by Srimat Swami Atmasthanandaji Maharaj, Assistant Secretary, Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission and it was inaugurated by Late Binoy Chowdhury, the then Hon’ble Minister of Land and Land Revenue, West Bengal. The building (old campus) presently houses a part of KALYAN Office.
Youth Workers’ Training & Rural Development Programme sponsored by Konrad Adenauer Foundation of Germany started in KALYANin 1984 through Ramakrishna Mission Lokasiksha Parishad and in 1988 directly. With the generous assistance from Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Administrative-cum-Training building, Staff quarter, Sarada Bhawan for women trainees and Vivekananda Bhavan for men trainees were built. The then German Consul General Mr. Hans Peter Pliska inaugurated the ‘Prashikshan Bhawan’ in 1993. This building now houses the main office of KALYAN. Subsequently different projects were initiated one by one.
- Lab to Land Project (1982) – sponsored by Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
- Gram Vikas Prakalpa (1983) – sponsored by German Agro Action, Germany.
- Parivar Vikash Prakalpa (1984) – sponsored by Christian Children’s Fund.
- Jeevan Deep (Micro Saving) (1985) – Child Nutrition Project (1987) Sponsored by central Social Welfare Board, Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, Govt. of India.
- Youth Workers’ Training & Rural Development Project (1988) – sponsored by Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Germany.
- Wastelands Development Project (1988) – sponsored by Wastelands Development Board, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India.
- Family Counseling Centre (1988) – sponsored by Central Social Welfare Board.
- Early Childhood Education and Creche Project (1991) – sponsored by Central Social Welfare Board.
- Krishi Vigyan Kendra (1992) – sponsored by Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
- Frontline Demonstration on Oilseeds & Pulses (1992) – sponsored by Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
- Intensive Sanitation Project (Purulia-I, Purulia-II and Para Block) (1994) – sponsored by UNICEF, through Government of India, Government of West Bengal and Purulia Zilla Parishad.
- Central Sector Scheme on Agricultural Extension through Voluntary Organizations (1995) – sponsored by Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.
- Vocational Training Programme (1995) – sponsored by Govt. of W.B., Purulia Zilla Parishad and Purulia Municipality.
- Flood Relief and Agricultural Rehabilitation Project (1995) – sponsored by German Agro Action, Germany.
- Integrated Child Development Services Project (Purulia-I Block) (1996) – sponsored by Government of India through Govt. of W.B.
- Food Processing (1997) – sponsored by Min. of Food Processing Industries, Govt. of India.
- Comprehensive Development of Jahajpur Village Project (1997) – sponsored by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.
- Revival and refinement of Indigenous Technological Knowledge (2000) – sponsored by Council for Advancement of Peoples Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), East Zone, Bhubaneshwar.
- Jan Shikshan Sansthan (People’s Education Institute) (2002) sponsored by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India.
- Babasaheb Ambedkar Hastashipa Vikash Yojana (2003) sponsored by Tribal Co-operative Marketing and Development Federation (TRIFED), Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India.
- Accredited Social Health Activists (2006) sponsored by National Rural Health Mission, Dept. of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of West Bengal.
- Social Behaviour Change Communication (2006) sponsored by UNICEF, Kolkata.
- Reproductive Child Health –II (2007) sponsored by National Rural Health Mission, Dept. of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of West Bengal.
- Jiban Rekha (2006) sponsored by UNICEF, Kolkata
- Millennium Development Project (2006) , Sponsored by Welthungerhilfe, Germany
- Community Health Care Initiative Management (2010), Sponsored by CARE India Solution, Kolkata
- Adolescent Intervention Programme (A.I.P.) (2015), Sponsored by District Administration, Purulia
- SAG-KP Convergence Programme (2015), Sponsored by District Administration, Purulia
- Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) (2005), Sponsored by IGNOU University, New Delhi
- Open Basic Education (OBE) (2005), Sponsored by NIOS
- Maa Sarada Coaching Center (2017), Self Initiative
- Cluster Frontline Demonstration on Pulses and Oilseeds (2012), Sponsored by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare &ICAR-ATARI Kolkata
- Diploma in Agricultural Services for Input Dealers (DAESI) (2016),Sponsored by MANAGE, Hyderabad& SAMETI, Narendrapur, Kolkata
- Attracting Rural Youth in Agriculture (ARYA) (2018), Sponsored by ICAR-ATARI Kolkata
- Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) (2018), Sponsored by CIMMYT &ICAR-ATARI Kolkata
- Gramin Krishi Mausam Sewa(GKMS-District Agromet Unit) (2019), sponsored by India Meteorological Department(IMD),New Delhi in association with Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR), New Delhi
- National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) (2022) Sponsored by Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture(CRIDA) in association with Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR), New Delhi
Besides the above projects, KALYAN has also actively participated in different programmes of the Government and the Zilla Parishad. As a partner of Total Literacy Campaign movement in the district of Purulia, KALYAN had to share the responsibilities specified in Purulia-I Block with 1997 Centres and 9228 learners. Immediately after final evaluation by a State Level Committee, Purulia-I Block has now been placed under Post-Literacy a continued Literacy Programme. KALYAN with its youth functionaries of Purulia-I Block joined the Panchayat and the State Government Functionaries to sustain and support Post-Literacy Programme. KALYAN also participated in Filaria eradication and Pulse Polio vaccination Programmes.
With the increase in activities, the leadership realized that their entrepreneurship now demand appointment of managers trained in proper discipline to manage the programme effectively. Also, it was realized by the leadership that a cross-pollination of ideas between the local youth leaders with their in-depth understanding and feeling of the local situation and trained, socially committed managers with their managerial expertise would lead to a speedy advancement on the pathway of its goal. As a result, a team of management of qualified professionals of various disciplines like Social Work, Rural Development, Rural Sociology, Behavioral Sciences, Agronomy, Horticulture, Agroforestry, Soil Science, Soil & Water Conservation, Plant Protection, Plant Breeding, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Agricultural Extension, Home Science, Anthropology, Forestry, Environment and Economics were inducted.
