In 1992, I conducted a study sponsored by the Ministry of Social Welfare. I was assigned to examine the Anganwadi workers appointed by the Social Welfare Officer of the then undivided Cuttack district in Odisha (then Orissa). In the early stages of my work, I discovered that all Anganwadi workers belonged to elite castes. Many were also tied to the local power structures, including women in exploitative relations with the sarpanches.When I raised the matter with the District Collector, I learned more: for example, that even for these low paid positions, recommendations from a minister or legislator often influenced or secured appointments.Over time, however, social change and educational advancement changed the situation. The caste elites moved on to find better jobs, and the Anganwadi jobs increasingly went to members of backward or Dalit communities. In a later study, I found that these workers were able to serve the needs of the community in a meaningful manner. There was less leakage in the service delivery, and more children from elite castes were consuming mid-day meals prepared by Anganwadi workers who came from a mix of castes.One moment stood out for me at this time: seeing a young girl from a Brahmin family who regularly ate meals at an Anganwadi centre deeply impressed me.Undivided Cuttack district was already doing well in terms of the spread of education. People from all caste communities were joining government and private service based on their qualifications. The process has continued into today. In recent years, workers from Midnapore in West Bengal and from Jharkhand have been coming to work in the regional agriculture sector.Also read: In a Year, the BJP Has Ushered in and Normalised Violence in a Mostly Orderly OdishaAt the time of my 1992 visits, Kendrapara was part of the undivided Cuttack district. Today, it is a separate district, though it remains an educated region. The Census 2011 records an 88.3% literacy rate in urban areas and 85% in rural areas. At one time, this entire region used to suffer from regular flooding. Rivers cut across the region, and historically people – including the rulers of the Aul and Kanika princely states – would move out periodically due to the fear of floods. For more than a century, ordinary people from the region worked as plumbers in far off places from Delhi to Dubai. The plumbers’ association from this region built the (modern) Jagannath Temple in Delhi, which functions as a centre of Odia cultural events.Kendrapara also has a distinguished history. The district had one of the earliest municipalities, schools and public libraries. It has a widespread school network. A joke in Kendrapara is that there is a school on each bend of the river. Many students from here go on to pursue higher education in Cuttack, which is just about a couple of hours away by road. Kendrapara also has one of the best private colleges in the region.The most remarkable feature of Kendrapara is the large number of writers produced by the town and its colleges. At one point, the number of award-winning poets and writers from Kendrapara was said to be higher than even Bhubaneswar.Kendrapara also has a notable social history. Mahatma Gandhi visited Indupur in Kendrapara during his ‘Harijan Yatra’, and the first temple entry movements for the non-elite castes took place here. A decade ago, Dalits entered a temple in a village in the district. This was followed by a reconciliation between Dalits and caste Hindus.Also read: Reservation Politics in the Absence of a Social Justice Discourse in OdishaIn one of my studies on a village monk in Kendrapara, I observed that caste Hindus and Dalits shared public spaces and even sat together to drink tea. When the monk attempted mischief, people protested together and he was arrested by the state police.The political history of Kendrapara has also been distinctive. Even when the Congress party was winning national elections in Odisha, this seat elected a socialist, Surendra Dwivedy, a stalwart of his time from the Praja Socialist Party. He represented Kendrapara multiple times in the Lok Sabha.In the 1971 Assembly election, the Rajnagar constituency (a general seat) elected Prahlad Mallick. Later the same year, as he was elected from Patamundai, a reserved constituency, he resigned from Rajnagar. Biju Patnaik, who had lost in a previous Assembly election contest from Rajnagar, then won the seat in 1974.Kendrapara turned into a fortress of Patnaik and his son, Naveen Patnaik. Naveen Babu established his own political clout over the region, even removing some of his close friends who were influential legislators from this district. They could not return to power thereafter, and it remained Naveen Patnaik’s political fort. Even in the 2024 Assembly election, his Biju Janata Dal won Kendrapara.Recently, an Anganwadi worker from the Dhobi caste was appointed in Rajnagar. She is known to be hardworking. The Dhobi caste, designated as a Scheduled Caste (in the state and Union lists), is often viewed in Odia society as ‘half untouchable’ and ‘half Savarna’. This is because the community has traditionally lived close to the main settlement of villages, with limited access to homes of elite castes. The Dhobis are an educated community and its members hold a variety of posts in government service.However, with the coming of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Odisha for the first time in 2024 (it also swept 20 of 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state the same year), it appears to be striving to secure its hold over the politics of the region by engineering anti-Dalit sentiment. This is the trend that has reportedly resulted in a boycott of the food served by the Anganwadi worker from the Dhobi caste.Over the last two years, Odisha has witnessed a troubling reversal of social change. The progressive district is now experiencing humiliation. Incidents of violence and hostility against the Dalits are taking place in the state. The issue has now become a national headline: ‘Villagers in Odisha Boycott Anganwadi Worker Over the Appointment of Dalit Employee‘. This is the kind of news now being discussed all over India.Radhakanta Barik is a retired professor of Indian Institute of Public Administration.