The small victory for the 47 families with solid title to their land in Nadodewadi rekindled the inquiry's sense of purpose and inspired the Katkari to take up once again the goal of acquiring gaothan for their hamlets. Over a period of several months, the various gaothan action committees once again began to contact the research team and ask for meetings. The threat of eviction was as tangible as ever. People said that they wanted to do something, but were not sure what. The research team was not sure either. We agreed, however, to explore the many issues that people were raising about why people in some hamlets were not willing to take a public stand on the gaothan issue, and to use this understanding to plan future actions. Fear of the landholders was very much at the forefront during these discussions and became a key question the Katkari wanted to explore further.

This chapter discusses crucial results from the efforts to make sense of the Katkari's fear of landholders immediately following the gram sabha process. While for many Katkari, overcoming their fear initially seemed like an impossible task, their own interpretations of the threats they faced launched several new lines of action and inquiry. These unfolded in unexpected ways and at different rates. We needed new participatory inquiry and planning methods to take us beyond the simple chain of cause and effect revealed through the problem tree.