Chhavi Rajawat: In pursuit of a new dawn

‘A society is as good as its people’ is an apt cliché in every social spectrum. Problem and solution are two faces of the same coin. In general, the problems we face are in some way a reflection of our erstwhile actions, so, naturally the solutions lie within us. The day we decide that what kind of a society we want, change is not far away. But, actually it’s easier said than done.

So, when I first heard of Chhavi Rajawat, I felt tremendous admiration and respect for her. She had done something very extraordinary and courageous. Rajawat, an LSR graduate, MBA from Pune, left the glittering city life, her corporate job for which she had already dedicated her five years and headed towards her ancestral village Soda in Rajasthan. There she became the youngest Sarpanch of the village Soda and probably the first one with an MBA degree. Soda is her paternal village and her father had already served there as a Sarpanch. But, she wasn’t impressed with the development work in Soda which she had seen in the past 20 years. So, Rajawat decided it was her turn to give something back to her village. 

Although, Chhavi Rajawat is not the first person to have left her job for politics or social issues, but her direct involvement at the grass-root level at a young age is something not often seen. Rajawat's choice of rural areas for her work is even more heartening. 

In India, more than 68% of the population live in villages and depend on agriculture but India’s agricultural growth rate has never crossed 2.5%, even when the overall economic growth rate was well above 10%. This clearly indicates that how badly our villages are deprived of development. Perhaps, what drove Rajawat into this decision was the fact that her work in a village is going to have much larger and direct impact on the society than her corporate job.

This jeans-clad Sarpanch is already seen as the changing face of rural India and she is also recognised by the UN for her efforts. Rajawat was praised for her work across the society and has become a source of inspiration for many. 

In the midst of all the appreciation and admiration she recently revealed all the troubles she had to face from the local bodies and their babus. She stated that some government officers are blocking her plans and crippling the whole Panchayat system. But, that hasn’t hampered her determination and she is standing even taller against the roadblocks and willing to bear greater pain for her village.