Sarpanch of Soda

“Education can and should do much to influence social, moral and intellectual discovery by stimulating critical attitudes of thought in the young”, rightly said George Bernard Shaw. Chhavi Rajawat immortalizes this in spirit every day. An alumnus of the Rishi Valley School, Mayo College  and Lady Shri Ram College, she quit her 9 to 5 job with Airtel to help develop rural India at the grassroot level. She became the elected Sarpanch of Soda village in Rajasthan in 2010 and is credited with changing the face of rural Rajasthan. As a Sarpanch she is credited with implementing many projects successfully i.e rainwater harvesting, toilet facilities in many houses and education of the girl child. She is fondly referred to as Baisa in the village of Soda. She is the youngest person to hold the office of Sarpanch. Her grandfather Brig Raghubir Singh had been Sarpanch of the same village 20 years prior to Chhavi contesting the elections. We truly are ecstatic to feature her in a two part series.

Do you think education helps ?

Yes, education is important and helps, but it is not the only thing required to be successful in life. Every individual is gifted. It is important to realize what one’s own talent is and work towards improving it and using it to add value for the larger good.

Why did you decide to become the Sarpanch of Soda ?

I agreed to the idea put forth by the village residents because I was aware of the many challenges in Soda. The drought of 2009 in particular was the worst. With an agrarian economy in Soda and agriculture dependent on rainwater, the farmers had no source of income nor did they have access to safe drinking water. All ground water in Soda was declared unsafe even for agriculture. There was no way I could walk away being aware of the plight the residents suffered. I also saw it as a beautiful opportunity to serve the rural-scape, understand its challenges and, be the voice to help bring the attention and support that is needed in building our nation and taking her and her people forward.

What are the roles and responsibilities of a Sarpanch ?

Everything you can think of: from raising funds to executing projects in all aspects/sectors within the panchayat, providing services/facilities including improving quality of education, ensuring all institutions (including schools, anganbadis, government institutions such as primary health centres, etc.) in the panchayat are delivering to the best of their ability, finding opportunities to improve the economy, guiding and assisting the youth in finding jobs, protecting common lands, maintaining harmony amongst the village residents to list a few.

An Aspen Fellow, Chhavi Rajawat was part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) India Summit 2012 as a co-chair. The same year, she was conferred with the ‘Young Global Leader’ title by the WEF. With an aim to connect the government and the private sector with rural India, she shifted her base from Jaipur to Soda, just to be more accessible to the villagers. She has been scripting a success story by bringing winds of change in her ancestral village of Soda in Rajasthan. We present below, the second instalment of an interview with her, the conclusion to the two part series.

If you had to choose between corporate success and working towards the betterment of the society, what would you choose ? Why ?

The latter because it is far more satisfying and has a larger impact than working in the limited scope in a corporation.

Tell us about your current involvement in Soda.

Having run two terms, i.e. ten years, as Sarpanch, I chose not to contest again in 2020. Reason being that the village residents thought that all their demands/list of projects/works had already been catered to and; I believed in giving the opportunity to others to take on the leadership role, to remove dependency that would have set in had I continued and, have the village residents take responsibility in coming together to demand and solve their challenges with the help of the panchayat. While I continue to help and assist the village residents with the same zeal, my main involvement now is in running Eminent Girls College in Soda. Eminent Girls College was set up by someone else who ran into financial troubles. As a result, the college had shut operations in 2015. I decided to revive it despite its bad debts and dilapidated building because of my vision for the youth in the area. I believe, if I manage the right support, then collectively we will be able to provide the right guidance, value and better education to the young women in the college who are aspiring to become teachers. If they understand the value and responsibilities of being a good teacher then they will be able to impact many generations. In addition, I hope to be able to inspire these young women to participate in impacting their respective communities and villages. With that, we will be able to have a deeper impact in rural development that will not remain restricted to village Soda alone and hopefully, better leadership as well if some of these students choose to become Sarpanch of their respective panchayats.

How different is the village and people’s mindset now after you took over as the Sarpanch ?

I believe under my leadership I was able to nudge people to participate in the developmental activities. It was something they were not used to. The doors to the Panchayat office were always open for all even if I was not physically present in the office. The women and youth also participated perhaps for the first time in the Panchayat meetings and other activities. The Panchayat was also freed of a lot of disputes and social evils thereby making it a safer space for all. In short, there was a sense of positivity across the village and faith in the leadership that brought in an immense sense of confidence amongst all.

What can we do to be part of this movement?

Help us by raising funds and help improve the quality of education – not just in Eminent Girls College but in the schools of the village as well. We need skill development programs that can be run by school students and programs on computer literacy, English speaking courses, support in Math and Science subjects, improving sports facilities, contributing to libraries and toys to Anganbadis among other things. The scope is immense. What is needed is the empathy and desire from us with privileged backgrounds to come together to help our fellow citizens in villages.

As of date the Eminent Girls College needs people to come on board to teach and skill them. They also need funds for general upkeep and regular day-to-day expenses. We, the editors of TWTW are volunteering our time for this cause. We are seeking help and support from everyone who can contribute and help them build a better future.