Woman Sarpanch Chhavi Rajawat Dazzles at UN Meet

Articulate, computer-savvy and drop-dead gorgeous are not the adjectives generally associated with the stereotypical village sarpanch. But then, Chhavi Rajawat is not a typical sarpanch. 

    

On Friday, Rajawat addressed ministers and ambassadors from across the world at the 11th Info-Poverty World Conference held at the United Nations. There was a sense of disbelief among the delegates that the jean-clad 30-year-old is the sarpanch of Soda, a village 60 km from Jaipur, in backward Rajasthan. Rajawat is also India's youngest woman sarpanch. 

    

The management graduate quit her high-flying job with Bharti-Tele Ventures to take up the challenging, and low-paying, job of a village head. 

    

During a UN panel discussion beginning March 24, Rajawat spoke on the 'Role of Civil Society in Fighting Poverty and Promoting Development'. 

    

Addressing the delegates from countries across the world, she said, "In an era where resources have become limited, it is necessary to re-think strategies and there is a need to include new technologies like e-services in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). 

    

"If India continues to make progress at the same pace as it has for the past 65 years, it just won't be good enough. We'll be failing people who dream about having water, electricity, toilets, schools and jobs. 

    

"I am convinced we can do it differently and do it faster. In the past year alone, I and the villagers in Soda have brought about a radical change in the village purely through our own efforts. We have had no outside support - no NGO help, no public, nor private sector help," she said. 

    

To achieve MDGs, Rajawat sought full support from outside agencies and the corporate world. "In three years I will transform my village. I don't want money. I want people and organisations to adopt projects in my village. 

    

"I want the conference to help bring about faster change so that this generation can enjoy that kind of life that I - and you in this audience - take for granted," she said.

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