You won’t spot it on most maps, but here India is actually Shining

Leading the Rajgadh movement is its sarpanch, Chandu Patil Marakwar, a young rice mill owner, who toured the whole of Maharashtra to study model villages, before drawing up his action plan.

Apart from ‘how-to-do-it’ lectures, Marakwar set up a cultural troupe of 15 youngsters, wrote a few skits himself and had a high school teacher compose poems and songs. Besides plays and stage-shows, a rath yatra too was rolled out to spread the light.

Inspired by its neighbouring village, Virai and Bhavrala approached Rajgadh for help. Soon, pre-dawn dindis (musical processions) were making their way through these villages. And, people started picking up brooms and set out clearing choked drains and waste-littered roads.

It took some time to convince many to use the 145 toilets that were constructed for 300-odd Virai families. School-buildings were spruced up by students, who grew vegetables in their courtyards using waste water—the vegetables are now part of their lunch. Verses from 20th century reformer Sant Tukdoji Maharaj’s Gramgeeta, with cleanliness as the main message, were painted on houses. Road intersections were beautified and rangolis welcomed visitors. Finally, it was time for the rewards—Virai topped the district, bagging a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.

‘‘We owe it to Rajgadh and Marakwar. He showed us the path of self-dependence,’’ says Bandu Chimalwar, the village’s cleanliness committee chief. ‘‘Today, people clean up the premises in front of their own houses. And the incidence of diseases such as Malaria has gone down too,’’ he says.

For Marakwar, the most significant aspect of the initiative is the socio-political unity it forges. ‘‘It has seen the walls crumble, irrespective of political and religious affiliations,’’ he adds.

Meanwhile, Rajgadh has shifted gears on its development drive. ‘‘Hundred percent irrigation, making the gram panchayat financially self-sufficient, sponsoring the medical education of at least one talented youth so that he renders health services back home, bringing down the number of those below the poverty line, generating employment and ensuring quality education are our next goals,’’ says Marakwar.

‘‘We have to build future leadership. I will not be the next sarpanch. I wish to pass on the baton to youth of the village, whom I am grooming as carriers of a sustainable movement,’’ he says.

But then, there are some roadblocks that need to be dismantled first. According to the sarpanch, Rajgadh doesn’t have the authority to utilise the Rs 40 lakh it won for topping the district, divisional and state-level contests as it wishes to. ‘‘We are authorised to use it only for sanitation and drinking water. We have already eliminated both the problems. We wish to use it for irrigation, but can’t,’’ explains Marakwar, who has petitioned the State Government in this regard. If only the babus would oblige.