Indian woman works to transform dirt-poor village

Village headwoman Chhavi Rajawat (2L, back) interacts during a village meeting in Soda, a remote village in Rajasthan state. Photo:AFP

Chhavi Rajawat is a one-woman whirlwind as she seeks to drag her impoverished ancestral village in the desert state of Rajasthan into the 21st Century.
Rajawat, who spent her family holidays in sun-scorched Soda, became its sarpanch or elected village head three years ago after villagers implored her to take charge with dozens turning up at her home in state capital Jaipur to persuade her.
"The villagers broke all caste, gender and religious barriers to elect me," said Rajawat, a glamorous 33-year-old whose 10,000 constituents are mostly farmers and labourers largely untouched by India's economic boom.
The MBA graduate ditched her corporate career with one of India's biggest telecom firms to become sarpanch and has been working ever since to bring better water, solar power, paved roads, toilets and a bank to her ancestral village.
Soda is a byword for backwardness in this remote corner of Rajasthan where the houses are made of mud, electricity supplies are erratic, literacy levels are below 50 percent and the fear of drought is never far away.
The villagers said there had been no progress since Rajawat's brigadier grandfather, now in his 90s, had served as sarpanch two decades ago and they wanted someone else in the family to take on the role.
"I didn't have a choice," said a smiling Rajawat, who represented India at a recent UN poverty summit.
Her story reveals the potential of good grassroots leadership in making a difference in a country plagued by corruption and inefficiency. It also shows the limitations.
Swarmed by villagers as she walks down the road, Rajawat greets them by name as they share family news and pepper her with questions about progress on various projects.