A notable phrase by renowned Indian monk, Swami Vivekananda that instantly hits my mind as I envisage to write about this inspirational female figure is “What I want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel…” The phrase is an excerpt from an address that Vivekananda delivered to Indians during the time India was under British control and today it seems that Chhavi Rajawat has rightfully earned the true essence of this expression. A determined, resolute and robust Rajawat offers a truly inspirational tale that depicts how one individual can bring about change and reformation to those layers of society that have for long undergone isolation and hence been hindered from a fair rate of progress. This is where Rajawat has committed and devoted her efficiency and expertise to inject a wave of reformation in a remote village in Rajasthan, India called Soda.
This MBA graduate’s timeline can be gracefully divided from the time she held prominent positions in the corporate sector to the Sarpanch (head of village) of Soda. But how did the course of her journey lead Rajawat from big corporate firms to a Sarpanch?
Rajawat says that in 2010, villagers of Soda approached her father “thinking my father would decide for me or be the one they could use to influence me.” Rajawat adds, “If it were left to him, he would not want his daughter to become a Sarpanch,” since he was aware of the quintessential political ballgame in India.
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