A daughter of hills accepts a challenge

Dipender Manta in Mandi

Hills are tough, and people living there have got to be tougher. A lot depends on how one sees life there: whether as subservient to the compulsions imposed by the harshness of the hills or a challenge to overcome the very constraints. Jabna Chauhan, 23, has chosen to rough it out, in her own way, at her village Tharjoon in Himachal’s Mandi district.

She looks like a frail school-going girl, but her persistence and commitment to work would surprise you. She plans her day’s work, interacts with her team and takes decisions with firmness in her voice and sincerity in her efforts.

A graduate, Jabna is the first woman panchayat pradhan of her village, and has successfully enforced a ban on liquor at weddings and other formal gatherings in her village. “Everyone hates petty brawls which invariably lead to women’s humiliation,” she says. 

On Feb 27 this year, the panchayat under her watch passed a resolution, proposing a fine of Rs 10,000 in case anybody is found violating the ban.

There’s more…

On Jan 6, chief minister Virbhadra Singh honoured her with the Best Pradhan award, for her cleanliness drive. And on International Women’s Day on March 8, she represented Himachal at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. She spoke on her cleanliness drive under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hers, she says, has been a fight against poverty, and to an extent against male-dominated society that thinks women cannot be at the helm. Her one-year experience tells as much. 

“Educating my three children was almost impossible for me, but I ensured that Jabna completed her graduation. When the post of pradhan was reserved for the Scheduled Caste, I encouraged my daughter to take the plunge,” says her father, Hariya. She was elected pradhan on January 1, 2016, by a margin of only three votes.

Jabna’s day begins at 5.30 am and ends late in the evening. She works with her father in their agricultural field, and makes her own notes on the needs of the village. Her efforts have brought street lights, and she says, plans are afoot to get the village paths repaired.

Her panchayat has sought the closure of a liquor shop in Keolidhar in the area and has submitted a memorandum to the Mandi deputy commissioner. She has persuaded villagers to deposit domestic waste at a separate pit while avoiding polythene bags. 

Hopes soar

“She has undoubtedly done good work within a year. We hope she would bring about major changes,” says villager Uttam Singh. “A good beginning has already been made,” says another villager, Murari Lal. 

Her teachers in school, Devender Kumar, Pratap Thakur and Sanjiv Thakur praise her persistence “She was good in studies and was eager to do something for the village. She has made the most of the opportunity to serve as pradhan,” says Kumar. “Many have even started believing that a woman pradhan is more effective,” says Pratap Thakur.

Her income: A monthy Rs 3,000 honorarium from the government. Her happiness: immeasurable. What next for her? “I would like to ensure best facilities for the village, education for every child, especially girls, and cleanliness. Jabna seems to cherish a dream: a career in politics where she could be instrumental in cleansing the system.