The Haryanvi from Harvard

In the straightjacket of a neta, you may not call her a leader. In terms of her academic background, she is at best a pleader, a presenter, holding a mirror to the social order in flux. 

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All of 27, Yukti Chaudhary has come a long way from Jaipur, where she did her schooling, St Stephen's College, Delhi, and, more significantly, Harvard University, Massachusetts. In the strict sense of her scholarly pursuits, it'd sound pretty strange that she has had to make Fatehabad her home. The little known town of Haryana has only one claim to fame: its upcoming nuclear power plant. But Yukti has done something that has made the concentric circles surrounding the town on the map look larger than just a dot for sprucing up a low gender ratio. She was recently elected a member of Zila Parishad following an amendment in the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act enforcing education qualification for candidates.

Know more about her: More and more people now want her to contest Assembly or even parliamentary polls for a) she is married into former state leader Mani Ram Godara's family; and b) she is a doer, the one who refused free liquor distribution or promised a "Yellow Card" or "Job Card," much in demand during campaigning. "I told my supporters that I am ready to fight for their rights. But I can't promise them a job or a government favour that I cannot get for them," she says. Result: She defeated her nearest rival Poonam Sihag by 35 votes from Ward 5 of Fatehabad Zila Parishad on January 28.

Yukti is married to Varun Godara, Deputy Superintendent (Prisons), currently posted in Sirsa. She met him in Delhi while pursuing her LLB in year 2010. Varun, a grandson of former Haryana minister late Mani Ram Godara, encouraged her to move forward. "I got married in December 2014. It was all arranged one as our families met each other before they gave their consent," she recalls. She says her husband and members of her family supported her immensely in her election.

Yukti went to Harvard University to pursue her LLM in International Human Rights in 2013-14. On her return, she joined Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a research and advocacy organization based in Delhi. "I gave up my CSE assignment, but I am working as a consultant with another Delhi-based NGO Centre for Responsible Business," she said. Yukti says she had never thought she would one day plunge into electoral politics. "People who supported my grandfather-in-law insisted with my college professor mother-in-law Veena Godara that someone from the family contest to keep the legacy alive," she said. Yukti filed her nomination from Ward 5 on the penultimate day of filing papers.

Yukti believes her education can help her a lot in her new role. "At Harvard, I read a lot about the linkage between law and development. This will help me a lot when I take up development plans for the district," she said. Her priorities: education and healthcare. "People have begun to understand the importance of education, but the condition of schools is very poor. Several young girls drop out because schools and colleges are far off. The condition of health centres is even worse." 

Shortage of drinking water in her ward is another problem. "Women walk 3-4 km with pitchers on their heads to fetch water in several villages such as Kumharia. The quality of drinking water is poor," she says. "In many villages, people said they applied for water connections, but the authorities yet to respond."

Daughter of a Jaipur based realtor, Yukti is younger of the two sisters. And like most married women, her day starts around 7am, when she helps her mother-in-law to prepare breakfast and in other domestic chores. "Fortunately, we have helps, but I prefer cooking myself," she says.

"I used to spend a few hours for the NGO I am working for. Ever since I won the election, people have started pouring in at our residence after 9.30 am and I have to attend them," she says.

Any plans to contest assembly or parliamentary polls? "Nothing so far. But yes, if people keep up their support, I can think of it," Yukti says.
Watch this space.