Rohtak voters prefer highly educated

Sunit Dhawan

Rohtak, November 15

Winds of change seem to be blowing through the villages of Haryana, with highly educated and professionally qualified youth replacing the dhoti, kurta and turban-clad panchayat members having puffs of hookah at chaupals.

An MBBS doctor, postgraduates in law and social work, an M.Phil degree holder, a commerce graduate and several others like them have made it to the post of sarpanch in the recent elections of the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) in Rohtak.

This change has been seen in other districts of the state too. These newly elected sarpanches promise to bring about a

social transformation in villages and usher in a digital era to end the need to make rounds of government offices.

Experts attribute this trend to the increasing literacy rate, unemployment amongst educated youth and the fad for government jobs in Haryana. “The literacy rate in the state has increased considerably, with the number of school dropouts, especially girls, declining and higher education becoming more accessible. At the same time, rising unemployment among the educated youth, coupled with the craze to enter the government set-up, has also prompted youth to enter politics,” says Dr Kanwar Chauhan, a professor of sociology at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) in Rohtak.

Professor Chauhan points out that the modern youth have started seeing politics as a career option as it not only enhances their socio-economic status, but also enables them to have a clout in the government set-up.

“The educated sarpanches can change the face of their respective villages, provided their intention is to genuinely serve the people,” maintains the sociologist.