Exemplary Sarpanchs

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 11: Grassroots Democracy – Part 2: Local Government in Rural Areas · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 11.3

Learn

Across India, many Sarpanchs have transformed their villages by working hand in hand with the people. Here are three stories, inspired by such leaders. (The villages and people are imaginary, but their kinds of work are real.)

Harigaon suffered droughts every few years. Its Sarpanch, Mohanlal, brought the villagers together to build small check dams, dig ponds to catch rainwater, and plant thousands of trees on the hills. In a few years, the wells filled up again, and farmers could grow two crops a year.

In Bhilwadi, women rarely came to Gram Sabha meetings. Sunita, the first woman Sarpanch of her village, went from house to house inviting women. Soon they spoke up about toilets, clean water and girls' schooling, and the Panchayat acted on their ideas.

In Rampur Khurd, Ravina, a transgender person, won the Sarpanch election with the motto "Service to the village is service to all." She set up a reading room and solar street lights. These stories show that in a democracy anyone can lead, and that good leaders listen and involve everyone.

Explore: match the problem to the plan.

1. Sort each problem by the kind of plan that would solve it.

Remember

• Exemplary Sarpanchs solve real problems like water, schooling and cleanliness with villagers' help.
• In a democracy, anyone, including women and transgender people, can be elected to lead.

Quick check

What do the exemplary Sarpanchs have in common?

1. They worked with villagers to solve real local problems
2. They were all very rich
3. They never held meetings
4. They were all men

Think about it

If you were a Sarpanch, which problem in your area would you tackle first, and how?

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.