Banswara district, nestled at the southern tip of Rajasthan, is known for the colourful heritage of its tribal culture. One of its blocks, Sajjangarh, is today witness to a quiet revolution—one with no noise and no slogans. There is only a steady round of meetings, proposals written on paper, the bustle of Gram Sabhas, and the villagers' firm belief that the key to the lock of their problems lies in their own hands.
The ground for this change has been prepared by Vaagdhara through years of effort. Through the Krishi evam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan (Agriculture and Tribal Swaraj Organisation), Gram Swaraj groups, Saksham groups and Bal Swaraj groups, the organisation has continually inspired the community to safeguard water, forests, land, animals, seeds, and its own traditions and culture. Its method is simple: first a dialogue with the village, then connecting groups and organisations with the government, so that people can place their concerns directly before the system. The organisation shows the way, but it is the village that has to walk it.
This article tells two such stories from two villages. In one, a boundary wall rose around a school and brought the children's studies some peace. In the other, water gushed once more from handpumps that had lain defunct for years. The heroes of these stories are villagers who decided that, instead of waiting, they would write applications, gather in meetings and carry their demands to the right door.
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The Government Upper Primary School in Tidiyadev village, in Gram Panchayat Timba Mahudi, looked from the outside like any other village school, but one shortcoming weighed on the children's learning every day. The school had no boundary wall around its campus. Garbage from the surroundings drifted into the open grounds, and animal remains spread filth across it. In the courtyard where children were meant to learn their letters, a stench and dirt stood guard. When the atmosphere spoiled, so did the desire to study. Just imagine: when the view from the classroom window is itself one of filth, how can the mind settle into books?
This problem did not stay buried in a file, because a good habit has taken root in this region: sitting down with the community every month. Under the Azim Premji Constitutional Dignity Fellowship programme, regular work on awareness and education has been under way in Sajjangarh block for the past two years. The Bal Swaraj group formed by Vaagdhara and fellow Vinod Damor meet the community every month so that local problems can be decided together. At one such meeting, people said that, with no boundary wall, filth was spreading across the campus every day and affecting the children's education. The issue reached the community through the School Management Committee and, in no time, became a shared concern.
Vinod Damor explains the entire process in very simple words: "We told the villagers that if the problem is yours, the solution too will emerge from among you. Our job was only to make sure that everyone sat down together at the meeting, that the discussion was open, and that whatever was decided travelled further."
Having understood the problem, the community, the Bal Swaraj group and fellow Vinod Damor, together with the School Management Committee, submitted a proposal for a boundary wall to the Gram Panchayat with everyone's consent. But the village was not willing to submit a proposal and then fall silent. The community regularly reviewed the proposal in the Gram Sabha—which is to say, it kept asking how far the matter had progressed. This vigilance paid off. The proposal received administrative approval, work began smoothly, and in just two months the boundary wall stood complete.
Today the campus of the Tidiyadev school is clean and tidy. The environment is fresh, no outsiders or stray elements enter the school, studies proceed without interruption, and happiness is plain to see on the children's faces. A wall did not merely keep the filth out; it also protected the children's concentration within.
An even bigger change happened beyond the wall. Confidence awakened in the community. Those who saw that a proposal written by them could truly turn into brick and mortar prepared proposals for the village's other problems too and had them submitted to the Gram Panchayat. Throughout this period, the role of the Bal Swaraj group and fellow Vinod Damor was vital; rather than take the credit themselves, they pushed the community forward to lead.
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A shortage of water is never only a question of thirst. It is a question of women's time and of the health of the whole family. In a home where water must be fetched from afar and at some risk, the day begins in exhaustion.
The turning point came on 22 March 2025. On World Water Day, a programme was organised among the community through the Krishi evam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan and Gram Swaraj. It featured an open dialogue on conserving water and solving its problems. The conversation did not remain a mere ritual; it sank into the hearts of the people of Dungripada.
Inspired by this, members of the Gram Swaraj Sangathan in Dungripada held a meeting with Jaldoot (water ambassador) Kamlesh Charpota. Nirmal Dangi, Mohan Malji, Narsing Bhanu, Mangli Malia, Pramila Ramli, Savita Karma and other members attended. After a long discussion, a decision was reached by consensus: troubling over it alone would change nothing; the whole village would have to unite and place its demand before the government.
Recalling that meeting, Jaldoot Kamlesh Charpota says: "On Water Day, we resolved that talk of water would not remain confined to speeches. Only when the whole village demands with one voice will anyone listen."
After the decision, the village did not wait. Members of the Gram Swaraj Sangathan placed their problem before Ramila Kharge, MLA of the Kushalgarh Assembly constituency. The most distinctive feature of the campaign was that the applications and petitions were written by none other than the villagers themselves. They carried them to the MLA, the District Collector and the Tehsildar, and also approached officials of the Water Department directly.
The MLA acted as soon as she heard them. Through the District Collector, the Tehsildar and Water Department officials were contacted and an effort to resolve the problem was set in motion. At the request of the Gram Swaraj Sangathan, work to repair the water sources in Dungripada began afresh.
MLA Ramila Kharge's stance was this: "On a matter like drinking water, even a day's delay is not acceptable. When the villagers put their case before me, I spoke to the administration immediately so that the village could get relief soon.
Work that might have dragged on for years began within two days. The entire Water Department team arrived in the village and, with the community's help, repaired the water sources. Five handpumps, which had been lying idle for many days and because of which the whole village had been suffering a drinking water shortage, were put right. Notably, the community did not stand by as spectators. People worked shoulder to shoulder with the department's team.
As a result, the village's drinking water problem was resolved, and villagers got a source of water close to home. Water samples were also sent to the district level for testing, so that attention would be paid not just to getting water but to its being fit to drink.
Nirmal Dangi, a member of the organisation, shows his joy in his words: "The pumps that had been shut for days started running again. We wrote the application ourselves and saw for ourselves what effect it had. What greater satisfaction could there be?"
Savita Karma connects the lesson from this experience to the road ahead: "Now we know where and how to put forward our case. Whenever the village has any need in the future, we will demand it together in just this way."
The impact of this initiative did not stop at the village boundary. It became a good example for neighbouring villages, where people too are now trying to connect with the government with their own problems and demands. Challenges such as the well's parapet remain part of the journey ahead, but the village now has the confidence that is the greatest asset in every struggle to come.
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The wall at Tidiyadev and the handpumps of Dungripada look like two separate matters—one concerning education, the other water. But a single thread runs through their weave. In both places, the first step was recognising the problem, and that recognition happened in the village's own meeting. In both, consensus followed, then a written proposal or application, then persistent follow-up, and finally the result. At no point in this sequence was an outsider needed; all that was needed was an organised community, the right forum and patience.
People like Vinod Damor and Kamlesh Charpota put the community forward rather than themselves. This is why, the moment one task was complete, people were ready for another, and neighbouring villages set out on the same path. When change rests on a single person, it falls apart as soon as that person steps away; but when it becomes the habit of an entire community, no one can stop it.
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*Contact: vikasmeshram04@gmail.com. Pix: Sunil Malviya
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