Freedom and Leadedrship

Talk Freedom, Talk Leadership

We have all heard the names of Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., our own Mahatma Gandhi … And more recently Aung San Suu Ki. What is the common thread that connects all these great personalities? What is the common streak found in each one of their blood? If you are required to answer that question in one word, what will that word be? Yes, Freedom! They spent their lives fighting for the freedom of their people, their countrymen, of the entire humanity.

Today the word Freedom has acquired a new meaning. We talk in terms of gigabytes and megahertz. Freedom to today’s generation is the freedom of mind, Freedom to think, Freedom to act on one’s dreams. It is this freedom that Narayan Murthy and his six friends sought when they left Patni to form Infosys in India. It is this freedom when Chetan Bhagat leaves a high paying job in investment banking and starts writing novels such as 5-point someone and One Night at Call Centre. And it is the craving for this very freedom to pursue dreams of creating and adding value to the society that brought Chhavi Rajawat to the small village named Soda in Rajasthan, India to help the villagers. How many of us know of people who have completed their higher studies, worked in corporate sector, and quit their job to engage in social service?  An MBA graduate from one of the prestigious institute of India could have easily got a high paying job and availed lifestyle in a metro city but she opted for a career that is far removed from the rigmarole of corporate culture.

From a distance one could easily mistake Chhavi, an articulate, computer-savvy woman, for a frontline model or at least a Bollywood actress. But she is sarpanch (rural leader) of Soda village, 60 kilometers from Jaipur, in backward Rajasthan and the changing face of growing dynamic rural India. Chhavi realized that there were no options for the girls in villages to pursue her dream. She could not see any dream in the eyes of the villagers especially girl child and finally decided to do something different that can touch people’s life. 30-year-old Rajawat, India's youngest and the only MBA to become a village head -- the position mostly occupied by elders, quit her senior management position with Bharti-Tele Ventures of Airtel Group to serve her beloved villagers as sarpanch. At a point in her career, where higher glory beckoned, she chose to be the Sarpanch of Soda, Rajasthan – her hometown. Moved by the village’s poor state of health and water, Chhavi saw the upcoming Panchayati elections as an opportunity to give back to her motherland. Elected unanimously, Chhavi soon initiated her plans of making drinkable water available to all. In the process, she also turned Soda around as the country’s first e-enabled village, bringing in a higher level of transparency in finance. For the villagers of Soda, Chhavi is everything from dreams, aspiration, hope, determination and above all the will to succeed.

Chhavi Says “I am just a village girl who has had an opportunity to study in some of the best institutions in the country and has only gone back home to work with and for her people. It’s as simple as that.”

It’s the passion to follow her dream took her to 11^th Info-Poverty World Conference held at the United Nations. Jeans clad Indian village head dazzled at United Nations as many people were impressed by her sporty look and confidence but most importantly with the ideas on collaborative leadership and poverty alleviation. In past few years she has radically changed the village through the collaborative efforts of villagers. She has had no outside support- no NGO help, no public and private sector help.

Chhavi says "In three years I will transform my village. I don't want money. I want people and organizations to adopt projects in my village as often projects fail owing to lack of a local connect and that is what I am here to provide by bridging that gap.”  

In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are. Jump off the cliff… You will grow wings on the way down. Every man in the world is better than someone else and not as good someone else. It’s actually the attitude that determines altitude.