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Elango - Hero who transformed Panchayat

In a nation where collective finger pointing at politicians, grieving at the slowness of democracy and deriding India itself are fashionable, Rangaswamy Elango is an object lesson. He is an engineer for whom the outer world lay open. He chose to return to his village. He was born a Dalit, a people who have many justified grievances with Indian society. He chose to harmonise passions. He had choices enough to stay away from the rough and tumble of politics, as most educated Indians are wont to. He chose it as the means to lead his village, Kuthambakkam to prosperity. He can spend his life basking in the successes he has wrought so far in Kuthambakkam. But he has chosen to evangelise village centred development. He is a family man with longings for his loved ones. But he lives a solitary life for his cause, Gram Swaraj [--the Autonomous Village]. Most of all, at a time when it is the vogue to belittle Gandhi, he adores the great man as the one who truly understood India. The career path of Rangaswamy Elango needs to be widely known. Just fifty more Panchayat leaders like him across India are enough as nodes from where sensible village development can radiate in all directions.

Read the whole fascinating phenomenon @Elango at Kuthambakkam is implementing Gandhi's manifesto.

I should make a point to keep Elango in mind visit his village while I embark on the bandwagon of Politics.

Elango is optimistic for India. What does he think of the recent attempts to nibble away Panchayat's powers? "Look, the system will come up with the necessary resistance," he says. "In Tamil Nadu alone I have personally identified 1000 honest, successful Presidents. We have begun to network and stay connected. This number will only increase. I am sure similar is the case in other States. I am starting a Panchayat Academy to teach the Presidents their powers and villages' entitlement. All these will rouse people's expectations. There is an emerging force not visible to the media and most people. It is at work changing India from below. This force cannot be stemmed."

Its wonderful that a network of honest people is forming, I guess every effort should be made to expand this network and exploit the potential of such a network to build a prosperous india.

Posted by Ramdhan Yadav at May 25, 2004 02:20 PM Perma Link