I am President of Behri gram Panchayat. This is my first time as Panchayat
President. I was elected on November 22, 2005. I have studied until Class IV
and belong to the Rajput caste. Nobody from my family has ever taken an
interest in politics before. However, I have been the President of the Mahila
Mandal for twelve years and of the Panchayat Mandali for three years and
these experiences built up my an interest in politics.I am a farmer. My husband is employed with the government. I have two sons
and one daughter. My elder son works in a school as a teacher. The younger
son has finished his Class xII and has started his own business.Winning the election was not easy. The woman contesting against me was
the wife of the former President. I had to put in a lot of effort to keep
the contest equal. If members of the Mahila Mandal and the Panchayat
Mandali had not extended their support to me, I would not have been
able to win. I gained knowledge and information about the Panchayat and
the procedures of nomination from SUTRA. This enabled me to imagine
myself as a leader who would take up issues of concern to women and help
bring about social justice.At the time when I was elected the President, the government had begun
its Cleanliness Campaign. I initiated village committees to carry forward
this campaign in my village, and Behri won an award, coming second in the
entire District.In May 2007, I received the Nirmal Gram Award (Clean Village Award)
in Delhi from Dr. Abdul Kalam. I used the award money to repair and
construct roads and drainage in my village. I am the first one to have
initiated work in the entire Block under NREgS. I still have to fulfill my
vision for my gram Panchayat.I use the information and knowledge that I gain to bring justice to women and
especially those women who belong to economically marginalised sections, by
employing them under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, as water carriers and asTara Devi
President
Panchayat: Behri
Block: Ramshahar
District: Solan