She took on the tipplers

Arunbala, 48, of the Tarashiv village which is 45 km from Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur, looks like any other ordinary village woman. But, this former sarpanch has an extraordinary list of achievements to her credit. A recipient of the President’s Award in 2003, Arunbala has been able to enforce prohibition in her village, ensure that every child goes to school, and now she is also a community health volunteer, or mitanin, to 13,000 people in seven villages of the region. Education first
Tarashiv’s population is over 2,000, which includes 400 children. But not one of them was educated nor were the parents interested in sending them to school. That changed when Arunbala went from door to door motivating people to educate their young ones. She, a mother of six and grandmother of three, has studied till only class eight — she was married at the age of 14. Yet she knew instinctively that it was only an education for the girls and women in the village that could help usher in prosperity in their community.
“Mahila manla ghar ke bahaar kadam nikalo, yehi mor sangharsh rahi aur yehi mor udyaesh rahebo (My effort has been to help women cross the threshold of their homes and come forward, get an education and become empowered. This has been my goal in life),” she says.
So, she came up with the slogan Hum padhenge aur aage badhenge (We shall study and move forward) and undertook the responsibility of sending the children to school.
In the beginning, the men opposed her, but Arunbala’s family always stood by her. “I was fortunate to be brought up by parents who instilled in me faith and moral values, protected me from emotional harm, and were a role model for me. That kind of upbringing is a treasure money can’t buy,” she says. Slowly, the villagers came around. “I went to people’s homes and told them that only education can make a person perfect. An uneducated person is considered worthless and not worthy of respect. They should educate their children so that they may succeed in life.” Today, there are two anganwadi centres apart from a primary and a middle school and all the 400 children attend school regularly. Power seat
Seeing that Arunbala had the capability to become an agent of change, the people decided to go a step further and supported her when she stood for the post of sarpanch in the local elections. She won by a record margin and served as the sarpanch for five years, from 2000 to 2005. When elected she simply said, “I contested the election and won. Now my aim is to solve people’s problems and ensure that they get justice.”
She did not disappoint. Her biggest achievement was to successfully enforce prohibition in the village.
She recalls, “People of a particular community, Kochiya, used to sell liquor in the village. Even the children had started drinking. I thought that this problem had to be dealt with and motivated the women to take a stand. We started ransacking the hearths where liquor used to be brewed. We thrashed the men who were caught drinking. Soon they were so afraid that they stopped drinking!”
Liquor had ruined families and destroyed happiness. Men used to drown all their earnings in liquor without caring for the family’s wellbeing or security. Savita Bai, 39, says, “My husband used to drink every day. He spent all the money on liquor. It was only Arunbala’s drive that reformed him.”
Jathuram Verma, a teacher at the primary school, agrees, “She has shown an undying devotion for the community and her village. As a sarpanch she displayed true leadership qualities.”New mission
Although she is no longer the sarpanch, Arunbala’s zeal has not dimmed. As a community health volunteer she attends to the health needs of over 13,000 people in the villages of Sarora, Beradi, Oatjan, Parsada, Gursada and Gujra. Trained in three rounds by the NGO CARE — she was initiated into community processes for strengthening technical interventions such as ante-natal care, new-born care, breastfeeding, appropriate complementary feeding and immunisation — she actively attends to the health problems of the women and children. “People even contact me in the middle of the night asking for help during a delivery. I don’t mind it at all. I feel happy when I get a chance to help people,” she says.
Arunbala was conferred with the President’s Award in 2003 by former President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. But she is not resting on her laurels and has set many goals for herself. One such goal was fulfilled in 2002 with the formation of the Mahila Vikas Samiti, a group comprising 50-60 women who speak out against atrocities on women.
Arunbala today has become an inspiration for many women living around Tarashiv. They want to work with her and be like her.