India is an agro-based country, with the majority of the population of the country residing in the villages. When we think of Indian villages, we picture ample greenery and simplicity, ensconced in nature. Our idea of Indian villages today also involves poverty, dirt, illiteracy, backwardness, etc. But, to prove that we have got the idea about Indian villages all wrong, and that it is possible for the rural regions to show great improvement in every way, here are 5 Exemplary Villages of India. Let’s take a look:
1. Pothanikkad
One of the biggest problems in India is its literacy rate. Pothanikkad in Kerala is the first village in India to achieve 100% literacy. The oldest high school here is St. Mary’s High School, while St. John’s Higher Secondary School is another leading educational institution here. It is one of Kerala’s most culturally advanced villages. Interestingly, the number of females here is higher than that of males.
2. Mawlynnong
Mawlynnong is a village in the state of Meghalaya, nestled in the East Khasi Hills district. In a country where hygiene is a big issue, Mawlynnong is an exemplary village of India, with special attention to its cleanliness. Here, waste in collected in bamboo bins, directed to a pit and then cured to make manure. Thus it has been dubbed the cleanest village not just in the country but also in Asia.
3. Punsari
In the recent past, Gujarat has time and again come up in the news because of its rapid improvement. Punsari, a village in Gujarat in Subarkantha district, is a good example. The Panchayat raj system has incorporated advanced technology in education, wi-fi, security, healthcare, women empowerment, mineral water supply, sewer & drainage and toll-free complaint reception service.
4. Hiware Bazar
Hiware Bazar is a village in Maharashtra in the Ahmednagar District. In the 1990s, it was noted for having 60 millionaires, and a per capita income of Rs. 30,000. In 1989, PopatraoBaguiPawar became gram panchayat sarpanch and improved the village’s condition by closing liquor retail outlets, securing bank loans for farmers, rainwater harvesting and taking steps to make the village strive.
5. Dharnai
Dharnai is a village in Bihar in the district of Jehanabad. Dharnai beat the rumours about the backwardness associated with Bihar, and established itself as one of the most exemplary villages of India as the first of its kind in the country to be fully solar-powered. With Greenpeace Organization’s help, it became energy-independent, leaving behind its days of darkness and kerosene lamps.
Several other villages are thriving to make a mark in the remarkable development of India in its path towards the future. Haryana’s Chappar, for instance, under a woman sarpanch is all about women empowerment, while Karnataka’s Kokrebellur boasts of rare bird species, and takes care of its winged little friends instead of treating them like a nuisance. People of Bekkinakeri of Karnataka decided to take a stand against open defecation by frequenting the popular defecation sites and greeting the perpetrators bearing a ‘lota’ into getting too embarrassed to carry about with their business, which has worked so fantastically well that this unhealthy practice is no more prevalent here. Ballia in Uttar Pradesh manually fixed their wells instead of waiting for the government’s aid in getting rid of arsenic from their water. Each of these villages is a model village in its own right, and sets the best example to establish what Gandhi once said: “The future of India lies in its villages.”
