On this Deepavali day, in the Datar village, Jhansi district, Uttar Pradesh fragrant scent of rose water was permeating in every nook and corner. The whole village wore a festive look. This Deepavali was a special occasion for that village. SSP Devkumar Antony of Jhansi Nagar , known for his tough and honest image, was reaching the village along with his officers not for nabbing illicit liquor sellers, nor to send any criminal behind bars. Instead they were visiting the village for honouring the young men of Datar, who had given up drinking and brewing illicit liquor.
Contrast the current scenario with what was prevailing for decades when in Datar village, the odour of illicit liquor used to greet any visitor. The admirable change was the result of years of tireless work of the Seva Samarpan Samiti, a voluntary service organization. The One Teacher School (Ekal Vidyalaya), run by the committee for 10 years, not only provided them education, but also made their parents a part of the mainstream of the society by enabling them to lead a dignified life.
Let us learn as to how this change was brought in from Rajkumar who is teaching the students of the village. Rajkumar’s memory is still green of May 2007, 13 years ago, when he first came to Datar. At that time, no person from local Kabootara community was ready to receive Rajkumar and his associates of Seva Samarpan Samiti (SSS). They were not ready to send their children to the school. After a lot of sustained efforts and persuasion, the villagers came around with a condition, that the SSS members will not meddle in the village issues.
The Kabootara community people there did not trust the rest of the other communities. Fearing their criminal track record of thieving and looting, members of other communities and surrounding villages maintained a safe distance from Kabootaras of Datar. There was a time when people started beating them on sighting. Even in a shandies or shops, they were not allowed to sit with everyone. Apart from theft and robbery, these people had no way to fill their stomachs. Parents would brew illicit liquors and the children used to be the delivery boys. Children also got habituated at very young age to drink arrack.
On seeing their conditions, the then home minister Balwant Nagesh Datar organized them and established Datar village in February 1958. However, even after 40 years, people of the Kabootara community could not become a part of the mainstream. In the Jhansi city meeting of the RSS in 2005, the social status of the Kabootara society was discussed in depth, after which the volunteers decided to work for finding a solution. The one teacher school was the first phase of this resolution. The school now runs through the SSS.
Poverty is often found to be the biggest obstacle in the path of education. However, in Datar there was neither poverty nor hunger, yet their children did not go to study anywhere. The problem here was something else. Bringing the change of the the mindset and breaking the mutual distrust between Kabootara community and the rest of the villagers were the challenging issues. The SSS volunteers state that today 450 children from Datar go to different schools in Jhansi. Still more daunting was making the parents to send their daughters to schools. The child marriages were quite normal earlier. Now 80 girls here go to Jhansi to study.
Gradually, members of the other communities also have started accepting them. When, marriages of two of the Kabootara girls were arranged by SSS, rest of the villagers also joined hands in conducting the marriages well. When the Sun of Education dawned upon the Datar village, the darkness of distrust and hatred has faded away.
SSP Devkumar ji, after participating in the Deepavali event, witnessing and discussing with the elders appreciated the efforts of SSS. After the program, the local administration and police men have changed their outlook. They have also inspired the village youths to join the police.
