Grassroots Governance in India: Stories of Women Changemakers

India’s democratic experiment at the grassroots has created unlikely leaders. Women who once lived in the shadows of patriarchy now chair panchayat meetings, negotiate with bureaucrats, and transform their communities. These stories from rural Odisha, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh reveal how women elected representatives are reshaping village governance despite formidable obstacles.

From banking halls to village councils: Arati Devi’s journey 🔗

In 2012, Arati Devi made a decision that surprised everyone. She quit her position as an investment officer at IDBI Bank to become sarpanch of Dhunkapada gram panchayat in Ganjam district, Odisha. Her motivation was simple but profound: she wanted to give back to the community that raised her.

What made Arati unique was not just her MBA degree or banking experience, but her determination to transform rural governance. Touted as India’s youngest elected sarpanch, she launched a literacy campaign called “Tipa Nuhen Dastakhat” which enabled around 700 women to sign their names instead of using thumbprints. This seemingly small change had enormous symbolic and practical value.

Arati’s work extended far beyond literacy. She started women-only gram sabhas, recognizing that women rarely attended meetings dominated by men. She streamlined the Public Distribution System, ensuring villagers received subsidized wheat and kerosene. She revived folk art traditions and planted over 150,000 trees in her panchayat. Her initiatives were so innovative that she became the only Indian selected for the International Visitors Leadership Program under the Obama administration in 2014.

Perhaps her most lasting contribution came during a meeting where she coined the phrase “Beti Padhao.” Another sarpanch from Haryana suggested “Beti Bachao,” and these two ideas merged into the national campaign Beti Bachao Beti Padhao. Her journey eventually inspired the Bollywood film “Sir Madam Sarpanch,” though Arati herself remained focused on grassroots work rather than recognition.

Breaking the veil of patriarchy: Mohini Devi’s resistance 🔗

In Rajasthan’s conservative villages, the ghunghat represents more than a piece of cloth. It symbolizes women’s confinement to domestic spaces and their exclusion from public decision-making. For Mohini Devi, elected sarpanch of Sonasar gram panchayat in Alsisar block, discarding the ghunghat was both her first victory and her declaration of independence.

Mohini faced immediate family pressure when she began taking her role seriously. Critics blamed her for neglecting household duties and defying traditional gender norms. But she stood firm, recognizing that meaningful leadership required visibility and direct engagement with her constituents.

Her most significant battle came against alcohol consumption in the village. Recognizing how alcoholism destroyed families and drained household incomes, Mohini organized women’s self-help groups to build collective strength. When village men tried to obstruct her efforts, she led a dharna outside the District Collector’s office, refusing to leave until authorities banned liquor sales. The protest succeeded, though not without physical confrontation. On one occasion, she physically confronted men who attempted to sabotage development work.

Beyond the alcohol ban, Mohini established women’s forums where participants could discuss problems openly. She organized competitions to build women’s confidence and used her panchayat position to challenge patriarchal customs systematically. Her in-laws eventually supported her work, encouraging her to prioritize panchayat responsibilities even when household duties demanded attention.

The wider movement against alcohol in Rajasthan 🔗

Mohini’s resistance was part of a broader movement. In villages across Rajasthan, women sarpanches led campaigns against liquor shops that had plagued their communities for years. In Kachhabali panchayat, women like Sita Devi and then-sarpanch Geeta Devi witnessed over 150 deaths linked to alcohol in just a couple of years. Their tireless campaign to close the village’s lone liquor shop eventually succeeded, creating a template for other villages.

Collaborative leadership in the mountains: Mamta Devi’s approach 🔗

When Mamta Devi became pradhan of Soukani Da Kot panchayat in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, she inherited multiple crises. The panchayat suffered from poor sanitation, unemployment, and widespread alcoholism. Infrastructure was crumbling, and social divisions ran deep. Yet Mamta, a woman from the marginalized Scheduled Caste community with only an eighth-grade education, transformed these challenges into opportunities.

What distinguished Mamta’s leadership was her collaborative approach. Rather than working alone, she leveraged community-based organizations, particularly women’s groups called Mahila Mandals. Her association with CORD, an NGO that provided training and organizational support, proved crucial. Through these networks, she mobilized community participation for infrastructure projects, sanitation initiatives, and livelihood improvements.

Mamta’s achievements were concrete and visible. She successfully lobbied to remove government fines on slate miners, restoring employment to hundreds of laborers. She negotiated funding for roads, solar lamps, water storage tanks, and irrigation canals. Under her leadership, a law college that had been constructed but remained non-functional finally opened, providing local access to legal education.

Perhaps her most significant accomplishment was implementing the Swachh Bharat Mission at the panchayat level. She oversaw construction of household and community toilets, dramatically improving sanitation and health outcomes. She also built a community center capable of accommodating 300-500 people, which not only served social functions but generated revenue through rentals.

Beyond infrastructure: social transformation 🔗

Mamta’s work extended beyond physical development. She actively mobilized women to participate in gram sabhas and up-gram sabhas, changing the gendered nature of village politics. She eliminated proxy governance by male relatives of elected women representatives, including interference from her own family members. As a mother, she made the unconventional decision to send her daughter to private school while her son attended government school, directly challenging community norms about gender and education priorities.

Her success led to re-election in 2016, this time on an open seat where she defeated other women candidates without the benefit of caste reservation. In her second term, she continued developing underground garbage disposal systems, addressing eviction notices for forest land residents, and planning rope-way construction for eco-tourism.

Mobilizing communities for health: Shivkumari Devi’s advocacy 🔗

While specific documented cases of Shivkumari Devi’s work are limited in available sources, the broader context of women leaders in health advocacy reveals crucial patterns. Women community health entrepreneurs across India have demonstrated how grassroots leadership transforms healthcare access.

Women leaders in panchayats have prioritized health infrastructure development, lobbying for primary health centers, veterinary facilities, and proper medical staff deployment. They conduct community visits to understand health needs, organize awareness campaigns about sanitation and hygiene, and work to improve women’s access to maternal healthcare services.

The pattern is clear across multiple states: women in panchayat leadership focus on issues that male predecessors typically ignored. They ensure pregnant women can reach hospitals, they advocate for ambulance access to remote areas, and they address water contamination that causes chronic illness. By collecting data on household health conditions and toilet availability, they develop evidence-based approaches to community health challenges.

The structural challenges women leaders face 🔗

Despite their achievements, these women navigated treacherous terrain. Arati faced mental harassment, physical attack threats, and police cases filed under the SC/ST Atrocity Act by men who felt threatened by her authority. Mohini endured family criticism and male opposition to her developmental work. Mamta confronted political labeling when she worked with the local minister, and dealt with former panchayat representatives’ family members trying to interfere in governance.

The challenges go beyond individual resistance. Systemic barriers include hierarchical caste systems that make it difficult for SC/ST women to function independently, lack of female colleagues at higher administrative levels, traditional domestic work burdens, security concerns about visiting remote areas at odd hours, and insufficient information about governance processes.

Research shows that 77% of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions believe they cannot easily change things on the ground. However, studies also reveal that constituencies reserved for women leaders have higher delivery of civic facilities, including drinking water, schools, health centers, and fair price shops, with quality at least as high as non-reserved constituencies.

The transformative potential of women’s leadership 🔗

The stories of Arati, Mohini, Mamta, and countless other women leaders demonstrate several crucial insights. First, representation matters, but it requires sustained support. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment’s reservation of one-third seats for women created entry points, but training, mentorship, and protection from violence remain essential for women to govern effectively.

Second, women leaders bring different priorities to governance. They focus on education, healthcare, sanitation, and women’s safety, issues that directly impact daily life but were often sidelined by male-dominated panchayats. Their collaborative approaches, leveraging self-help groups and community organizations, create more inclusive decision-making processes.

Third, individual courage combined with collective action produces lasting change. Mohini could not have banned alcohol alone; she needed organized women’s groups. Mamta’s infrastructure achievements required partnerships with NGOs, government agencies, and community members. These women succeeded not despite their communities but through mobilizing them.

Finally, visible women leaders inspire the next generation. When young girls see women chairing meetings, negotiating with officials, and making budgetary decisions, it expands their sense of possibility. Studies published in Science magazine show that villages with female leaders report lower bias against women, and families invest more in daughters’ education when exposed to empowered female role models.

What do you think? How can we strengthen support systems for women in local governance to ensure they can lead effectively without facing violence or social ostracism? What role should national and state governments play in protecting and empowering women panchayat leaders who face resistance from entrenched power structures?

References

1. https://odishatv.in/news/odisha/meet-odisha-s-arati-devi-youngest-sarpanch-of-india-who-inspired-the-movie-sir-madam-sarpanch–201825
2. https://odishabytes.com/meet-odishas-arati-devi-who-inspired-sir-madam-sarpanch-coined-beti-padhao/
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4. https://www.pria.org/knowledge_resource/Women_Leaders_in_Panchayats_1.pdf
5. https://en.themooknayak.com/rajasthan/how-rural-women-lead-the-way-to-liquor-ban-in-many-villages-of-a-patriarchal-state
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10. https://thebetterindia.com/85603/women-sarpanches-transforming-inspiring-villages/