Deaf Youth Likely To Become India’s First Deaf Sarpanch
For the first time ever, a 27-year-old deaf man is likely to become the sarpanch of Dansari village panchayat in Madhya Pradesh.
A 27-year-old deaf man is likely to become the sarpanch of Dansari village panchayat in Madhya Pradesh. Dansari village has a population of nearly 1,000 and is located about 40 km from Indore city. It was recently given the status of gram panchayat. The sub-divisional magistrate Pratul Sinha said that the post of sarpanch in the newly constituted Dansari panchayat has been reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category. This reservation process has suddenly changed the fate of Lalu, the Deaf Scheduled Tribe resident of the village.
The gram panchayat polls schedule in the state has not yet been announced. However the residents of Dansari say it is almost certain that Lalu will get elected unopposed as sarpanch in the elections as he is the only voter from ST category in the village. Lalu’s parents died when he was a child. He has also made up his mind to participate in the poll in his village. Lalu is a bachelor and has been living with a family in the village since last 20 years and doing farming.
Social activist Gyanendra Purohit, who interacted with Lalu in sign language, said, “He is confident of himself and says he will file nomination papers for the post of sarpanch in the panchayat elections.” Lalu is excited over the thought of becoming a sarpanch. He wants to work particularly for the welfare of farmers and also contribute to development by getting new roads constructed in his village.
Mr. Purohit said, “If Lalu becomes sarpanch after the panchayat polls, he will be the first speech and Deaf candidate in the country to be elected to the post. His victory will make the voice of people from the deaf community stronger in democracy.” The villagers are also running a campaign to make Lalu the sarpanch of their panchayat.
