Dalit woman spearheads struggle against hooch menace

As the Ahmedabad hooch tragedy assumes alarming proportions, a dalit woman spearheading a four-year fight against spurious liquor in Haryana, was today honoured by President Pratibha Patil for showing the way to tackle the menace gripping many parts of the country.
     
"The work which Roshani Devi and her two fellow women activists Usha and Tripti have done shows how courage, dedication and confidence can overcome even the most difficult of problems," Patil said while presenting shawls and mementos to Devi, the first dalit sarpanch of her village, and her two associates, at the Rashtrapati Bhawan here.
 
A beaming 35-year-old Devi said she was proud of the honour but her battle against liquor continues.
      
"I feel proud that President has honoured me but this is not the end. My battle will continue," she said,.
       
It all started when Devi, the first Dalit graduate of her village in Mahendergarh District of Haryana decided to contest the Panchayat elections in 2005 with a promise that she would ensure that no one drinks alcohol in public places.
       
Her appeal immediately struck a chord with women voters for whom drinking of liquor by men especially at public places was a menace which they had to face every day.
       
"Addicted to hooch, the villagers would often come drunk and beat their wives and children. Most of them used to open bottles at public places which would make it difficult for women to venture out," Devi said.        

Devi was joined in her campaign by Tripti and Usha, who were already bearing the brunt of the menace in their homes.
       
With the support from women folks, Roshani alone mustered more votes than those polled by all the nine male contenders together and won the elections.
       
"My first panchayat meeting as sarpanch was disrupted by some upper caste men who said how can a dalit women take the post. They stopped me from carrying out my duties and locked me for four hours," she said.
       
The incident, she said, strengthened her resolve to tackle the problem prompting her to lodge a complaint with the police. Sensing she could not be taken lightly, village elders requested her to take back the complaint.
      
"In return, I asked them to close down all the liquor shops in the area. After prolonged negotiations, they agreed to do so. I immediately passed a resolution in the panchayat that all shops within a kilometer radius of the village be closed," she said.
       
Three shops were shut down in the village which comes under Mahendergarh district. But it was just the tip of the iceberg, implementing the ban was more difficult.
        
Men were getting supplies from neighbouring villages. To counter this problem, village women formed groups and started patrolling the area. Those found drunk were beaten up by the women.
      
"We used to visit homes of these people and tried to convince them about the ill-effects of drinking. Most of them agreed. Some took pledge at the chaupal," Devi said.
      
Her efforts started bearing fruits as women in other villages started following her footsteps.      

"I have two children and my family supports me. I will carry the flag of prohibition beyond the boundaries of this village," says a confident Roshani Devi.
      
Lauding her efforts, the President said, "It is not just that spending of money by the government can eradicate these problems but it needs resolve and determination to end social evils like dowry, child marriages, female foeticide and alcoholism."