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Nazar da Silva [EMAIL PROTECTED] This is a true story of two IITians: one who lives near Chennai, on the east coast of our country, and the other on the west coast, in the State of Goa. Both are professionals committed to a cause. Each of them uses his skills and expertise to promote and achieve his goal. However, while the vision of one is overt, unfortunately, the vision of the other is covert. One is patently transparent while the other is suspiciously cagey and fails to inspire confidence. If you live in Goa and have even a cursory knowledge of its politics, you will easily recognise the one with the hidden agenda: after all, the party he owes allegiance to excels in the art of pursuing a hidden agenda. You are right. He is none other than the affable ex-Chief Minister of this State, Shri Manohar Parrikar. Without any shadow of doubt, a veritable cyber trail links this IITian to a spate of unseemly activities that are highly suspect. First and foremost, on the excuse of political stability, he had co-opted and co-habited with the most unsavoury characters from the Opposition, giving them plum portfolios and a free hand to loot and plunder with impunity. Then, very systematically, he had extensively saffronised the bureaucracy with particular attention to law and order and education. This gentleman used devious means to create a rift and a divide between the two major communities, but it was his scheme to misguide and brainwash school-going children with a wickedly conceived VCD on a concocted 'freedom struggle' that was most reprehensible. This IITian of the West coast finally met his nemesis because of a spurious plan to 'develop' the city of Panjim on the IFFI bandwagon. Though the city was transformed almost overnight into a fairyland of lights, ten days later, at its stroke of 'midnight', it simply collapsed. The IITian's dream had become a nightmare for the hapless citizens of Panjim: The centuries old storm water drainage system of the city has been reduced to a shambles due to faulty and hasty redesigning undertaken without mandatory technical clearances. Likewise, the handsomely renovated riverside boulevard has become a parking lot and a haunt for unsavoury elements. The newly erected wrought iron lampposts with underground cabling, now pose a death trap for the unwary pedestrian because of broken junction boxes at ground level. The Charles Correia-designed centre for the performing arts, the Kala Academy, was re-designed with his personal sanction amounting to legalised vandalism. Consequently the flash floods, that inundate the city every time a cloud appears on the horizon, have seriously damaged expensive, newly installed, state of the art, electronic equipment. The hastily constructed concrete parallel bridge across the Ourem creek has symbolically become the 'bridge too far' for the ousted CM. Switch now to the East coast where the IITian that we focus on is a chemical engineer and brilliant alumnus of IIT Chennai. His name is Rangaswamy Elango. After a short stint in service as an executive engineer and scientist, he was persuaded to stand for direct election to the post of Sarpanch (village council chief) of Kuthumbakkam Village Panchayat, an hour's bus ride from Chennai. The strength of its Gram Sabha (village council) is approximately 5000. More than half the population is Dalit (former untouchables) and landless. The panchayat (village council) has eight hamlets disbursed in an area of about 36 sq.km. fertile, agricultural land that produces mainly rice and groundnut. Elango too is Dalit. He believes very strongly in Gandhiji's concept of the village economy. From early childhood, with his father as a role model, he was drawn towards confronting issues of social injustice. His family is held in great respect for its adherence to Gandhian principles and selfless service to the community. Alcohol was a scourge in this village: illicit liquor-stills proliferated. Women and children became victims of violence and neglect. Even in his youth, Elango was known to admonish abusive husbands. So when his nomination for Sarpanch was filed in the 1997 elections, the illicit liquor producers and traders became apprehensive. They shrewdly used the caste card to try and thwart a possible win for Elango. Their plans did not succeed. Elango is now in the middle of a second term as Sarpanch with a record of very successful and innovative achievements. He has kept a steadfast focus on development and refuses to be drawn into the politics of caste because it is so divisive and non-productive. A stickler for transparency, Elango has made it a practice to display the daily position of income and expenditure on the panchayat notice board. In this way he has won the confidence of the people, and their expectations are tailored to what is in the kitty. Elango's first move on taking office was to convene a Gram Sabha (village council meeting of all eligible voters). Not surprisingly the Gram Sabha in Kuthumbakkam today always has a quorum! Over a thousand members attend every Gram Sabha. The people are encouraged to express their views openly and without fear of being put down; and it is they who decide on the priorities for village development. Elango applies his skill and knowledge to implement projects economically with the help of local human resources and wisdom of the elders. The results are astounding. Cottage industry adds value to the local produce before it is marketed. For example: investment in oil expellers and the soap industry has proved more profitable than selling raw groundnut through middlemen. Persons once involved in the illicit liquor industry have discovered that they can be engaged in profitable economic activities in the village itself: bricks made from clay, husk and cement according to an Elango formula are popular because of their insulating properties. This village meets its own needs as well as the demand for such bricks from neighbouring panchayats. Fly-ash, previously discarded as waste material by the lignite industry, is now used in the manufacture of roofing tiles and slabs, and in the lining of canals. A Community hall has been constructed using the locally produced material in collaboration with HUDCO, the housing and urban development corporation. One of Elango’s innovative ideas was his design for street light fittings. He adapted these fittings for use with low wattage bulbs. That decision has reduced the Panchayat's energy bills for street-lighting by over 60%. The manufacturers of the bulbs were not too happy about the use of their bulbs for outdoor purposes. They tried to persuade Elango to stop the practise, but he persisted. Eventually they came back to him with a request that he use their logo on the fittings which are manufactured indigenously in the village itself. Elango refused. For him the political integrity and freedom of the people was more important than easy money. The policy of putting people first paid off in many ways. There was a time when Elango was put behind bars -- allegedly on the orders of the Tamil Nadu chief minster Ms Jayalitha -- on a frivolous charge of misappropriation of funds . He was two days in prison before his interrogators agreed to question the Gram Sabha of Kuthumbakkam. The people, incensed by the obviously fabricated line of questioning, poured scorn on the false allegations; so much so, the bureaucrats hastily withdrew with many apologies. But Elango's master-stroke is an effort to remove the caste divide by using a subsidised housing scheme: The Panchayat has built semi-detached houses for 100 families. Each family has to raise only Rs.10,000 (a little over US$200). The remaining Rs.25,000 comes by way of a government subsidy. There is one condition attached: in each semi-detached unit, one family is Dalit and in the adjoining unit the family is of another caste. This is working wonders for integration and erasing the caste divide. Today the story of Rangaswamy Elango and the Village Panchayat of Kuthumbakkam is a saga of the success of local government that Gandhiji and Jaiprakash Narayan would be immensely proud of. Out of 740 village panchayats in the State of Tamil Nadu, about 500 regularly interact with Elango. People from Rajastan, Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Goa have visited this model village and returned enriched by their experience. Industry has begun to take note of the work ethic that has taken root in the village: Hyundai is formulating a plan to train the local youth with the intention of outsourcing an assembly unit in the village. The Panchayat Samiti, a block of twenty Panchayats benefits from Elango's expertise. He is now engaged in planning to establish a Panchayat Academy to study and create an exchange centre of ideas that could be replicated or improved upon. Two IITians, two visions, two models of development, separated by the vast breath of our land -- and by vastly differing ideologies. Do we see the choice before us? Are we economically, culturally or socially free to choose? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nazar da Silva is a Moira-based senior citizen, who is active in a number of social issues and campaigns. He can be emailed at [EMAIL PROTECTED] He acknowledges the debt to Vizilia de Sa for the first-hand report of her visit to the model Village Panchayat of Kuthumbakkam in Tamil Nadu. GOANET READER WELCOMES contributions from its readers, by way of essays, reviews, features and think-pieces. We share quality Goa-related writing among the growing readership of Goanet and it's allied network of mailing lists. If you appreciate the above article, please send in your feedback to the writer. Our writers write -- or share what they have written -- pro bono, and deserve hearing back from those who appreciate their work. Goanet Reader too welcomes your feedback at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Goanet Reader is edited by Frederick Noronha <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>