Ismailpur (Jhunjhunu), November 8
Ismailpur, an obscure village tucked away in the backyard of Rajasthan, has scripted a successful story of communal harmony and peaceful co-existence that democratic India would be proud of.
To begin with, ever since Independence, the village has unanimously chosen the panchayat members by adopting a rotation policy covering all residents, belonging to 18 different religions and castes.
There has not been a single occasion when the need for elections was felt. There is more: not a single FIR, criminal or other, pertaining to the village. The police role is non-existent. For 60 years, people have preferred to sort out disputes among themselves.
At a time when people elsewhere in the country are becoming increasingly intolerant of one another, Ismailpur is an oasis of peace between communities.
Good old traditional values? Yes, but Ismailpuris also know what the brave new world of technology is all about: it harvests every drop of rain in a common tank. The story was different just a few years ago when streets would be overflowing with drain water. Not any more. Now, with multi-layer filtering and a wide network of tanks storing rain, Ismailpur has succeeded in recharging its ground water for two years now and done away with the laborious deepening of the village tubewell as water level fell.
Here's something even more remarkable: this year, Ismailpur chose a Muslim panchayat member under its “rotation” policy of representation. The number of Muslims in the village? Just two families of its total of about 130. When one “misled” youth spoke about this “minority”, his own family dragged him to the panchayat and announced that if he dared go against village culture and contest the elections, it would vote for the Muslim candidates. No election was held.
“This reflects our rich tradition,” a proud Subedar Major (retd) Prabhu Singh told The Tribune. “Our ancestors have been following this practice. People of different religions and castes have always lived together. No grouses, no festering rivalries, no violence, no police cases. Ismailpur, you see, is different”.
Yogesh Singh, an elderly resident, said clashes of interest do occur. But home-perfected community management skills have always prevented situations from turning ugly.
Some years ago, two young men went to the police over loan repayment. The panchayat summoned both and fined them Rs 17,000 and Rs 21,000 each for undermining the values and traditions that the village has always stood for. “Their differences were also resolved within minutes to their satisfaction,” Singh said.
Ismailpuris are shocked over the way north Indians are being treated in Maharashtra. “Please tell them about our village. Let them be our guests. They may learn a thing or two about co-existence,” Prabhu Singh said.
Welcome to Ismailpur...
