Sometimes your dreams lead you in a certain destination. You walk on that road, moving ahead confidently, till you reach a turning. And before you know it, destiny changes your direction and you end up moving on a new road, going towards a new destination. Similar was the case with Gujarat Police Service officer Manjita Vanzara. She had to take many detours before reaching her present place. But, in her case, she had faith in her own abilities to move ahead confidently in whichever direction life took her.
Even after growing up in a family filled with civil servants and government employees, Ms. Vanzara had never looked at government service as a career option, initially. She chose many different paths, but still ended up in Police Service! Ms. Vanzara, who is the niece of encounter specialist D. G. Vanzara of Gujarat, became the first woman Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad.
Today, Indian Masterminds describes her journey and entry into police service and her dedicated work therein.
INCLINATION TOWARDS SOCIAL WORK
Ms. Vanzara belongs to an affluent family. Even after being raised in a family full of officers, her family made sure she gets a down-to-earth upbringing. While she could afford all the comforts, she still lived a very normal middle-class life, which included travelling in public transport. In an interview to media, she had mentioned that a lot of people would come to her family to talk about their plight and ask for help. Seeing and listening to them made her aware of people’s needs and she developed empathy towards them. Since childhood, she was inclined towards helping people.
JOINED POLICE SERVICE
The officer, who is also a trained Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dancer, first completed her Engineering degree. While in the course, her creative instinct kicked in and she took admission in NIFT for PG in Fashion Designing. She completed her course and worked with some of the top clothing brands. However, although, she was doing something of her choice and interest, she felt incomplete.
Eventually, she left her job, did Masters in Education and worked as a lecturer in a B.Ed college. During that period, on her mother’s prodding, she started preparing for state Civil Services Exam and cleared GPS in 2013 and joined as ACP of F-Division.
SAKHI SAHAY INITTIATIVE
During a media interview, she had once said, “My friends are earning much more than me, but my inclination has always been to work for the betterment of people. Bringing smile on a child’s face or helping a woman in distress gives me the satisfaction that could not be compensated by anything else.”
She has always believed that policing is not only about catching criminals by using force but also about changing their lives. With this thought, she started an initiative called ‘Sakhi Sahay’. The initiative was focused on the women of Chhara community, who were infamous as bootleggers and pick pocketers. Turning them from all the illegal activities and bringing them to the mainstream was a big challenge. No one was willing to give them jobs. Even after giving them skill training, no one would give them work.
So, she roped in an NGO and renovated two rooms in her station. In those rooms, the Chhara women were not only given skill training but were counselled as well. They were taught how to stich and make items. Ms. Vanzara also took help from some of her fashion industry friends and brought work to them. With her efforts, around 1000 women, who were once involved in illegal activities, are leading a good life now.
A trained classical dancer, a fashion designer, an engineer, a teacher, and a police officer who’s doing great work in social service, especially in uplifting women of marginalized sections. This is in brief the story of multi-faceted and multi-talented Manjita Vanzara, the police officer with a difference!
