It is said that people coming from low-income backgrounds and small towns and villages are more ambitious than people living amid a sea of opportunities in metros . No better example confirm this than the Kanwi village in South Haryana that has produced civil servants, administrators, army men, teachers, scientists, advocates, and what not. After Madhopatti village in Uttar Pradesh, this is the village which has been in limelight for having at least one member in every family in government services.
Despite being a small village in Mahendragarh district of Haryana, people here have a passion to get ahead in life, never letting the lack of opportunities to come in their way. The first ever civil servant from here was Dr Abhe Singh Yadav who got selected in the Haryana State Civil Services in 1986. He was later promoted to IAS in Haryana. This was a proud moment for the village and it started a legacy that is still being maintained, as a daughter of the village was recently selected in the IAS with a stellar AIR 11 in UPSC CSE 2020.
Coming from the family of the first civil servant of the village, Mr. Yashpal Yadav is also among the list of civil servants who hail from the Kanwi village. Indian Masterminds spoke with Mr. Yadav, who is currently the Deputy Commissioner of Rohtak, and got to know about his early life in the village and how he reached civil services from a small area with few to no opportunities.
DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM EACH OTHER
Mahendragarh district in Haryana and the villages in it like Kanwi have very few economic opportunities for the people because of the lack of industries in the area. Therefore, people either engaged in farming or they opt for working in the government sector. Moreover, farming has also become a bit difficult for the people due to less land holding and other issues. Hence, people mostly prefer seeking education and getting placed in good government service.
This is the reason the village has produced over 250 teachers, 60-70 army men, and even civil servants. Mr. Yashpal Yadav, who got promoted to the IAS in 2011, said, “The main reason why this village has produced a number of government officers is because people here look up to each other and take inspiration from one another. Just like my uncle who inspired us by cracking the state civil services exam in 1986, there have been similar inspirations in the village in other fields too.”
CARRYING THE LEGACY FORWARD
He also stressed upon the fact that without the support of teachers and parents, such feats are almost impossible to achieve. “The support given by the families and teachers of the village is incomparable and is the main reason behind such a big turnout of successful people from the village,” he said.
The first teacher to awaken the spirit of education in the village was Master Panna Lal. Even after Independence, there was no school in the village, but Panna Lal with the help of the then sarpanch built a small one in the village. He planted the seed of passion for education that was nurtuted further by other teachers who even went door to door to teach children and motivate them towards getting educated. This is also the reason that the village has a very high literacy rate.
As for the number of people in government services, there are four IAS, three DSPs, three judges, five colonels, two district education officers, six bank officers, 250 teachers, principals, and many more.
IAS officer Yashpal Yadav and his peers are now planning to create a platform where good guidance can be provided to the children of the village so that they can also climb the ladder of success and carry the legacy forward.
