Khairi is also one of the fateful village of the area. The village has 60 landless Dalit families. They used to spend their lives on theembankments. They were given 13 acres of land by Vinoba Bhave during the Bhudaan movement. But a local landlord captured the land. And then the messiah arrived, someone fromKhairi. For two decades, she worked tirelessly to create awareness about their rights. It was their land, their right.
In 1996, Lokshakti was born. In the year 2000, she was elected member of the block panchayat samiti. The land was restored. Thrown out of her own home, she set about building homes forothers -- under the Indira Awas Yojna. Soon, everyone will have a home to return to, she says. A village treasury has been set up to save the poor man from the money lenders. She's persuaded many to send their children to school.
Advertisement
Her next target is to construct a pond spread over four acres of the land to ensure a regular income for the residents of the village. The village today is identified with her. It's not Khairi, but Tiliya ka Khairi.
You dispelled the darkness, you gave hope, you changed lives. Here's to your immortal glory--Tiliya Devi.
