The Making of a Sarpanch.

“Agar main sarpanch na hota, to shayad mai na hota” (If I hadn’t become Sarpanch, I might not be me).

This is the story of Mr. Satish Thul, The Sarpanch of Satkondi village, located in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Satish is a man whose life took a drastic turn during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing him into unimaginable hardships and loss. But with the support of his villagers and a deep sense of duty, he was able to rebuild his life and his community.

Satish is not just the Sarpanch of Satkondi, but he also runs the Gram Panchayat of two neighboring villages Panhali and Kamlelavgan. He lives in Satkondi with his two daughters and his mother. Before the pandemic, his life was relatively stable, though not without challenges.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Satish’s wife was pregnant, but she was also suffering from cancer. To make matters worse, she contracted the coronavirus. Despite all medical efforts, she passed away shortly after giving birth to their second daughter. The entire family was devastated by this loss. Not only did Satish lose his wife, but he was now left to raise a newborn baby and care for his older daughter and aging mother, all while battling his own grief.

The financial toll was equally severe. Satish had spent all his savings, and even sold off his assets, to cover his wife’s cancer treatment. With no job, no savings, and no wife to support, he was left in a vulnerable state. The responsibilities and the emotional trauma pushed him into depression. He was a man at his lowest point, unable to see a way forward. But just when everything seemed blank, the people of Satkondi came to his rescue. The villagers, who had seen Satish grow up and knew of his good nature and hard work, stepped forward to help him and his family. They understood the depth of his struggle and decided to take collective action.

The first step they took was to raise funds to build a house for Satish and his family, providing them with a secure and stable living environment. Recognizing that Mr. Satish was in deep emotional distress, the villagers decided to nominate him as the Sarpanch of their village. Their reasoning was simple, giving Mr. Satish the responsibilities of the entire village would help him keep his mind occupied and shift his focus away from his personal grief. Also, some of the women in the village took on the responsibility of helping with his newborn baby and household chores, ensuring that he had the support system needed to manage his family’s daily life. They knew that in order for Satish to heal, he needed both emotional and practical help, and they provided both. When Satish became the Sarpanch, he slowly began to find a new purpose in life. Though he was still grieving, his new role gave him the motivation to start thinking about the future of his village, rather than only thinking about his loss. Because of his MSW degree, Satish had a deep understanding of rural development, and he began implementing plans to transform his village.

One of his first priorities was to create new programs that would lead Satkondi to become a model village. He believed that development must happen at multiple levels – education, health, sanitation, and livelihood. Mr. Satish also wanted to empower the women in his village, so he encouraged them to participate in Gram Panchayat activities, which had traditionally been male-dominated.

He went on to form a group called the ‘Active Friends Circle’, a club where young men from the village took charge of social activities. They collaborated with the Maharashtra Foundation to work on five projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) : health, education, livelihood, water, and sanitation. Through these projects, they aimed to improve the quality of life in the village, not just for the present but for future generations. As Mr. Satish got more and more involved in his Panchayat work, he began to see positive changes, both in the village and in himself. The responsibilities of leading three villages Satkondi, Panhali, and Kamlelavgan kept him occupied and gave him a sense of purpose. His work allowed him to channel his grief into something constructive, and as the village developed, so too did Satish’s mental and emotional well-being. He no longer felt as overwhelmed by his personal loss because he had found meaning in serving his community.

His family, too, started to do better. His daughters were growing up with the love and support of the entire village, and his mother. The villagers respected him not just as a leader, but as someone who had overcome immense personal hardship to serve others.When I visited Satkondi as a part of my fellowship with the JSW Foundation, I had the opportunity to work closely with Mr. Satish Thul. He personally helped me visit all three villages, introducing me to the local schools and helping me connect with the school management. Since my project focuses on education, his assistance was invaluable in helping me understand the village’s education system and the challenges they face. Through this experience, I realized something important: sometimes, being busy and having responsibilities is not a burden, it can be a cure. Satish’s involvement in village governance helped him overcome his depression. The weight of his duties, rather than crushing him, lifted him out of his grief. However, one thing that stood out to me was that, despite the involvement of women in his household support, there was no formal committee for women’s participation in governance. While men dominated the decision-making process. In the time to come I hope I can work alongside Satish to change this scenario. I am deeply fascinated by this village whose members collectively came together to help someone and change their life by making them their leader.