Chhavi Rajawat

While many 'newsmakers' are catapulted to almost celebrity status overnight for doing hardly anything of acclaim, many others languish in the shadows despite living for others and helping change the lives of the underprivileged. Many of them remain mere footnotes to history, their extraordinary work almost snuffed out before the gale force of petty sensationalism that the world seems to find more 'interesting'. So here is an attempt to honour those who have done some extraordinary and selfless work in the society, bringing joy to hundreds of lives. This is a salute to the unsung heroes of 2012.

By Tenzin Yangdon | Yahoo! India News – Mon 26 Nov, 2012 3:10 PM IST

She's young, beautiful and with an MBA degree to boot. If Chhavi Rajawat wanted, she could have been leading a cushy life in the corporate world. But she chose to work with rural India. At 32, she is the youngest woman sarpanch, steering Soda, her village near Jaipur in Rajasthan, towards development.

Chhavi studied at some of India's best institutes so it's natural that she wishes every child in her village receives at least basic education. Her aim is to make Soda 100 percent literate. But with a current literacy rate of around 40 percent, she doesn't have an easy task at hand. Besides education, her aim is to bring the most basic amenities like water and electricity to her village.

Besides her sarpanch job, Chhavi also works at her family home-turned-hotel called Kailrugji in Jaipur. She has also set up a horse-riding academy in Jaipur.

Flashback 2012 »

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