Real life Swades: Uttar Pradesh techie Tarun Shekhawat quits job in Germany to improve conditions in his village

India.com: Bijnor: Wednesday, 02 December 2015.

After being graduate, a youngster dreams for a job with handsome salary so that he can get settled in his life. While some struggle to get job in our country despite having degree, some get jaw-dropping job offers abroad. Tarun Shekhwat was among those who was leading a successful career abroad but he quit his job for his village.

Tarun Shekhawat, a 38-year old engineer, is a resident of Bijnor’s Jhujhela village. For over 12 years, Tarun worked as an engineer in companies like Tech Mahindra, TCS and many others -in India and abroad. But Tarun’s recent visit to his village changed his goals in life.

Recently, Tarun visited his village Jhujhela and noticed that the village lacks basic amenities in the 21st century. Tarun chose the way of RTI act and filed various RTIs to know why nothing was done to improve the condition of the village. After finding irregularities in the use of government funds, Tarun his 4500 euro per month (nearly Rs 37 lakh per annum) job in Munich, Germany and decided to jump into electoral fray.

“During my stay there, I observed how villages are developed there. During one of my visits to my native village, I found that here we do not have even basic amenities. I filed RTI queries to find out how funds meant for development were bungled by previous village heads in connivance with local officials,” Tarun was quoted as saying by Times of India.

Talking about his decision to contest the forthcoming village pradhan elections, Tarun said, “I left my job and planned to stay back in India. I joined a company in Noida and kept frequenting my village to improve its lot. But with time, I realized that the best way to make a change is to be a part of the system, so I decided to contest the panchayat elections.” If I become the pradhan, I will utilize all the funds honestly and will change the face of my village. I am sure my villagers will give me an opportunity to do all the good work I have planned so far,” he added.

Tarun is very popular in his village and people there happy that educated youths are coming into decision making bodies to bring change in the village. “Tarun is the most educated person in the entire village. It feels good to see that there are some people like Tarun who gain experience and come back to their native village in order to bring about a change. I wish he wins,” said Naazir Ansari, a villager.