Presidentspeak
I am truly delighted to be present here among all of you in Hamirpura for the presentation of the Down To Earth-Joseph C John Award. Very seldom is there an opportunity to address a village ceremony. I was born in a Kerala village and I spent the first 20 years of my life in the village. I contested my parliamentary election from a rural constituency. I have managed to sustain my link with the villages of India. The people living in our innumerable villages are the true heroes of India - the adhinayak of the Jan-Gan-Man of our motherland, as mentioned in our national anthem.
The people of Bhaonta-Kolyala have shown how development is possible without harming the environment. The extraordinary effort of this village in Rajasthan can be compared to the achievement of King Bhagirath, who, according to Hindu legend, brought the Ganga to Earth.
Water is the basis of all life.It is becoming a main problem confronting one and all across the world - for the rich and industralised countries as well as the poor and developing countries. In earlier days, the people of Bhaonta-Kolyala had seen the Arvari drying up. People had to migrate to cities to search for a livelihood because agriculture had been ruined due to water scarcity. In such a situation, Rajendra Singh and the Tarun Bharat Sangh showed the way. Actually, it was a village elder who had asked them to "stop talking and start building johad s".
The johad s and check-dams built by the villages here recharged the groundwater and the surplus water emerged in the form of the Arvari river, which became perennial. The song Sare Jahan Se Achchha , written by Iqbal, mentions " Godi mein khelati hain jiski hazaaron nadiyaan