Representational Image: omcpower vegmomos
Far from the stereotypical image we have of our Indian villages, the Dhorra Mafi village in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district has set a milestone that will shatter the cliches that villages are generally associated with. This village has regular electricity supply, 24×7 water supply, English medium schools and colleges. Dhorra Mafi holds a distinction of being the most literate village, not only in India, but the whole of Asia.
With a literacy rate of 75 percent, the place entered the ‘Limca Book of Records’ in 2002 and now it is going through the registration phase to enter the ‘Guinness World Records’. With a radius of approximately 3 kilometres, the village lie in close proximity to Aligarh Muslim University, for which according to the Pradhan of the village M Noorul Amin (a doctor by profession), Dhorra Mafi has always been in touch with the modern times. The place has a population of 20,000 and in spite of being self-sufficient with all necessary amenities, the village has not yet been included as a part of Aligarh city. A proposal has, however, been forwarded for consideration.
The others
While this village has earned its reputation as Asia’s most literate village, other villages of India have also set standards. Meghalaya’s small village Mawlynnong has earned the tag of ‘Asia’s cleanest village’ in 2003. Dharnai village of Bihar has become the first fully solar-powered village. Whereas Gujarat’s Punsari village is putting metros to shame with Wifi, CCTVs, AC classrooms and more.
The Logical Indian is delighted on the progress the villages of India are making, yes, there is a lot of more work to be done before we could all rest. Until then, even as we strive and raise our voice to make our villages better, we have few examples as mentioned above to get inspired from.
