Tags:
Journalism of Courage
IT8217;S just a speck on the Grand Trunk Road. Between Ambala and Kurukshetra is Shahbad, a small town that has little to recommend itself. That8217;s if you discount its magic with the stick. In the Indian women8217;s hockey team that won the the silver at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, four players were from Shahbad.
The story of these four Haryana girls is becoming an inspirational tale in a state that rarely sends out any good news on women. Haryana has the lowest sex ratio in the country8212;861 females per 1000 males according to the 2001 census.
Rajwinder Kaur, Jasjeet Kaur, Surinder and Rajni Bala have become stars in their town. Their family is suddenly busy answering congratulatory phone calls and doorbells.
Says Amar Singh, grandfather of cousins Rajwinder and Jasjeet, 8216;8216;The girls have made us proud. We always believed in them and never thought they were in anyway inferior to boys.8217;8217;
8216;8216;Rajwinder, the elder of two, started playing hockey before Jasjeet. I tried to dissuade Jasjeet from taking up the game since I wanted her to concentrate on studies but her zeal made me let her pursue her goal,8217;8217; says mother Surinder.
And the young forward has not let her mother down. Jasjit scored three goals in the Commonwealth Games and netted the golden goal to help India clinch the Asia Cup held at New Delhi in February 2004. She has been chosen for the Bhim award, Haryana8217;s highest honour for excellence in sports. So far eight women hockey players from Shahbad have been conferred the Bhim award.
THE struggles of Surinder and goalkeeper Rajni Bala are common knowledge in Shahbad. Surinder is the role model for her nephews and nieces. Her elder brother Hari Lal says, 8216;8216;Seeing the achievements of my sister I want my kids to take up hockey too.8217;8217;
Her father, Sukhdev, a former Railways employee whose ten buffaloes are his only source of income, is encouraging: 8216;8216;I know not everyone is game for the idea of encouraging girls to venture into such outdoor activities, but I thought otherwise.8217;8217;
Daughter of a bandmaster-turned-rickshaw puller Tilak Raj, goalie Rajni too is a role model in her Dalit-dominated neighbourhood. One of six children, Rajni earned a place in the national team after much hardwork. 8216;8216;Whatever happened she never skipped her practise ever since she started playing,8217;8217; says her brother Sonu.
An effusive Tilak Raj says his poverty never came in the way of Rajni pursuing the game. 8216;8216;She had to play so there was no point in stopping her. Rajni had that passion, which made me realise that she will go places.8217;8217;
Now, the whole town wants to follow.
