On a warm afternoon in Gunawad village in Madhya Pradesh’s Jhabua district, a group of women sit in a circle beneath the shade of a neem tree, discussing issues affecting their community.

At the centre of the conversation is Chanda Bhabhar(32), listening closely and occasionally stepping in to guide the discussion.

For many in the village, she has become the person people turn to when something needs fixing, whether it’s accessing a government scheme, resolving pension paperwork, or raising concerns in the Gram Sabha.

But Chanda doesn’t see herself as a leader.

“I only try to help people with whatever problems they bring,” she tells The Better India.

“Sometimes it is about medical paperwork or pensions, sometimes about explaining what schemes are available. If someone comes to me with a problem, I try to find a way.”

Today, Chanda is known as a Panchayat Badlav Didi — a grassroots governance changemaker trained through Transform Rural India (TRI). 

The initiative equips rural women with the knowledge and confidence to engage with local governance systems and ensure communities receive the services they are entitled to.

But Chanda’s journey to this role was far from obvious.

Finding her voice beyond the home 

Born and raised in a rural household, Chanda grew up with limited opportunities for education. She studied until the eighth grade but could not continue after failing her exams. 

She was married in 2007, before turning 18, and moved to Gunawad. Like many young brides, her life centred on household responsibilities. But quietly, she carried a desire to do something more.

“I always felt that I should step outside and do some work of my own,” Chanda says. “I wanted to contribute in some way, but I didn’t know how.”

That opportunity arrived in 2018 when she participated in a visioning exercise organised by TRI, where women were encouraged to think about the future of their community and their own role in shaping it.

For Chanda, the experience was eye-opening.

While many spoke about livelihoods or infrastructure, she began asking a different question: why were government schemes failing to reach people even when they existed?

She soon realised the problem wasn’t always resources, it was information, participation, and accountability.

Determined to change this, Chanda joined TRI’s Panchayat Badlav Didi training programme, which ran through a series of workshops between 2018 and 2019.

“At first, people even questioned why I was going for the training,” she remembers. “Some said, ‘What change will you bring?’ But I stayed focused and continued.”

Gradually, the training changed how she saw both her village and herself.

“I learned how planning happens in a village, how decisions are taken, and how we can raise issues; all of this gave me a lot of confidence," she says. 

With that confidence came a realisation: if someone didn’t step forward to ask questions and push for solutions, the system would remain unchanged.

Chanda decided she would be that person.

Learning governance and the power to question........

© The Better India