Shyam Sundar Paliwal is a social worker from Piplantri, Rajasthan. He is known as the ‘Father of Eco-Feminism’.
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Wiki/Biography
He was born on Thursday, 9 July 1964 (age 55 years; as in 2019) in Piplantri, Rajasthan. His zodiac sign is Cancer. He studied till 12th class. He left school and worked in a marble company.
Family, Caste and Wife
Shyam Sundar Paliwal was born in a Rajasthani family. His father’s name is Bhanwar Lal Paliwal and mother’s name is Navali Bai. When Shyam was 6 years old, his mother died of snakebite. He has five brothers and two sisters. On 30 November 1987, he married Anita Paliwal. They have two daughters Kiran and Himanshi and a son Rahul. Shyam’s elder daughter Kiran died of dehydration at the age of 18.
Shyam Sundar Paliwal with his family
Shyam Sundar Paliwal’s daughter- Himanshi
Shyam Sundar Paliwal’s daughter- Kiran
Father of Eco-Feminism
In 2006, there was a drought situation in his village Piplantri. There was a shortage of water and vegetation in his village due to extensive mining. Another problem prevalent in the village was the bad practice of killing girls due to which the sex ratio of the village was very low. He started his noble cause by planting a Kadam tree in the memory of his daughter Kiran; Because it is a symbol of sublime love. When he was asked in an interview about his inspiration for working for such a noble cause, he said,
August 21, 2007, was the saddest day of my life, when my 16-year-old daughter Kiran returned from school with stomach ache. Despite being taken to the hospital, he could not be saved. It was a terrible loss. But I decided that my daughter will always be with me. I also decided that every person in the village would feel proud to be the parent of a daughter.
Sapling planted in memory of Shyam Sundar Paliwal’s daughter
As soon as he became the Sarpanch of the village, he started ‘Kiran Nidhi Yojana’. According to this scheme, whenever a girl child is born in the village, 111 trees are planted and a fixed deposit of Rs 100 is given. Which amounts to Rs 31000. Rs 10000 is contributed by the girl’s family and the rest by the Panchayat and other villagers. Shyam Sundar and the people of his village have also planted aloe vera and rose plants and make various products using it. This has helped in generating employment for the people of Piplantri.
Products manufactured by villagers of Pipalantri
They have also started ‘Swajaldhara Yojana’ to conserve water and around 1800 check dams have been built in the village. He has also promoted the ‘Open Defecation Free India’ project in his village.
Awards/Honors
- Honored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the New India Conclave held in Delhi.
Shyam Sundar Paliwal with Narendra Modi
- Awarded by Akshay Kumar at the New India Conclave, Mumbai.
Shyam Sundar Paliwal with Akshay Kumar
Facts/General Knowledge
- The story of Piplantri village is taught in schools of Rajasthan and Denmark.
Piplantri Village
- There is a big hoarding at the entrance of Piplantri on which the names of all the girls born last year are mentioned.
- He inspects daily whether the work is being done properly or not.
- The 2016 government policy to save the girl child is inspired by Paliwal’s work. Under the policy, the family gets Rs 2,500 on his birth and a similar amount on his first birthday, said Dr Pankaj Gaur, a Rajasthan government official, in an interview. If she completes class five and class eight, it is doubled to Rs 5,000. When girls complete 12th, they get Rs 35,000, which comes to a total of Rs 50,000. “These benefits prevent a girl from being viewed as a liability.”
- In 2017, a film was made in Hindi and Malayalam named ‘Piplantri’ on the story of transformation of Piplantri village.
Film on the story of Piplantri
- There is an Argentine film based on her and her project, “Sisters of the Trees”, directed by Camila Menéndez and Lucas Peñafort and produced by Victoria Challes.
Sisters of the Trees made a film on Shyam Sundar Paliwal
- In 2019, Shyam Sundar Paliwal and TV actress, Sakshi Tanwar, appeared in the ‘Karmaveer’ episode (7 November 2019) of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 (2019).
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn