After the death of his daughter, the chief of the Indian village of Piplantri stated that each newborn girl would have a tree planted in her honor. And, not to mention, ‘planted the seeds’ of a cultural, environmental and political revolution.
In the Indian village of Piplantriathe life of girls is celebrated in a very peculiar way, with the planting of 111 trees for every girl who is born.
It is precisely through the trees that the leader of the village, Shyam Sunder Paliwalknows your way.
Every night, go to your motorcycle to see a particular tree, a donkey flower, which symbolizes sublime love. Paliwal hugs the tree, leans his head and with his eyes closed says: “This is my daughter”.
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Kiran,, there are Polalwal, died in 2006with only 16.
That’s when the leader decided to plant that tree in his honor. Paliwal promised that there would be no more regrets when a girl was born. From there, the birth of a girl would be celebrated with the plantation of 111 trees.
As elected chief of the village (sarpanchin the native language), His word and passion had weight – and thus a tradition was born.
Since 2006, when a baby is born, the new mothers extend a red fabric inside a large wicker basket. They lay their daughters inside and take them to the place where the new trees will be planted.
Cultural, Environmental and Political Revolution
Piplantri, built on a hill, is located in the semi-arid lands of the Rajsamand district, in the Indian state of Rajastão, next to Pakistan.
If we look at the undulating landscape under the village, we’ll see a green carpet. But it was always like that. “In 2005, the drought was so serious that the government had to send us water trains,” recalls Paliwal, to The Guardian
The change started with the Kiran tree. Paliwal went far beyond the planting of this special day. He continued to plant trees throughout the year and urged the other villagers to do the same. They put tubes to bring water to the seedlings, scattered everywhere. In total, 350,000 trees were planted.
“With this we are doing two things: showing joy for the arrival of a daughter and honoring the land where my ancestors lived and died,” said Paliwal.
Together with the trees, donations are collected whenever a girl is born. “It gives the family financial security. In return, they commit to taking care of trees, sending them to school and not getting married before the legal age of 18,” explains Paliwal.
Paliwal says he is always moving. It travels, every day, its village of motorcycle to see if the girls go to school and whether the plants are being treated, ensuring that the collection of rainwater that started is working.
In the quieter moments, it sits in the shadow of the trees nursery, cutting gourds for the chickens to bite.
Asked about the source of his energy and motivation to live, Paliwal said, Thrilled: “All I do is for my daughter’s memory”.
Where does politics come in?
But this is a political revolution: the Government of Rajasthan has been trying to combat female infanticide from shameful ratios between the sexes recorded in the 2011 census and inspirou-se em Paliwal.
Pankaj gaurDistrict’s chief doctor and health care, told British newspaper that Paliwal’s mission to make Piplantri a model village inspired a 2016 government policy that grants staggered benefits throughout the life of a girl.
According to The Guardian, the family receives 2,500 rupees (25 €) when their birth and the same amount on their first birthday. The value doubles to 5,000 rupees (50 €) if it finishes the fifth and eighth classes. When girls end the 12th class, they receive 35,000 rupees (347 €), making a total of 50,000 rupees (496 €).
