4th Year MBBS student elected Sarpanch of Village

Bharatpur: Shahnaaz Khan, the poll candidate for the by election for sarpanch of Garhazan village, Bharatpur took her MBBS fourth year practical exam on the day of her by-election and still went onto win her by-election.

The poll result wasn't long in coming on March 5. The result declared that this 24 year old medical student of Teerthanker Mahaveer Medical College and Research Center in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh emerged as the obvious choice of the electorate as their Sarpanch.

As the youngest sarpanch of her village, in Mewat region that includes parts of Haryana and Rajasthan Shahnaaz is also the most educated woman in its history

"People in Mewat area don't send their daughters to schools. I will present before them my own example to show what education can do for a woman," Shahnaaz said at the oath taking ceremony as Sarpanch

Starting her internship at Civil Hospital in Gurgaon shortly and later to take an entrance examination for postgraduate course in medicine, Shahnaaz is confident that she will be able to juggle between studies and politics.

Shahnaaz was elected sarpanch after her grandfather Hanif Khan's election in 2015 was declared null and void by a court in October last year. The Rajasthan government has made Class 10 mandatory qualification for sarpanch candidates. Hanif Khan had been sarpanch of Garhazan for 55 years.

Shahnaaz brings a whiff of scented air to Mewat as its young and educated sarpanch - a region considered as one of the most backward areas of Rajasthan comprising of portions of Alwar and Bharatpur districts and inhabited by mostly Meo Muslims.

Shahnaaz plans to make people in the area become aware about sanitation issues to prevent spread of disease. "For instance, people here die of tuberculosis. The disease can be cured with a six-month course but people are unaware." she told HT