DELHI: A police officer posted as DSP in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has put together a team drawn from various sections of society for a unique mission: the Rural Library Movement. Their objective is to open a library in each village in the country. Lal Bahar, 49, has colleagues like Ajay Pal Nagar (teacher), Devraj Nagar (social activist), Devendra Singh (head constable in Delhi Police), Ravindra Baisla (head constable in Delhi Police), Ankit Baisla and Pravin Kumar (advocate), KP Singh, Dr Neelam Bhatt, Anjali Srivastava, and Amit Bhati (constable in Delhi police), besides others.
For over two years, they have never failed to visit the nearest village on a Sunday, persuading its elders and youth to move forward to set up a library. “We encourage the villagers to contribute books or donate in whatever way to their own library,” says Bahar. “We have dedicated ourselves to making India a ‘land of libraries’ by Aug 15, 2027.”
With the support of villagers, they opened the first village library in his village Ganauli in Ghaziabad and enriched it with not only good collections of books but also equipped it with a free Wi-Fi service to the village youth. “We have installed CCTVs and ACs in almost all libraries in addition to the free Wi-Fi service. Villagers and youths visit these libraries to get online support for any competitive exams,” says Bahar.
“The ‘land of libraries’ mission is gaining momentum. We have libraries in 356 villages in the country’s seven states — UP, Bihar, Haryana, Delhi (suburban), Rajasthan, MP and Maharashtra,” he said. Ajaypal Nagar, a team member, says these libraries ignite interest in knowledge. “People think we are simply crazy, but we are determined to set up a library in each of the country’s 6, 64,369 villages by Aug 15, 2027. Our movement is the first such attempt. All 382 libraries that we have opened so far are equipped with free Wi-Fi service,” Bahar said.
He says the group has received support from police officers, civic agencies and others. Having studied at these libraries, dozens of youths in different states have secured jobs in various government departments. Villagers handle the affairs and management of these libraries. Many villagers donate books on the occasion of marriage or festivals to their families.