After an eight-hour drive from Mumbai, it is not difficult to find where Ranjana Sonawane lives in Tembhli village in the Shahada taluka of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra.
Popularly known as the ‘Aadhaar card woman’, Ms. Sonawane’s village is 43 km from Nandurbar town and some 416 km from Mumbai. Fourteen years have passed since the ‘big day’ that brought her to the limelight. Ms. Sonawane was the first person to receive an Aadhaar card on September 29, 2010, at the launch of the Aadhaar programme by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Ms. Sonawane, 35 back then, was mobbed by journalists from across the country and interviewed. “What is the point of speaking about my struggle? Does Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh even read what I have spoken about numerous times through journalists in the last 14 years,” asked Ms. Sonawane who belongs to the Bhil tribe. She does not want to take out her Aadhaar card anymore for photos. It is tucked in a suitcase.
A few solar panels were once installed on the streets of the village but there is no electricity in most of the huts. Ms. Sonawane has rented a power connection from her neighbour to light a bulb for Rs 100 per month. Like her, most of the villagers do not have access to toilets.
There is an old sewing machine as one enters her hut. “Today I stitched two blouses, I will earn Rs 100 once the customer collects these. My son [second child, 18] who dropped out of college due to financial constraints left home early in the morning looking for work. I had only Rs 20 that I gave him to buy food.”
Her eldest son, Umesh Sonawane, 22, is pursuing a postgraduate in Commerce from Shri Kakasaheb Hiralal Maganlal Chaudhari Arts, Commerce and Science College in Nandurbar, and the youngest son (15) is training himself to get a job with the Maharashtra Police.
Her husband, Sadashiv Sonawane, has just returned home. Looking at his face, Ms. Sonawane guessed that he did not make any money today. “Hopefully our son will get money to buy rice for dinner,” said Ms. Sonawane, who lives in an approximately 600sqft hut with her sons and husband. The clay hut is partially shaded by a tin sheet and a thatched roof.
“The blue and white paint (pointing at the wall ) was done during that time [during Aadhaar launch] by the staff who were beautifying our village,” said Ms. Sonawane.
Recalling the days before the Aadhaar card was launched in the village, Ms. Sonawane said those days were like a 15-day festival ahead of the event. “Suddenly our village got concrete roads, huts were painted, electric meters were installed in our houses, and we were told that the monthly bill would be Rs 15. After the event, from next month onwards, the electricity bill was Rs 3,000 which was impossible for us to afford so the electricity department took away the meters.”
Ahead of the Aadhaar launch, Ms. Sonawane along with other residents were prepped for the event. “A team of five came from Mumbai and educated us about the Aadhaar card, said that the objective of providing a unique 12-digit identity number was to ensure better delivery of social security schemes. We were then taken to a nearby factory where they took a small test, asked us about Aadhaar card and its purpose. We were elated. We thought this entire programme was to pull us all out of deprivation, and my sons will get free education and jobs when they grow up. But it was all a false show for them (politicians) to garner likes and publicity out of our poverty and for the media houses to gain ratings for their news channels.”
A bank account was created for all the members of the family but that has zero balance. “When the government staff opened a bank account for us, they told us that we would get money credited into our account under some government scheme, but our bank account remains with zero balance. They assured to help our children in terms of education and jobs, but no one ever came back here. I have visited multiple government offices showing my Aadhaar card and the picture with Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh enquiring about schemes, scholarships for my children’s education and financial benefits that I can avail but they send me off.”
Today, Ms. Sonawane’s neighbours and relatives smirk at her situation. “What is the big deal about being the first person to receive Aadhaar card? I do not see it as an achievement. It is not like I won a lottery. The tribal ministers in power did nothing for the tribal community who are the majority here, but they visit without any guilt seeking votes,” Ms. Sonawane said.
