Uttar Pradesh: Varanasi's Green Army Works To Eradicate Social Evils

Varanasi: Members of Hope Welfare Trust, a Varanasi-based organisation, which was praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been working to eliminate social evils like drug addiction, gambling and the dowry system in villages through its Green Army.

After graduating from Banaras Hindu University, a civil services aspirant, Ravi Mishra began preparing for his exam in 2009 while offering free coaching to children. Despite multiple attempts, his dream of becoming an Indian Administrative Service or Indian Police Service officer remained unfulfilled.

Following this, Ravi teamed up with six of his students to tackle deep-rooted social inequalities. Together, they established the Hope Welfare Trust and launched the Green Army. Today, the Green Army has approximately 2,200 women members, currently active in 80 villages across 22 districts.

Ravi told ETV Bharat that in 2014, when everyone was focused on cleanliness, at that time, they began trying to bring about change in the rural environment. Along with Divyanshu Upadhyay, Shyama Kant Suman, Sandeep Gupta, Nitish Jaiswal, and Vikas Kumar Dixit, who were preparing for the civil services exam with him, he founded the Hope Welfare Trust, as their coaching institute was also named Hope.

Ravi explained that their goal was to eradicate the evils prevalent in villages, which had tarnished the country's image. At that time, they identified 100 villages in Uttar Pradesh that were plagued by drug addiction, child marriage, and dowry harassment.

Despite repeated appeals regarding cleanliness, people were still reluctant to leave their fields and use the toilet, Ravi said. At that time, he awakened rural women to this issue, and in 2015, he formed a Green Army of 25 women from Khushiyari, Varanasi.

Ravi explained that they formed a "Green Army," equipping groups of 75 women from each village with green sarees, sticks, and whistles. These women began their work with folded hands, appealing to villagers to eradicate social evils and filth.

Their efforts soon gained recognition, leading the police to integrate them as 'Police Friends.' With their assistance in tackling corruption and crime, the police launched a major campaign across rural areas. Starting at 4 AM, these women patrolled with sticks and whistles, intervening to stop open defecation in the fields.

Ravi highlighted how the tireless efforts of these women have successfully eradicated numerous social evils across rural areas in Varanasi, Ayodhya, Firozabad, Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Jaunpur, Chandauli, and Sonbhadra. For self-reliance, initiatives like chappal factories, bag production, and other ventures have also been launched.

Ravi explained that this journey reached a milestone when the Prime Minister Mocdi commended their efforts in a letter. "Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel invited us to Uttar Pradesh Raj Bhavan, where the women of our Green Army gathered. It was a profound moment for us, women who had rarely left their villages, visited the Raj Bhavan. They all met the Patel, who praised our work and facilitated funding through her office."

“On December 16, 2024, approximately Rs 21 lakh was deposited directly into their bank accounts," Ravi quipped. Kalavati Devi, an 80-year-old member of the Green Army, shared, "We catch drug addicts and confront those demanding dowry, urging them to stop.” She even had her own son arrested by alerting the Uttar Pradesh police to his gambling.

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