Lahari Bai - The Millet Queen of India

On a proud morning on February 9,2023 Narendra Modi ,the Honorable Prime Minister of India has declared Lahari Bai as the Brand Ambassador of Millets in India due to her remarkable work done towards preservation of Shree Ann or millets of India. This 27 years old tribal women has been an inspiration for the farmers of 54 villages near by and set an example in the cultivation of millets! 

Introduction

Amidst dense forests of Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh ,lies the village Silipidi which is the native village of Lahari Bai who belongs to Baiga tribal community of the region. Lahari has never taken any formal education not went to school but she learnt the importance of millets from her grandmother right from childhood days. Her grandmother's lessons have such a great influence on her that she started collecting seeds of millets from the age of 18 and decided not to marry but to dedicate her life towards serving her parents and preserving the millets. She started collecting seeds of numerous varieties of millets from nearby villages and prepared a seed bank. In this noble process of collecting the seeds, she was mocked by the villagers multiple times but she continued working recklessly with an immovable intention. Due to her enormous efforts, she has been able to preserve the seeds of more than 150 varieties of millets so far!

A Marvelous step

Lahari Bai collected the millet seeds from wherever she can and sowed them in the fields after collecting them .She then recollected them by harvesting the crop. In this way, through years of hard work and huge efforts, she prepared her own seed bank of more than 150 varieties of millets. What a wonder! 

Gradually the villagers started supporting her and a positive atmosphere was built around for millets. They understood the importance of millet farming as well as their nutritional value. People started approaching her for seeds. She distributed those hard earned seeds to farmers for free. Presently ,she sows 16 varieties of seeds in a single farm to cultivate and collect more and more seeds of millets. At present, she lives in a small two room house made under Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana with her old parents with one room dedicated to the seed bank only.

Applause Worldwide

Lahari Bai has preserved the seeds of millets like Kodo ,Kutki, Kangni ,Jowar ,Sama ,Madwa and many more. She has been acclaimed from Dindori Collector to Prime Minister's office and has been honoured by United Nations as well. After getting rewarded by United Nations ,Dindori Collector Vikas Mishra did her branding by putting her posters throughout the district. With a motive to felicitate her ,after seeing her noble efforts to preserve Shree Ann, Dindori Collector has forwarded her name for scholarship to Indian Agriculture Research Institute ,Jodhpur.

A poor tribal women has revolutionized not only her community but the whole world through her powerful intentions with minimum resources available. She is a leading figure in the farming of millets for farmers of nearby villages. Hats off to the millet queen and her passion!