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A village in Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district has declared itself “swear-free” and imposed strict penalties on the use of abusive language. Residents of Borsar village now face a fine of Rs 500 or an hour of community service, such as cleaning village streets, if they are caught using offensive or derogatory words, news agency PTI reported.

With a population of a few thousands, the village has collectively committed to eliminating verbal abuse from daily life. The decision is driven by community consensus.

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What triggered the initiative
The initiative was led by Ashwin Patil, who returned to Borsar a few months ago after spending nearly 20 years in Mumbai. He noticed that small disagreements in the village often turned into bigger fights because of abusive language.

To address this, he proposed making the village “abuse-free” by introducing penalties like fines and community service. The idea was supported by the sarpanch and deputy sarpanch, and led to the launch of the ‘Sanskar Kranti’ campaign.

“First we spoke to the panchayat, then spoke to the villagers then we collectively took this step,” he told PTI. “We have put up ‘abuse free’ banners and also have had a letter delivered to everyone that is signed by the panchayat.”

A village meeting was held to explain the new rules and penalties to residents. Everyone was made aware of the behavioural code and agreed to follow it.

To enforce the rules, monitoring committees have been set up in each ward to keep watch and take action against those who violate them.

Villagers say the change is already visible. The use of abusive language has dropped significantly, especially among younger residents who were earlier exposed to such behaviour in everyday conversations.

“When we started, we used to get abused, now we don't get abused by anyone. If someone abuses my mother or sister, they will have to spend ₹500 rupees or an hour cleaning the village,” a resident said.

Another villager told PTI that the transformation has had a positive impact on both children and parents. “It is very good now in our village. Abusing has stopped. The children and parents are happy. Earlier, children used to abuse a lot,” she said.

In 2024, a village in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district also banned the use of cuss words and imposing a ₹500 fine on violators.