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By:

Shoumojit Banerjee

27 August 2024 at 9:57:52 am

Classroom of Courage

In drought-scarred Maharashtra, a couple’s experiment in democratic schooling is turning child beggars into model citizens In the parched stretches of Maharashtra, from Solapur to the drought-hit villages of Marathwada, a modest social experiment has quietly unfolded for nearly two decades. It is neither a grand government scheme nor a corporate-backed charity. Since 2007, the Ajit Foundation, founded by Mahesh and Vinaya Nimbalkar, has worked with children living at the sharpest edges of...

Classroom of Courage

In drought-scarred Maharashtra, a couple’s experiment in democratic schooling is turning child beggars into model citizens In the parched stretches of Maharashtra, from Solapur to the drought-hit villages of Marathwada, a modest social experiment has quietly unfolded for nearly two decades. It is neither a grand government scheme nor a corporate-backed charity. Since 2007, the Ajit Foundation, founded by Mahesh and Vinaya Nimbalkar, has worked with children living at the sharpest edges of society in Maharashtra. The foundation has become a home for out-of-school children, those who have never enrolled, the children of migrant labourers and single parents, and those who scavenge at garbage dumps or drift between odd jobs. To call their foundation an “NGO” is to miss the point. Vinaya Nimbalkar describes it as a “democratic laboratory”, where education is not merely instruction but an initiation into citizenship. The couple were once government schoolteachers with the Solapur Zilla Parishad, leading stable lives. Yet what they witnessed unsettled them: children who had never held a pencil, begging at traffic signals or sorting refuse for a living. Prompted by this reality, the Nimbalkars resigned their jobs to work full-time for the education of such children. Leap of Faith They began modestly, teaching children in migrant settlements in Solapur and using their own salaries to pay small honorariums to activists. Funds soon ran dry, and volunteers drifted away. Forced out of their home because of their commitment to the cause, they started a one-room school where Vinaya, Mahesh, their infant son Srijan and forty children aged six to fourteen lived together as an unlikely family. The experiment later moved to Barshi in the Solapur district with support from Anandvan. Rural hardship, financial uncertainty and the pandemic repeatedly tested their resolve. At one stage, they assumed educational guardianship of nearly 200 children from families that survived by collecting scrap on the village outskirts. Eventually, the foundation relocated to Talegaon Dabhade near Pune, where it now runs a residential hostel. Twenty-five children currently live and study there. The numbers may seem modest, but the ambition is not. Democracy in Practice What distinguishes the Ajit Foundation is not only who it serves but also how it operates. Within its walls, democracy is practised through a Children’s Gram Panchayat and a miniature Municipal Council elected by the children themselves. Young candidates canvass, hold meetings and present their budgets. Children maintain accounts and share decisions about chores, activities and certain disciplinary matters. In a country where democratic culture is often reduced to voting, the foundation’s approach is quietly radical. It treats children from marginalised backgrounds as citizens in formation. The right to choose — whether to focus on sport, cooking, mathematics or cultural activities — is respected. “We try never to take away what is their own,” says Vinaya Nimbalkar. Rather than forcing every child into a uniform academic mould, individual abilities are encouraged. A boy skilled in daily calculations may not be pushed into hours of bookish study; a girl who excels in cooking may lead the kitchen team. For children who have known only precarity, standing for election, managing a budget or speaking at a meeting can be transformative. On International Women’s Day, the foundation seeks visibility not just for praise but for partnership. If you are inspired by their mission, consider supporting or collaborating—your involvement can help extend opportunities to more children in need.

Congress to go solo in BMC polls; MVA winks

Mumbai: In a dramatic political twist, the Maharashtra Congress will contest the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections solo, AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala announced here on Saturday.


The Maharashtra Congress on Saturday released a list of 40 star campaigners for the upcoming municipal and nagar panchayat elections in the state.


“We will contest all 227 seats independently in the BMC polls. This is the desire of all our party leaders and workers… to go alone in the civic elections,” Chennithala said tersely after a meeting of senior state and city leaders.


The announcement drew no howls of protest or chest-beating from the other Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners - the NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT) – plus the smaller ones, many of whom watched the unfolding internal dynamics quietly.


In what seemed a veiled swipe at Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), MRCC President Prof. Varsha Gaikwad insisted the Congress was a “cultured and respected party” and could not align with any outfit that had previously targeted Bihari and north Indian migrants.


She reiterated that the Congress’ alliance with the NCP (SP) remains intact, adding that only Sharad Pawar would comment further on the matter.


Chennithala’s ‘ekla chalo re’ move came barely a day after the Congress-RJD-Left-plus Mahagathbandhan secured just 35 seats in Bihar, and was crushed to the political pavement by the NDA bulldozer that bagged 202 seats, and six went to others in the 243-strong Assembly.


Sharp criticism

That defeat triggered sharp criticism from Shiv Sena (UBT) senior leader Ambadas Danve, who squarely blamed the Congress for dithering on naming the Bihar CM face till the last moments and allegedly bargaining hard to corner maximum seats from the smaller allies.


While none of the Congress’ top brass responded to Danve’s outburst, several city, district and state leaders privately – and almost unanimously - urged Chennithala to adopt an ‘akele lado’ (fight solo) stance for the BMC polls in today's meeting.


A senior state Congress leader, requesting anonymity, said MVA partners were uneasy over the increasing public bonhomie between the Thackeray cousins - Uddhav and Raj - ahead of the civic polls.


“In the current scenario, someone may be a good asset for the family, but could prove a political liability… Congress workers are worried of a negative public reaction in the cosmopolitan Mumbai and the MMR if the MNS ends up contesting on the MVA platform,” he explained.


Following Chennithala’s blunt declaration, political circles are abuzz with speculation over whether the Congress will extend its ‘undeclared ban’ on tie-ups with certain parties and its actual repercussions beyond the BMC, as the civic poll schedules draw nearer.


Despite the friction, both the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) remain supremely confident that the next BMC Mayor will be from their respective parties.

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