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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.

Doctors face disciplinary action

Dr. Jayshree Pagare Dr. Vishal Kewari
Dr. Jayshree Pagare Dr. Vishal Kewari

Neral (Raigad): The death of two-and-a-half-year-old Jaydeep Wagh from Kurkulwadi village in Karjat taluka has taken a troubling turn, with local citizens alleging grave medical negligence and deliberate suppression of evidence by health officials. Residents claim that official lapses at the Kalamb Primary Health Centre (PHC) not only delayed the detection of a suspected murder but also compromised the course of justice.

 

According to citizens, despite the child’s death being suspicious in nature, two doctors at the Kalamb PHC allegedly declared it a “natural death” without conducting a post-mortem examination. Locals allege that visible injury marks were present on the child’s body, yet no detailed medical examination was carried out, nor was the police informed. The body was reportedly handed over to the family in haste.

 

Residents allege that this was not an isolated error but a serious act of negligence, possibly aimed at shielding those involved. They claim that these actions resulted in the suspected murder remaining concealed for nearly two days, during which the child’s last rites were performed, causing irreversible damage to the investigation process.

 

Citizens have also voiced suspicion about possible links between the accused woman in the case and the doctors concerned, further intensifying demands for a comprehensive, impartial and transparent probe into the entire episode.

 

It has also emerged that administrative action against the doctors was initiated only after sustained follow-up by The Perfect Voice. 

 

While speaking to, ‘The Perfect Voice’, District Health Officer (Additional Charge) Dr. Anand Gosavi confirmed that disciplinary action has been taken against Dr. Jayshree Pagare, a permanent medical officer, and Dr. Vishal Kewari, a contract doctor at Kalamb PHC, under the Maharashtra Civil Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1979. He added that a further inquiry into their conduct is underway and that both doctors will be transferred shortly.

 

However, citizens have strongly objected to what they term “limited administrative action,” arguing that transfer or departmental proceedings alone are grossly inadequate. In view of the serious allegations suppression of evidence in a suspicious child death, manipulation of official records, and failure to inform the police there is an emphatic demand for strict legal action against all those responsible.

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