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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.

In 2024, India's military expenditure was nearly 9 times that of Pakistan: SIPRI

  • PTI
  • Apr 28, 2025
  • 2 min read

New Delhi, Apr 28 (PTI) India's military spending in 2024 was nearly nine times that of Pakistan's expenditure, according to a study released on Monday by a leading Swedish think-tank that comes amid growing tensions between the two countries over the Pahalgam attack.


India's military expenditure, the fifth largest globally, grew by 1.6 per cent to USD 86.1 billion while Pakistan's spent USD 10.2 billion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).


The top five military spenders -- the United States, China, Russia, Germany and India -- accounted for 60 per cent of the global total, with combined spending of USD 1635 billion, it said.


China's military expenditure increased by 7.0 per cent to an estimated USD 314 billion, marking three decades of consecutive growth, the study noted.


The communist nation accounted for 50 per cent of all military spending in Asia and Oceania, investing in the continued modernisation of its military and expansion of its cyberwarfare capabilities and nuclear arsenal, it said in the report titled "Trends in World Military Expenditure 2024".


The SIPRI said military spending in Europe (including Russia) rose by 17 per cent to USD 693 billion and was the main contributor to the global increase in 2024.


With the war in Ukraine in its third year, military expenditure kept rising across the continent, pushing European military spending beyond the level recorded at the end of the Cold War, it noted.


The SIPRI said Russia's military expenditure reached an estimated USD 149 billion in 2024, a 38 per cent increase from 2023 and double the level in 2015.


This represented 7.1 per cent of Russia's GDP and 19 per cent of all Russian government spending.


Ukraine's total military expenditure grew by 2.9 per cent to reach USD 64.7 billion -- equivalent to 43 per cent of Russia's spending.


At 34 per cent of GDP, Ukraine had the largest military burden of any country in 2024, the report added.


"Russia once again significantly increased its military spending, widening the spending gap with Ukraine," said Diego Lopes da Silva, Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme.


"Ukraine currently allocates all of its tax revenues to its military. In such a tight fiscal space, it will be challenging for Ukraine to keep increasing its military spending," he said.


Several countries in central and western Europe saw unprecedented rises in their military expenditure in 2024 as they implemented new spending pledges and large-scale procurement plans, SIPRI said.


It said Germany's military expenditure increased by 28 per cent to reach USD 88.5 billion, making it the biggest spender in central and western Europe and the fourth biggest in the world.


Poland's military spending grew by 31 per cent to USD 38.0 billion in 2024, representing 4.2 per cent of Poland's GDP, according to SIPRI.

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