The Other India

  What is the first thing that comes to our mind when we think about slums? Do we know what deplorable health and environmental conditions exist in slums? Every now and then we come across news that reports eviction of slum dwellers due to encroachment? Their houses are demolished and asked to leave. Do we ever wonder where would they go after getting evicted? They just get settled in another government or private land only to get evicted again just when they think that they have a home now. The cycle just keeps occurring again and again. Why aren't we able to solve this problem and help them to give a sense of belonging? Slums are the other India that we should focus on. Ok, let's understand the cycle first before thinking about a plausible solution. Due to rapid urbanization more and more people come to cities with a dream to improve their lives. They get settled on lands that are open and unclaimed what we call slums. These slums have people who work as daily wagers, dr...

Ranjitsinh Disale, a Government School Teacher from Paritewadi, Maharashtra, had made history and made India proud. This is not because he won the 1 million USD Global Teacher Prize 2020 which brings incredible honour and glory in itself, but because in a never-before-seen instance, he decided to share half of his Rs 7.4 crore winnings with the rest of the nine finalists for the Global Teacher Prize to support their work. “The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed education and the communities it serves in a multitude of ways. But in this hard time, teachers are giving their best to make sure every student has access to their birth right of a good education," said Disale, as per PTI. Disale aspired to become an IT engineer but it didn’t turn out to be the way he wanted to that’s when his father suggested him teaching as a career. However, his experience in a teacher training college changed him as a person completely. He started off with his incredible work in Zila Parishad Primary Scho...