BABAR ALI

Babar Ali is the youngest Headmaster in the world. His father's name is
Nasiruddin. Babar Ali runs the school in the family's backyard. It is a
dilapidated building with no roof and the students sit on the floor and learn
the lessons. Babar Ali is studying at Cossim Bazaar Raj Govinda Sundari
Vidyapeeta. He teaches in his school in the evenings. There are nearly 800
students in his school. Babar Ali's school started as a game. Later it
developed into a regular school. Tulu Rani Hazra rings the bell and also
brings the students to his school. Now, his school is recognized by the state
government of West Bengal. There are other student teachers who are
teaching with Babar Ali in his school. Many people and officers are helping
for mid day meal scheme of his school.
Comprehension
1. Where does Babar Ali run classes for poor children?
Babar Ali runs classes in his familys backyard under the open sky for
the poor children free of cost.
2. How is Babar Alis routine described by the writer?
Babar Ali gets up at seven am in the morning and does some
household chores. He then goes to school. First he takes an auto
rickshaw and later walks five kilometers to reach school. He studies in
the XII std. After school he does not go out to play but goes to an
afternoon school where he is the headmaster. There are eight hundred
students studying in his school.
3. Give a picture of Babar Alis school.
The name of Babar Alis school is Anand Siksha Niketan. His school is
broken down ruined concrete building covered with half torn posters.
There are eight hundred students studying in his school. He runs his
classes in his familys backyard under the open sky for the poor
children free of cost. High school student volunteers and others teach
the poor children. He has students studying from class one to class
eight.
4. Why is Babar Ali called a fortunate soul in his village?
Babar Ali is called a fortunate soul because though his family was poor
and other children in his village did not get educated he got formal
education. Secondly his father supported Babar Alis school with his
own income.
5. What according to Babars father is true religion?
Babars father is a school dropout and a jute seller but he believed
that education is mans true religion.

6. Why is sending children to school a costly affair for parents?

Though education is free, parents have to pay for uniform and books.
Some parents cannot afford this so sending children to school becomes
a costly affair for parents.
II 1. Why do you think Babar Ali took the initiative to start his own
school?
Babar Ali started the school at the age of nine. It started with a game
School School with his friends where Babar Ali was the teacher and
they were the students. His friends enjoyed the game. They had never
been to school. He saw that boys worked as mechanics, day
labourers , grass cutters, cattle herders and girls worked as maids.
Though education was free, parents had to pay for uniform and books.
So parents did not send children to school. Babar Ali wanted to change
this. He started a free school Anand Siksha Niketan for the poor
children.
2. What started as a game resulted in a much sought after school for
the under privileged. Explain.
When he was nine years old Babar Ali and his friends started a game
school school where Babar Ali was the teacher and his friends were the
students. His friends enjoyed the game. They had never been to
school. They learnt arithmetic in the process and enjoyed it. The game
got instutionalised and he started the school Anand Siksha Niketan in
2002 with eight students.
This school helped the under privileged children. It grew from strength
to strength. In nine years the number increased from 220 to 800
students. He got a lot of help from many organizations. IAS officers,
Ramakrishna Mission, local cops and other families.
It had 10 volunteer teachers teaching from class I to VIII. The school
was recognized by the West Bengal State Government. He started the
mid day meal scheme which is now supported by the state govt.
Children of the village and nearby localities when they finish their daily
chores run to Babar Alis afternoon school. Babar Ali became the
youngest headmaster at the age of sixteen. What started as a game
resulted in a much sought after school for the under privileged.
3. Do you think Babar Alis act of thoughtfulness has enabled the poor
children move towards growth? Discuss.
Babar Alis act of thoughtfulness has definitely enabled the poor
children move towards growth. Babar Ali saw that poor families could
not send their children to school. Most of the boys worked as
mechanics, day labourers , grass cutters, cattle herders and girls
worked as maid servants. Babar Ali wanted to change their lives. He

started his own school with the help of volunteers. He wanted to

provide free education and he has done so. Nearly 800 students have
benefitted from this. The State Government has also helped in this
regard.
III 1. According to Nasiruddin education is mans true religion. How
does Babar Alis school prove this?
Nasiruddin Sheik Babar Alis father is a jute seller and a school dropout.
He believes that education is mans true religion. He educated his son
and supported him with his own finances when he opened the school.
Babar Alis school provides free education to the poor children.
Otherwise these poor children would never have gone to school and
got educated. They would be working as labourers , mechanics, or
maid servants. Babar Ali wanted to bring about change in their lives.
They should not become dropouts. Giving these children education is
like worshipping God. This is true religion.
2. The increasing strength of Babar Alis school reflects transformation
in our societys attitude towards education. Substantiate.
Children from poor families do not send their children to school. They
become drop outs. The boys are sent to work as mechanics, day
labourers , grass cutters, cattle herders and girls to work as maid
servants to earn money. They cannot pay money to send their children
to school. Babar Ali saw this and wanted to change this. He started a
school with only 8 students. Now his school has grown and it has 800
students. It is because he is giving free education. Children from not
only his village but also from nearby villages come to study in his
school because people realized the importance of education.
Volunteers, many social organizations, the state government all help
Babar Alis school in one way or the other. They all want to educate
the poor children who are not able to pay money. It reflects the
transformation in our society and everybody realizes that education is
necessary.
3. Do you feel that Babar Alis initiation is a success story? Explain.
When Babar Ali saw that children were not going to school because of
poverty he started the school and gave free education to the poor. His
father though uneducated supported him. He started with only 8
students and now it has 800. Babar Alis effort has inspired many likeminded youth to take up different initiatives to help the under
privileged. Many sensitive people, social organizations and even the
state government has joined hands with him in helping poor children
getting educated free of cost. Babar Ali is a role model to many to take
up such initiatives and help society.