Babar Ali - Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma

A Note On The Author :

Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma is the Associate Creative Editor of ‘Youth Leader India’,
the India Chapter of Youth Leader Magazine. She is a member of the dynamic, action-
oriented online magazine network focusing on ground-breaking positive change
initiatives, portraits, tools and more.

Babar Ali Summary :

In the lesson ‘Babar Ali’, Samarpita Mukherjee Sharma introduces to the readers the
world’s youngest headmaster – Babar Ali – through the words of Tanvir, a Youth Leader
volunteer. Our pride lies in the fact that this sixteen-year-old headmaster is an Indian,
hailing from Murshidabad in West Bengal. Babar Ali’s father Nasiruddin Sheikh, a jute
seller, though uneducated, believed in the idea that education is man’s true religion and
sent Babar to school. Babar, a first-generation learner, was a model student in school.

But, what he did after school was more significant than being studious or smart. With
the awareness that he was one of the few fortunate boys in the village, Babar was
prompted to do something for his fellow youngsters who did not enjoy the same
privilege. That is why, after his school hours, in the backyard of his house, in the open
air, he started teaching the children who wanted to learn, but had no opportunity to do
so and were deprived of their basic right to education.

Even if the government-aided education was free, the other expenses incurred over the
uniform, books, etc., discouraged parents from sending their children to school. Hence,
the children ended up us maidservants, mechanics, day labourers, grass cutters,
livestock herders etc. Babar Ali’s vision for these children was different. He wanted to
teach these children who were prepared to walk for miles to learn.

Thus came into being ‘Anand Siksha Niketan’. In fact, the school started as a game and
soon turned into a serious pursuit because children enjoyed learning arithmetic. An
institution that came into being with just eight children and one young headmaster, to
begin with, in nine years time, had 60 regular attendees, 10 volunteer teachers, 200
students on roll-call and 800 students in total. Fortunately, the school had benefactors in
teachers, IAS officers, social workers and religious leaders.

To top it all, even the West Bengal government recognised the school. But, one should
remember that the real strength of the school lay in the selfless service of simple people
like Tulu Rani Hazra, an illiterate fishmonger, who encouraged parents to send their
children to school; Debarita, a college-going teenager, who had the noble desire to help
the underprivileged of society by being their teacher.

The strength of the school also lay in the.fact that all teacher volunteers were students
who used their free time productively to teach the less fortunate, and the fact that they
were not very senior to the students helped them in getting the attention of their pupils.

Thus, we see that the efforts of a single boy resulted in almost a revolution in the field of
education and made people believe in the ideal that common people can achieve
uncommon feats.
Babar Ali Comprehension I :

1.Where does Babar Ali run classes for poor children?

OR
Where did Babar Ali teach hundreds of students?
Ans: In his family’s backyard.

2.How is Babar Ali’s routine described by the writer?

Ans: The writer describes the hard work put in by Babar Ali by placing before his
routine. Babar begins the day at 7 in the morning by performing household chores.
Though he takes an autorickshaw to commute the first part of the distance between his
home and school, he has to walk for five kilometres to reach his school. After school
hours, if other boys play football, cricket and other sports, Babar goes to an afternoon
school where he is the Headmaster of 800 students. Thus, we see that Babar Ali is a
cut above the rest.

3.Give a picture of Babar Ali’s school.

Ans: Babar Ali’s school is named ‘Anand Siksha Niketan’. It is a ramshackle structure
covered in half-torn posters. Behind the office of the school, where a gate opens to
Babar’s home, Babar teaches 800 children in the open air.

4.Why is Babar Ali called ‘a fortunate soul’ in his village?

OR
Why does the writer consider Babar Ali as coming from a privileged family?
Ans: Babar Ali is called a fortunate soul for two reasons: he is one of the few who went
to school and got a formal education. His father – Nasiruddin Sheikh – believed that
education is man’s true religion and initially supported Babar Ali’s venture with his own
income.

5.What, according to Babar’s father, is man’s true religion?

Ans: Education, according to Babar’s father, is man’s true religion.

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

OR
Many families could not afford to send their children to school in spite of free
education because they still had to pay for ____
Ans: Even without having to pay the school fee, sending children to school is a costly
affair for parents as they have to spend money on the uniform, books, etc.

7.Tula Rani Hazra is ______

(a) a widow
(b) an illiterate educationalist.
(c) a literate educationalist
(d) a fishmonger.
Ans: (d) A fishmonger.

8.The teaching staff of Babar Aii’s school is made up of

(a) appointed teachers
(b) high school student volunteers.
(c) teachers from other schools
(d) teachers from Aii’s village.
Ans: (b) high school student volunteers.

9.Babar Ali gets the children to listen by

(a) using the rod
(b) sparing the rod.
(c) making friends with them
(d) taking advantage of the age gap.
Ans: (d) Taking advantage of the age gap.

Babar Ali Comprehension II :

1.Why do you think Babar Ali took the initiative to start his own school?
OR
Why did Babar Ali take the initiative to start his own school?
Ans: Babar Ali took the initiative to start his own school because he felt the need to do
something about a situation which, he felt, was unfair. As mentioned in the lesson, his
saga is proof to the saying that one person can make a difference if he is motivated by a
strong desire. Even though Ali came from a small village – Murshidabad, he had a
dream and he worked towards realising that dream. The dream, however, was not for
personal fulfilment. It was, instead, for the betterment of children around him. Ali had the
privilege of being educated because of his father’s stand on education. But, not all the
children in the village had the same advantage. That is why, after attending his school in
the morning, Ali started taking classes for the illiterate children of the village in the
backyard of his house.

2.‘What started as a game resulted in a much sought after school for the
unprivileged.’ Explain.
OR
Give an account of how Babar Ali’s school grew out of a game.
OR
How did Babar Aii’s afternoon school grow out of a game of ‘school-school’?
OR
How did Anand Shiksha Niketan come into existence?
Ans: It is amusing to know that the school began as a game. When Babar Ali was nine,
he used to play ‘school-school’ game with his friends and used to act as their teacher.
The other children, unlike Ali, had not seen the inside of the school and hence we’re
excited to play the game with him. But, soon, the game turned into real teaching as
children were happy to learn arithmetic. ‘Anand Siksha Niketan’ got established with
eight students on roll. In the course of nine years, the school grew step by step, and
from eight, the number increased to 220 students on roll and 800 students in all. The
school started receiving both private and government assistance and had 10 volunteer
teenage teachers teaching grade 1 to grade 8. It also had 60 regular attendees. The
children of the village who worked as maids to cook, clean, wash clothes and dishes for
their employees or as mechanics, day labourers, grass cutters and livestock herders
came voluntarily to Aii’s school in the afternoon after finishing their chores.

What is heartening is the fact that Ali’s good work was rewarded as he received help
from Babar’s teachers, IAS officers, and Ramakrishna Ashram monks. What is even
more gratifying is the fact that the school was recognised by the West Bengal State
Government and hence students from Baba’s school were eligible to pursue their
studies in other schools if the need arose. The recognition gave Babar the singular
privilege of being the youngest headmaster at the age of 16. Thus, what started as a
game resulted in a much sought after school for the underprivileged and inspired other
selfless youngsters like Debarita Bhattacharya, a college student, to work as volunteers
in helping the have-nots.

3.Do you think that Babar Ali’s act of thoughtfulness has enabled poor children to
move towards growth? Discuss.
OR
Babar Ali’s efforts to teach poor children has brought about a transformation in
their lives. Discuss.
OR
Babar Ali’s venture has transformed the lives of underprivileged children of his
locality. Explain.
OR
Babar Ali’s thoughtfulness brought about a change in the lives of many
underprivileged children. Explain.
Ans: Undoubtedly, the thoughtful act of Babar Ali has enabled poor children to move
towards growth. The village children who would have continued as maids, mechanics,
grass cutters and day labourers have the scope of looking for office jobs with the
education they have received at Babar Ali’s school. It is touching to see that the children
are interested in studying. Education is not forced unto them. They are hard-working.
They work in the morning to get educated in the afternoon. If not for the afternoon
school of Ali, the underprivileged children would have never got the chance of formal
education. Even if they had the chance of learning how to read and write, without the
proper educational qualification, they would have never had the chance of considering
jobs other than what they could get in their villages. So, it is very clear that Babar Ali is
the architect of the lives of hundreds of children in the village.

Babar Ali Comprehension III :

1.According to Nasiruddin, ‘education is man’s true religion’. How does Babar

Ali’s school prove this?
OR
‘Education is man’s true religion’ as believed by Babar Ali’s father. How did Babar
Ali put this into practice?
Ans: If we take religion as the path leading us to virtuous living, we can easily take
education at Ali’s school as true religion. Babar Ali’s school offers to the children of the
village the scope of living a meaningful and virtuous life. If we take religion as the
means to bring people together, overriding their differences, education that is offered to
the underprivileged at Ali’s school, bears testimony to this. We see the ‘more fortunate’
ones like Ali contributing their might towards the welfare of the less fortunate of society.
If we take religion as inspiring acts of selflessness, the education at Ali’s school can
easily be equated with religion because we see not only Ali but a whole lot of young
people like him willing to serve others selflessly. Thus, we see that instead of following a
ritualistic religion, it is far more self-satisfying to take education as religion and perform
good deeds.

2.The increasing strength of Babar Ali’s school reflects the transformation in our
society’s attitude towards education. Substantiate.
OR
How is the success of Babar AH’s school reflective of the change in the society’s
attitude towards education?
Ans: Earlier, in India, education was considered the prerogative of the higher caste
people. The lower caste people were content with the idea of performing manual labour
for a living. Even when the rigid caste system lost its prominence in society, education
still remained the privilege of the wealthy. The underprivileged of society did not have
the dreams of being educated and coming up in life. They took menial tasks as the fate
written on their forehead. However, the scenario is different now. The initiative of
intellectuals, social workers and the government, has resulted in the progress of the
downtrodden and people belonging to the lower rungs of society are encouraged to be
educated. Special scholarships are offered to the economically backward sections and
backward castes. There is a transformation in the whole educational set-up and we are
moving slowly but surely towards an egalitarian society where all have equal
opportunities for education and the underprivileged sections are hungry for education.

3.Do you feel that Babar All’s initiation is a success story? Explain.
OR
Is Babar Ali’s initiative of starting a school a runaway success? Comment.
Ans: Definitely Babar Ali’s school is a success story. It is a success story not merely
because it educates hundreds of underprivileged children after having started with just
eight children, but also because it has inspired many like-minded youths like Ali to serve
the underprivileged of society. It is a success story also because it has touched a cord,
in the hearts of many sensitive people and has inspired them to join hands with Ali in
helping the less fortunate. It is a success story because it has not been the victim of
government apathy. It is significant that the government of West Bengal has recognised
Ali’s school which offers parallel education. On the whole, the school is a testimony to
human goodness and it gives us enough justification to have faith in the nobility of
mankind.