Raham Ali never got the opportunity to go to school. So he decided to donate half a bigha of his land to set up the first English medium school in his area.
Abdul Gani, in an article published in TwoCircles.net, writes about Raham Ali, a farmer in a village in Dhubri district, Assam, whose act of generosity and kindness has left the entire village appreciating him for his efforts. Ali, who is in his 50s, never got the opportunity to go to school, but what pained him more was that a generation later, the area still did not have a good quality school. So, Ali decided to donate half a bigha of his land to set up the first English medium school in his area. This, despite Ali having only 3 bighas of land.
“Even though I never had the chance to be in school, I desperately want the kids of my locality to have good quality education. So, I donated my land”. Ali said. Ali has two sons; with the elder one having completed his class 12 and now helps his father in the field. His second son could not continue his studies beyond class 8 due to poverty. With 59.36 percent rate literacy, Dhubri district is placed at the lowest in the state. “I, being from that locality, always felt bad about the situation back home. I realised that only quality education can solve the problem of social backwardness,” said Ashiq Zaman, a deputy commissioner with the Indian Revenue Service, currently based in Mumbai.
So Zaman along with some of his like-minded friends started the initiative to set up the first English medium school and discussed the issue with the villagers. And the kind of response they got from the villagers, especially from Raham Ali, is immensely encouraging. They are also planning for hostel facilities to cater to the need of the poor students who are from riverine areas.
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