They’ve gone from cleaning drains to earning doctorates – Times of India

Vimal Kumar remembers school days not by the subjects that were taught in class, but what his mother was doing at the time. As the day progressed, Kumar would watch from the class window as she swept the school grounds, the classrooms, and lifted night soil from the toilets. After school, when others ran home, he would stay back to lend her a hand. Even 30 years later, the taunt of jamadarni ka beta hurts.Kumars family lived in Valmiki basti in Haryanas Ladwa town in Kurukshetra district, 150 km from Delhi, where no one went to school except for Kumar. The men worked at the grain stores in the mandi (wholesale market) and the women would clean the school and homes of the upper castes. As children we had to help out, Kumar recalls. Swallowing his hatred for school was a little more bearable than the thought of lifting dirt. So Kumar chose to study even as he spent afternoons helping his parents. It was not easy going though. He recalls failing class 7 and 8 twice. The teacher called my father and insulted him. It hurt my pride so much that I decided after that I would take my academics seriously. I would not give them another chance to laugh at my father, says Kumar, who is currently based in Washington DC as part of an leadership program at McCain Institute.

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They've gone from cleaning drains to earning doctorates - Times of India