About Us

We are a team of dreamers who believe that a drop can begin a change in the ocean

Our vision

Adharshila aspires to become a space where young first-generation school-goers from underprivileged backgrounds will engage creatively with life without the guidance of an authority. The teachers and student, together, will have the chance to play, create, experiment, innovate and enjoy, while also learning from books and classroom lessons. Adharshila will offer them opportunities to learn using all of their senses and a variety of media, to become gainfully employed and empowered citizens of India.

People

Syed Merajuddin

Meraj is the founder and Secretary of the organisation. He is in-charge of all field operations

Dr. Asmita Kabra, President

Asmita Kabra is a professor at the School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University Delhi, and is one of the founders of Adharshila

Pratima Mishra, member

Pratima Mishra is an enterpreneur, business consultant and currently an aspiring Data Scientist working on AI related projects.

Pradeep Joshi, Member

Pradeep Joshi is an engineer, a corporate executive helping build organisations and a CSR advisor.

Shweta Rao, Memeber

Shweta Rao is a graphic designer who runs a small design unit called The Banyan Tree and has been associated with Adharshila since its early days.

Dr. Arnab Mukherji, joint secretary

Arnab is an Associate Professor with Center for Public Policy at IIM Bangalore and did his first fieldwork with Adharshila in 2005

Evolution

In the year 1999, a team of young activists from Delhi set up a camp in a small hut in Agara Adivasi basti of Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh. They began helping the 2000 odd families, displaced from the nearby Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, to access the government’s rehabilitation package and to bring their problems to the notice of government agencies, along with facilitating their livelihood and agricultural challenges.

To fill a gap in schooling they started 11 makeshift schools in as many villages sending one local boy to each.

This humble initiative, later, gave birth to Adharshila, a school established in 2005 in Agara. From a primary school, Adharshila evolved into a recognised high school with 200 students in grades VI to X. It has also got 14 primary schools (called Satellite Resource Centres) in mostly adivasi hamlets reaching more than a 1000 students.

The journey has not only been one of growth but more of evolution. In the beginning teachers were hard to find locally. Later, pass-outs from AMHS kept joining the team and now entire staff is local with very few exceptions.

Pedagogically too we have evolved from a traditional ‘school’ to a more inclusive institution. Students are not only a recipient of ‘information’ but have a role in making Adharshila whatever it is.