Gazi Jalaluddin, born in Thakurchak village of Sundarbans, West Bengal, who is now 72, was forced to drop out of 2nd standard at seven due to poverty. He and his family were forced to live on the streets and beg for survival. After a while, Jalaluddin started pulling rickshaws to make ends meet. As soon as he turned 18, he got his driving license and started driving taxis to support himself and his family. During this trying time, he realised that numerous children have to earn a livelihood at the cost of education, and just like that, he vowed to make sure that no other child would have to go through what he did.
He started his noble efforts by first establishing a driving school of sorts. You must have heard the phrase, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man fishing, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” Jalaluddin put this to practice. He started with ten members and established the Sundarban Driving Samity. He taught these ten members how to drive free of cost. However, there were two conditions. First, all the members, after starting earning, will donate five rupees each month to the Samity. Second, all the members will pay it forward by teaching others in need how to drive. Soon the Samity flourished along with its members.
He asked people to donate land, but no one came forward, and he decided to use his share of the land he inherited from his father to build a 2-room building where he started his first school in 1998. With each passing year, the number of students as well as the rooms kept on increasing. In 2006, Ismail Israfil Free Primary School (named after his two sons) had 12 rooms, three bathrooms, and one dining hall where a midday meal was provided free of cost.
There was one problem. Since the school was located in a Muslim ghetto, almost all the children that attended the school were Muslims. Jalaluddin wanted to establish a school open to all children regardless of religion. One of his taxi-passengers donated a piece of land not very far from his first school. There, in 2009, he inaugurated Sundarban Sikshayatan School. Both the schools combined had a total of over 400 children and 70 teachers.
Turning point
In 2018, he got a chance to appear along with Aamir Khan, the actor, on the game show – Kaun Banega Crorepati and ended up winning ` 25 lakhs. With the funds, Jalaluddin built the Sundarban School and College (AA). AA stands for Aamir and Amitabh.
Today, Jalaluddin runs five schools for underprivileged children. He also plans on opening a college to further support the students of his community.
Marred by poverty himself, Gazi Jalaluddin ensured that no other child would have to go through what he did for getting education.
