Every parent desires to provide their children with the best of everything. For one father in Assam’s Karimganj district, his dream transformed the destiny of an entire village. This is the story of Ahmed Ali, a man from the marginal village of Khilorband, whose simple wish to educate his children turned into a mission that changed countless lives.
The foundation for the transformation began when Ahmed Ali was about to become a father. Happiness surrounded his heart, but it came with a worry. He looked around and saw many children in his village growing up without access to proper education. A thought began troubling him: what if his own children also had to face the same reality? “Driving the rickshaw, I saw that I was bringing children to school. I thought if I can open a school, children of my village and my sons and daughters can also study,” Ahmed Ali said while speaking to News 18. That question pushed Ali to take a step that would eventually change the future of his village.
“I expressed my desire to the officers while bringing their children to school. Then some officer said, ‘You donate the land, only then it will be possible to build a school,’” Ahmed Ali recalled. Despite facing financial challenges, the soon-to-be father decided to take matters into his own hands. Ali donated his land in the name of the Assam Government and was able to set up the first school in 1978, which also got a government grant in 1985.
But to educate the whole village, one school wasn’t enough, and similarly, Ahmed Ali had more dreams. “After receiving the grant, the enthusiasm kept increasing,” he said. In the last 40 years, Ali established as many as nine schools in Madhurband and nearby villages, including three lower primary schools and one high school. “I had dropped out of school owing to poverty. It pained me. I don’t want dropouts from poor families anymore. It is a sin for anybody to not be educated. I feel joy when I see the boys and girls from the village have been attending school,” said Ali.
Ali's target is to establish ten educational institutions. With nine already set up, he now wants to establish a college in the area. “I am getting old and want to make my village a developed one through education,” he said. “Illiteracy is a sin, the root cause of all ills. Most families face problems because of lack of education,” he said, as reported in The Telegraph.
At a time when everyone jumps into philanthropy only to have their name everywhere, Ahmed has just one of the nine schools named after him. That was also because of the insistence of the villagers who urged him to do so. “Some of the pass-outs of the schools are today doing well in life and are in jobs. This gives me a sense of fulfilment and satisfaction in my soul. I appeal to the influential and rich individuals from my community to help me financially to set up more schools,” Ali told Awaz-The Voice. For Ali, education is the most important thing in life, and everyone should have an opportunity to get educated.
Ahmed Ali was also featured in PM Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ in the 42nd episode, which aired in 2018. “When I got to read in your letters how a rickshaw-puller from Karimganj in Assam, Ahmed Ali, has built nine schools for underprivileged children, it gave me a glimpse into the nation's willpower,” the PM said at the time. While listening to the programme with his wife, three sons and relatives, Ali's face lit up when he heard his name. “I began my work by the wish of Allah and achieved some success by means of blessings from locals,” he said.
What began as a question from a soon-to-be father – “Will my children also get the chance to study?” – became a movement that changed the lives of generations. Ahmed Ali’s story is a reminder that one person’s determination can become a doorway of hope for an entire community. “Nobody has to ever live in the sin of illiteracy,” says Ali.
