Educating The Poorest Of The Poor

Retired police officer JK Sinha explains why he founded a charity to educate landless peasants’ children in bihar, India.

- Vineeta Thomas

Shoshit Seva Sangh (SSS) is the brainchild of the retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer JK Sinha, who did his master’s in history and is an alumnus of Delhi’s famous Stephen’s College. Recently, he was visiting Singapore to meet with his family. India Se caught up with him to hear his story of the charity launched in July 2005 to educate the poorest of the poor, the children of the Musahar community in Bihar.

Traditionally rat-eaters and rat-catchers, the Musahars are landless agricultural labourers. Their population is estimated to be four to five million. Now their children can go to a fully free English medium residential school, Shoshit Samadhan Kendra, founded by the SSS. Starting with only three to four students in 2006, the charity now has more than 400 students in its school which prepares them from upper kindergarten to the plus two examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) after which they can go to college. SSS chairman JK Sinha shares the inspiring story.

India Se: What prompted you to start Shoshit Seva Sangh? You were in the IPS before.