Ayodhya’s super-cop who takes teacher avatar off-duty is ‘Vardi Wale Guruji’

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New
Delhi,
Aug
27:
It’s
an
incongruous
scene
–
a
policeman
in
uniform
teaching
basic
Hindi,
English
and
Math
to
a
bunch
of
children
sitting
under
a
tree.

Ranjit
Yadav,
a
2015-batch
sub-inspector,
is
posted
at
the
office
of
Ayodhya
Range
deputy
inspector
general
(DIG)
of
police.
But
off
duty,
he
is
known
as
“Vardi
Wale
Guruji”,
the
teacher
in
uniform.

His
students
are
mostly
the
children
of
beggars
who
throng
the
narrow
lanes
between
the
temples
and
‘maths’ on
the
ghats
of
the
Saryu
in
this
holy
city.

Some
are
orphans,
like
12-year-old
Mehak
who
stays
with
her
distant
relatives.

“Initially
I
was
afraid
of
Sir,
scared
that
I
would
be
beaten
up.
But
it’s
now
fun
to
attend
the
class,”
she
said
when
Press
Trust
of
India
visited
“Apna
School”(Our
School).

She
has
started
identifying
alphabets
and
numbers,
and
can
do
some
calculations
as
well.

Sub
Inspector
Yadav’s
mission
began
when
he
was
earlier
deployed
at
the
Nayaghat
police
post.
He
came
across
several
children
begging
at
the
riverbank,
along
with
their
parents.

He
found
that
the
children
stayed
at
Khurja
Kund
locality,
where
several
families
of
beggars
lived.

China’s
Confucius
Institutes
are
teaching
more
than
Mandarin
abroad

“After
meeting
them,
I
decided
to
do
something
for
them
and
then
the
idea
of
running
a
class
for
such
deprived
children
came
to
my
mind,”
Yadav
told
news
agency
PTI.

“I
gathered
the
parents
and
asked
them
if
they
would
send
their
children
if
I
start
classes.

Initially
they
were
not
very
enthusiastic
but
they
later
agreed.
I
began
the
classes
in
September
2021,”
he
said.

Now
more
than
60
children
attend
his
class
regularly
between
7
and
9
am.

The
classes
run
in
the
open
under
a
tree
near
Khurja
Kund,
some
distance
from
the
famed
temples
there.
Both
boys
and
girls,
some
of
them
wearing
the
‘hijab’,
attend.

Yadav
said
his
first
priority
is
his
regular
police
job.
In
case
he
has
to
be
at
work
in
the
morning,
he
gets
some
students
to
manage
the
class.

Not
that
the
bosses
mind.

“The
seniors
are
very
supportive
and
they
have
applauded
me
for
this
work.
They
say
my
work
is
also
improving
the
image
of
the
force.”
Initially,
he
met
the
expenses
at
“Apna
School”
–
notebooks,
pens
and
pencils
–
from
his
salary.
But
as
more
children
enrolled,
expenses
mounted.
The
school
also
has
a
whiteboard.

“Some
social
organisations
and
local
people
are
supporting
the
cause
of
imparting
education,”
Yadav,
who
holds
a
post-graduate
degree
from
Banaras
Hindu
University
(BHU),
said.

The
children
at
his
class
are
also
shown
videos
on
mobile
phones
about
the
importance
of
getting
an
education
“and
how
it
could
change
their
lives,”
Yadav
said.

Shiv,
who
is
around
15
and
has
been
attending
the
class
for
about
a
year,
said
it
has
made
him
more
confident.

“I
can
write
and
read
a
bit
now.
I
can
also
count
now,”
he
said.
And
his
classmate
Muskan,
13,
talked
about
getting
enrolled
in
a
government
school
someday.