Than Singh, who hails from Rajasthan, is a head police constable whose current post is at Red Fort, Delhi. Apart from his job, he also teaches slum children. The place is known as Than Singh Ka Pathshala. The idea of teaching these slum children came to Than Singh’s mind when he saw poor children from nearby places doing work like rag picking etc. He knows how it feels to live in a slum, as he himself grew up in the jhuggi-jhopdi colony at Meera Bagh. When he started the pathshala, there were only four students with him. But already, he has more than 50 students, all of whom belong to slums, and whose parents don’t have enough money to send them to school.
The children who attend Than Singh’s classes were already into smoking and other vices. With the help of DCP Sagar Khalsi, he got over 30 of them admitted into regular schools. He believes if a student achieves something extraordinary, other students will try their best to catch up and beat them.
But if they grow up in an unhelpful environment, they will get spoiled, and in future, there are chances that they will end up as criminals. The only motive of Than Singh is to make these slum children lead lives that makes them feel good about themselves and grow up with a purpose in life.
(This appeared in the print edition as "Teaching Copper")
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Text and photograph by Suresh K Pandey
