The Unexplored Potential of Learning Beyond Schooling
The COVID-19 crisis should push us to re-imagine education in radical ways that we’ll be thankful for. At six, in grade 1, my daughter returned from school in a chirpy mood. “What did you study today?” I asked. She was puzzled. “I didn’t study anything,” she replied, “but I learnt a lot.” Education in the […]
Rohini Nilekani on Technology and Education
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s interview on the importance of digital-led education and early childhood learning, on Pratham’s 25th anniversary. Every child deserves education as a fundamental right in this country. But even today, we are not able to guarantee that right for all the children in India. The journey of bringing […]
Women’s Day: Rohini Nilekani says her 20th century-born grandmother was modern in best sense of the term
Born Godavari Ketkar, at the turn of the 20th century, she spent her childhood in the sylvan surroundings of the Gwalior palace, as her father was an ambassador to the maharaja’s court. She spoke of going to the little local school in deer carriages. The beautiful young Goda came to Belgaum at the age of […]
सवाल, पक्षियों की आखिर अहमियत क्या है?
चेतावनी… हाल ही में जारी स्टेट ऑफ इंडिया बर्ड्स 2020 रिपोर्ट का डेटा बेहद चौंकाने वाला है बसंत का मौसम है। मौसम पंछियों वाला। देश में भले आप कहीं भी रहते हों, घने जंगल से लेकर बियाबान रेगिस्तान या फिर गली-मोहल्लों वाले किसी शहर में। संभावना है कि सुबह आपकी नींद पक्षियों के चहचहाने से […]
आदिवासियों का कर्ज है हम सब पर, बंग दंपती उसका हिस्सा चुका रहे हैं
इस नए दशक की शुरुआत में खुशकिस्मती से मुझे एक प्राचीन इलाके में जाने का मौका मिला जो अपनी हालिया परेशानी से उबर रहा है। विदर्भ का गढ़चिरौली, भारत के सबसे पिछड़े आदिवासी जिलों में से एक है। वहां गोंंड आदिवासियों के वनक्षेत्र में देश के 8 करोड़ आदिवासियों की तरह ही गोंड लोगों का […]
The Joy of Staying With the Young
In the world of children’s books, 16 years is a long time, which is how old Pratham Books turned on January 1, 2020. Co-founded and funded by Rohini Nilekani, Pratham Books is a non-profit publisher focused on introducing children to the joy of reading. Nilekani has written 11 books for Pratham Books so far, out […]
संविधान का वादा पूरा करने का अवसर
अधिकार… हर व्यक्ति को सामाजिक, आर्थिक, राजनीतिक स्वतंत्रता और न्याय की सुरक्षा ससम्मान मिले मैं कई बार सरकार, समाज और बाजार की निरंतरता के बारे में बात करती हूं। एक सफल समाज के लिए क्याें इन तीनों का सामंजस्य बनाकर साथ काम करना जरूरी है। आदर्श तौर पर सरकार या राज्य को अपने पास अत्यधिक […]
ASER 2019 Launch
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s conversation with Pratham co-founder, Dr. Madhav Chavan, on the ASER 2019 report. It’s been 20 years since I have been part of the Pratham family, and when we started our work in Karnataka what I enjoyed most was working at the Balwadis with the children and […]
Corporates Should Support the Rule of Law
The time has come to align self-interest and public interest in support of the rule of law and constitutional values. I have often talked about the continuum of sarkaar, samaaj, and bazaar, and why, for a successful society, these three sectors must work together in a fine balance. Ideally, sarkaar, or the state, should not […]
Why I Love To Read
My childhood was spent between the pages of hundreds of books. My mother had to force me away from the book I was clutching so that I could do my daily chores, such as help set the table. Thank God for all those authors and illustrators who carried me off into a world of make-believe, […]