Imagine a life without teachers and you would perhaps be unable to imagine your present academic or professional existence.
A teacher’s role is not just limited to the 50 minutes of lecture; he has an imprint on the minds of his students for lives.
No matter how much we dread attending some classes, teachers never step out of their homes without the aim of shaping the future of their students in the right direction.
While all teachers of the world deserve a salute, there are some gems in India who have made the profession of teaching even more “noble”. Read on to know more about these gems.
Teachers hold a high pedestal in India. The country places the importance of teachers above parents and caregivers.
Rightly so, some teachers of India have walked the extra mile to make education and learning accessible and meaningful to students of India.
Let’s take a moment to admire all these top 17 heroic teachers of India.
Age: 49
City/ State: Patna, Bihar
Best Known For: Special 30
Age At Which Initiative Commenced: 25
.jpg)
Image Source: Ndtv.com
What do all bright students having a superb academic record have in common apart from excellent grades? The drive!
What makes these bright students “excellent” is their great vision and their urge to make a difference.
Anand Kumar is one such name, who not only excelled academically himself, but also helped others crack the prestigious IIT. A major setback in his life was when he got admission in his dream university, the Cambridge University, but could not attend it due to financial problems. The incident broke him, but perhaps this was destiny’s plan for something greater.
Anand commenced the Super 30 program in 2000, in which he helped and taught students to prepare for IIT JEE.
As of 2015, 391 out of 450 of his students have successfully cracked the super hard IIT JEE examination and got a seat in the prestigious institute. The silver screen too has applauded his journey with a movie titled ‘Super 30” based on his journey and initiative. The movie starred Hritik Roshan as the main protagonist and proved to be a hit!
Age: 30
City/ State: Ziradei, Bihar
Best Known For: Social entrepreneur, Founder, and CEO of Dexterity Global, was enlisted in Forbes under 30 list
Age At Which Initiative Commenced: 16
Image Source: Forbes.com
An Indian social entrepreneur and a youth icon, Sharad Sagar is a popular name amongst youngsters. He is the founder and CEO of Dexterity Global, a company he started when he was just 16 years old!
With an aim to power the next generation of leaders via educational opportunities and training, Sharad’s Dexterity Global stands firm as a successful social entrepreneurship venture in India. To be enlisted in Forbes under 30 is a dream for many young entrepreneurs, and Sharad has been able to make this dream come true. He is also awarded several other awards and accolades.
At the tender age of 16, the guy entered the field of entrepreneurship with Dexterity Global in 2008. Sharad Sagar is a true inspiration and the epitome of a determined teacher for the youth. And oh, did we tell you we spotted him in Kaun Banega Crorepati as an expert?
Age: 46
City/ State: Haryana, Delhi
Best Known For: Former IAS and founder of Drishti IAS Coaching Classes
Age At Which Initiative Commenced: 23 Canva.jpg)
Image Source; Haribhoomi.com
Every UPSC aspirant faces tremendous challenges during the preparation time, but everything seems easy under the guidance of Vikas sir. Dr. Vikas Divyakriti is a popular name among UPSC aspirants aiming to shape the nation in a positive direction.
The man has always had a great academic record himself and has pursued a number of degrees. He cleared the prestigious IAS examination like a cakewalk in one go and became an IAS officer under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
However, the man found his calling in teaching and thus resigned from the post to simplify learning for IAS aspirants.
In a world where English is the formal code of command and communication, the man chose to simplify learning by teaching in Hindi. Today, his company Drishti IAS Coaching Classes is one of the most sought-after coaching institutes in the country.
Age: 30
City/ State: Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Best Known For: Physics Wallah
Age At Which Initiative Commenced: 23
.jpg)
Image Source: Hindustan Times
Are you really a science student if you do not know “Physics Wallah?”
We can see a wide grin on your face!
Physics Wallah is one of the best platforms in India that simplify education and exam cracking material for science students.
Alakh Pandey, the man behind “Physics Wallah” shoots and posts videos surrounding study material. Today, he has a subscriber base of 2 million students. He is one of those teachers students look up to simplify their concepts and understand them firmly.
Age: 29
City/ State: Murshidabad, West Bengal
Best Known For: Teaching at 16 years of age
Age At Which Initiative Commenced: 16
.jpg)
Image Source: Deccanherald.com
What image comes to your mind when you think of a “teacher” or a “professor”?
Let us guess; you must be thinking of a middle-aged man or woman with gray hair demonstrating his long years of study and rigorous teaching experience.
What if we tell you about a 16 year old young guy teaching more than 800 children?
We are talking about the “youngest headmaster in the world”, as coined by the BBC, Babar Ali. The guy was just a 16 year old teenager who not only studied himself in school, but also taught young children. Today, Babar Ali, along with his group of 10 other teachers, teaches around 800 students outdoors. Today, the 16 year old guy is 29.
City/ State: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Best Known For: Begs for funds to run his school
.jpg)
Image Source: Indiatimes.com
The man runs an English-medium school for the not so privileged children in Rajasthan and rural Maharashtra.
What’s so unique? Well, he begs on the streets to fund his school. Yes, you read it right!
The man wasn’t able to fund the school all alone, but that did not stop the man from pursuing his passion for teaching.
When nothing worked in favor, he started begging on the streets to fund his very own English-medium school. To gain the trust of people and to appear authentic, he carries laminated copies of the newspaper clippings talking about his school and his ideas.
City/ State: Delhi
Best Known For: Teaching students under metro rail flyover
.jpg.jpg)
Image Source: Hindustan Times
Who needs a school setup when one has a great mind?
No excuses stopped Rajesh Kumar Sharma from starting his own school under a metro rail flyover.
Yes, you read it right! Rajesh Kumar Sharma is a college dropout, but aims to deliver quality education to underprivileged children near the Yamuna Bank station in Delhi. The initiative commenced in 2017 with only two students with a huge student absent today. Earlier it was just an initiative, but today it has taken the form of a school.
City/ State: Dhanbad, Jharkhand
Best Known For: Learn O Hubb (Formerly known as Exam Fear)
.jpg)
Image Source: Wikistarpie.in
Were you one of those who cried before every Physics examination in high school? Well, if you nodded your head, there is someone from the crowd who understood what you feel and thus started the famous ExamFear, simplifying PCM and Biology concepts for students between class 9th and class 12th.
With an aim to simplify education imparted in schools, the lady took out time from her busy schedule as a Wipro employee, to set up a channel with over 3800 videos and a 75000 subscriber base. You go girl!
Age: 60
City/ State: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Best Known For: National Award Winner and created low-cost teaching aids
.jpg)
Image Source: Lokmat.com
Can a teacher win a NATIONAL AWARD? Well, why not? If a teacher is as good and efficient as Mrs. Sangeeta Sohni, she deserves the world!
A teacher at Atomic Energy Central School was once a medical aspirant, but dropped her seat to pursue her passion for teaching. She incorporates fun and creativity in teaching. She has created multiple low-cost teaching aids. The teacher has been in the profession for 35 long years.
City/ State: Tripura
Best Known For: National Award Winner
.jpg)
Image Source: Nenow.com
Another name of a teacher added in the list of National Awards.
Sanjay Das. Sanjay Das has been an excellent teacher all his life and thus, he is the much deserved National Award winner.
Mr. Sanjay Das, who innovated interesting hands-on & ICT based pedagogies for the teaching of science & maths to his students and has successfully enhanced their interest in the subjects. He has been conferred with National Teacher’s Award 2020 today. #OurTeachersOurHeroes pic.twitter.com/PL10g2VXHj
Age: 81
City/ State: Delhi
Best Known For: Following her teaching passion at age 81
.jpg.jpg)
Image Source: thebetterindia.com
Vimla Kaul has been a great mentor all her life, but her passion did not die even after retirement.
She set the foundation stone of her own “little school” and named her “Guldasta”.
If you are thinking she had a wide area of land to start this little school, you may be going all wrong here. She started her school in a 4-room apartment. Her husband, too, joined in the beautiful initiative. Even after the sad demise of her husband, the woman did not stop following her passion.
City/ State: Madhya Pradesh
Best Known For: Teaching through self created toys, Padma Shree awardee
.jpg)
Image Source: Newsbugs.com
IITians are known to make their name in huge multinational companies around the world.
Well, not all of them take the same route. Youngsters like Arvind Gupta are known to take the road less traveled by, but emerge as a true inspiration for the society. An IIT-Kharagpur passout, Arvind goes by his philosophy of ‘small positive action rather than empty rhetoric’.
He is known for making learning experience fun and easy, with his mind-blowing conversions of trash to toys. He has also written a few books, including, “Toys from Trash”, and was seen inspiring the world in TED talk too.
Age: 45
City/ State: Uttar Pradesh
Best Known For: Coming from Lucknow to Ranchi to educate children
 CANVA.jpg)
Image Source: Indianexpress.com
While most of us look for faults in our present situations, some great minds look for possibilities. Yes, we are talking about Aditya Kumar, a teacher coming from a humble background but with great vision in his eyes.
He is not only an inspiration for his students but also an inspiration for people who think they have quite less in life. And what makes a mentor a great teacher is his ability to inspire people, right?
Aditya Kumar did not own a car when he commenced his journey to inspire millions.
He simply owned a bicycle, but he took a pledge to cycle all the way to Ranchi from Lucknow to educate people regarding the need and importance of education for the not-so-fortunate sections of society.
He himself teaches a wide array of subjects from languages to mathematics, all for free. His efforts did not go unnoticed as Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, former UP CM lauded his initiatives.
Age: 48
City/ State: Malappuram, Kerala
Best Known For: Swimming across a river just to reach to his students at 9 am sharp
.jpg)
Image Source: Redff.com
How far can a teacher go for his students? Abdul Malik is surely an epitome of a determined teacher who can cross rivers, if not oceans, for his students.
Yes, the teacher crosses a muddy river just to reach his students on time, at 9 in the morning.
City/ State: West Bengal
Best Known For: Raising voice against rapes and goon threats
.jpg)
Image Source: Flickr.com
Barun Biswas was not only a great mentor, but was also a revolutionaries.
The man mentored farmers and their family and helped them raise their voice against rapes and goon threats. The movement led him to lose his life, but he stays as an unsung hero in the hearts of many.
Age: 70
City/ State: Darbhanga
Best Known For: Padma Shri, written several influential books on Physics
.jpg)
Image Source: hcverma.in
Ask about any JEE aspirant about HC Verma and you will see the craze in his eyes.
The man has published 139 papers of Physics. He has also written excellent books for Physics for school and college level. The man used to be a Professor at the prestigious IIT Kanpur.
City/ State: Patna, Bihar
Best Known For: Coaches students for civil services examination at just Rs 11.
 C.jpg)
Image Source: inuth.com
Want to become an IAS or an IPS? Visit any coaching center and pay lakhs of fees to study for India’s most competitive exam.
Or else, you can seek coaching from Motiur Rahman Khan Sir at just the cost of a chocolate. Yes, Rahman sir is not only coaching students for tough examinations like the IAS, but is also shaping the future of India by being a selfless teacher.
For more results, click here
About Author
