A Light in the Darkness: Harijan Education Success in Bangladesh

Harijan education success story is rare in Bangladesh — where caste-based discrimination and systemic neglect have long kept Harijan communities excluded from education, dignity, and opportunity.

Assigned for generations to sanitation (Cleaning) work, the Harijan people of Kushtia were denied access to schools, public services, and social recognition.

Their children were ridiculed, labeled as “untouchables,” and often blocked from entering classrooms. In this harsh reality, choosing education was an act of resistance.

From this backdrop of exclusion, Paritosh Bishwas (name changed for privacy) rose — defying expectations and reshaping destiny.

With support from the Friends Association for Integrated Revolution (FAIR), his journey became more than personal success — it became a symbol of what inclusive education can achieve.

The Harijan Reality: A Community Forgotten

The Harijan community in Kushtia — like across Bangladesh — faced generations of humiliation, restricted to sanitation work with no recognition, no dignity, and almost no access to basic services.

Public schools, healthcare, government housing — these were distant dreams for Harijan families, whose lives revolved around survival and silent endurance.

Children were mocked as “Methor,” denied entry into mainstream schools, and considered unworthy of educational investment. Growing up in such an environment, education for a Harijan child seemed almost revolutionary.

The First Step: A Youth Inspired by Action Research

In 2003, as a young secondary school student, Paritosh Bishwas took his first courageous step toward change. He joined a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project initiated by the Friends Association for Integrated Revolution (FAIR) under the guidance of Dewan Akhtaruzzaman.

As an Animator, he began raising awareness within his community about:

• Human rights,
• Dignity,
• Education and health rights,
• Employment opportunities,
• Access to safe housing.

“Our life was shaped by silence and shame,” Paritosh says. “FAIR helped us ask: Why? And more importantly: Why not something better?”

Through house-to-house visits, focus group discussions, and yard meetings, he ignited conversations about liberation, pride, and education within a community that had almost lost the ability to dream.

From Research to Real Action: FAIR’s Educational Intervention

Inspired by the findings of the PAR, FAIR, with support from the Human Development Foundation (HDF), launched a landmark education program in 2006 focused on mainstreaming Harijan children into formal schooling.

Paritosh played a crucial role here too — this time not as a student but as a Teacher-cum-Animator in FAIR’s Child Animation Center in Kushtia.

At the center, he:

• Helped children complete their daily schoolwork,
• Ran sessions on life skills, hygiene, and child rights,
• Organized weekly parent meetings to advocate for continued schooling,
• Conducted motivational events and cultural activities.

“I was teaching children who once believed school was not for them,” Paritosh reflects. “It was more than literacy; it was about reclaiming our right to dream.”

Beyond Teaching: Becoming a Community Mobilizer

Paritosh’s journey didn’t stop at teaching.

When FAIR later launched a new project supported by the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), focusing on broader social mobilization among Dalit and Harijan communities, Paritosh served again as a lead Animator.

He organized:

• Advocacy programs for human rights,
• Workshops against child marriage,
• Health and sanitation awareness sessions,
• Conducted motivational events and cultural activities.

His dual role — educator and mobilizer — helped shift long-entrenched mindsets in the Harijan colony, slowly replacing despair with hope.

Overcoming Setbacks: The Fight for His Own Education

Despite working full-time to empower others, Paritosh’s personal education journey faced setbacks.
After successfully passing his Secondary School Certificate (SSC) in 2005 and his Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) in 2007, financial hardships forced him to pause his studies.

However, FAIR’s leadership refused to let his potential fade.

Through direct encouragement and financial assistance, Paritosh enrolled in Bangladesh Open University.
Balancing community work, family duties, and academic pressures, he fought his way back.

In 2016, he achieved a milestone no one in his community had ever reached before — earning a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree.

“Without FAIR’s support, I could have been another dropout,” Paritosh admits.
“Instead, I became a graduate.”

A Historic Achievement: From Harijan Colony to Mainstream Educator

Today, Paritosh works as a Computer Operator and Game Instructor at a private educational institution in Kushtia —the first known Harijan youth from his colony to work as a teacher in the mainstream education system.

This isn’t just personal success — it’s community history in the making:

• A boy once called “untouchable” now called “Sir.”
• A community once silenced, now finding its voice through one of its own.

Paritosh’s presence inside a school as a professional teacher represents a radical break from centuries of discrimination and imposed inferiority.

The Ripple Effect: Changing a Community’s Destiny

Thanks to FAIR’s inclusive approach:

• Children from Harijan colonies are now regularly enrolled in mainstream schools.
• Parents now dream of their sons and daughters becoming teachers, doctors, and engineers.
• Community members are organizing to claim their civil rights.

Paritosh’s journey demonstrates that Harijan education success story is not myths — they are happening, and they are changing the future.

Call to Action: Fueling More Transformations

The story of Paritosh Bishwas is a call to action.

Thousands of Harijan children across Bangladesh are still waiting for their first chance — their first desk, their first teacher, their first dream.

You can help write the next Harijan education success story.

???? Support organizations like FAIR.
???? Champion inclusive education for marginalized communities.
???? Break the cycle of exclusion with action, not pity.

Together, we can build a Bangladesh where every child — regardless of birth — can dare to learn, dream, and lead.

Empower a Harijan child today. Transform a community forever.

N.B.: The story is based on true events. However, the name has been changed to protect the individual’s privacy. The photo is AI-generated and used for illustrative purposes only.