‘Gandhi inspired me to start school for children of jail inmates, sex workers, single mothers’

Ashraf Engineer

May 31, 2023

Vinayak Deokar was abandoned when he was three months old. He was adopted, but lost his aging foster parents early. He struggled through life and, just as things got better, he was diagnosed with cardiac disease. During the course of his treatment, he met a four-year-old suffering from the same ailment. That turned out to be an inflection point. He has since then devoted his life to helping others. He runs the Mahatma Gandhi School in Pune, a free English-medium institution that ensures education for 425 orphans and children of prisoners, sex workers, single mothers, daily wagers and domestic workers. He details his journey to All Indians Matter.