Meet man who changed lives of many slum children in Delhi's Red Fort, took them from beggars to school, he is...

Delhi’s Red Fort has come into spotlight after the blast due to a car explosion on November 10, Monday. But long before this incident a man started a school ‘Than Singh Ki Pathshala’ to spread the light of knowledge in the backdrop of Delhi’s historic site. 

Who is Than Singh? 

Than Singh is a police constable who hails from Delhi who is passionate about teaching and giving out to society. Through his small school, Singh has been providing free education to unprivileged children. With the aim of spreading education among the slum children and take them away from their regular street life.  

Born in Rajasthan's Bharatpur, Than Singh was born and brought up in the slums of Delhi. His father used to iron clothes to earn livelihood. He also used to sell corn on the streets to support the family.  

Despite hardships and financial troubles, Than Singh was determined to continue his studies and achieve something in life. "I would study at a school for a fee of Rs 3. My father wanted to become a police officer, but he could not. I wanted to fulfill his dream. I’d juggle work and studies. In 2009, after two attempts, I cleared the examination for Delhi Police constable and got my posting in 2010,” he says while speaking to The Better India. 

It was 2013 when he saw a few children picking up rags near Red Fort in Delhi. He realised that some of the tourists mocked the children, instead of understanding their plight. “Many tourists would come and click their photos, mocking their circumstance, I hated to see that. These children were doing odd jobs for Rs 50 because their parents did not have enough resources to take care of them", Singh says.  

He also saw some children eating 'gutkha' (betel nuts). Just because they do not have enough resources to receive proper education, they get into bad companies which lead them to wrong paths, Singh realised.  

This is when he decided to bear the responsibility of their education. Two years later, he established a one-of-its-kind school, named Than Singh Ki Pathshala, to teach underprivileged children for free. 

He also met with the parents of the children and convinced them to send the kids to the Pathshala.  

“I volunteered to teach these kids so that they are able to come a little par to their peers. For this, I started meeting the parents. Police are the only segment that go to people irrespective of their socio-economic status and get to understand their problems. After meeting their parents, I convinced them to not worry about kids and send them to our pathshala,” he says.