PM Modi mentioned this man’s name in a speech recently. So, From Alwar in Rajasthan, meet school teacher Imran Khan and why we need a few more like him.
It has been a very strange month for Mohd. Imran Khan, from tiny Alwar in Rajasthan. He is a man who spends long hours behind his beloved computer at home and by his own admission, doesn’t really step out much — except for his daily commute to the local school, where the 37-year-old father of three spends his days teaching Mathematics.
So, when the Prime Minister announced his name in front of 60,000 people — packed inside London’s famous Wembley Stadium — life erupted around Khan.
“I come home and I sit behind the computer for long hours — sometimes even eating my meal while I browse through the happenings from the world. Mine’s a simple life, you see. And since I’m not seen much, some on my street here didn’t even know my name. But when the Prime Minister spoke about me... and the press came looking for my house, things changed overnight.” reveals Khan.
Khan was plucked out of obscurity on November 13 — a date he’ll probably never forget. PM Modi, during his recent visit to the United Kingdom mentioned his name in a speech directed at a roaring capacity crowd at the Wembley. “In Rajasthan’s Alwar there is a man called Imran Khan. He has made 50 mobile apps. My India is in that Imran Khan from Alwar,” Modi said.
That one sentence left the world asking, “who on God’s green Earth was Imran Khan and why was the Prime Minister talking about him ”
“That speech has obviously changed my life,” says Khan. “I don’t even have a TV so, I had to catch the PM’s address later, after people started calling me. I don’t have professional training in software development either and all I did was sit in front of the computer, learning as much as I could on app development. A few years ago, I didn’t even know how to turn on the machine.” But Khan, so far, has developed over 50 apps — all focussed on furthering learning. “The apps have over 30 lakh users. I didn’t know they would become so useful,” he adds. Next on the agenda is a mobile application to help teach students English grammar.
And ever since his newfound status, students, neighbours and strangers have been approaching him to help them “build something”. “It is humbling. The kids at school now want their teacher to help them install apps. They want me to install them on all the computers because they are under the assumption these things work only on my phone. But between the phone calls and the knocks on the door, I haven’t had much time... I will start focussing on new things soon though. I want to do more.”
Which is when Khan also mentions a dream. “The reality is harsh. We’re facing problems with education... the kids need a bit of audio/visual assistance — how else will you explain what the Apollo 11 did — and then there’s the way we are teaching them. Gradually, they might lose interest in books too. Aaj kal kahaan bachche libraries jaate hain
“I’m no genius or some skilful master of computer software. There are problems around me and I just want to find solutions. These apps are not my primary interest either... true change is my dream. If I can bring that change in children’s lives, I will be truly happy.”
The very impressed government of Rajasthan has now asked Khan to take up a senior position within the state’s science and technology department. He, meanwhile, is a bit reluctant. “I want to thank them for the offer. But I have this crisis within me. I ask myself... will problems be solved if I have that ‘officer’ status to my name I want efforts and work to go in the right direction — actual results — instead of me becoming some officer. I’m still thinking about accepting the offer though. Let’s see.”
For now then, it’s back to work teaching Maths at the local school. “Alwar is very small with its share of issues. I spend my days thinking up solutions and how I could be of help. Teaching is one way, yes. But I really want my students to learn... and I will do my best to help them. I’m not special at all. I just want to make a difference.”
