With a lot of pomp and zeal, India celebrates Teachers’ Day on September 5 to commemorate the birthday of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishan, the country’s first Vice President and former President, scholar, philosopher and Bharat Ratna awardee. When Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishan assumed office as the second President of India in 1962, his students approached him to seek permission to mark September 5 as a special day. Instead, he requested them to observe it as Teachers’ Day to acknowledge the invaluable contribution of teachers to society. But did you know there is a village in Karnataka where almost every house has a teacher?
Let’s walk through the Inchal village in Savadatti taluk of Belagavi which is also known as teachers’ village. The village is 41 km away from the district centre with a population of 6,000 people and has more than 600 persons who have opted for teaching as their profession. They are working in different parts of the state. Most of the teachers are employed with state-run aided schools and colleges, some are associated with private institutions across Karnataka.
People of Inchal consider teaching as the noblest profession.
One of the biggest teacher families would be that of Shabbir Mirajannavar, Bailhongal taluk secretary of Karnataka State Primary Teacher’s Association-13 Members of his family are teachers. On average, families have at least five teachers in the household. Here agriculture is the secondary profession after teaching.
It is said that the village owes it to Shivanand Bharati Swamiji. In the 1970s, there were just eight teachers and one primary school in Inchal. For further education, students have had to trek to Bailhongal town. Due to the lack of accessible institutions for higher education, many were deprived of life-changing opportunities, especially for girls.
Looking at the situation, Shivanand Bharati Swamiji established an educational society along with some other teachers, bringing the centre of higher learning to the village. In 1982, they even established their degree college.
In 1984, the Rural Teachers’ Training Centre was opened. It gave free training to students in the village and the students were provided free food. The seer’s efforts began to yield results the village’s literacy rate improved and most of the students opted for teachers’ training. Gradually, the village also witnessed youth entering the profession in huge numbers. Since 1988, an average of more than 20 teachers have been selected for the training in each selection.
Today, Inchal hosts a primary and high school, a PU college, a degree college imparting courses in arts, commerce and science, a college for Ayurveda and a Sanskrit School.
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