In the first grade, Sunita Vishwas remembers classmates refusing to eat with her. Some repeated caste-based stereotypes, saying she did not bathe or even “ate cats.” To avoid the humiliation, she began hiding her lunchbox under the table. She continued to hide her lunchbox throughout her school education, from Class 1 to Class 12. Those experiences of exclusion stayed with her, but they did not define her future. Today, as the co-founder of Trutiya Ratna, Sunita is working to ensure that children and youth have access to education, resources, mentors, dignity, critical thinking, and a stronger sense of belonging.
While speaking to The Logical Indian, Sunita reflected on her journey from being a first-generation learner who faced discrimination throughout her education to leading an organisation rooted in social justice and community empowerment.
Growing Up With Caste-Based Exclusion
Born and raised in Delhi, Sunita’s parents had migrated from Bihar in search of work. She belongs to the Dalit community and describes herself as a first-generation learner. Her father worked as a Group ‘D’ employee in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting; he had completed his matriculation but dropped out afterwards due to caste discrimination and poverty. Her mother did not receive formal education because of caste, gender, and poverty.
Her earliest memories of caste discrimination began in school. Classmates repeated stereotypes about her family and excluded her from everyday interactions. She recalled hiding her lunchbox because other children would whisper about her and exclude her during lunch, so she ended up eating alone, hiding her lunchbox under the table.
These repeated experiences gradually affected her confidence.
“They spread stereotypes that I didn’t bathe or that I ‘ate cats’,” she recalled while speaking about her childhood experiences. She also shared that these incidents made her an introvert who often questioned herself.
A Difficult Path Through Higher Education
The challenges continued when Sunita entered Daulat Ram College at the University of Delhi to pursue an undergraduate degree. She often found herself to be the only Scheduled Caste student in her classroom and felt judged because of her skin colour and the clothes she wore.
There were moments when she considered leaving college altogether. What kept her going, she said, was the support she received from an international student from Kenya and an Adivasi classmate who stood by her.
Her next academic step brought another setback.
During her Master’s programme at the Delhi School of Social Work, a fieldwork supervisor criticised her over grammatical errors in a fieldwork report, then went on to question her father’s position as a low-ranking government employee in a manner that left her feeling “inferior” and “anxious.” On another occasion, a professor at DSSW threw her assignment back at her, calling it “pathetic.” The experience deeply affected her, and she eventually left the course during the third semester in 2013.
Finding Confidence at TISS
In June 2014, Sunita joined the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, to pursue an MA in Social Work with a specialisation in Disability Studies and Action, which she completed in May 2016.
In conversation with The Logical Indian, she described this period as a turning point in her life.
At TISS, she learned about the anti-caste movement and gained a deeper understanding of the history of her own community. The experience helped reshape her perspective and strengthened her commitment to social justice. She later completed both an MPhil and a PhD.
How Trutiya Ratna Took Shape
The foundation of Trutiya Ratna emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Children from field projects Sunita had previously worked with in Patna reached out to her after losing access to food and education. Many were going hungry and were being pushed back into begging and rag-picking to survive.
Together with her co-founder, Prasanna Kumari, who had also studied with her at the Delhi School of Social Work, they began raising funds to provide ration kits and sanitary pads for nearly 80 families.
The support did not stop there.
The two founders later used their own fellowship money and salaries to pay a community teacher so that the children could continue their education despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic.
Although the initiative had already begun functioning during COVID-19, Trutiya Ratna was formally registered in 2024 as Uppalam Foundation.
Education Beyond Classrooms
Trutiya Ratna draws inspiration from Phule-Ambedkarite ideology and works to challenge discrimination based on caste, class, gender, and disability, building equitable opportunities and strengthening the agency of children, youth, and marginalised communities. Its work is organised around four major areas.
1. Community Knowledge Centres and Libraries
Trutiya Ratna has established Libraries-cum-Community Knowledge Centres across four districts in Bihar — Jehanabad, Jamui, Aurangabad, and Patna. These function as safe and inclusive reading spaces for community members, particularly children, youth, and women, with a wide range of books including school textbooks, STEM titles, Pratham storybooks, anti-caste literature, Hindi and English novels, competitive exam materials, and books for higher education and residential school entrance exams.
At these centres, the organisation provides after-school learning support to children from Classes 1 to 10, particularly those from landless and homeless communities studying in government schools. Together, these centres encourage reading, critical thinking, and collective learning.
2. Higher Education
Through a pool of volunteers, Trutiya Ratna prepares students, primarily first-generation learners from rural, landless backgrounds, for entrance examinations to central and state universities and other institutions of higher education. It provides academic guidance and career counselling, along with scholarships and sponsorships, particularly for girls, to cover tuition fees, books, and stationery, since they are more vulnerable to dropping out due to patriarchy and poverty.
3. Leadership Development
Through Bal Sabha, regular reading circles and discussion sessions, Trutiya Ratna nurtures leadership, critical consciousness, and democratic participation among children and young people. Participants engage with autobiographies such as Joothan and discuss themes including caste, gender, sexuality, mental health, constitutional values, and social justice, developing confidence, leadership skills, and a deeper understanding of their social realities.
4. Access to Rights, Entitlements, and Legal Aid
Trutiya Ratna supports families in accessing government welfare schemes, essential public services, and legal remedies related to discrimination, exclusion, and rights violations. It works to prevent child marriages and provides educational, nutritional, medical, and psychosocial support to girls married at an early age. Mental health counselling and awareness on sexual and reproductive health are integrated into its community-based interventions. Where required, the organisation facilitates legal assistance by connecting community members with legal resources, supporting them through institutional processes, and advocating for the protection of their constitutional rights.
The Challenges Continue
Despite its expanding work, funding remains one of the organisation’s biggest challenges.
Because Trutiya Ratna was registered only recently, it is not yet eligible for several CSR funding opportunities. As a result, some team members continue to work part-time while balancing the organisation’s activities.
The organisation also encounters resistance while intervening in child marriage cases and matters related to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, including opposition from sections of the community and local authorities.
Building Critical Consciousness
For Sunita, education is not simply about completing school or earning degrees.
Her vision is to make education a tool for developing critical consciousness, enabling children from marginalised communities to understand their own histories, question systems of discrimination, and eventually contribute back to their communities.
Her own journey, from a child who hid her lunchbox because of caste prejudice to a scholar and social entrepreneur creating spaces for learning and inclusion, reflects the belief that access to education can become meaningful only when it is accompanied by dignity, awareness, and the confidence to challenge inequality.
The Logical Indian Perspective
Sunita Vishwas’s journey reminds us that education is not just about access to classrooms but also about dignity, inclusion, and the confidence to question inequality. Through Trutiya Ratna, she and her team are creating spaces where children from marginalised communities can learn, understand their rights and histories, and grow into informed leaders. Her story highlights how education can become a catalyst for lasting social change when it is rooted in equity and critical thinking.
What do you think is the biggest barrier to equal access to quality education in India today? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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