Kaleem Azeem/Pune

At the age of 17, Wali Rahmani, with his proficiency in Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, and English, became a famous public speaker. Today, at 26, he is one of the most sought-after commentators on television channels; His speeches go viral on social media. However, there is something more substantial that Rehmani at the age of 27 is busy with actualizing an idea for alleviating the lot of poor Muslim children that he conceived seven years ago. He laid the foundation of a residential school for orphans in the city of Kolkata. The waiting list for this school today is 1500.

Through social media, Wali Khan sought a donation of Rs 100 from each person to make a bigger residential school for all those on the waiting list. He is proposing to reach out to 10 lakh people and raise Rs 10 crore. He collected Rs six crores in just six days for his dream project. Kaleem Azeem spoke to this dynamic young leader about his life and dreams. Excerpts from the interview:

Congratulations on collecting Rs 6 crore in six days for your Ummed academy. Though the response to your appeal was phenomenal some people also criticized you. Criticism or trolling may not be new to you, but how do you deal with it?

You are right. This is not new to me. A few days ago, I wrote something on Facebook. I am a human being, liable for a slip of the tongue.  At times, something that I write can inadvertently hurt others. The same people who used to applaud me for my fame, and be happy with my success, started trolling me. It troubled me so much that I went into depression. I female friend of mine taught me a lesson at that time She asked me why I was feeling sad and I replied that it was because people were abusing me.

Wali Rahmani with others at a protest rally in favour of Palestinians

At this, she said, “You were happy when a person applauded you; so today when he is criticizing you, you are feeling sad. Had you not been happy with their applause and focused on your work, then even their abuses would not have affected you today.” Her words were a great lesson for me. After this, it’s alright if someone wows me and also if someone abuses me. I am only concerned about my work.

People are interested to know about their youth icon. So tell me where were you born; how was your childhood and where did you receive your education?

It is a big thing to be called a youth icon. I am an ordinary man; trying to do my work. I try to do whatever is within my power. I was born in 1998 in Kolkata city. I studied at St. James School and completed 11th and 12th at the Genesis Global School, Noida,(UP) which is an international school. I completed my law degree from Jamia Hamdard University 4 months ago.

Tell us about your background and family. Also, you had to work hard to achieve everything. In the meantime, what preparations did you make to create your own identity?

My father Shafiuddin Sahab has worked very hard to establish a big business. The era of their hard work and poverty was before my birth. My father was from a small village in Bihar. In 1980, he came to Kolkata in search of employment. His first job was driver of a rickshaw. He used to transport leather goods from one factory on his rickshaws. He worked very hard during those days. By the time I was born, their circumstances had improved. There was happiness in the house. I have never seen poverty. My father sent me to the best school. He used to tell me about poverty probably to prepare me for hard work.

Students of Ummed Academy showing their medals

We, all brothers and sisters, know what poverty, unemployment, and starvation mean as we have heard it from our father.

In 2017, your first YouTube video went viral. How did the idea come about?

I made that video when I was in 11th-12th. At that time I was studying in Noida. The changing political situation there was troubling me. There was fear and darkness in my heart. The religion-based politics seemed to destroy the dreams of the hardworking, poor, and destitute. I felt very bad. These feelings and pain have become my greatest strength. I simply expressed my pain for the poor, that's all!

Initially you wanted to become a political leader; your desire is also reflected in your arguments during the television debates...

Earlier I felt that I could contribute to improving the situation in the country by joining politics and making a difference. For this reason, I joined primetime debates on news channels and spoke about politics. I used to say out of anger that I wanted to become the Prime Minister of the country in 2040. Many of my speeches are on record. People used to clap loudly for me. They appreciated the big dream of a 20-year-old. It motivated me.

However, my thoughts have changed. The definition of leadership has changed. With time, people incorporate new thoughts into their lives and start thinking differently. When the thought process widens one knows his thinking was not right. I started thinking differently. The definition of leadership changed for me. A person bragging that he is a leader is a liar. People should never choose a leader who says he wants to become one. A leader should never have this desire to become a leader. He should only have the desire to develop leadership qualities. Be perfect in whatever work you do. Secondly, it’s about the service to people. He has to render unprecedented levels of service to the people. If you have these two things then you can become a leader.

I want to serve people. I have to be the best in my work and serve people the most through my work. I have to serve the most, and then people would say that I am their leader. I will leave this world serving.

Wali Rahmani delivering a lecture in Kolkata

You are quite viral on the internet and have become a social media influencer in a very short time. You have more than a million followers, how do you feel about getting so much fame at a young age?

It was a lot of fun in the initial phase. Who doesn't like fame?  If one gets it at a young age then there are chances for a person to get misled. He considers fame as everything. But God hit me at the very right time. God told me on every occasion that the fame I have got is temporary. In the end, only your work or service will be useful, and anyone is going to benefit from your work. When I meet God, my fame will be of no use to him. What welfare works have I done in the world, what services have I rendered, and what sacrifices have I made for the happiness of others will be useful. This was the reason that despite gaining fame in a very short time, I managed to recover; instead of getting carried away, I started doing constructive work.

You have outspoken opinions regarding current politics, and you write and speak openly on Twitter.

In the times that we live in what role should Muslims play in nation building?

Islam spread in India only based on the character of Muslims. It has spread through Khankahs. Many Sufi elders came to our place during the medieval period. They presented character, due to which people started knowing Islam. People troubled by caste, discrimination, untouchability, etc. were drawn towards the good character of Sufis and accepted Islam. The Muslims should keep their character clean and selfless and try to win people's hearts.

Secondly, a Muslim should become a giver. Today a large section of Muslims in this country have become takers. It is not bad if I say that as part of a well-planned conspiracy, we have been made 'takers'.

Wali Rahmani with Imran Pratapgarhi and Dr Abdul Qadeet at an even in Dammam

The day we become givers, the world will respect us, the country will respect us. Let us become givers to those who hate us. That is, Muslims should become the best doctors and scientists in India; they should open the best schools colleges, and hospitals. Didn't our elders do anything to build the country? What are we doing today? What is our share in the productivity of the country? Meaning, if we become givers then they will have no option left to hate us. The most important thing is that every word that comes out of our mouth should win the hearts of people.

There is a lot of debate about the deteriorating political culture, how do you view this politics?

If we talk about today's politics, it is a very painful situation. Common people are also forgetting themselves due to the claims of political parties and their deception. We are watching what is happening in TV debates every day. The people sitting there in the (screen) windows belong to different political parties. People see them fighting and arguing during the debate. I have been there too.

During a debate, spokespersons of rival political parties fight for one and a half hours. Looking at them it seemed as if they were sworn enemies. However, when the debate ends, they drink tea and laugh together. Let's laugh. They know that they have to show rivalry only on screen. However, their followers do not know all this. There are as many camps as there are political parties in our country. It is a very painful environment. Which can be removed only with love and defeating the forces of hatred.

What are your hobbies?

Once upon a time, I felt that by participating in debates I would get fame. Maybe had I remained on that thought I would have joined a political party and contested elections. However, I felt that I may not be able to bring any change on the ground level. I felt that I had to fight poverty and for the poor, I started a school to give the education of the rich to the poor. I am running that school and it has 300 children. I have adopted them. About 20 percent of those children are fatherless and 60 percent parent-less. The remaining ones are extremely poor. All the children call me 'Abbaji'. I am raising these children and devoting my time to their upbringing. 1500 and more children are on the waiting list of those wanting to join my school. But there is no space in my school and no infrastructure. So we have taken 2 acres of land in 24 Parganas district top. A building is being built on it for a residential school campus. It will have football, volleyball and basketball courts. Here we can give the education of the kind the rich kids have to the poor, Inshallah.

What made you interested in this social service of education, what was the reason, and which was the moment, which attracted you to this sector?

Two very important reasons encouraged me. For one, when I was studying in a school in Noida, I had a teacher Leni Lesiever. She served in an orphanage for 25 years. Before retirement, she thought of earning some money and hence joined the international school. However, she left the school within 6 months and rejoined the orphanage.

Students learning martial arts at Umeed Academy

The second reason is Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed, owner of Hamdard Medical Company. He has created 'Hamdard University' by investing crores of rupees from his earnings. I have completed my law studies in the same university. Hakim Saheb was a billionaire; People who met him say that his clothes were torn in two or three places and were sewed with patchwork. I heard a lot about him from people close to him. It is said that anyone meeting him for the first time took him as a beggar. He invested all his earnings in the service of the community and their education. He spent thousands of crores of rupees and created such a big institution for Muslims. He spent his entire life for his quom and social work. Despite being a billionaire, he remained poor but built a luxurious educational institution. I stayed in university with someone who knew him. His simple nature proved effective for me. I felt that I had to sacrifice myself for the service of the quom so that the lives of others could be improved.

When and how did the idea of Umeed Academy come into existence?

I passed my 12th class from ‘Genesis Global School’ in 2018. I used to participate in debates those days when I realized that there was a lot of poverty in the country. Looking at the poor I wondered why are they like this. I realized they were being kept in poverty. I saw that a large-scale charity business is going on across the country. Non-Muslims are running charity businesses and Muslims are running Zakat businesses. Who is benefiting from charity?

That means we will go to a poor person and give him a blanket. Next year again we will give him the blanket. And it will continue like that. Just like this a poor person comes and asks for food. We give him food. He comes again asking for food and the same cycle is repeated. So, similarly, my father gave money to the father of the poor person to whom I am giving money. His grandfather was given money by my grandfather, and his great-grandfather was given money by my great-grandfather. This has been going on for many generations. The poor in our country are 20 to 30 percent. All of them are below the poverty line. It is a matter of shame for us that even after 75 years of independence we could not change the situation. These people did not become poor overnight. These people have been poor for many generations.

A Class in Wali Rahmani's Umeed Academy

I understood that the only way to get them out of poverty was to give them a good education. There is a saying in English: “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” I am educating a generation and it is the only means to escape from the maze of poverty. That's why I founded Umeed Academy for the poor children who have been stuck in the cycle of poverty for 7, 10, and 15 generations. This institution started on 1 April 2018.

You say again and again that the syllabus of the Umeed Academy is different from others, how is it different?

Not different from everyone else. But I can say that I am imparting the training of the rich to the poor. This is our specialty. I am giving the education which is being given in the best schools in the country. In government schools children are taught biology through diagrams. Like there is a diagram of the heart on which labels say this is the heart, these are arteries; this is the chamber, etc. Children who study through this method also score 90 percent marks. Later, when a human heart is placed in his hand and he has to explain he would not seem to know anything.

We train children on the lines of the best schools in the country. Children are taught about the heart through a 3D hologram, one each kept on the students’ desks. The children can feel the heart chamber. Dhirubhai Ambani School has this kind of facility and so do the other top schools. Our target is to reach that level. The philosophy behind it is that the clothes, food, houses, and lifestyles of the rich and the poor may be different, but their books and educational institutions cannot be different.

When you come to our school, you can see our modern lesson planning system and smart classes. All the children study on laptops and projectors. All teachers have laptops. Inshallah, we are going to introduce robotics, AI, and coding next year. The children of our school should not lag behind others in any way.

Wali Rahmani

Would you give importance to the religious education in the academy?

What do you understand by religious education? We are planning for minority affiliation. There is an exemption for this in Article 13 of the Indian Constitution. We want to work on Muslim children. The pattern of our school is the CBSE board. Along with the CBSE curriculum, they also provide religious education to Muslim children. Along with other education, we also teach the Quran and Islam to the children. These two subjects are additional. As much importance is given to science as is given to the Quran, as much importance is given to history as is given to Islamic studies. The same amount of attention is given to mathematics as is given to hadiths. We give equal attention to all subjects. We are focusing more on Islamic moral education. Making a good human being is the basic teaching of Islam, we convey it to the students. Islam teaches you to become a good person. 10 percent of children in our school are non-Muslims. The period of Islamic studies is their value education period. Our school is Islamic, but our principal is a non-Muslim. His name is Rinku Bhattacharya. Our General Manager, who is the backbone of the organization, is retired from the Indian Army. His name is Abhishek Mukherjee.

The academy makes the students physically and mentally strong. What new programs have you implemented?

Firstly, it inculcates good thinking in the children. We talk to children regularly. The agenda of our first assembly is to build the character of the children. Every day, we say the same thing, don't lie, don't lie... tell the truth... tell the truth... be honest... be honest...Don't think ill of others. One topic keeps coming up after a week. We decide topic for one month and keep focus on it. It strengthens the minds of children. When children come to us, they are very weak. A 10-year-old child looks like a 6 or 7-year-old. We give him three meals a day. I eat with children the same food. We feed milk and eggs. Within a year or two the children recover and look of their age. Many children who come to us are scared and fear-stricken. Many have faced sexual abuse and atrocities. The self-defense training strengthens them and soon we see the children have become good fighters. They have won gold medalists at the national level and state level. Children soon gain confidence and there is a perceptible change in their personalities. I take classes on Public Speaking Research and Presentation.

It is generally seen that Muslim girls lag in education. What special attention is the Umeed Academy giving to this?

Of course, we believe that the education of girls is very important. Not only girls but also both boys and girls of Muslims are far behind in education. When we started, we were training only boys. In the areas where we used to go, even the girls used to hold our hands and tell us that they too have to go to school. In 2019 we started taking girls. Right now we have 60 percent boys and 40 percent girls. And we have seen that we can expect much better results from girls. But compared to them, the children are more dedicated to studies and are also more disciplined.

All our teachers say that it is the girls who will make us proud. Our girls are very good at studies. Teachers also say this because I often say that I will stop taking girls. After all, it is a big responsibility to get girls admitted. This is not an easy task. Keeping them in hostels, taking care of them, and arranging for their security, are very difficult tasks. The kind of atmosphere there is in the country today, you don't know who is sitting where and looking at the girls from some angle. There is an atmosphere of great fear so we have stopped accepting children. I'm putting it on hold until I have a stronger team.

You come from the land of Maulana Azad, India’s first education minister. Azad's vision was not limited to just education, he also did a lot in the field of culture and behavior. Are you thinking along these lines?

In the beginning, we are doing very basic work. We are feeding the children. We are teaching children to walk. Civilization and etiquette are a much later stage. The primary thing is that no child sleeps hungry. Every child emerges as a leader. Whoever is weak should eat and drink and gain strength and become good in studies and be knowledgeable and turn out to be a good citizen. The children should become successful. We are at a very basic stage. You are talking about a very distant vision, we have not even thought about it yet.

India has seen you as a leader of the people's movement and also as an advocate of secularism. How will Wali Rahmani be seen in the upcoming general elections?

ALSO READ: Wali Rahmani, 23, is close to setting up 100 schools for poor Muslim children

As I said earlier, I am far away from politics. There was no peace in politics. My peace was taken away. Every other person was trying to use me because I was young. Today I feel that I should build 100 schools, and 100 hospitals like the work I am doing and keep working silently. With people's money, I am doing only what the government does. The government builds schools and hospitals by taking taxes and I am building schools by begging from the people. The government builds it forcefully by taking taxes and I take money from the people with open arms. We will also build hospitals with their money. Today I do not see my future in politics. But yes, if my people come and tell me that I am needed in politics, then Maybe I will think again.

You reached the world with the fund appeal; even poor and working people helped you and you were able to raise Rs 6 crore in 6 days. Tell us about your experience and vision

I was tired of begging from people. I often went to the rich and asked them to give me money. People used to make me sit outside for two hours and give me a thousand rupees.  I didn’t mind waiting but since I had a bigger work to finish as soon as possible, I had to save time. I want to achieve a lot in life by helping my people. I realized that the easiest way to do it was to ask for money from every person in India. I will ask for money from every Muslim. There was a trust built on my track record of 5 years. People showed their trust in me and Rs 6 crores were raised in 6 days. Now we have deposited Rs 7 crore. It is a big thing to give Rs 7 crore to someone in a week. From Rs 100, Rs 7 crore can be accumulated. People have shown trust, now it is my responsibility to further strengthen the trust of the people and to build the school building as soon as possible and show it to the people. Build 100 such schools and 100 hospitals. Insha Allah.

(The interviewer is an independent writer. He can be contacted at [email protected])