Operation Vasantha: How Rural Girls Are Leading India’s Silent Education Revolution
New Delhi, May 24 – In a nation where education gaps between rural and urban India remain stark, a quiet revolution is changing the way children in villages learn. At the heart of this transformation is Agastya Foundation, whose story is now being told in the new Penguin Enterprise book The Moving of Mountains by Adhirath Sethi.
Spanning 25 years of grassroots innovation, the book unveils how Agastya’s mobile labs, innovation hubs, and evening schools—run by volunteers in the most remote villages—are helping hundreds of thousands of underprivileged children discover the joy of learning, and in many cases, even begin to teach.
A Light in the Dark: The Birth of Operation Vasantha
It started with a girl named Vasantha, who wasn’t content just to learn. After going through Agastya’s science programs, she began teaching children in her village every night using borrowed models from the foundation’s mobile lab.
“I like to teach,” she told the Agastya team when they discovered her grassroots classroom—a blackboard, a piece of chalk, and 30 eager students crammed into her modest home.
What emerged from Vasantha’s effort would become Operation Vasantha (OV)—a low-tech, high-impact movement that now reaches 700 villages and 18,000 children every night. These peer-led evening classes, often run by young women between 18–25 years old, have been a game-changer for rural education.
From Village Girls to Science Champions
The book shares powerful anecdotes, like that of two village girls, Rani and Roja, who—while sitting under a peepul tree—began wondering why shade felt cool. Their curiosity led them to investigate the cooling properties of different leaves, a project that won them the Special Award at the IRIS National Prize, competing against students from India’s top private schools.
These stories underscore Agastya’s approach: nurturing curiosity, empowering young minds, and turning students into community leaders.
Dr. Kalam, Jhunjhunwala Among Early Supporters
Agastya’s journey was bolstered by support from icons like former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who saw promise in an idea that used simplicity, science, and spirit to drive systemic change.
In the villages where power cuts are routine and educational resources are limited, Agastya’s mobile science labs and night schools fill a critical gap. Teachers use models, solar lamps, and practical experiments to bring concepts alive, making learning accessible and engaging.
Jayamma: The 'Mother of OV'
A pivotal figure in this movement is Jayamma P.S., the first woman to join Agastya’s main campus workforce. Referred to as the “Mother of OV,” she now coordinates the entire night-school program. Her compassion and leadership have helped OV scale its reach, proving that homegrown solutions can indeed move mountains.
Every evening, OV volunteers conduct classes with the backing of modest stipends and training. Parents report that children now finish their homework on time, stay out of trouble, and even outperform in school. Local teachers say their classrooms are full of curious, prepared students. The community wins.
A Scalable Model for National Impact
What makes OV unique is its sustainability. It doesn't rely on high-tech infrastructure or expensive tools. Instead, it builds on peer-to-peer learning, trust within communities, and a deep belief that children—regardless of where they’re born—deserve a chance to dream.
As India continues its push toward universal education, models like Operation Vasantha offer a replicable template for impact. With over 424,000 girls learning to code, build, experiment, and lead, Agastya is quietly rewriting the narrative of rural education—one village at a time.
In an era where education reform is often discussed but rarely felt at the grassroots, Agastya’s Operation Vasantha is a rare success story. As The Moving of Mountains reveals, it takes only one curious child and one committed teacher to light up a village—and perhaps, in time, the entire nation.
