GAYA IN BIHAR

 

                                                     GAYA IN BIHAR           

Gaya achieved yet another distinction when Shubham Kumar, son of a hardware shop owner, achieved the No.1 rank in this year's (2026) JEE, Advanced. He resides in the densely populated Nadiraganj, 3 km away from Patwa Toli, known as the IIT factory. 

Around 200 of the 1000 households in the village boast of an IITian.

Shubhman had moved to Rajsthan's coaching hub, Kota for coaching.

However, most of the students in Gaya are attending coaching at the free coaching centres at Gaya itself. It is a silent revolution in South Bihar. The free coaching centres provide space, material and mentorship to hundreds of students.

Students who have cleared IIT return the favour by supporting newer batches, creating a cycle of mentorship and empowerment.

The local community has embraced the idea of collective progress.

Parents have no hesitation to invest in children's education despite financial constraints. Former IITians happily support upcoming students.. 

Villagers work in powerlooms to fund tuition and educational requirements of their children. They are committed to ensuring that the past or poverty doesnot bar talent from flourishing.

Gaya was earlier famous for the enlightening of the Budha. It had also been well known for the ancestral salvation of the Hindus. But, during 1990s, the Magadh region of which Gaya was a part was notorious for bloody clashes between the Ranveer sena, a defunct private militia of upper caste landlords.and landless labourers supported by Maoist factions. Massacres had marred the lanscape for a long time. 

What is visible today is that families once trapped in a cycle of violence and fear are nutruring engineers and doctors now.

Gaya is a symbol.

The magical transformation in Gaya is before us. We can see that  former students from the free coaching centres who have made it big in the world have no hesitation in lending a hand for  the upscaling of their own brethren. 

Guess what will happen if Gaya is replicated everywhere? 

From fear to IIT dreams, Gaya's quiet revolution
writes Manoj Chaurasia in Times of india of 12 June 2026