It has been a low-key sort of revolution in Rajasthan, driven by a smartphone, a bit of tenacity and a village library. Hailing from Pathanwala in Sri Ganganagar, Inderjeet is the son of an e-rickshaw driver who has now notched up a 1040 in the 2026 JEE Advanced (OBC NCL). With the family making under Rs 1 lakh a year, he is on his way to being the first from his part of town to make it to IIT.
Why this is significant for education in the hinterlands
You could say he has put to rest the old idea that you have to pay for coaching to get ahead. His story is a reminder that when you put affordable online options and some basic infrastructure in front of a student, you can give them a shot at the good stuff.
Then there is the matter of simply knowing your options. Inderjeet didn’t even know what IIT was until some seniors told him in Class 10. Before that, he was in a local school where nobody much talked about national exams. For him, it was as much about the information as it was the teaching.
How he went from second-guessing to hard-nosed discipline
His first time around in 2025, he wasn’t happy with how it went. So he made the call to take a drop. It put a finer edge on his days. You would find him on maths in the early hours, and the balance of the day was for physics, chemistry and more of the same.
Some weeks were iffy. A test or two would have you think you were missing the mark. But he wouldn’t have it. ‘I made up my mind I’m not giving in, no matter what,’ he’ll tell you. He has a hard line on it: ‘Demotivation? Not in my vocabulary.’
The kind of tools that don’t cost a fortune
Funds were never plentiful and the power would go out. Even the online side of things would falter when the data was used up. His father came up with a solution: head to the library in the next village. There was free Wi-Fi, a place to sit and no power trouble.
That became his base. He could put in the hours without any of the usual interruptions. In a way, the library was a no-fee version of a coaching centre. It was a room where you could build a routine and stick to it, which is all you need in a tough year like that.
A way of doing things others can copy
Any number of students in his position could do the same. Here is how you might go about it:
– Hit up the library for some free internet to watch a lecture
– Get your maths done before the sun is up
– Put aside specific times for each subject
– Don’t let a bad score on a test rattle you
– Let the older boys and girls fill you in on the exam scene
Lessons for the likes of schools and libraries
If you want to make things more accessible, there are some obvious things to be had. One is to get the word out sooner. A little talk in Class 9 or 10 about IIT and JEE can make a world of difference in places where that kind of thing isn’t common knowledge.
And don’t underestimate some unassuming infrastructure. A library with a steady power supply and internet can be the thing that makes up for a thin wallet. It gives you a place where the online material can be put to use.
It also changes how you see what’s on the table. ‘I did it with online study, so you can too,’ is Inderjeet’s way of putting it. For the local authorities and schools, making a show of these kinds of results can put things in perspective for the students.
You can already see it in the community. In Pathanwala, where these exams used to be an afterthought, you have something to point to now. When a family is wondering if they should let their child try for one of the big names, a 1040 in the OBC NCL category is hard to argue with.
He has it in mind to do his BTech at IIT Roorkee and is eyeing a spot at a firm like Google or Microsoft, maybe in AI. The goals are high, but it’s the same formula: put in the work, have the means, and keep moving forward.
Back home, it has been a moment for the family. ‘They were very happy and very proud,’ he says, and he will admit to a few tears of his own. All those years of making do have come to something, thanks in part to a desk in a library and a schedule he didn’t deviate from.
To the village student with an income to make ends meet and not much in the way of direction, this is more than a feel-good tale. It is a how-to. A library can stand in for a coach, and a drop year can be your springboard.
But it is an institutional story as well. Give a local library some free internet and a school some clarity on the exams, and you let talent have its way. Inderjeet has shown that with a bit of access and some faith, you can change the whole village’s view on what is to be had from an education.
