TRUTIYA RATNA · OUR PEOPLE
The people building community libraries and classrooms across Bihar
Trutiya Ratna is run by a small team of first-generation learners, researchers and organisers working alongside the students and community educators they serve — across Aurangabad, Jamui, Jehanabad and Patna.
“Trutiya Ratna” — the Third Jewel — takes its name from Mahatma Jotirao Phule’s 1885 play, which held education as the third eye that lets a person see the truth for themselves.
Guiding idea behind the name
LEADERSHIP
Founders
Trutiya Ratna was founded on the lived experience of caste, class and gender — and on the belief that a dignified life starts with education.
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Sunita Vishwas
Founder & Executive Director
A research scholar and development professional pursuing a PhD in education at TISS Mumbai, with over five years working alongside women, children, Adivasis and Dalits across Jharkhand and Bihar — including a social audit of Bihar’s shelter homes and program leadership at Trutiya Ratna since its earliest days.
As a Dalit woman, her work centres the most vulnerable within Dalit communities — women, transgender persons, children and persons with disabilities — with a particular focus on school education, teacher training and disability.
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Prasann Kumari
Founder & Executive Director
An intersectional and Bahujan feminist pursuing a PhD in Women’s Studies at JNU, with an M.Phil from Ambedkar University, Delhi. Her research examines the effect of policy and law on the rights of marginalised women.
She has worked at the grassroots on women-centred livelihoods in rural Madhya Pradesh and on domestic workers’ rights and child marriage, and taught as Guest Faculty at the Department of Social Work, University of Delhi.
Day to day
Team Members
Community knowledge centre managers, coordinators and operations staff running the libraries and education programmes on the ground.
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Karan Dalvi
Chief Programme Coordinator — Higher Education
Mentoring students for CUET UG since 2023; a PhD candidate in Political Science pursuing the reconstruction of Bahujan history.
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Angoori
CKC Manager, Jamui
Resumed her own education through Trutiya Ratna after an early marriage interrupted her schooling; now aspires to teach.
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Vikki
CKC Manager, Jehanabad
Part of the Jehanabad centre team supporting students in the district.
Guidance
Advisory Board
External advisors who guide strategy without an operational role.
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Swati Gupta
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Sanghapali Aruna
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Rhea Bose
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Sharvari Pawar
Made possible by
Supporters & Partners
Institutional collaborators and individual well-wishers who fund and amplify the work.
Project Mukti
Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi-focused incubator; provides psychotherapy sessions for community educators and amplified Trutiya Ratna’s fundraiser during Dalit History Month.
Bookworm Goa
I Am Wellbeing
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Abhishek Annica
Writer, Poet and Activist
“Reading and critical thinking are essential for conscientious citizenship and social change. With a crumbling educational infrastructure, most children in Bihar don’t have access to books or spaces to read. Trutiya Ratna is changing that, one library at a time. May there be a library in every part of Bihar in the coming years, with Trutiya Ratna’s work showing the way forward.”
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Swati Gupta
Program Coordinator (North), Restless Development
“Trutiya Ratna is founded and led by two remarkable and resilient women I know who forged their path on their own to where they are now and supporting first-generation learners, especially women and girls from Dalit Bahujan communities, to create their identity and future they aspire for. For me, Trutiya Ratna is a hope. A hope for a better, equitable, and just world. And, I wish more and more people will come forward to support the dreams these two women saw to take ahead the teachings of our leaders and give back in the truest sense.”
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Kumar Gaurav
Assistant Director, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
“When you fight for your own place, it’s not just you but a whole generation stepping towards equality. Trutiya Ratna transforms your struggles into strength, gives you wings to fly, and turns your silence into words. Your dignity may be threatened, but trust yourself. This fight isn’t about you alone. It’s about the path you create for your community. Educate. Agitate. Organise.”
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Venkat Prasad Baddipudi
IIM Trichy
“You could be pursuing careers that are far more rewarding financially. Instead you’ve chosen to impact the community that needs it most.”
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Riya Singh
Dalit Women Fight
“Having closely followed the journey of Trutiya Ratna and its founder, Dr. Sunita Vishwas, I am consistently inspired by her unwavering commitment to educational equity. Trutiya Ratna is built on a foundation of deep community trust, academic rigor, and genuine empowerment for historically marginalized youth. Their Community Knowledge Centres are creating tangible, systemic change across Bihar. This is grassroots transformation at its absolute finest, and I highly encourage anyone looking to make a meaningful difference to support and amplify their work.”
Give time
Volunteers
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Prithvi
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Priyanka
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Bishnu
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Rajika
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Hritika
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Abia
Give your time in Bihar
Trutiya Ratna runs on community support — reach out to volunteer at a resource centre in Aurangabad, Jamui, Jehanabad or Patna.