Ranjith Ramachandran, a 28-year-old Assistant Professor at IIM, Ranchi has had an inspiring journey. Ramachandran went from earning a pittance as a night watchman to graduating from the prestigious IIT, Madras and now serves as an Assistant Professor at IIM, Ranchi.
Ramachandran shared his story via a Facebook post on April 9. The post went viral on social media amassing 37,000 likes within two days. "An IIM professor was born here," wrote Ramachandran in his Facebook post. He also shared pictures of his dilapidated tiled hut covered with a tarpaulin sheet.
Ramachandran used to work as a night watchman at a BSNL telephone exchange at Panathur in Kasaragod. While working as night watchmen, Ramachandran pursued his Economics degree from Pious Xth College in the district. "I attended college during day time and worked at the telephone exchange at night," wrote Ramachandran in the Facebook post.
After graduating with honours, Ramachandran took admission in the PhD programme at IIT, Madras. He initially found it difficult to study there as he only knew Malayalam. He had even decided to quit the PhD programme but was put was convinced by his guide Dr Subhash not to do so. "I decided to fight and realise my dream," he wrote.
Ramachandran completed the programme last year and earned his doctorate. Before joining IIT, Ranchi, Ramachandran was serving as an Assistant Professor at Christ University, Bengaluru for the past two months.
"I never thought the post would go viral. I posted my life story, hoping that it would inspire a few others. I want everyone to dream good and fight for their dreams. I want other people to get inspired from this and find success," he said.
In the Facebook post, Ramachandran recalled his childhood and the difficulties he faced. He wrote that he was nearly forced to give up school education due to financial problems at home. His father is a tailor and his mother a daily wage worker under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac took to Facebook to congratulate Ramachandran, who goes by the name ''Ranjith R Panathoor'' on his social media profiles. Isaac noted that Ramachandran is a source of inspiration for everyone. He shared Ramachandran's post and wrote, "From the moment he felt he was defeated, he turned his life and achieved success and it's an inspiration to everyone.
We have before us the life stories of great personalities, including K R Narayanan, who attained success with extraordinary willpower and became the first citizen of the country."
(Edited by Mohammad Haaris Beg)