EDUCATION. DIGNITY. FUTURES THAT STAY HOME

Loksadhana is

A place where safety comes before schoolwork. Many of our children arrive carrying hunger, fear, or uncertainty. We give them care, food, and a sense of belonging. And once that worry fades, they find the courage to learn, explore new skills, and dream bigger. For over 40 years, we’ve walked beside them, helping turn those dreams into real, lasting futures.

Where It
All Began

In 1982,

Before “rural development” was a phrase in our plans, we arrived in Chikhalgaon, the birthplace of Lokmanya Tilak, as a small group of educators with open eyes and open hearts.

We saw children walking miles to school, fields lying idle, and women with skills but no way to use them.

We Didn’t Arrive With Solutions

We began with questions. What would make families stay in their villages? How could learning turn into a livelihood? Could dignity and opportunity grow together?

And so, Loksadhana was born...

Not as an institution, but as a promise to build futures in the very places people call home, and to make sure no one has to leave their roots to find opportunity.

Our Founders' Journey

Areas of Work

Education

From outdoor classrooms to junior college, we develop areas where curiosity drives learning, and every student can envision a future worth staying for. 

Read More

Skilling

Workshops, farms, and laboratories become sites of training, where knowledge becomes livelihoods, and confidence becomes enterprise.

Read More

People & Prosperity

Empowering women, strengthening agriculture, improving health, and driving rural development, enabling an entire community to thrive.

Read More

OUR IMPACT

Impact isn’t just a figure in a report, it’s in the confident steps of a student, the health of a village, and the skills a farmer takes home. These numbers reflect thousands of such stories.
0 k
people impacted through
our initiatives

“Loksadhana’s diploma built my entrepreneurship!”

|

0

students engaged with partner institutions since 2011

0

Faculty

0

community members supported during COVID-19 and natural disasters

0 k
nutritious meals served in one year

student-led businesses nurtured and supported

0

We are also aligned with UN sustainable development goals

At Loknirman, young people from across India live together for ten days, working in villages, sharing reflections, and learning from mentors. What begins as a camp often becomes a turning point in discovering one’s role as a changemaker.

DONORS

TESTIMONIALS

Stories of change, told by those who witnessed it

“Two devoted people, Mrs. Renu and Dr. Raja Dandekar, have transformed lives at Lokmanya Tilak Vidyamandir in Chikhalgaon.”

Dr. Bhavarlalji Jain

Founder, Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd 

“Lokamanya Tilak Vidyamandir is a path-finding experiment in school education, inspired by Renutai & Raja Dandekar, showing how quality universal education can reach villages like Chikhalgaon.”

Dr. Vijay Bhatkar

Chancellor of the Nalanda University

“I visited the work of Dr. Raja and Mrs. Renu Dandekar in Lokmanya Tilak’s hometown. Their tireless efforts to educate and uplift underprivileged children are a guiding light in today’s world.”

Dr. Pandurang Hari Vaidya

Senior Management, ICICI Bank

We have undertaken this work of popular education with the firmest conviction and belief that of all agents of human civilization, education is the only one that bring about material, moral and religions regeneration of the fallen countries and raises them up to the level of the most advanced nations by slow and peaceful revolution

– Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Menu