It all began in 1957, when a Gujarati educator, Himkala Ben, gathered ten children into a small house in Bur Dubai and began what would later become Bharat Vidyalaya. It was more than a classroom; it was a way for Indian families to ensure their children could continue learning in ways familiar while far from home. It was one of many similar efforts across the region, where Indian communities were taking the initiative to create schools that preserved language, culture, and education for their children abroad. From this modest room in Bur Dubai, the story of Indian schooling abroad began to take shape. What started as an act of necessity quietly evolved into one of India’s earliest experiments in cross-border education.
For years, the story followed a familiar path. Indian schools abroad were usually community-run and supported by Indian embassies, aimed at providing continuity for children of Indian families overseas. Things began to change in the mid-nineties, when the Delhi Public School (DPS) Society opened the Fahaheel Al Watanieh Indian Private School (FAIPS) in Kuwait. FAIPS was more than a response to the schooling needs of Indian families in the Gulf; it was a conscious attempt to take an Indian model of schooling overseas, tied to a brand that families in India already knew. That step marked a turn. Education abroad moved beyond serving the diaspora; it was now about demonstrating the Indian network of schools that could think bigger. FAIPS showed that Indian schooling could stand on its familiar strengths in curriculum, discipline, and community.