Dr. Haribhau R. Bhapkar
A chalk, a classroom, and a courageous vision are reshaping how India teaches Mathematics to its young and energetic minds. While national discourse remains stuck between rote learning and critical thinking, Dr. Bhapkar has moved the needle. His Springer-published book “Discrete Mathematics: An Experiential Learning Perspective” introduces BEBI-MAA: Brainstorming Experiments/Activities – Brilliant Inferences – Mathematical Acumen – Applications.It is also known as BEIMI Pedagogy. The method is disruptive in its simplicity: students experience and derive formulas before they’re told to memorize them. Upon raising some pertinent queries, “No student should leave without experiencing the ‘why’ behind math,” he insists.
The BEBI-MAA transforms the world into a laboratory. Students learn sets using tangible objects, decode graph theory through Kashmir’s bus routes, and explore symmetry in local carpet motifs. The payoff is clear, deeper engagement, stronger retention, and a culture where learners ask “what if” instead of “Would this be asked in the exam?” BEBI-MAA draws from two enduring frameworks: the Bhagavad Gita’s excellence through action and the Newton’s inductive approach. Newton didn’t begin with equations; he observed, questioned, inferred, and then abstracted same for BEBI-MAA
Bhapkar’s pedagogy stands on three pillars: Design Thinking, Mathematical Rigor, and Experiential Pedagogy.
For Dr. Bhapkar, this isn’t just teaching reform, rather it’s a mission to bring discovery back to Mathematics.The ambition is structural: move students from knowing about mathematics to thinking mathematically. That shift, he argues, is foundational for breakthroughs in STEAM. With a Pune-based team, he co-developed the patented “Smart Ventilator AI System,” designed to save lives across northern regions during winter.
“Dr. Bhapkar’s BHARAT Model converts 10 lakh Indian classrooms into local problem-solving startup incubators to drive Viksit Bharat @2047, proving Kashmir is a creator of global knowledge.”
“Education is the biggest startup India forgot to build,” he says. In his model, classrooms function as incubators and theorems/concepts become products. Students don’t just solve given problems they identify new ones, build prototypes, and defend solutions before peers. It’s NEP-2020’s call for critical thinking, turned into daily practice. Today, Dr. Bhapkar advises schools, universities, and EdTech ventures on NEP-aligned curriculum innovation.
Next up: a BEIMI Innovation Lab in Kashmir that fuses Mathematics, AI, and indigenous crafts to tackle Himalayan challenges.
As knowledge economies define global power, he represents India’s entrepreneurial soft power: educator, researcher, and nation-builder showing that a unicorn can start with chalk. Dr. Bhapkar says, “In the AI era, Knowledge is not Power; it is only Potential Power. It becomes Actual Power only when used for social transformation. Otherwise, degrees remain just Paper Tigers.”His latest mission, “Classrooms as Incubators for Viksit Bharat @2047”, built on BEBI-MAA and his indigenous BHARAT Model, aims to convert 10 lakh Indian classrooms into startup incubators, where each classroom solves one local problem of its region. Dr. Bhapkar recently said, “It is a proud moment that a pedagogy born in Kashmir, on the banks of Sindh, is now being discussed in 100 countries. This proves that Kashmir is not just a consumer of knowledge, but a creator of global knowledge for Viksit Bharat @2047.”
(The author is Head – Department of Mathematics, Nodal Officer, NEP-2020 at Central University of Kashmir. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
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