Sharad Vivek Sagar

At Dexterity, we often say, “Dexterity House belongs to the visiting Dexter.” With resident Dexters away for Diwali, some Dexters came together to host a small Diwali brunch for fellow Dexters in town.

This might surprise many BUT more than 40 local non-resident Dexters have direct access to Dexterity House, from the digital main entrance to the Wi-Fi.

At Dexterity, everyone belongs. Everyone is trusted. Everyone has a part to play. No one is a gatekeeper and everyone helps keep the door open for others.

Happy Diwali! May we all be blessed. 🪔

Long before the Dexterity movement spread across the world and Graduates and Fellows of Dexterity arrived at every major platform, a rural kid from a humble background was defying all odds and making every impossible possible. My elder brother, Basant Vivek Sagar (MIT ‘11), lived an extraordinarily inspiring life. His deep imprint on @DexterityGlobal and on generations of young scholars and leaders across the world is immeasurable. We lost him on Nov 6, 2017. He was only 29.

Today, 9 years after his loss, I was moved to tears seeing Graduates and Fellows of Dexterity participate in a memorial event honouring the life and legacy of Basant Vivek Sagar at @MIT Boston.

When our motherland was partitioned in 1947, Rohan’s grandparents were forced to flee Bahawalpur. They resettled in a small town in Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, where Rohan grew up. Son of a small shop owner, Rohan cycled 16 kms every day to go to school and later became the first in his family to go to college. I vividly remember a young Rohan, still in school, boarding a public bus to Patiala to attend one of my speeches in Punjab.

Proud DexSchool graduate, #DexterityToCollege fellow and a @Yale Young Global Scholar, Rohan received a full scholarship as the Vice Chancellor’s Excellence Scholar at @LaTrobe University in Australia. This year, Rohan graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity. While in college, Rohan served as a fellow of the @InternetSociety and @ICANN, worked with Australia’s internet domain administration, and presented his work at Internet Governance Forums across 8 countries.

Hosted at some of the world’s most incredible institutions, from Harvard and Wharton to the London School of Economics and University of Melbourne, Dexterity’s Overseas Meetup and Retraining Program (OMRP) took place in 9 global cities across 4 continents this October, bringing together 140+ Graduates and Fellows of Dexterity.

For me, a particular highlight was Dexterity’s growing leadership in Singapore and Hong Kong, where our youngest DexSchool graduates, DexSchool Class of 2026, led the organizing, bringing together Dexters across generations at the National University of Singapore and the University of Hong Kong, two of the world’s top 10 universities. #GoDexters 🧢🇮🇳

Since midnight, I've read some of the most beautiful and heartfelt letters and realized that a central part of my work has been showing faith in young people, long before anyone shows faith in them, and to back them, even if every person in the world stops.

This unshakeable faith comes from a purpose much larger than myself: to see and serve the divine in every being, and lift India and the world. Your love, warmth, blessings, and incredible stories strengthen my conviction and power this journey.

From the center-forward on this rural Bihar (future @MIT-@Harvard-@Columbia) team, thank you for your enormous blessings and birthday wishes.