About Me

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom”

– Socrates

Hey there! My name is Ajay Purohit and I am currently a senior at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I am passionate about the study of history and politics and am planning on pursuing this passion in the future. Throughout the past few years, I have been writing a blog titled “Itihās.” I’ve founded the League for Civil Discourse to foster dialogue in my community and the Michigan Student History Seminar Series to have conversations about American history. I also have additional interests in philosophy, public speaking, and comedy performance. I have served as head captain of the forensics team, head writer and director for a comedy sketch theater show, and captain of our ethics team. I was elected to serve as student body vice president my junior year and class president senior year. This website, however, is primarily an assemblage of my ideas, perceptions, and inquiries about the world through a historical and political lens. Thank you for joining me in my exploration of our past and present, and the development of intellectual theory to unite our society.

Forensics

As the first two-year head captain of the Greenhills School Forensics Team, (the largest extracurricular activity at school) I’ve competed in the extemporaneous speaking event since seventh grade. Having participated in tournaments throughout recent years at the state level, my journey through extemporaneous speaking has strengthened my passion for history and politics. I’ve placed either first or second in every tournament I’ve competed in from March of freshman year and compiled eight statewide tournament 1st place awards. Forensics has connected me with several students of various political backgrounds delivering speeches rooted in their impactful beliefs. I’m incredibly grateful to interact with so many talented young public speakers and performers on a regular basis. It’s been greatly rewarding to coach younger extemporaneous competitors on my team and to watch them grow in knowledge and confidence!

Student Government

Throughout the past four years, I have served as an elected member of Greenhills student government. After serving on student council as a representative both freshman and sophomore year, I was elected as student body Vice President as a junior, coordinating school spirit events, updating our policy bylaws and ethical code, and hosting a student council town hall event. This year, I serve as the senior class president of the Class of 2026, excited to continue implementing new events and policies for my grade.

Rajasthan Project

Working in partnership with cultural preservation institutes, businesses, academics, historians, storytellers, and even the Jodhpur Royal family, I’ve compiled oral histories of the Indian state from several different perspectives, shedding light on the region’s culture and development over time. Here I included a few excerpts of the interviews I conducted as part of the collective initiative of “The Rajasthan Project.”

The Cultural Preserver: Interviewing Mr. Kuldeep Kothari, the Head of the Rajasthan Institute of Folklore

 The Queen: Interviewing Maharani (Queen) Rajye of Jodhpur

The Storyteller: Interviewing Local Storyteller Bansi Sandhupati

The Priest: Interviewing Rural Priest Venkat Swami

The Government Worker: Interviewing Civil Service Worker P. Om

The Farmer: Interviewing Village Farmer Mr. Mukan

The Schoolteacher: Interviewing Former Teacher Mr. Dalpat