Nargis is the first student in Chhattisgarh to pass the Class 10 board exam at her age and achieve a remarkable feat.
Nargis Khan, a student of Class VII with Chhattisgarh CM Bhupendra Baghel | express
Raipur:
Nargis Khan, a 12-year-old Class 7 student appeared for the Class 10 Board exam and passed with 90.5 per cent marks. The daughter of a small farmer and resident of Ghumka village in Balod district, Nargis is an exceptional student and has been a topper in her class.
A student of the Chhattisgarh government Atmanand English medium school, Nargis has excellent mathematical skills and a strong command of the English language, said her father Firoz Khan.
Khan had, last year visited several offices, including of the Governor, chief minister and the district collector seeking approval to allow her to appear for Class 10 exams this year. Impressed with her confidence and potential, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had asked the Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education (CGBSE) to take an expedient decision for Nargis’ education prospects.
The CGBSE allowed her to appear in the Class 10 board exam on the basis of her outstanding academic performance, medical reports and high intelligence quotient (IQ) level test score, which was conducted by the district government hospital and the clinical psychology department of the composite regional centre of social justice and empowerment ministry, said Prof V K Goyal, secretary CGBSE.
A student needs to be of 15 years age to appear in class 10 board exams, according to the rule. Nargis is the first student in Chhattisgarh to pass the Class 10 board exam at her age and achieve a remarkable feat. Meanwhile, Nargis is not satisfied with the result and has applied for a re-evaluation.
“Till class 6, she always topped securing 99 per cent. With her zeal and high diligence towards study, we even had to sometimes ask her to take a break”, her father told this newspaper.
Along with Class 10, she also appeared for the Class 7 exam this year and secured 91 per cent marks. “My dream is to clear the UPSC exam and serve the country”, she said.
The Chhattisgarh CM, appreciating her extraordinary talent and accomplishment, assured her of facilitating free coaching for the competitive exams in the future.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Nation / by Ejaz Kaiser, Express News Service / May 22nd, 2023
Firoz Khan and Banaras Hindu University. Courtesy: tv9bharatvarsh.com
Kolkata:
At a time when faculty members both present and past have even written to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, requesting him to intervene and stall the appointment of Dr Feroze Khan in Banaras Hindu University (BHU)’s Sanskrit Dharam Vidya Vigyaan department, West Bengal seems to embracing its Sanskrit professors hailing from the ‘other’ community, comfortably.
Going by a loose headcount there are at least 30 Muslim professors in West Bengal, teaching Sanskrit. Around 14 were recruited last year through College Service Commission and 12 this year. The most recent recruitment being of Ramzal Ali at the Sanskrit department of Ramkrishna Mission Vidyamandir, Belur. Speaking to eNewsroom, regarding his recruitment, he said, “I am in a state of shock with so many calls being made to me, seeking my comment. A Muslim learning Sanskrit is nothing new. There is a history to it. In every Sanskrit department across the state, you will find at least one Muslim student. Muslim Sanskrit teachers in Bengal, is also not rare.”
Perhaps Ali has a point. For, Dr Shaikh Sabir Ali, a gold medalist in Sanskrit from the University of Calcutta has been teaching the language for almost a decade now. Dr Ali, at present, teaches Sanskrit at the West Bengal State University, Barasat. According to him, Sanskrit, as a language is beyond Vedas and Upanishads.
Speaking from experience Ali said, “Every batch has at least one Muslim student in the Department of Sanskrit. In Kolkata, I presume, Rabindra Bharati University has a huge number of Sanskrit students.” Dr Ali is also a topper from Ramkrisha Mission Vidyamandir.
He said, “There is more to this language, apart from the Vedas, Purans and Upanishads. This language has a rich literature and grammar too. It was these two that attracted me as a child. Luckily, my teachers encouraged me to take up this language for my higher studies. You, see one can’t make people take up a language simply based on one’s religion. History is a witness to many Muslims mastering this language.”
Speaking from experience Ali said, “Every batch has at least one Muslim student in the Department of Sanskrit. In Kolkata, I presume, Rabindra Bharati University has a huge number of Sanskrit students.” Dr Ali is also a topper from Ramkrisha Mission Vidyamandir.
Rakibul Sk, assistant professor at SBS government college said, “I have never been discriminated on the basis of my religion, neither while I was mastering Sanskrit, nor while teaching it. I would like to add that while I hail from a small place like Jangipur, my place of birth has taught me that there is no religious attachment to any language. Hence, when I took up Sanskrit for my higher education, the Hindu neighbours of mine never raised an eyebrow. On the contrary, they were quite happy. The teachers who guided me to reach this position are all Hindus. It’s sad that today, we are discussing all this from a religious perspective.”
Adding to the experiences of Muslim Sanskrit teachers in Bengal, Rakibul Sk, assistant professor at SBS government college said, “I have never been discriminated on the basis of my religion, neither while I was mastering Sanskrit, nor while teaching it. I would like to add that while I hail from a small place like Jangipur, my place of birth has taught me that there is no religious attachment to any language. Hence, when I took up Sanskrit for my higher education, the Hindu neighbours of mine never raised an eyebrow. On the contrary, they were quite happy. The teachers who guided me to reach this position are all Hindus. It’s sad that today, we are discussing all this from a religious perspective.”
However, on being asked about the faculty members writing to the President of India, Ali, said, “I don’t want to open up a new controversy. But let me be very clear, there is a particular department of Sanskrit, which is accessible only to the Brahmin. Even Hindus from other sect are not allowed to enter that domain, so the question of a Muslim being appointed in that domain can be quite challenging. As per my knowledge, Dr Feroze Khan has been appointed in the Sanskrit Dharam Vidya Vigyaan department, which is the domain that I just talked about. I don’t want to get into a further debate, but I guess, his recruitment in the literature department wouldn’t have caused this huge controversy.”
Given the new twist in the story, it would be interesting to see President Kovind’s call on the letter written by the faculty members of BHU, seeking his intervention to stall Khan‘s recruitment, especially when earlier this year, he had awarded Padma Sri for Literature and Education to Sanskrit Scholar Mohammad Hanif Khan Shastri.
source: http://www.enewsroom.in / E News Room / Home> Let there be light / by Shabina Akhtar / November 27th, 2019
