When an 18-year-old girl in Chhattisgarh cleared her Class 10 state board examination, it was not an ordinary feat given the family background as her parents are active Naxalites, living their lives under the shadow of gun, but that did not deter the teenager from single-mindedly pursuing studies residing away from them.
She now hopes to become a medical doctor and serve tribals of her native district.
The daughter of the Naxalite couple hails from Abhujmad area of Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district. She has scored 54.5 per cent marks in the High School Certificate Examination (Class 10), result of which was declared by the Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education on Wednesday.
She hails from Enmeta Bakulwahi village, more than 300km away from state capital Raipur, and her father Sonwaram Salaam and mother Aarti are active Maoists.
“I studied from Class 1 to 5 at Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Vidya Mandir in Kutul village (Narayanpur) and from Class 6 to 8 in Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Vidyapeeth in Narayanpur town,” she said, visibly delighted at clearing the first board exam of her life. “Subsequently, I quit studies and went to my village Enmeta as I did not have caste and domicile certificates,” said the teenager. After a gap, she resumed studies by staying at the residence of a relative. “After two years, I went to the house of my cousin sister, who is married, in Bhurwal village of Narayanpur and resumed studies in a government school in nearby Bhatpal village,” she added. She walked to her school to attend classes covering a distance of 2km. “I am happy that I have cleared the Class 10 examination. I want to become a doctor and serve people of my village,” she said. However, the 18-year-old said she has been facing challenges in further studies as she could not get a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate recognizing her as a member of the Madia tribe and domicile certificate due to lack of some documents.
“These certificates would help me to avail benefits of government schemes, thereby helping me to continue my studies and fulfil dream of becoming a doctor,” she added. Sonwaram Salaam is currently active as commander in a Maoist formation in Akabeda and Kutul areas of Abhujmad, while his wife is a lower rung cadre, informed a surrendered Naxalite, who had earlier worked with the former in Narayanpur. The couple carries cash reward on their heads, he said.
