Rajasthan government permits Pakistani Hindu girl to take exam after state education body refuses

Pakistani Hindu refugee Dami Kohli, who lives near Jodhpur, was allegedly refused permission by the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education to appear for 12th standard exams scheduled later this year.

Pakistani Hindu refugee Dami Kohli| Express

JAIPUR:  As the uproar over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rages on, the New Year has brought in a much-needed ray of hope for Dami Kohli, a Pakistani Hindu refugee now living in Jodhpur.

The teenage girl was allegedly refused permission by the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education to appear for 12th standard board examinations scheduled later this year. The reason cited was that she had cleared her 10th standard from Pakistan and now needed to provide an eligibility certificate that she simply does not have.

Dami, who came to India from Sindh in Pakistan a few years ago fleeing religious persecution, now lives in Aanganwa refugee camp, around 20 km from Jodhpur. She also took admission in a local school at the science stream in 11th standard.

"I took admission in the school in 2018. I studied there for the whole year and passed the 11th standard. I have my mark-sheet also. Only a few months are left for board exams and the school has given me a notice saying that I will not be allowed to appear for the examination," Dami said.

However, when Dami’s plight came to the notice of Rajasthan Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara, he promptly assured that the migrant girl will be allowed to appear in the examination even if the Gehlot government has to bend some rules. Dotasara said that a letter has been written to the Pakistani embassy seeking details of their syllabus.

"She completed Tenth Standard from a Pakistani board and now wants to appear for 12th Board exams in Rajasthan. We have written a letter to the Pakistani embassy seeking information about their syllabus. We are comparing our syllabus with theirs," he said. "If we get a positive response from them, we will definitely allow her. But even if we get a negative response from them, we will change rules and will allow Dami to take the 12^th Board exams," Dotasara said.

The minister’s permission on the first day of 2020 has come like a New Year’s Gift for Dami who wants to become a doctor. "After the Board had refused permission, I was really depressed. But now I am delighted that the government is trying to find a solution so that I can appear for the 12^th Board Exams and pursue my dream of becoming a doctor," she added.

So even as the controversy over CAA-NRC shows no signs of abating, Dami's story will hopefully soon reach a happy ending.