India: Children of e-rickshaw driver, vegetable vendor and carpenter top Grade 12 exam in Bihar

Patna: Poverty or humble background is just no deterrent to success. That’s what the toppers in all the three streams of Arts, Science and Commerce in the Grade 12 examinations in Bihar have proved. The parents of all the three toppers from Indian state of Bihar come from a very poor background, hence their success becomes really special.

Sangam Raj, a resident of a far-flung village in Gopalganj district, was declared the state topper in Arts stream of the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB). He obtained 96.4 per cent marks after battling adversity and hard life. Sangam’s father drives an e-rickshaw to support his family.

Sangam’s family was living in a village through which passes the Gandak river where flooding is frequent and standing crops and property get destroyed every year. His house was washed away in one of the floods.

Eventually, the family moved from their village and settled down in a local town. Battling severe survival problems, Sangam’s father Janardan Sah hired an e-rickshaw and began transporting passengers. “I can’t explain in words my happiness over the success of my child in the exam. I am working hard only to ensure my children can study and get decent jobs,” Sah told the media on Thursday.

Sangam said everything could be achieved through hard work and dedication. He wants to become an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. “I faced lots of troubles after the classes remained suspended for a long due to COVID-19 but I focused on my studies and routinely joined online classes. My teachers too helped me a lot. I think nothing is impossible in life,” Sangam said.

Similarly, the father of Ankit Kumar Gupta who topped in the Commerce stream, sells green vegetables on handcart in Indrapuri locality of Patna. Ankit obtained 94.6 per cent marks in the examination. Ankit’s father Pappu Kumar left his native village in Patna’s Dhanarua block some 35 years ago to start some business in the state capital to support his family and since then his family stays in a hut but that didn’t discourage the boy even a bit as is evident from his performance in the exams.

On many occasions, Ankit said he was compelled to sell vegetables himself but he took it as a challenge and didn’t let him get distracted due to hardships in the family. “I would do self studies for at least eight hours a day and kept myself aloof from social media which helped me realise my dream,” Ankit said. According to him, he was hopeful of getting a place in top 10 ranks but never imagined he would top in the Commerce stream. He too wants to join the IAS. He dedicated his success to his parents.

Similar is the case of Saurav Kumar who was declared the state topper in Science stream. Kumar, who obtained 94.4 per cent marks in the exam, is the son of a carpenter who works in the southern Indian city of Chennai. He hails from a village in Nawada district.

“My father works as a carpenter so that we can study. He stays in Chennai while I stay with my mother. I took this deprivation as a challenge and devoted full time to my studies as I want to get a job and give comfort to my parents,” Saurav said. He too wants to clear the Civil Services examination.

More than 80 per cent students passed the Grade 12 exam this year, which is 2.11 per cent more than the previous year. The results were declared on Wednesday in a record time of 19 days after examinations were conducted.