When you have a disability, achieving goals become tough; however, when you don’t have the support of your loved ones, they become even tougher, agree? We are talking about Ummul Kher, the 28 year old girl, who cracked UPSC exam with AIR 420, despite having many hurdles in her way. Cheers to her determination and intelligence; apart from these 2 things, Ummul had nothing.
Hurdles in Ummul’s life
As a child, Ummul suffered from a bone disorder, due to which she had to undergo 8 surgeries. Things were fine till her family was with her; when she was 5, they moved from Rajasthan to Delhi. Her father was a street vendor and they used to live in a slum. Then, she studied in Amar Jyoti Charitable Trust till class 8. However, when she expressed her desire of studying beyond 8th class, her parents disowned her.
Ummul says,
“I was abused. My intentions were questioned because I wanted to study. It was the worst time. They said you have now got more education than a girl should. I wanted to study at Arwachin Bharti Bhawan senior secondary school as it had better infrastructure and I had got a scholarship.”
Ummul was determined to study and so, she moved ahead in that direction, though without the support of her family.
What did she do after leaving home?
After leaving her home, Ummul’s main concern was to find a place to stay. She decided to stay in Jhuggi Jhopri cluster in Trilokpuri, but in order to pay for her accommodation, she started taking tuitions. This was no less than a nightmare for her. She took 4 batches of tuitions i.e. from 3 pm to 11 pm; don’t think that she earned a lot, because the children who used to come to her were from the families of rickshaw-pullers, iron smith or laborers. Ummul used to hardly get Rs 50-100 per child. Still, she didn’t complain because she had to take care of her expenses too. To add to her woes, there was no safety in Jhuggi, but somehow, she adjusted with that too.
After 8th class, her education was sponsored by Amar Jyoti Charitable trust; they paid for her tuitions too.
Life changed after class 12!
In 12th std, Ummul scored 91 percent; based on her marks, she got admission in Gargi college, which is considered to be one of the prestigious institutions of Delhi University. Abhishek Ranjan, Ummul’s friend at DU says,
“She funded her education through the money she won at debates in DU colleges. You can earn decent money as the prize amount is high in some of the college festivals. But here too, she could not participate in debates that were organised in evening as she had to take tuitions.”
And then she cleared the JNU entrance exam!
In the year 2012, Ummul met with accident, due to which she was wheelchair-ridden for a year. After graduation, Ummul’s hard work helped her clear the JNU entrance exam for pursuing master’s in International Studies. According to reports,
“She was now getting Rs 2,000 means-cum-merit scholarship and did not have to give tuitions. In 2013, she cracked the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) under which she started getting Rs 25,000 per month.”
Her faculty members were surprised to see how Ummul excelled in studies as well as extracurricular activities, despite having so many physical issues.
Will she forgive her family?
When asked about forgiving the family, Ummul says,
“I don’t blame them. They were brought up in an environment that shaped their thinking. It is not their fault,” she said. “In the past two years, my relations with my family have improved. I will visit them soon.”
After facing so many problems, Ummul cracked the UPSC exam and got an All-India rank of 420. Now, she aims of getting IAS under disability quota.
Often we see that in spite of getting all comforts and support, students keep complaining. But here, Ummul hardly had anything, yet she managed to sail through this tough journey. This girl is definitely a source of motivation to others.
