Bikash Das, son of a farm labourer, has clinched 582 rank in the SC category and is now eligible for a seat in the IIT. A student of the village’s Manapur Upper Primary School, Bikash passed the HSC exam from the government-run Paradip Port Trust High School at Bhutamundei. So good were his marks, that a residential college in Cuttack admitted him into the institution free of cost.
Bikash comes from a very humble background and has never studied in an English medium school. His father Bijoy Das is a happy man now and says that his son was always good at academics. “From his primary school days, he showed brilliance in studies in Manapur upper primary school. I saved money for his studies,” Mr Das told PTI.
Mr Das toils all day in the fields and despite financial constraints; he made his son’s education his priority.
Bikash considers his father as his inspiration, guide and philosopher. “He never made me feel the pangs of poverty. Whatever I have achieved today is only because of him,” he told PTI.
He also said that he does not believe in shortcuts and parents support and hard work has been his strength.
In the physically-disabled category, Kiran Dapkar from Beed in Maharashtra secured first rank in the country. Kiran, whose one leg is longer than the other, sitting for long hours to prepare for the exams had been a tough task.
“It is difficult for me to stay put at one place for several hours, but my teachers supported me throughout,” Kiran told the Indian Express.