Puttur: At a time when the district is passing through a critical phase in terms of communal strife and social disharmony, a report from Sulliapadavu, located on the boundary between Puttur taluk and Kerala, has proved that there is hope for the future.
Fatimat Raheela, a student of IX standard in Sarvodaya High School in the village, has stood first with 93% marks in the subject of Ramayana. The examination was held by Bharat Samskriti Pratishthan in November 2015.
The school has been conducting the examination on the subject of Ramayana for the last 40 years. But it is absolutely optional and there is no compulsion.
The candidates are provided with Kishor Bharat and Kishor Ramayan books as resource material. Of the 35 students who appeared for the examination last November, Raheela has stood first in the entire state.
Raheela’s father, Ibrahim Badagannur, works in a factory. Interestingly, her paternal uncle encouraged her to appear for the examination. Now she plans to pursue a course on the subject of Mahabharata too.
Speaking to our correspondent, Ibrahim said that theirs was a family that believed in communal harmony and did not harbour any religious bias. When Raheela told the parents of her intention to appear for the examination, they wholeheartedly approved of her decision.
He is of the opinion that every student should be encouraged to study the tenets and books of other religions and be allowed to be free birds in pursuit of knowledge. He takes pride in the fact that she has also stood first in madarasa studies in the district.
Her uncle Muhammed Badagannur too feels that mutual mistrust among different faiths has been leading to social conflicts and he too feels that it is a matter of pride for the entire family.
H D Shivaram, the headmaster of the high school, said that Raheela’s achievement was on entirely her merit and interest. This should not be seen through any tint of faith and religion. He also is of the opinion that every student should gain knowledge about other religions.
Besides Ramayan and madarasa subjects, she has also excelled in her general studies. May such achievements strengthen the fabric of social harmony and national integration, say many other parents to whom our correspondent spoke.
This gives me hopes. This is a living testimony to true tolerance promoted by sanaathana culture for centuries in our society. Each religion gets influenced by local, dominant culture. This young, bright, talented lady wouldn’t have succeeded in doing this in other societies known for intolerance. Even though I honestly find no use in studying religions, I appreciate the tolerance shown by this bright, talented lady, her family and most importantly Bharateeya society where tolerance has been the ‘mantra’ for many many centuries.
This gives me hopes. – Murudeshwara Rampai
Thank God! And to think that all this while you were such a hopeless fella!
I fail to understand why an overwhelming number the people and the press are connecting the dots wrongly. These are 2 separate, unconnected and different issues, and there is absolutely no connection between Fatimat Raheela, who stood first with 93% marks in the subject of Ramayana, and communal strife and social disharmony in the region.
If I am locked in a dispute with my neighbour who happens to be from another religion, then do you think that all the people from my community are automatically on my side, and all those people from his community are on his side??? This girl apparently is a Muslim, but if her fellow religionist are embroiled in fight with people of other religions, why and how do you connect the two of them.
As I have always said the problem in most cases is the ideology, but at times misconceptions, animosity and old hatred also cause of communal strife. Hence, there are those who practice a violent ideology, and there are those who reject violence and choose to live in peace with themselves and with the rest of humanity.