The first rank-holder of Calcutta University's art faculty would normally get a scholarship but this time there is a catch.
The first rank-holder of Calcutta University's art faculty would normally get a scholarship but this time there is a catch.
KOLKATA: A Muslim student who achieved first rank in the arts faculty at Calcutta University will not receive the scholarship normally given to the first rank student. Other than being a first rank holder the recipient must also be Hindu.
Sabir Ali Seikh passed his Bachelor of Arts examination in Sanskrit securing 626 out of 800 in 2005. He attained a "first class first" in his own subject and holds the overall first rank of the university's arts faculty in his year.
However, despite being meritorious, Seikh has been denied the traditional Ishan scholarship. The scholarship is granted annually to the student who ranks first in the arts faculty. Seikh, being a non-Hindu, is not eligible for the scholarship despite his achievement and that too in a subject traditionally considered "Hindu".
The Ishan scholarship is granted by Calcutta University through a trust developed out of a fund donated by the Late Ishan Chandra Basu in 1986. Basu's wish was that the scholarship should be given to Hindu students for pursuing higher studies and till date Calcutta University has followed the rule.
In fact, D P Dey, secretary of the university's Arts & Commerce faculty, said, "Eligibility should be based on merit and rank, not religion." Meanwhile, a senior professor in the department of Sanskrit told DNA that apart from being non-Hindu there was yet another reason why Seikh was being denied the scholarship.
The particular scholarship is also only granted to a Hindu student of Presidency College, who ranks first in the arts faculty. However, Seikh was a student of Belur Vidyamandir College, founded by Swami Vivekananda. A professor said this criterion is equally ridiculous in that it deems only students of Presidency College as meritable.
Seikh said the scholarship would have helped him immensely in pursuing higher studies as he comes from a modest background.
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