From footpath to fame: A hawker turned lawyer and professor

"I smile when they call me an overnight success," quips 47-year-old Dr Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan, whose life is a classic example of rags to riches. From selling saris on the footpaths of New Market, Kolkata, to becoming the Associate Professor at Maharashtra National Law University, thanks to his grit and determination, he has come a long way.

Born in a poor family in a nondescript south Kolkata neighbourhood, Khan had to supplement the family income at a very young age and sell saris on the footpath in early 1980s everyday after school. "My father had to fend for a family of eight – my parents and us six siblings, four brothers and two sisters. As the eldest, I was expected to help out with the family business. My younger brother used to join us as well and late into the evening, the three of us would cycle back home," he recalls.

The academically inclined Khan was dealt a harsh blow when he had to quit his studies in his first year of senior college and then another one when they lost their sari stall to 'Operation Sunshine', a campaign led by the then-state government to evict hawkers from the footpath. "We were left with no means to earn a livelihood. My father mustered all his resources and started a small construction material business, which soon ran into some legal problems and we had to go to court for several weeks," Khan says, adding that, that's what stemmed his fascination for law. Since he was only an HSC pass student, getting admission to South Calcutta Law College only posed newer challenges, not having an English medium background being the biggest one. But help came from different quarters. While two of his collegemates started coaching him in English, a couple of senior lawyers allowed him to intern in his second year and learn the nuances of the trade. All these struggles finally bore fruit. After attaining his law degree, his take home salary per month was a king's ransom at the time (mid 80s): Rs 10,000. He then got married and opted for an LLM (Latin Legum Magister) from the National University of Jurisdical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata. With the full support of his family, he took a part-time job as a collection agent for a bank to continue his studies. All the while, he also helped his siblings get academically established. In 2004, he took another crucial decision when life presented him with two choices – a lecturership from NUJS or a British Chevening fellowship to study a second LLM from the University of Essex, UK.

But Khan decided to continue to earn several other degrees including his PhD at City University of Hong Kong, before he joined NUJS as an assistant professor in 2005. In 2016, he became the Registrar (acting) of the university.
All said and done, Khan refuses to give up studying, and says he aims to earn an LLD (Doctor of Law or Legum Doctor in Latin) and wants to remain committed in learning and teaching. "I have an offer for the post of a director and professor in one of the top law schools of the country, which I might accept on April 22," he says with a smile.