MUSLIM GIRL EMERGES TOPPER IN SANSKRIT DEGREE COURSE

A Muslim girl has emerged topper in Sanskrit Vedanta graduation examination conducted by Kerala University. A student of a college at Sasthamcottah in Kollam run by the Devaswom Board, managing temples in the state, 21-year-old Rahmath said she chose Sanskrit and Vedanta as she believed this language is a “symbol of our national culture”. Hailing from an orthodox Muslim family, Rahmath said she did not face any resistance from her family or the community when she chose Sanskrit as her principal subject. “In fact, my parents and others in the family encouraged me when I told them of my wish to join the BA Sanskrit Vedandta course. Teachers in my college also gave me total support”, she said. It was at the plus-one level that Rahmath started learning Sanskrit as second language. “Since Sanskrit was Greek to me when I started learning, I had to put in some extra effort. But soon I became interested, picked up the basic grammar and was able to read Sanskrit texts”, she said, adding that she wanted to become an academic and researcher pursuing the same subject.