Meet the first Musahar community girl who cleared class X exam

As the voice on the other side of the phone said "pass", Rekha burst into tears of joy. She has achieved what no member of her 2.5 lakh-strong community –the Musahar (rat-catchers) –in the area could do so far. She has cleared her Class X exam from the UP board, results of which were announced on Friday.

"I'm very happy," said Rekha, a resident of the Musahar Basti under Aayar gram panchayat in Harhua block of Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I was really worried about my result. I even cried in tension yesterday thinking about the result," she said. Nursing a dream to study further, at least obtaining a graduation degree in arts, the girl said she wanted to become a teacher.

"Although the idea of working for my community and the locals is good, I feel more like becoming a teacher," she said.

Rekha's father, Angal, wore a confused smile, not sure as to how big his daughter's achievement was. "Yes, I am happy. Everybody around looks happy, so I am also happy," he said.

The girl scored a little over 63 per cent marks. "My writing is poor. I think I lost some marks because of that," said 16-year-old Rekha, still trying to absorb her overwhelming achievement. As Rekha showed her marks to his father, who does not know how to read or write as his wife, the man's eyes filled with tears and a joyous embarrassment.

"What do I have to see in this," he asked his daughter, who told him that was her ticket to sit in Class XI.

Angal, a daily wage labourer and father to five children, was now worried about future education expenses of her eldest daughter but certain that he wanted her to study.