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India relaxes school admission rules for Pakistani migrant

Madhu had migrated from Pakistan’s Punjab with her mother and siblings due to religious persecution two years ago

News Desk September 15, 2016

Madhu had migrated from Pakistan’s Punjab with her mother and siblings due to religious persecution two years ago PHOTO: THE HINDU

A teenage Pakistani migrant was offered admission in a government school in New Delhi after Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj assured her of all assistance.

Madhu, 16, had migrated from Pakistan’s Punjab with her mother and siblings due to religious persecution two years ago. A student of grade nine, she had been unable to gain admission in India as all her documents had been left behind in Pakistan.

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Madhu’s story was brought to Swaraj’s attention after an article was published in The Hindu. The external affairs minister met the girl on Saturday and assured her of all assistance. She then phonedNew Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to ensure the girl gets admission in the government school of her choice. The CM assured her of all assistance.

Madhu - I have read this story in the media. Pl see me at my residence tomorrow evening at 7 pm. https://t.co/JfxBCX2Vz8
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 9, 2016

Thanks for your story reg Madhu. @AkankshaJain11 @the_hindu pic.twitter.com/MfAgS9GKwx @Sushil_Verma9 @nistula @theAblaMard @DelhiConnect
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 10, 2016

On Monday, New Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia met the 16-year-old Pakistani migrant and said the government needed to “walk the extra mile to accommodate her desire to pursue study in our school” by relaxing “all rules and regulations.”

Sisodia soon contacted Director and Secretary (Education), saying, “To accommodate the request of Madhu, a migrant girl from Pakistan, the government can consider relaxing whatever rules and regulations, if they come in the way of her joining our school.”

“Admission to Madhu may immediately be provided at any of our government schools located in Sanjay Colony, Bhattti Mines, Fatehpur Beri, New Delhi. She should also be given necessary books, uniform etc and we may facilitate whatever is required for the girl to study in our school,” he added.

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Thank you @msisodia ji for this kind gesture. pic.twitter.com/gk0LrLfvFF
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) September 12, 2016

Further, he said, “Madhu has stated before me that she was studying in class IX when she left Pakistan. Due to peculiar circumstances, she is not in possession of any school leaving certificate, date of birth certificate etc. She wants to study and on humanitarian grounds, it is my considered opinion that we need to walk extra mile to accommodate her desire to pursue study in our school.”

An excited Madhu said, “I am very happy. Manish Sisodia ji met us early morning today. I will be going to school on Wednesday.”

This article originally appeared on The Hindu.

COMMENTS (15)

Advice | 8 years ago | Reply The Subcontinent is rife with religiosity. The people are good, hard working, intelligent, what is important is people of this region know that people accept others as individuals, and not what religion one belongs to. Humanness comes before religion, as we all are humans first and last, and this is the most import factor that is common. Create an atmosphere of equality for all. This region can progress far better, faster, if religion is kept as an issue between the individual and his maker. The combined population of the region can be a win win potential.

ramdar | 8 years ago | Reply @khunshan: Hindus or Muslims, from Pakistan or India (particularly northwest) are very similar in capabilities & aspirations. It is the environment that makes a big difference to their achievements. Hindus from west Pakistan, who migrated to India during & after partition, have achieved great success in India. Those who were left behind faced a different fate. Enlightened Pakistanis have written how the education system in Pakistan trains young minds to hate certain communities. Your comment just proves it. Millions of Bangladeshi Muslims too illegally migrated to India, to seek a better life. You will find them in slums of Indian metros & eastern states. In India too, Minuscule minorities like Parsis, Jews & small minorities like Sikhs & Christians have contributed far more than their numbers. Under the current regime of Bangladesh, Hindus finally have some chance to prosper.

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khunshan | 8 years ago | Reply @rahul accept the facts. Muslims have made their own recognition and respect in India. They have not just made mosques but places to learn like Ali Garh, became billionaire like Azem Premji, helped nuclear programs like Abdul Kalam, and played like Azzharudin and became irreplaceable pillars of film industry. There are no EXCUSES even they were called Pakistanis, rewarded with ban on beef, blocked when buying properties and real estate in Mumbai and genocide in Gujrat and even today in Kashmir.

Ali S | 8 years ago | Reply @khunshan: A lot of Sindhi Hindus are renowned in the medical field as doctors and physicians working for low-income communities. The fact is that Pakistan treats its minorities terribly and it needs to respect their rights instead of telling them to convert or leave.

open up | 8 years ago | Reply Borders between India and Pakistan should open up. Countries cannot bottle up people. Look at Char Bahar port being developed by India for land routes to Afghanistan, because Pakistan will not allow thru passage, where there is a will there will be a way. People of both countries have a right to travel, to places where they want to go and live. Policies of both countries are counter productive, and anti people, anti progress. The world has moved so much ahead we, in have moved back, in relative terms.

vinsin | 8 years ago | Reply @Scootch: There is nothing called IIT Bangalore. You can apply on dream universities only in dream.

Rahul | 8 years ago | Reply @khunshan: Dude you're kidding right??? It's not because Hindus in Pakistan don't think that way but it's because they're not allowed to do anything of any consequence in Pakistan. It's vice versa for Muslims in India.

Scootch | 8 years ago | Reply @Hmm: Perhaps you can help me; would like to apply for admission to doctoral program in numerology at IIT Bangalore Faculty of Applied Mathematics. Heard its very good and highly competitive. How to proceed ? Perhaps you can put in a good word for me---everyone knows me as Scootch.

BrainBro | 8 years ago | Reply India is bound to become the prime spot for Pakistani immigrants in about 15 to 20 years. The Pakistani kids studying in primary schools today would be looking for jobs in India, when they graduate.

Harmony | 8 years ago | Reply Brvow!Shows how much importance Indian leaders give to education of its citizens- new& oldI wish pakistani leaders could rearrange their priorites

khunshan | 8 years ago | Reply Respect is earned. Sad to see Hindus in Pakistan are doing nothing for the country. There are no institute of education Hindus made like Kinnaird, FC College or Agha Khan University instead we see Mandirs in Pakistan only. We had a Christian in Cabinet, a fashion Designer and a middle order batsman. We have Parsi artists and journalists. And now they are moving to India which is more than enough to know the way Hindus in Pakistan think. Hindus should look how Muslims in India made their position in India in very field.

Bharatiya Australian | 8 years ago | Reply Proud of the Hindustani leaders and their commitment to give school access to this kid. Fantastic news...Good luck Madhu.

Bunny Rabbit | 8 years ago | Reply See India is not that bad after all.

Hmm | 8 years ago | Reply @Haji Atiya: Evaluation is not needed till class 10 as per CBSE. She can sit in any class she wants .

Haji Atiya | 8 years ago | Reply After being "assured all assistance" from all and sundry, one presumes the girl in question will need to sit some sort of evaluation test to determine which form she should actually be admitted to ?

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