When PM goes Afreen over Ahmedabad girl’s success

AHMEDABAD: She had won hearts in May this year when she was placed in the 99.31 percentile, scoring 87.13% marks in the class X examination. Afreen Shaikh, 16, the daughter of an autorickshaw driver, got a mention in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Mann ki Baat” radio talk on Sunday. The family, which received a torrent of calls after the broadcast, was elated and said that the encouragement has strengthened Afreen’s resolve to pursue her dream to become a doctor.


In his talk — while giving examples of those braving all odds to achieve academic success — Modi spoke of Afreen and Prince Kumar from Delhi whose father is a DTC bus driver. Modi also praised Abhay Gupta from Kolkata who studied on foothpaths, Khushi from Nagpur who is the daughter of school bus driver, Karthik from Haryana whose father is a watchman, and Ramesh Sahu of Jharkhand whose father is a brick-kiln labourer. “Any commendable achievement from any part of the country infuses my heart with energy and inspires me,” said Modi.

Shaikh Mohammad Hamza, Afreen’s father, said that the family was not aware of the mention on Sunday morning but in time they started getting congratulatory calls which continued till late night. “Afreen is happy and we are happy that the PM took note of her feat,” he said. “She is currently in class XI (science) at a school in Dholka. She is studying tirelessly to realize her dream to become a doctor.”

Afreen has also been inspiration for others. “I am glad that many of our relatives and community members have taken a cue from her,” Hamza said. Mirza Haji Aslam Beg, corporator from Maktampura, said, “We have asked for more schools in areas like Makarba and Juhapura so that more Afreens can be educated.”