Former madrasa teacher cracks UPSC exam, says madrasas can contribute civil servants
Thiruvananthapuram: A former madrasa teacher from Kerala, who never had opportunity to attend a mainstream school, has proved that tenacity eventually triumphs. 28-year-old T Shahid, a native of Thiruvallur village in Kozhikode district, has cracked the UPSC examination in his sixth attempt and ranked 693.
The civil services exam, Shahid said, was a way to tell the society that madrasas are not a breeding ground of terrorism. “There may be stray issues or controversies, but madrasas in Kerala can contribute civil servants also,’’ he said.
Son of madrasa teacher Abdul Rahman Musaliyar and homemaker Sulekha, Shahid said he was forced to opt for a Muslim religious educational institution, run by an orphanage at Kappad in Kozhikode, due to financial crunch.
After 12 years of religious education, Shahid bagged the religious ‘hasni’ degree, a course which equipped him to become a madrasa teacher. While studying for hasni, he completed Class X and Class XII, and finally got a degree in English — all through distance courses.
Shahid said, his perspective towards life changed when he worked at the Malayalam daily Chandrika, managed by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). “Working as a journalist made me look at the world outside,” Shahid told.
Shahid opted Malayalam literature as an optional subject in UPSC. He said the coaching classes in Delhi, sponsored by IUML’s students’ wing MSF, helped him in cracking UPSC exam.
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Bangladesh's interim govt revokes ousted PM Sheikh Hasina's passport
Dhaka, Jan 7: Bangladesh's interim government on Tuesday said it has revoked the passport of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and 96 others over their alleged involvement in enforced disappearances and the July killings.
Hasina, 77, has been living in India since August 5 last year when she fled Bangladesh following a massive student-led protest that toppled her Awami League's (AL) 16-year regime.
Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) has issued arrest warrants for Hasina and several former Cabinet ministers, advisers, and military and civil officials for “crimes against humanity and genocide”.
Addressing a press briefing here, Chief Adviser's Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said, "The Passports Department cancelled passports of 22 people involved in enforced disappearances, while passports of 75 people, including Sheikh Hasina, were revoked due to their involvement in the July killings.”
He, however, did not reveal the names of the remaining individuals whose passports were cancelled, the state-run BSS news agency reported.
