Bindia Sarkar, a 27-year-old woman from a remote village in Cooch Behar district, who was recently awarded a gold medal in biotechnology, is using her success to advocate quality higher education for girls.
Bindia has made Changrabandha, a village along the India-Bangladesh border, proud after receiving the gold medal in biotechnology from Madurai Kamaraj University. She completed her post-graduation by securing 86 per cent marks.
Tamil Nadu governor R.N. Ravi handed her the medal during the convocation held on November 2.
Bindia reached her village on Wednesday and the residents have been holding different programmes to felicitate her.
The woman is, however, laying stress on higher education at the events.
“The parents in our villages are more interested in getting a suitable groom for their daughter, but not for her higher education. I am just trying to break this perception by trying to encourage girls to pursue higher studies that will help them excel in future,” said Bindia.
The girl is now looking to pursue a PhD in “cancer biology”.
Mekhliganj MLA Paresh Adhikary and the local panchayat felicitated her.
Changrabandha is located about 65km from Cooch Behar town and is in the Mekhligang subdivision of the district.
“This is a great achievement for a girl, who hails from a remote village,” Adhikary said.
Sources said dropouts were relatively high in the village, especially among girls.
Bindia said there had been instances when parents used education scholarship funds for their daughter’s marriage.
“The government of West Bengal is doing a lot for girls’ education by providing scholarships for higher studies and even a cycle. However, there have been instances of parents using these privileges for their daughter’s marriage,” said Bindia. “I am just trying to encourage parents to help daughters pursue higher education,” she added.
Bindia’s father Bakul is an ex-serviceman while her mother Nurnehar is a homemaker. “I am overwhelmed by the response my daughter received from the villagers,” said Bakul.
