For decades, life has been challenging for the socially ostracised. Now, a girl who has graduated from the prestigious Oxford is sharing her grandfather's story who faced a lot of hardships in life.
This Oxford graduate who recently completed her Master¡¯s degree in Comparative Social Politics with flying colours named Juhi Kore shared the heartwarming story on LinkedIn.?
She recounted her grandfather's struggles from childhood and wrote how "he struggled as a lower caste boy from a rural village in Maharashtra."?He was the eldest of four and needed to earn for his family. Despite his parents¡¯ fear that he would be mistreated at school, he made a deal with them that he would work on their farm from 3 am and attend school later in the morning.
¡°He persevered. Since his farm work didn¡¯t pay in money, only food, he would borrow old books from older similarly ¡®outcast¡¯ (scheduled caste) students and study under the village¡¯s only lamp post late into the night. Despite all the bullying from his upper caste peers, discrimination from his upper caste teachers, and not being allowed to sit inside the classroom, his determination and resolve led to him not simply passing his exams, but outranking all his classmates!¡± she wrote.
The principal recognised the boy and started paying for his expenses.?Later, he pursued a Bachelor¡¯s in Law in Mumbai while working full-time as a cleaner in a government building. He worked really hard and the man retired as a high-level government official in the same building and completed his Master¡¯s at the age of 60.
Last but not the least, Kore wrote a very emotional note to her grandfather. ¡°The day I was accepted, I called to let him know and within about 12 hours, every vegetable seller and corner shop worker in his neighbourhood had heard the news. Unfortunately, I lost him just over a year ago, and we weren¡¯t able to realise our shared dream of him attending my Oxford graduation ceremony in person. But I know he was watching over me fondly. In just two generations, he turned his reality of not being allowed to sit inside the classroom to having a granddaughter walk through the halls of the best university in the world. I¡¯m so proud of him and I hope he¡¯s proud of his legacy,¡± she added.??
The story won a lot of praise from everyone in the comments section and lauded Kore's grandfather.?
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