The reason for scores of North-East students for stepping on the Delhi University campus is larger than just to beat the ‘college versus campus’ race. Filling their forms, beating the language barrier and struggling with thousands others who speak flawless English, they said the education here is religion and life is worship compared to the darkness of days spent inside houses through series of curfews backhome.
Boinao Meitei and Thomas Singh are two friends hailing from Manipur. They both are accompanied by the latter’s father to apply at the university. Holding an OMR form, Meitei said the city is known for its top colleges but I feel it’s different in every way of what other think. “I have come with dreams to not just take a degree but live life and study in the real sense. We have 150 to 190 working days out of the 365 of the year. The rest of the days are offs due to strike and curfews. I have studied on my own at home and every day went by struggling to score a percentage that could get me out of the cage,” Meitei said.
He and Thomas want to pursue Physics Honours here and Thomas wants to prepare for UPSE after his graduation. Singh added that parents usually want children to be with them but in our case, they wait for us to at least complete school and leave from the State know roughly for its political and economical State.
“After we stand and win this long race of education by staying away from family. I do would want to do something for my people but the feeling to stay there at this stage is just not there. It’s painful to even think about such things,” he explained.
Reverand Raj, Father at the Sant Nagar Church accompanied them and said the children are totally different than the ones bred in our cities. “They approached me through a friend and I couldn’t do but help them. DU is a totally different profile to me but the spirit with which they somehow managed to get in contact and their will to take education from here compelled me to support them,” Raj said.
Subrata Borah from Assam volunteers at the Faculty of Arts to provide help for admission to students. He helps them with language and assists them with the admission procedure. “Students from Nagaland, Manipur and Assam majorly come to Delhi as they see a helm of opportunities here. We as people are very open minded and love freedom but due to circumstances that have arisen in previous years a lot of youth from our generation come out to breath and Delhi give a lot of them a platform to make their careers. At least 10,000 students come for admissions to the university every year,” Borah added.