From Rags To Research: Andhra Labourer Now PhD In Chemistry

A remarkable story of perseverance and triumph has emerged from Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district where a woman defied grovelling poverty and adversity to earn a Ph.D. in Chemistry. 

The woman toiled for six years to get her degree while she worked as a daily wage labourer on an agricultural farm, navigating a life of deprivation, with just a broken asbestos sheet for the roof of her house.

Dr Sake Bharathi is the eldest of her three sisters. Her father's disappointment over having only daughters and his subsequent mistreatment led Dr Bharathi's grandfather to intervene. Her grandfather took her in and encouraged her to continue her studies.

"In a world where girls are often expected to be confined to domestic duties, my grandfather told me to study," recalled Bharathi.

However, her grandfather died while she was still in school and she was subsequently married off to her maternal uncle - a customary practice in South India. 

"My husband Sivaprasad was keener than I was about continuing my studies. He would say that education is the only way women can escape hardship and poverty. He said he would support me 'come what may' if I wanted to and he kept his word," Dr Bharathi said.

Life remained an uphill battle for the couple who struggled to make ends meet and often lacked the resources to afford the basic necessities. Ms Bharathi worked tirelessly as an agricultural labourer to support her family, traveling long distances on buses and autos and sometimes by foot.

After she earned her postgraduate degree, Sivaprasad wanted her to enrol for a doctoral degree. For six years, Sake Bharathi dedicated herself to researching binary liquid mixtures, eventually earning a Ph.D. in Chemistry.

While securing a job would be a cherished dream, Sivaprasad emphasized that education, in itself, is an end in itself. He said, "A job may be the ultimate goal, but it is not entirely in our hands. It would be a dream fulfilled if she gets a job as an assistant professor. If not, we think of education as an end in itself."

Despite her qualifications, Sake Bharathi failed to secure a job at the local college when vacancies arose. She even requested the local MLA for a home under the Jagannanna welfare scheme. But she has got nothing so far, she said.

With Dr Bharathi still without a job despite having a Ph.D., her husband now wonders whether there is any point in educating their daughter. She is in Class 6.