Having cleared the test, now their main worry is raising the admission fee
Zahid Qureshi was just a baby when his father was killed in 1995. Aijaz Ali is the son of a poor farmer. Gazi Hussein, the son of a labourer, is visually impaired. For these three young men in Kashmir, cracking the IIT entrance exam is the beginning of a different struggle.
To prepare for the exam, they trained with the army and an NGO for just 11 months. Having cleared the test, now their main worry is raising the admission fee.
Zahid, 21, was just two months old when his father was killed by suspected militants in Kupwara. His mother remarried and he went to live with his grandparents, who sent him to school despite their extreme poverty. They feel rewarded by his 89 rank on the IIT entrance results.
"I need counselling fee and other fee for joining the IIT, my family is not well off, there are financial problems. What can I do? I am thinking of withdrawing from it," Zahid told NDTV.
As counselling fee, they need Rs 10,000. "I have good marks but it is money which matters now," says Zahid.
20-year-old Gazi Hussain belongs to the Shopian district that has seen several terror strikes in the past year.
"My father is a labourer, older brother is doing post-graduation and my younger brother also got an engineering seat in the Aligarh Muslim University," said Gazi, who has never considered his visual impairment a hurdle.
Mauzam Mushtaq, who is from a remote village in the Baramulla district, says he dreams of a better life.
"I belong to a poor family and didn't have the money for coaching. Super 30 helped me," said Mauzam Mushtaq.
Kashmir's Super 30, inspired by its more popular counterpart in Patna in Bihar, is run with help from the Army. Three made it to the IIT and the rest got through various other engineering colleges.
If you would like to help, the bank account details are:
Ghazi Hussain
Account No:0308040100005418
IFSC Code: JAKA0IMMAMS
MICR Code: 192051113
Jammu and Kashmir Bank Imam Sahib
Mouzim Mushtaq
Account No:0567040150002430
IFSC Code: JAKA0ROHAMA
MICR Code: 193051023
Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ruhama
Zahid Qureshi
Account No:0012041000000268
IFSC code: JAKAOFOREST
MICR code: 193051206
Jammu and Kashmir Bank Kupwara
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