The founder of the Indian sanitation charity Sulabh, Bindeshwar Pathak. (Agence France-Presse)
Sanitation NGO Sulabh International today announced financial assistance and support to two brothers of Pratapgarh to pursue higher studies in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT).
A spokesman of the NGO told IANS that taking note of media reports that a daily wager's sons - Raju (18) and Brajesh (19) - who had made it to the top 500 positions in the IIT exams but did not have Rs.one lakh for admission into the premier institute - its founder Bindeshwari Pathak decided to bear the cost of their admission and further studies.
Dharamraj, father of the two siblings, hails from Rehua-Lalganj in Pratapgarh in UP and works as a daily wager. Both the brothers have cleared the IIT test with 167 and 410 positions but were unable to proceed any further owing to paucity of funds. Even the banks had turned down their requests for education loans as that was only possible after admission.
Pathak told IANS that the brothers had shown how even under the toughest of conditions, the spirit to excel persists and added that they would also be an example and inspiration to thousands of youth living in villages in similar conditions.
"Money will not become a hurdle for both the brothers and I will personally take care of their education and other needs," he added.
Earlier too Sulabh International had given Rs. 5 lakh to Lucknow's child prodigy Sushma who cleared her high school exam at the age of seven and took admission in post-graduation at the age of 13. Sulabh also supported Tathagat Tulsi, the child prodigy from Bihar. Tathagat now teaches in IIT-Mumbai.