UP village pays, prays for boy fighting for missed IIT seat

UP village pays, prays for boy fighting for missed IIT seat

Mohammad.Dilshad@timesofindia.com 26.09.2024

Titora (Muzaffarnagar) : The story of Atul Kumar, a bright-eyed 18-year-old Dalit student, has rippled through the quiet, unassuming village of Titora, which hides a little off the map, about 100km from Delhi. It’s only a short detour from NH-58, which links the capital to bustling Muzaffarnagar in UP, yet Titora remains something of a secret — roads dissolve into dusty tracks, apps promising directions stutter and stall. Travellers must ask local folks for directions. But once you arrive, there’s no mistaking the pride that radiates from its people. 

Finding Atul’s home is easy. “Oh, the family with the IIT boys?” chime in passersby. In Titora now, conversation about Atul’s triumph, his despair, and the glimmer of hope offered by SC dominates every tea stall and village square. The people here had pooled in to help pay Atul’s fees, but he missed the deadline by an agonising heartbeat. › Only one goal, 

A Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, on Tuesday took up Atul’s plea, with the CJI promising, “We will help you as far as possible.” From a below-poverty line family, Atul’s dreams of attending IIT (ISM) Dhanbad were nearly crushed by the missed fee deadline. He had cleared JEE Advanced but financial constraints and a technical glitch prevented him from paying the Rs 17,500 acceptance fee on time, leading to the cancellation of his hard-won seat. In a display of empathy, the top court sought responses from the Joint Seat Allocation Authority and IIT-Madras, where Atul had sat for his exams. 

Back in Titora, villagers can’t stop talking about the family. Atul’s father, Rajendra Kumar, 47, labours at a cloth factory in Meerut to make Rs 450 per day, while his mother, Rajesh Devi, 45, juggles between toiling in the fields and making cots to supplement their meagre income. However, cycling to work and sacrificing personal needs, Atul’s brothers achieved remarkable academic success. Mohit Kumar, 24, completed his M Tech from NIT Hamirpur. Rohit Kumar, 23, graduated with a B Tech from IIT-Kharagpur. Amit, 20, is in college and doing well. He wants to go abroad for higher studies. “We have only one goal — to educate our four sons, no matter the cost,” Rajesh told TOI on Wednesday. For Atul, SC’s promise offers a second chance. “Only we know what we’ve been through,” he said. “I need to do this for my parents. And I’m waiting to pay off the Rs 3 lakh loan my father took to help us study.”