6th May, 2023: Irfan is the only Muslim among the top 20 scorers in grades 10 and 12, and he wants to teach Sanskrit. The class 12 exams for the Uttar Madhyama-II (class) were administered by the Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Sanskrit Shiksha Parishad Board. Mohammad Irfan, the 17-year-old son of Salauddin, a farm labourer in the Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh, received an overall score of 82.71%.
Sanskrit language and literature are required by the board in addition to other disciplines.
The lone Muslim student among the top 20 scorers in classes 10 and 12 is Irfan, who hopes to become a Sanskrit teacher.
According to reports, the youngster was enrolled in the Sampurnanand Sanskrit Government School because it was the only institution his father could afford for him to attend. Salauddin only makes Rs 300 a day, and the school charges a yearly fee of Rs 400–500.
Irfan comes from a devoted Muslim family, and according to his father, they have never prevented the youngster from following their ambitions.
“In junior classes ‘Sanskrit’ was a compulsory subject and it was from there that he developed a liking for the language. He now plans to do Shastri (equivalent to BA) and Acharya (equivalent to MA) and will then look for a job as a Sanskrit teacher,” he said, speaking to The New Indian Express.
Irfan on language- religion connection
“I’m not sure why people associate a language with a religion. A Hindu can be extremely good at learning Urdu, while a Muslim can be very good at studying Sanskrit. I am a graduate who understands the value of education,” Irfan said, addressing media on the question of people connecting certain languages with some religions.