Asharam Choudhary, son of a ragpicker, has cleared the MBBS entrance exam for a seat in AIIMS Jodhpur. A resident of Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district, 20-year-old has secured 707th all-India rank and 141st rank in the OBC category. Asharam has also cleared the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) and secured 2,763rd all-India rank and 803rd rank in OBC category. But it was not easy for Asharam.
“There are some gaps in the roof from where sun rays and raindrops easily seep into our house. The adversities have never deterred me from continuing my studies,” said Asharam in an interview with The Hindu.
Inspired by a village doctor at a young age, his decision to prepare for medicine was not all planned. “When I was studying in Class V, my father took me to a ‘jhola chaap’ (quack) doctor. I saw him prescribing a few medicines and earning ₹50 in few minutes. The incident left a deep impression on me. I compared his work with the labour of my father, who collected discarded plastic bottles, iron pieces, especially near the railway crossings, and earned less than ₹50 in an entire day,” he said.
Dewas: A ragpicker’s son, Asharam Choudhary, gets selected at Jodhpur AIIMS for MBBS; says, ‘I want to thank my parents & Navodaya Vidyalaya, & also Dakshina foundation for providing me financial help. A doctor in my village inspired me to choose this profession’. #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/SISO6XpVxQ
— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2018
Though he has always been a hardworking boy, financing his studies was a major problem. Asharam prepared for Pune’s Dakshana Foundation and stood first in their entrance exam after which they helped him financially. Dakshana Foundation is a coaching centre that trains underprivileged students to apply for medical and engineering entrance exams.
His journey was not easy. According to his neighbours, Asharam used to study even when there was no light at the home.
