beyond religion 13 year old karnatka muslim tops ramayana exam mahabharata exam next on target

New Delhi: Amid the debate over whether India is a tolerant or intolerant country, here comes an example illuminating the real manner in which the religions should be perceived in the country of 1.3 bn.

Fathimath Rohila, a Class 9 Muslim student from Karnatka, has secured first position in the Ramayana exam conducted by Bharatha Sanskriti Prathisthan.

She secured 93% marks in the exam held in November last year.

A student of Sarvodaya High School, Sulliapadavu, Fathimath developed an interest in epic Hindu religious literature last year.

The girl started preparing for the Ramayana exam since the beginning of the academic year.

Her father Ibrahim, who works in a factory, has credited her success to her uncle.

The couple wanted their daughter to top the state exam. They never saw any flaw in their daughter reading and learning Hindu religious literature.

"She put in a lot of effort every day to top in Karnataka, but could not achieve it," Ibrahim said.

This year, around 39 students from Sarvodya High School wrote the exam.

“The exam is more about literature and contains no literature and contains no religious content," said P Satyashankar Bhat, coordinator of the exam.

After securing first position in Ramayana, the girl is preparing for the Mahabharata exam too, for which she has decided to sacrifice her summer vacations.

Last year a 12-year-old girl from Mumbai, Mariyam Asif Siddiqui topped in Bhagwad Gita inter-school competition.

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