HOWRAH: A Hindu girl was among the top rankers in this year’s Class X Madrasah Board exam in Bengal. Prashama Sasmal (15), a student of Khalatpur High Madrasa at Udaynarayanpur in Howrah (75km from the city), is the top scorer from Howrah district. She ranked 8th in the state, scoring 729 out of 800 this year.Daughter of a group C employee at a gram panchayat office, the nearest school from her home was 15km away. But distance did not keep her away from education as her parents got her enrolled at the madrassa in the village next to theirs.“She has made all of us proud and set an example for all students in the area. She is exceptionally bright and we are fortunate to have a student like her. With proper encouragement and support, she will go a long way,” said Nurul Islam , the madrassa headmaster, adding that nine students out of 33 this year had non-Muslim backgrounds.He added that the students and their parents had no hesitation in attending the madrassa, where they have to study Arabic and Islam Parichay. “The high school is far away and transport is a problem for children. So we receive quite a few students from other backgrounds,” he said.Prashama spoke about her fondness for Islamic Parichay and history as well as Arabic. “I love both subjects and would be happy to pursue them in detail in the future,” she said.On students of other communities getting into these institutions, he said the madrassa followed a modern curriculum and the only addition were Arabic and Islamic studies. “In every high madrassa of the state, you will find Hindu students and their number is growing every year,” Islam said. Prashama, meanwhile, wants even better result in the Class XII exam and become a doctor.