city girl Astha bags Rank III

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 26

Ludhiana girl Astha Bamba, a student of BCM Arya Model School, has secured All-India Rank 3 in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams for Class XII, the results of which were declared on Saturday. She has secured 99.4% marks (497) in the humanities stream.

Her teachers and parents drew high expectations from her when she topped the matric exam in her school and hoped that she would either pick commerce or science stream. She took everyone by surprise after choosing humanities. What drew her towards the subject was her inclination towards social and political issues.

Sociology her favourite subject

Bamba shares: “Everything from caste oppression to the rise of feminism has a historical context. To be a good policy maker, one needs to understand what propelled the current events in the world.”

Bamba has scored 100 marks in mass media, political science and sociology. Her favourite subject is sociology. She said: “Through sociology, I am able to draw inferences that were a mystery to me otherwise. For instance, I learnt that casteism has a long history and all castes cannot be on the same spectrum for about 100 years. Politicians are just using them as a vote bank and doing nothing for them.”

Believes in consistency, smart study

Bamba believes in consistency and smart study. While sharing her success recipe, she said: “I never made timetables as I have always believed in smart study. Consistency was the only key and the passion for the subjects I chose. Always love what you study. It is also very important to take care of your mental and physical health, when you are preparing for board exams.”

No fixed aim

Bamba has no fixed aim as of now, as she just wants to explore the range of options open to her. She wants to pursue graduation in political science from Delhi University. She is also interested in taking up gender studies or journalism in her postgraduation. She is deeply influenced by liberalism. She said: “I am influenced a lot by Leftist ideology.”

Don’t impose decision on children: Parents

Her parents run a coaching centre in Ludhiana for senior secondary CBSE classes. Seema Bamba, her mother, said: “A lot of people have the mindset that only failures opt for humanities, which is not true. Parents nowadays push their children in the streams that are not of their children’s choice.”

Aashish Bamba, her father, said: “She could not learn swimming, cycling or any other physical activity that I forced upon her. She was always fond of books and I knew she was different. Parents should give the facilities and exposure to their children but never impose their decision on them forcibly.”