In 2014, a twenty-year-old Pakistani Hindu Mashal moved to India along with her family. She was hoping for a brighter future and an escape from religious persecution.
Two years later, she aced her CBSE results with a score of 91 percent. She aimed to be a doctor. Only one glitch – she couldn't give the pre-medical test, as according to the rules, one either has to be an Indian or an Overseas citizen of India (NRI) to qualify for the All India pre-medical test (AIPMT).
A file photo of Sushma Swaraj. PTI
Subsequently, in interviews to the media, her middle-class doctor parents discussed how they quit their jobs in Sindh and how they moved to Jaipur on a long-term visa following which they secured admissions in private schools for their children.
When Mashal moved to India, she lost an academic year when her Level A exams (under the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum) were due. She said that she wouldn't like to lose another year, as she wanted to sit for the centrally-organised all-India NEET-2 entrance exam scheduled for 24 July.
Keeping the deadline in mind, the family sought help from the ministries of External Affairs, Health and HRD. They also placed a request on the Prime Minister's portal, as per a report in Hindustan Times.
Subsequently, the 20-year-old received help via social media. After following the news reports on Mashal's plight, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, expressed her support on Twitter and assured her that she would personally take up her case in a medical college.
She also shared her contact number on the micro-blogging platform Twitter and asked Mashal to get in touch with her.
Here's hoping this cross-border story has a happy ending.
Source: Sushma Swaraj to the rescue? Pakistani Hindu student Mashal gets MEA helping hand
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