Rags to Riches: Ragpicker's son clears AIIMS entrance in first attempt

If you have the dedication and determination, no force in the world can stop you from achieving your goals and 18-year-old Asharam Choudhary from Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas proved it right by clearing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) entrance exam in first attempt.

Choudhary, a son of ragpicker did not have electricity or a toilet in his house and his father collected garbage to make ends meet.   

Despite all the hardship in his life, Choudhary, a bright son of a poor father secured the 141st rank in the OBC category and 707 rank overall in the prestigious AIIMS entrance test held on May 27.

And not just that, the teenager also cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), conducted on May 6, bagging the 803rd rank in the OBC category and 2,763rd rank overall.

"I am so happy that I cannot express myself. My next goal is to become a neurosurgeon. After MBBS, I want to do a Master of Surgery (MS) in Neurology," news agency PTI quoted Choudhary as saying.

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Unlike many, the 18-year-old said that he would not want to go abroad to study and settle there but serve poor people by setting up a hospital in his native Vijayganj Mandi village.

"I want to return to my Vijayganj Mandi village and set up a hospital there so that no one is deprived of medical facilities," he said.

The determination of Choudhary didn’t go unnoticed and Congress president Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to him congratulating for his tremendous achievement.

“I am aware that despite all the challenges you were able to secure good rank. It is a testament to your dedication and hard work that you have performed so well. You remind of Mahatma Gandhi who used to say: ‘Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from the indomitable will.’ I extend my best wishes to you and hope you will contribute to the nation-building,” Gandhi wrote.

Congress President @RahulGandhi wrote to Asharam Choudhary , bright son of a ragpicker who cracked the AIIMS entrance test in his first attempt. pic.twitter.com/afN8cbVFSv

— Congress (@INCIndia) July 22, 2018

Choudhary will now pursue MBBS at Jodhpur AIIMS in Rajasthan. The government of Madhya Pradesh will bear all the expenses of his study. Dewas District Collector Shrikant Pandey handed him a bus ticket to Jodhpur and a cheque of Rs 25,000 as initial help.