Chandigarh (Agency): Though not very fluent in Hindi, Benazirsana Yumkhaibam, who is described as affable by her teachers, managed to make friends quickly and build a considerable support base around the campus. Her hostel friends are now teaching her Hindi as well as Punjabi.
The ethnic violence back home, the cultural and language barriers in a city, nothing could come in the way of this gritty 19-year-old girl from Manipur realising her political aspirations.
Benazirsana Yumkhaibam, 19, polled 327 out of the total 802 at MCM DAV, Sector 36, to become the college’s student council president. Others in the race with her were Charanpreet Kaur, Jasmine, Shaista Magra and Zoha Mufti.
A third-year student of History Honours, Benazirsana, lovingly called Sana by her friends, hails from Imphal and came to Chandigarh two years ago to pursue graduation.
Though not very fluent in Hindi, Sana, who is described as affable by her teachers, managed to make friends quickly and build a considerable support base around the campus. Her hostel friends are now teaching her Hindi as well as Punjabi.
Even while canvassing, she focused on approaching the voters personally instead of taking the social media route. However, it was not all cakewalk for her.
When the ethnic clashes erupted in her hometown Imphal earlier this year, Sana was stuck there for almost a month. “I wondered how I will catch up with my studies but my teachers and fellow students helped me a lot,” says Sana.
She refused to speak on the ethnic tensions, stating that it’s a sensitive issue. On her plans for the college, Sana says her main focus will be on ensuring that food is available at reasonable rates on campus and adequate study material, especially that of Geography, is available for UPSC aspirants.
College principal Nisha Bhargava motivated the new council to work with authorities to promote leadership and entrepreneurial spirit in its students. She said, “College elections are a good platform to build future leaders of the nation.”
Sana was also encouraged by her family to pursue her ambitions. Her father is a deputy secretary at Manipur Assembly while her mother is an advocate in Manipur High court. Her elder sister is pursuing MBBS from Kazakhstan. (Courtesy: Hindustan Times)
