AHMEDABAD: Amid the Hijab controversy gripping the country, comes the story of a 14-year-old Muslim girl from Gujarat’s Umargam town in Valsad district. Khushbu Khan has won the first prize in the all-India Bhagavad Gita competition.
Class-VII student of a government school won the ‘Bhagavad Gita National Quiz’ contest for explaining the teachings of the scripture in the best possible manner in the event organised by Edutor App last week.
The Edutor app, supported by the Gujarat government, listed quizzes for which Khushbu gave correct answers. She had earlier won the first prize in the Swami Vivekananda Quiz contest by giving correct answers to more than 1,600 quizzes. The contest took place on January 12.
Khusbu Khan’s father Abdul Khan is a factory worker. “My family and teachers guided me on the Bhagavad Gita and encouraged me to take part in the competition. They told me to know more about the epics belonging to religions other than Islam so that I develop an understanding of the faith.”
Khusbu said she learned from the Gita that humanity is the biggest religion. “I have been able to gather a lot of information about life from it. The most significant part that it has taught me is that though there are many religions, humanity is above all.”
Abdul Khan, her father, said the family encouraged Khushbu to recite the Gita to make her understand the importance of the Mahabharata in the Hindu religion. Khushbu’s school principal Malti Madhukar Ahire said at a time when communal disharmony was spreading across the country, girls like Khushbu stood as a beacon of hope. “Khushbu is a brilliant child. She scored full marks despite the fact that she comes from a different religion.”