‘Reading kept me going’: Noida stir accused who cracked NET
A 24-year-old man accused of instigating violence during a protest has achieved a high percentile in the UGC-NET exam while in jail. His family maintains his innocence, highlighting his dedication to academic research despite his ongoing legal challenges.
Why it matters
The story humanizes a legal case involving civil unrest and raises questions about the intersection of political activism and academic aspirations.
Over the past five months since he was arrested and sent to the Gautam Buddha Nagar District Jail, 24-year-old Himanshu Thakur has spent most of his time reading. The passion for books paid off when the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) results were announced: he scored 99.3 percentile in history, the subject in which he did his postgraduation from Delhi University.
“Most of my time in jail has been spent reading books. Initially I focused on preparing for NET. The study material was brought by friends from outside jail. Apart from NET material, I read novels, poems and stories,” he told The Hindu at the prison in Greater Noida.
On April 18, Uttar Pradesh Police picked Mr. Himanshu from his flat in Shalimar Bagh in north Delhi for “helping instigate and coordinate violence” during the agitation in April.
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