Varsity topper won’t keep her date with PM on Jan 26

Her family is yet to decide whether she should go to Delhi.

‘‘Yes, it’s an honour but we have not yet made up our mind. She’ll have to travel too far on her own,’’ says Mumtazbanu, her mother. ‘‘Perhaps we’ll all watch the Republic Day parade on the TV set at home,’’ she adds.

Sophiya’s father, Shabbirhussain, runs a small whitewashing business and sometimes takes up daily-wage jobs. Sophiya has two brothers, who assist their father in his business, and two younger sisters.

The family does not have enough money to bear the expenses of sending an escort with Sophiya whose expenses the Centre has promised to reimburse. But the reimbursement will be made only after the girl reaches Delhi. ‘‘We can’t bear that kind of expenditure in the present circumstances and we’re apprehensive of sending her alone,’’ says her mother.

The letter from the HRD Ministry states that the expenses (a Second Class ticket to and from Delhi) will be reimbursed when Sophiya reaches Delhi and that the ministry has taken care of her boarding and lodging. It also says that expenses of parents or escorts will not be borne by the Government.

Sophiya, who is studying in H.K. College here for a master’s degree, says she was overjoyed on receiving the request. ‘‘As soon as we received the letter, I came to the college and informed the principal,’’ she says, adding that while principal S.K. Mansuri deserved major credit for her performance in the university exam, her professors should also get credit.

Asked whether she will go to Delhi for the January 26 function, she says: ‘‘I don’t know. I want to go but my parents are apprehensive.’’