rIRUCHIPDAPALI THE HINDU

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2020

Dalit girl from Anithas native

village to pursue medical course
Private sponsor to fund ber education in the Phillipines
R.RAJARAM
TIRUCHI

Three years after S. Anitha of

Kuzhumur in Ariyalur dis-
trict ended her life, unable
to get an MBBS seat through"
the National Eligibility- cum-
Entrance Test (NEET), the
dream of another girl hailing
from the village of studying
medicine has become a
reality.
Daughter of daily wage
earners Shankar and Dhana-
lakshmi, S. Soundarya will S.Soundarya (right) receiving the certificate for pursuing
fly to the Philippines to pur medical education free of cost at Kuzhumur village in Ariyalur
sue medical education, free district. Social worker S.A. Manirathnam is also seen.
of cost, at the Davao Medical
Education School Founda trustee of Dr. Anitha Memo tronics engineering at a priv
tion, thanks to a private rial Charitable Trust. ate college near Tiruchi.
sponsor. Besidesthe expen- A representative from the I had almost decided to
diture for her education, her institute in Chennai came to take up law or some other
boarding, food and tran- Kuzhumur a few days ago degree course when this op-
sport expenses during the and interacted with Mr. Ma- portunity came knocking at
period of her study will be nirathnam and Ms. Soun- my door," she said, thanking
sponsored by Transworld darya to ascertain the girl's Mr. Manirathnam for the
Educare Private Limited. wish. help and motivation.
Soundarya's ambition to Ms. Soundarya, whq had "I see an Anitha in Soun-
become a doctor came to be completed Plus Two in a darya and want her dream
known to Anitha's brother higher secondary school at of becoming a doctor is real-
S.A Manirathnam, who is Kuzhumur with 410 out of ised," Mr. Manirathnam said.
running a charitable trust in 600 marks, said she was A 'Free Education Certifi
memory of his sister at the sceptical about her chance cate' from David K Pillai,
village. of studying medicine owing founder and CE0, Tran-
The medical institute's to her economic back sworld Educare Private Li-
office at Mahabalipuram ground and she might be at a mited, was handed over to
near Chennai, which
wanted disadvantage because of the Ms. Soundarya a few days
to help a
poor girl pursue NEET. ago. Mr. Manirathnam said
medicine in memory of Soundarya's family runs the trust that he runs has
Anitha, got in touch with on the wages earned by her been extending financial
me. That was when I
them about Soundarya's told parents and her elder broth- support to a girl student
am-
bition and her poor econom-
er, who works in Chennai as from Jayamkondam in Ariya-
a labourer after lur district, who is studying
ic background," said Mr. Ma- completing
Plus Two. Her elder sister is
nirathnam, medicine, and to a few oth-
managing pursuing electrical and elec- ers.
Trump's SC noimince says she
is not hostile to Obamacare
Bartett evades questions on abortion and gay marriage
REUTERS
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump's
Supreme Court
nominee
Amy Coney Barrett said on
Tuesday at her U.S. Senate
confirmation hearing she is
not hostile to the Obamacare
law as Democrats have sug-
gested, and declined to spec
ify whether she believes
landmark ruings legalising
abortion and gay marriage
were properly decided.
Judge Barrett declined to
say if she would step aside
from any election-related
cases that reach the court.
The Republican President
has said he expects the Su-
preme Court to decide the
election's outcome as he fac
es Democratic challenger
Joe Biden. Judge Barrett said
CIM
Amy Coney Barrett
no one at the White House
sought a commitment from
her on how she would rule
on that or any issue.
Judge Barrett declined to
say whether she would con-
sider stepping aside, as De-
mocrats have requested,
from an Obamacare case
due to be argued at the court
a week after Election
Day, in
which Mr. Trump and Repu
blican-led states are seeking
to invalidate the law formal
ly called the Affordable Care
Act (ACA).
"I am not hostile to the
ACA," she said.
Abortion rights advocates
have expressed concern that
Judge Barrett would vote to
overturn the 1973 ruling
called Roe v. Wade that legal
ised abortion nationwide.
Asked about that ruling
Jusge Barrett said she would
consider the various factors
usually applied when justie
es weigh whether to over
turn a precedent.
She declined to say
whether she agreed with the
late Justice Antonin Scalia
that the 2015 Supreme Court
ruling legalising gay mar
riage was wrongly decided.