Kolkata: At a time of language-based identity politics, a young scholar from Bengal reaffirms the strength of mother tongue through academic brilliance
At a time when the detention of Bengali-speaking migrant workers has kindled debates around ‘language politics’ or identity politics in India, call it sheer irony — or celestial justice — that a PhD scholar from West Bengal, pursuing her research in Bengali language, has secured a perfect 100 percentile in the UGC NET 2025.
Meet 26-year-old Nilufa Yasmin from Bengal’s Katwa district, who has topped the UGC NET exam. With a deep love for song and Bengali literature, Nilufa is currently pursuing her research on Moddhojuger Bangla Sahitya (Medieval Bengali Literature).
Speaking to eNewsroom over the phone, she gushed, “When I appeared for the NET exam on June 26, I had a gut feeling that I would qualify for the Junior Research Fellowship this time. But I hadn’t anticipated that I would top the exam.”
She added, “This was my third attempt. In my previous two, I had qualified NET but missed the JRF. I had been aiming for a good rank, and that pushed me to give it one more go.”
With both her parents being educators, academics was always an obvious path. But Nilufa insists her parents were never the imposing type.
“I’m not a morning person,” she laughs. “I used to study late at night — often till dawn. Every time my dad caught me up at those odd hours, he would chide me, saying, ‘Don’t stress yourself so much. You don’t need to study this hard’,” she recalled.
Despite an impressive academic record, her passion for literature steered her https://ojs.njhsciences.com/ towards Bengali as her subject for higher education.
“I scored above 90 per cent in both Madhyamik and Uchcho Madhyamik (Higher Secondary) exams. And even though everyone kept asking me to take up Science, I chose Arts — and later, Bengali — because I love singing and literature, Bengali literature to be precise.”
And how many hours did she study to get this result? The young scholar laughs.
“I didn’t really follow a very structured routine. Sometimes I’d study for long hours, and sometimes I’d take long breaks. At times, I’d get bored of reading the same things over and over, and I’d call my mother to vent. Every time I spoke about being stuck in that same cycle, she would calmly say, ‘Don’t worry — you’ll get a perfect score this time’.”
So, what does Nilufa do when she’s not researching Bengali literature?
“I’m a trained Rabindra Sangeet singer and I also have a YouTube channel. I love singing — it keeps me going when I’m not buried in my research work,” she chirps.
And does she think her achievement will inspire others?
“I hope it does. I’d tell every girl who dreams of an academic career to aim for the JRF. It makes you financially independent while working on your PhD,” she added.
