MP: Geeta, Back in India from Pak 9 Years Ago, Appears for Class 8 Exam

Bhopal: Geeta, the hearing and speech impaired woman who returned back to India from Pakistan nine years ago following the initiative by the then external affairs minister late Sushma Swaraj, on Wednesday appeared for class eight examination here with the hope of landing a government job.

Thirty three-year-old Geeta who has been struggling hard to meet ends meet ever since she was ‘reunited with her parents’, residents of Waluj Industrial area in Aurangabad in Maharashtra, around three years ago, completed her basic education through sign language by two NGOs working in the field, before appearing the class eight examination conducted by Madhya Pradesh State Open School Board.

“I want to pursue study to become financially independent to support me and my parents and become an inspiration for many”, she told this newspaper through her translator and sign language expert Gyanendra Purohit, who had played a key role in bringing her back to India from Pakistan.

Geeta was taught basic education both online and in regular classes by Mr Purohit and an Aurangabad-based NGO Progressive Life respectively.

She could not be admitted to a regular school since she is over-aged, Mr Purohit said.

“I hope she clears the class eight examinations, the minimum educational qualification to land a government job”, Mr. Purohit said.

Geeta’s life is a saga of hardships and hope.

She had boarded Ned Asr Superfast Express (Nanded to Amritsar Junction) and then mistakenly got into Samjhauta Express train to land in Lahore when she was barely eight years old.

The Pakistan Rangers spotted her at Lahore railway station and later handed her over to a local NGO to take care of her after completing necessary inquiries.

“She used to tell the people she came in contact with in Pakistan that she does not belong to their country. But, no one could understand her then. Later, the local media had broken the story to bring her case to limelight”, Mr Purohit recounted.

Former foreign minister late Ms Swaraj had initiated the move to bring her back to India after learning about her from the media and some social activists from Pakistan and India.

Mr. Purohit then coordinated with the Ministry of External Affairs and the local NGO in Pakistan to expedite the process of bringing her back to India.

She was kept in a shelter home in Indore in Madhya Pradesh after she returned to India to reunite with her parents.

Geeta could not specifically tell about her place of birth and her parents when she landed in India.

“As many as 25 couples had met Geeta to ascertain if she is their ‘lost daughter’. Geeta finally accepted the elderly couple she is currently staying with as her parents in January 2020), Mr Purohit said.