Showzab Munir/ Aligarh

It was like a dream come true for Mohammad Shadab, a young AMU school student, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed him virtually at Rashtriya Bal Puraskar event on Monday.

Shadab, who was selected as one of the awardees, was initially a bit nervous. He was wondering what the PM would ask him and what his replies would be. But by the end of the conversation, he emerged confident and became a superstar.

During the interaction, the PM said: “Mohammad Shadab has made all Indians proud by being an ambassador in the US; he has made the country proud.” Shadab has bagged the prestigious Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Programme scholarhip of the US State Department.

When the PM inquired what inspired him. Shadab said he was inspired by his parents to become someone like Dr APJ Kalam.

 Shadab comes from a humble background; his father is a motor mechanic in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.

PM also congratulated his parents for imbibing high morals in their son.

While speaking with awazthevoice.in Shadab said he was extremely happy by the end of his interaction with the PM. He was mighty impressed with PM’s simplicity and the encouragement that he gave him and his family.  After the event was over, he was flooded with congratulatory messages.

Special arrangements were made at the District Informatics Centre of the Collectorate of Aligarh for Shadab’s interaction with the PM. His mother Zarina Begum was also present during the intraction. Shadab has been selected in the category of Knowledge.

On the eve of Republic Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to 32 awardees virtually with the children selected for the National Children's Award this year. Other than Shadab, Mohd Rafey, a 16-year-old gymnast was also felicitated among 30 other bright children. Rafey won the bronze medal in Junior Artistic Gymnastics Asian Cup held in Mongolia.  

Excerpts from PM-Shabad conversation:

PM: What do you want to become?

Shadab: Representative of India in the United National Council.

I want to become an IAS officer and go to UNO. I am working hard for this.

 PM: Where did the idea of going to the United Nations come from?

Shadab: I have been hearing from parents since childhood that Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who was called Missile Man of the country, gave his life in the service of the country. Likewise, he also wants to serve the country. And he considers Kalam as his ideal.

 PM: Special thanks to his parents, because they inspired their child to become a person like Dr Kalam. Shadab’s ideal is Dr Kalam and he will certainly make the country proud.

Who is Shadab?

 Shadab comes from a humble background; his father is a motor mechanic in Aligarh. He  and is a 11th standard student from Aligarh Muslim University school. He completed his matriculation from American school.  For this, he has received a scholarship of Rs 20 lakh rupees. After finishing 9th standard in Urdu Medium, Aligarh, 10th from the American School he was selected for the scholarship. He was selected among 800 children from 40 countries. Shadab was a topper at the American School with 97.6 percentage points.

Selction was not easy

 Shadab's selection for the American school was not easy. For this, he had to go through several stages of examinations including group discussion, brush up his English, mathematics, essay writing and science.

Since he had done ninth standard in Urdu medium from Minto Circle of AMU, it was a daunting task for him to undergo examinations in English.

Seven students were selected through a Civil Education Workshop held at the US Embassy, New Delhi. Only Shadab was selected from India. He also did 200 hours of social service. During this time, he was selected 'Student of the Month'.

His dream

Shadab's dream is to represent India as a human rights officer in the United Nations. He wants to become an IAS. 10 years of social service experience is necessary to go to the United Nations. For this, registration has to be done as a volunteer with the American Field Service. Shadab says, "While studying in the USA, my understanding has improved. Earlier, I didn’t think beyond my city Aligarh.”