When the world turned dark for Kafi at age three, the light within her only grew brighter.
On Tuesday, the 17-year-old acid attack survivor from Chandigarh stunned the nation by scoring an exceptional 95.6 per cent in her CBSE Class 12 board exams – a triumph of grit, resilience and unbreakable spirit.
The attack happened during Holi in 2011 in her village in Hisar, Haryana, when three neighbours hurled acid at her during a family dispute in a shocking act of violence, reported India Today.
The attack left her blind and scarred for life. Yet, it couldn’t dim her dreams.
“I lost my sight, not my vision,” Kafi said, after learning she had topped the Institute for the Blind in Sector 26, Chandigarh, where she studied humanities.
Her dream? To join the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
“I want to serve my country and prove that people like me don’t need sympathy – we need empathy and opportunity,” she said.
Her path has been anything but easy. Years of treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi delayed her education. It wasn’t until 2016 that she could resume school – jumping straight from Class 2 to Class 6.
She embraced audio books, online resources, and sheer determination to learn. Her Class 10 score? A remarkable 95.2 per cent.
“I study two to three hours a day. It was hard in the beginning, but I kept going. I knew I had to work harder because I have fewer options,” she told NDTV.
Her father Pawan, a peon at the Haryana Secretariat, and mother Suman, a homemaker, studied only till Class 5. Yet, they were determined to give Kafi the education they never had.
“They’ve sacrificed everything for me. This result is as much theirs as mine,” Kafi said.
Justice, however, has remained elusive. The attackers who robbed her of her sight still roam free.
“Our legal fight is on,” she said quietly. “But I’ll study hard, become an IAS officer, and fight my own case one day.”
Kafi isn’t the only star from her school. Sumant Poddar and Gursharan Singh scored 94 per cent and 93.6 per cent respectively.
In Class 10, Sunny Kumar Chauhan led with 86.2 per cent, followed by Sanskriti Sharma at 82.6 per cent and Nitika with 78.6 per cent.
For the visually impaired, finding the right study material remains a major hurdle. Audiobooks in Hindi are rare, and Braille materials are limited, reported NDTV.
Gursharan said he often had friends record books for him. “But it made me stronger,” he added.
Kafi’s story stands out not just for her academic brilliance, but for the powerful message she carries: that resilience can outshine even the darkest scars.
Her words are simple but unforgettable: “We don’t have many choices. So we study. And we achieve.”
