BSE Odisha 10th Result 2021: Dana Majhi’s daughter clears matric exam

The daughter of Kalahandi district’s tribal farmer Dana Majhi who had hogged headlines 5 years ago for walking with the corpse of his wife for about 10 km, has cleared this year’s Odisha’s high school certificate examination, results of which were announced Friday evening.

In August 2016, Chandini Majhi, the eldest daughter of Majhi, had walked along with her father as he carried the corpse of his wife Amangdei on his shoulders for 10 km after failing to arrange a vehicle to get back home. The walk towards his home in Melghar village from the female TB ward of Kalahandi district headquarter hospital at Bhawanipatna brought out the stark poverty and helplessness of tribals in the region.

The image of a sobbing Chandini, then 12-year-old, walking along with her father brought much international crticism for chief minister Naveeen Patnaik.

The picture of helplessness however seemed to have given way to one of joy after Chandini on Friday evening was declared to have passed the matriculation exam. She is the first one in her family to pass matriculation exam. In the entire state, around 98 per cent of the 5.6 lakh who enrolled for the exam, cleared it.

“You may recall Dana Majhi, whose story of plight rattled nations. Moved by her tragedy, KISS had offered a helping hand by admitting his three daughters to pursue their studies in the residential facility in Bhubaneswar. The eldest one, Chandini Majhi, has cleared the matriculation examination, the results of which were declared today. The villagers are elated to learn about her performance. This is my happiness to see girls taking charge of presiding over their destiny. And this is an example of KISS unlocking every frontier. We are proud of such stories of inspiration and hope,” tweeted Achyuta Samanta, BJD MP from Kandhamal, who had got the three daughters of Majhi including Chandini in his private tribal school Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in Bhubaneswar.

The 2016 incident may not have changed much of Kalahandi’s fortunes, but it has completely changed Dana’s. Soon after he carried the body of Amangdei on his shulders with his daughter walking by his side, the image and video triggered an international outrage with Bahraini PM Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa donating ₹9 lakh to him.

Since then, Majhi became focus of charity by individuals and organisations with Sulabh International making a undisclosed fixed deposit (FD) in his bank account. Sulabh reportedly promised monthly assistance of ₹10000 for Chandini, who along with his two other siblings Sonia and Chauli have been enrolled in KISS, a private tribal residential school run by Bhubaneswar-based Achyuta Samanta.

Now 50, Majhi has remarried and now has a pucca house built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. In 2017, he bought a motorbike. He still cultivates the small patch of land.