Ranchi: A Catholic nun topped 180,000 people who appeared for this year’s Intermediate Arts examinations in Jharkhand state in eastern India.
When the Jharkhand Academic Council announced results on June 20, Sister Anshu Toppo, a member of the Daughters of Saint Anne, scored 84.6 percent marks.
The 22-year-old nun had overcome her childhood problem of epilepsy to be the first among 71.5 percent of the successful students.
Originally from Chainpur in Gumla, Sister Toppo has lived in the state capital of Ranchi since her childhood. The daughter of a driver is the student of St. Anne’s Intermediate College in Ranchi.
Toppo joined the Daughters of St Anne, an indigenous religious congregation, in 2012 at the age of 17, to serve society, she told The Times of India.
Her principal Sister Jyoti Nirmala Kacchap said extensive medical treatment helped the young nun to be cured of epilepsy that had tormented her since middle school days.
Sister Toppo said she had worked “very hard” before examinations as she wanted to make her parents, teachers and the congregation proud.
The Oraon tribal nun said she will take up whichever course the congregation wants her to pursue. “Instead of making my career, my objective is to acquire knowledge that can help the people of Jharkhand, especially the tribals,” she added.