You may have heard about SLC (School Leaving Certificate) topper being felicitated in a public function, but rarely does anybody who has only passed SLC examinations get honored this way.

Indra Sonaha (File Photo)

Indra Sonaha (File Photo)
Indra Sonaha, 19, of Daulatpur VDC in the far-western district of Bardiya, who passed SLC examinations this year, is one such person. He is the first person to pass the SLC examination from the Sonaha community, an ethnic group which, anthropologists say, is on the verge of extinction. For this achievement, Indra was felicitated at a programme organised in Tikapur recently.

“This honor has not only been given to me it also belongs to the entire Sonaha community. I am going to pursue my higher study and work for the uplift of my community,” he told local reporters after the felicitation programme.

As he made these remarks, some of the participants of the programme pledged additional assistance to him, according to a local daily.

Soft-spoken and gentle, Sonaha studied up to grade 7 in Karuna English Boarding School in Tikapur on the full scholarship provided by Welfare Association For Human Care, Tikapur, an NGO working for the upliftment of backward communities. He appeared in the SLC exam from Saptarishi Higher Secondary School.

Krishna Prakash Shah, treasurer of the welfare association, informed he is currently pursuing higher studies in Kathmandu on the scholarship provided by them.

Sonahas are ethnic people with their own language and culture but are classified as Tharus by the government. According to a study, there are around 1400 ethnic Sonahas who live primarily in far-western Nepal, specifically in Kailali, Kanchanpur and Bardiya districts and traditionally earn their livelihood through fishing and sifting sands in the river in search of gold.