Syed Tamheed Bukhari, who earlier wanted to be an entrepreneur, changed his aim after his father Shujaat Bukhari’s assassination.
New Delhi: Six months after his father’s assassination, Syed Tamheed Bukhari became the toast of social media and the nation at large by pulling off a stellar performance in his Class X board exam.
Tamheed, the son of veteran journalist Shujaat Bukhari, who was shot dead in Srinagar this June, has scored 95 per cent. The elder of Bukhari’s two children, Tamheed now wants to become a journalist like his father.
“I thank god that despite the trying times, I was able to do it,” Tamheed told ThePrint.
“I will take up humanities and become a journalist. I know what it means to be one,” he added, “My father always told the truth and I will do the same… I miss him.”
His mother, Dr Tahmeena Kausar Bukhari, said it was Bukhari’s death that had put Tamheed on course for a career in journalism.
“He had many plans for his children,” she added. “He would often discuss what they should do after Class 10 and 12. He had a wish to send both my son and daughter (Mariha) to the best universities in the world.”
“Shujaat discussed journalism as a career prospect for his son but Tamheed’s aim was to be an entrepreneur,” she told ThePrint. “Tamheed wants to pursue his father’s dream now.”
An emotional Tahmeena recalled the times her husband would celebrate the success of others.
“His eyes filled with excitement every time anyone among our friends or neighbours performed well in exams or excelled in any other way,” she added.
“He would have been delighted to see his son’s success,” she said.
Life without Bukhari, she added, had been emotionally taxing for all of them.
“My daughter made a visit abroad with her father last year,” said Tahmeena. “She has spent the entire week crying.”
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Hope and despair
Tamheed’s feat was widely celebrated on social media, which was flooded with congratulatory messages for the teenager.
“Excellent news,” tweeted former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdulah. “Well done Tamheed & good luck for your last two years of school.”
Former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) tweeted best wishes to Tamheed as well as other students who aced the exam.
Best wishes to Tamheed, son of Shujaat Bukhari, Sehar, granddaughter of SASG & all others who passed Class 10 board exams today. To those who didn’t make it, there is no shortcut to hard work. Perseverance is the key to success.
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) December 29, 2018
As the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) declared the Class X results Saturday evening, people also remembered Numan Ashraf Bhat, who was killed during an encounter in south Kashmir last month.
Numan, a resident of Balsoo village in Kulgam, was among those who passed.
Shah Faesal, the first civil services topper from the Valley, said: “Life in Kashmir is a mix of hope and despair… People die every day but dreams never die. It is an enigmatic place.”
The results brought an overall atmosphere of hope as south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, the Valley area worst hit by militancy, took a lead with a pass percentage of 84.5 per cent.
Shopian came in at second with 83 per cent, while Srinagar in central Kashmir recorded a pass percentage of 81.9 per cent. South Kashmir’s Kulgam recorded 80.5 per cent with Anantnag registering a pass percentage of 78 per cent.
May more happy stories continue to come out of Kashmir.