As Dalit boy’s IIT dreams get wings, village in UP erupts in joy

MUZAFFARNAGAR: A symphony of celebration swelled in the streets and houses of Titora in Muzaffarnagar on Monday afternoon as news of a Supreme Court ruling that cleared local boy Atul Kumar's road to IIT Dhanbad swept through the village. Drums pounded and sweets exchanged hands, heralding the "victory" of one young man and the dream he held on to — despite the odds stacked against him.
Atul, 18, had recently missed a payment deadline at the premier institute, threatening his hard-won seat at IIT (ISM) Dhanbad.The Rs 17,500 acceptance fee was a sum too heavy for the poor Dalit family, already teetering on the edge of financial collapse. Hope seemed cruelly out of reach until the Supreme Court stepped in, reversing what could have been a heartbreaking end to Atul's story.

Atul and his father Rajendra Kumar shared their overwhelming sense of relief with TOI. Atul, his voice brimming with gratitude, said, "I thank God and the Supreme Court for saving my future. For the first time in days, I can clearly see the path ahead, and my dream of becoming an engineer feels within reach." Beside him, Rajendra's voice trembled, betraying the weight of the emotions he had been carrying. "We never lost faith," he said softly. "My son's entire future hung in the balance, but we believed the court would deliver justice."
Titora itself erupted as though every villager had earned that IIT seat themselves. The air crackled with joy and neighbours lined up to embrace Rajendra and his family. The quiet perseverance of the family — marked by long nights of studying under dim bulbs and working odd jobs to keep the household afloat — became the story of the village. It was no longer just Atul's fight; it was the fight of every man, woman, and child who had seen potential in the boy from the small village.
In the morning, at the break of dawn, when Atul and his father left for Delhi from Muzaffarnagar to be present in the Supreme Court for the hearing, their hearts were heavy with uncertainty. But back home his mother, Rajesh Devi, had clung to hope, as she's been doing all these years. "We stayed at home. When I received the call in the evening, I knew god has answered our prayers," she simply said. She then suddenly exclaimed: "Supreme Court zindabad (Long live the Supreme Court)!"
Pawan Kumar, a neighbour who had lent the family Rs 10,000 to help them in their time of need, couldn't contain his pride. "Atul's win is our win," he said, beaming as he handed out laddus to every passerby.
Atul's brother Mohit, who's just completed his MTech from NIT Hamirpur, could barely contain his excitement: "We owe everything to our parents. They sacrificed so much to ensure we could study," he said. The other brother, Rohit, currently at IIT Kharagpur, agreed. "Where do we even begin? It's difficult to talk about all that they've done for us. They deserved this victory as much as Atul did."