Students from war-ravaged Afghanistan 'feel at home' here

VADODARA: Mustafa Quraishi converses in fluent Hindi with his peers as well as the faculty at M S University (MSU). This 19-year-old boy from Afghanistan, who loves Indian cinema, is pursuing Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA) at MSU.
Quraishi learnt Hindi by watching Indian serials and films.
Like Quraishi, there are four others from the war-ravaged Afghanistan who have taken admission in various faculties of the university through Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)."This is for the first time that I am away from home but people are very friendly here. Our culture is similar to that of India's and so we do not feel different," said Quraishi.
Another student, Sayed Khalid Sadaat is pursuing masters programme at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication aspires to join a media firm in Afghanistan.
Speaking of his decision to study in India, Sadaat said, "I feel safe in India. Teachers here are skilled and are updated. Back home, we follow old syllabus and are totally ignorant of the digital medium for learning."
Sadaat who used to work during the day at a non- governmental institution at his home said, "Life there is not easy. Due to the fear of bombing, we would dread going to the public library as it is situated in a posh locality."
"This is for the first time that Afghan students are coming to MSU through ICCR. Education is one of the key towards maintaining cordial relations with foreign countries. At present, the students are staying at the university guest house," said Dr Rajesh Kelkar, nodal officer for MSU's Office of International Affairs .
Of the remaining, two are studying at the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science. Along with Quaraishi, another Afghan student is also pursuing BBA at the university.