KOLKATA: Srijani, who has achieved a perfect score in ISC this year, stands against any kind of inequality, be it social, economic or religious. Acting on her ideal, the 17-year-old, who studied at The Future Foundation School, has renounced her surname and the only religion she follows is ‘humanity’.
Ahead of her class XII exam, she made an application, seeking special permission to write only her name and not her surname for her boards registration. The Future Foundation School principal Ranjan Mitter said, “As long as the law is satisfied, this is not an issue for us, and it’s not mandatory. I believe every person should be allowed to live with their self-respect, and if the family so wishes, we will go along with that.”
“I am against all kinds of inequality—social, economic or religious. Communal aggression and religious chauvinism are divisive forces,” Srijani told TOI. “A multicultural society can prosper only with tolerance, mutual respect and egalitarian ideas. I dream of a society where there will be no Abhaya (RG Kar victim), no religious war and no hierarchy.” Srijani, along with her sister and family members, had joined thousands others to “Reclaim the Night” on Aug 14, 2024, protesting against the PGT doctor’s rape and murder and demanding women’s safety.
Her beliefs are largely shaped by her mother, Gopa Mukherjee, an assistant professor at Gurudas College, and Debasish Goswami, a mathematician at ISI, who received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 2012. “I did not change my surname after marriage. For the children, they had a choice to use both our surnames. My husband and I are against patriarchy and caste hierarchy, and we want our children to grow up with a free mind without any burden of caste, creed and religion. First, they should be humane,” said Mukherjee. “It gives us immense pleasure that our kids respect our decision.”
Mukherjee said when they had applied for their children’s birth certificates, they had not mentioned their surnames. “We have never faced any major question about it. A surname is not mandatory anywhere, not even in a passport, but it is a mindset. We use our surname but mention our religion as ‘humanity’,” she said.
State power minister Aroop Biswas, also the MLA in Tollygunge where Srijani lives, visited her at their Ranikuthi home to felicitate her. Biswas, too, was impressed and lauded Srijani for renouncing her surname.
Srijani’s aspiration is to study physics or mathematics at IISc Bengaluru and she is preparing for it now.
