Jalpaiguri (WB): 22-year-old Rita Toto
Tuesday earned the distinction of becoming the first woman
graduate among the endangered Toto tribe in West Bengal's
Jalpaiguri district.
Rita Toto graduated from Prasanna Deb Women's College
in Arts under the North Bengal University with an aggregate of
617 in the pass course, university authorities said here.
She is the fourth from her tribe to become a graduate
-- all her predecessors were men, including Jagadish Toto who
was the first to graduate in 1920.
Rita is the daughter of Sugrib and Urmila Toto. Her
father is a Group D employee in the Uttarbanga Khetriya
Grameen Bank.
The 22-year-old, a resident of Totopara, has two
brothers.
The Totos, a primitive and 'isolated tribal group'
residing in a small enclave called Totopara, are presently
numbered at around 1,369, according to the last Census.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, July 13, 2010, 18:39