Say explosion was one-off and that they would rather be here than in Pakistan, where blasts are common



For Sohaib Jadwalla, LLM student from Sudan, life will never be the same again; the German Bakery blast claimed his friend Amgad-elgozuli Ahmed's life. But it has certainly not shaken his belief that he made the right decision by coming to India to study. And he still thinks Pune's reputation is intact as one of the safest places to live in.

He was selected for the Pakistan International Islamic University in Islamabad, but rejected it at the last moment because he got admission in a Pune college to study law. Comparing Pakistan, Malaysia and some other countries Sudanese students go to, withu00a0 India, he feels India is truly the best. "East or west, India is the best," he said. Jadwalla is not alone in expressing such a view.

His friend and Ahmed's classmate Boma Malual, a former president of the Sudanese Association, echoes the sentiment. Boma was to join a college in Malaysia, but chose not to because he felt there was little freedom in that country, and he was afraid he would feel claustrophobic in the university culture there.

Waiting outside the morgue of Sassoon Hospital to receive Ahmed's body, a number of Sudanese students said their friend's death in the blast had disturbed them, but they still felt the city was the best place to be in compared to university towns in other countries.

Quality of education

Gul Ahmed, another Sudanese student, said a law degree from Indian universities was in great demand in Sudan.
He said, "The standard of education is low in Sudan, which is why a large number of Sudanese come to Pune."

S B Majumdar, founder president and director, Symbiosis Society, which runs a number of educational institutions, said, "There is no panic among foreign students, although they definitely are shocked."