A vegetable vendor in Punjab's Amritsar has been making waves on social media after it emerged that he has four degrees, a PhD, and was also a professor of law at Punjab University. According to reports, Dr Sandeep Singh was forced to sell vegetables for a living after he could not secure a permanent job. His stint at the university was only as a contractual professor.
The matter was brought to light by a local journalist who shared Singh's story on X. "Despite dedicating 10 years to Punjabi University as a contractual professor of LLM, he couldn’t secure a permanent job. Due to financial instability, he chose to sell vegetables in his hometown, Amritsar," Gagandeep Singh wrote.
He added that Sandeep Singh holds master's degrees in Punjabi, Journalism, Law, and Women’s Studies, along with a PhD. Due to his qualifications, he is popularly referred to as "PhD Sabzi Wala".
In the photo shared on X, Sandeep Singh's vegetable cart is seen bearing a board that reads "PhD Sabzi Wala" and has his number.
Sandeep Singh's story left several X users in shock and disbelief.
"It’s painful, can’t understand the circumstances and must not comment but still as an educated person could have various alternative ways to earn a living in the developing nation for sure," commented Yadvinder Bahl (@YadvinderC). "Sad. Shows how distressing India's unemployment situation is," added NimmakayalaVRNaidu (@VRNNimmakayala).
Others wondered why he did not take up any other career opportunities even if it wasn't a permanent job.
"All work is honorable. But with his qualifications, he could also conduct tuition for students, write in newspapers etc," wrote X user @BharatDharma7, while another user Neal Grover (@juchkuduk) said, "Why doesn't he take tuition? There is such a shortage of teachers in so many coaching centres."
There were also a few who spoke in favour of dignity of labour, despite the occupation.
"Education doesn't mean that everyone would quit agriculture and manual labour, looking for a desk job?" wrote Shams Ur Rehman Alavi (@indscribe). "Besides, selling vegetables is not a small or lowly thing. Anyone who works hard and earns money must be respected. Do people stop making tea after their MBA or can't cook or eat after B Tech? It is the conditioning. Even a highly educated bus driver and a less educated pilot are weighed differently in society."
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