E-Paper
From LoC village to Officers’ Training Academy in Chennai, Poonch girl leaps to glory
Shagun Sharma, a 24-year-old girl from the border district of Poonch, has become the first girl from the area to join the Indian Army's Officers' Training Academy. Despite facing hardships and intense shelling by Pakistan, Shagun pursued her education and qualified for the army exams. She credited her success to her determination, resilience, and perseverance. Shagun thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the renewed ceasefire with Pakistan, which has allowed youth in border areas to pursue their dreams.
From a small village on the Line of Control that bore the brunt of Pakistan’s intense shelling during Indo-Pak hostilities to the elite Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) of the Indian Army in Chennai, 24-year-old Shagun Sharma has become the first girl from border district of Poonch to achieve the remarkable feat.
Daughter of Subhash Chander Sharma, a laboratory assistant in a government school in Poonch, Shagun still hasn’t forgotten the nightmarish experiences of intense shelling by Pakistan on Jhullas village, barely 2 km from the LoC, that compelled her to flee the village with others to save their lives.
Despite heavy odds pitted against her, she did her post-graduation in botany from Jammu University, qualified national eligibility test (NET) last year and scored AIR 10 in the Combined Defence Services Exams (CDSE), results of which were declared Tuesday evening.
Shagun did her schooling and graduation from Poonch.
“I belong to Jhullas village, barely 2 km from LoC. Like others in a border village, I have also seen many hardships in my life. I still haven’t forgotten intense shelling by Pakistan. The Indo-Pak ceasefire was reinforced just over two years ago,” she said.
Shagun drew her motivation from the soldiers and army officers on the LoC.
“I saw soldiers on the border, who work in extreme conditions. They not only put their lives in the line of duty but also help civilians. This spirit of theirs left an indelible imprint on my mind to don the olive green one day. After my graduation, I started appearing in CDS exams and in the sixth attempt I scored 10th rank,” she said.
Shagun is among 16 girls of 103 candidates declared successful by Union Public Service Commission.
Elated to join the Indian Army, she thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making Pakistan understand the sanctity and significance of ceasefire on the borders.
“Due to peace on the border, youth like me are now pursuing their dreams,” she said. It may be recalled here that on February 25, 2021 Pakistan extended an olive branch to India to renew mutually brokered truce deal all along the 198-km long international border and 744-km long LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.
Prior to it, there had been indiscriminate shelling and firing between the two nuke countries on the LoC and IB, which had caused killings of villagers on either side of the border.
Shagun attributed her success to her unwavering determination, resilience and the power of perseverance.
However, her journey to OTA was not easy. With little access to quality education and limited resources in a border area, she sought study materials, online resources, and enrolled herself in a correspondence course to supplement her self-study. Balancing her studies with her daily responsibilities, she meticulously planned her time and maximized every opportunity to learn.
Shagun reached out to mentors and experts, sought advice and guidance through online forums and social media platforms. She also formed study groups with like-minded aspirants, creating a support network that motivated and inspired each other.
