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UP farmer’s son cleared JEE Main, but chose to serve the Army
The passing-out parade of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun was held on June 12
The passing-out parade of the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun was held on June 12. It was a big moment for Anuj Dhariwal, 21, of Bharwara village of Sambhal district in UP, who has now been commissioned as a lieutenant in the Indian Army.
“After the passing-out parade, I went home to share the joyous moment with my parents. Normally, parents are invited for the ceremony, but this didn’t happen this time due to the pandemic,” said Lieutenant Anuj Dhariwal, an alumnus of VidyaGyan (Bulandshahr). He looks forward to serve the country and motivate other village youth like him to join the forces.
“I wanted to prove a point to all youngsters of this village that lack of resources cannot be a hurdle if you’re determined to achieve something in life,” said Anuj, whose father Mahendra Singh is a farmer with a meagre income of ₹1 lakh.
While growing up, Anuj looked up to one of his maternal uncles who served in the Indian army. Given his family’s limited resources, Anuj’s goal seemed like a distant dream till he secured admission at Shiv Nadar Foundation’s VidyaGyan in 2010 (in Class 6). In 2017, after Class 12 he got into the NDA, Pune, where he stayed for three years and then went to the IMA, Dehradun.
“In Class 12, we were exposed to multiple career options. I was preparing for JEE. I also had a chance to have a special interaction with Col (Retd) Gopal Karunakaran from the Shiv Nadar Foundation. It was an inspiring experience and he spoke to us about the positive aspects of working with the armed forces. Subsequently, I took the NDA test, which I cleared along with the SSB, and the rest is history,” said Anuj.
On the misconceptions about the armed forces, Anuj said, “Students assume that one wouldn’t have to study as much as one did while preparing for the IITs. But NDA is no cakewalk, it’s a lot of physical and mental training and as difficult as preparing for the IITs.”
Anuj’s rural background helped him during training sessions. “I am from a rural background and it helped. We used to play a lot in villages earlier and I used to help my father with farming, which allowed me to stay physically fit and also have the mental strength to overcome tough tasks. As I was physically fit, I didn’t face any struggle in the physical trainings at the academy,” he added.
“Through his seven years at school, Anuj was nurtured and supported by his teachers to pursue his dream,” said Bishwajit Banerjee, principal of VidyaGyan, Bulandshahr.
He scored 93.6% in Class 12 exams and cleared the JEE Main in 2017. However, Anuj chose to go for the National Defence Academy (NDA) and was successful when he cleared the written as well as the Service Selection Board interview.
Anuj is not the only student from VidyaGyan to qualify the NDA. Seven others are currently at the academy undergoing the rigorous training programme.
VidyaGyan is a residential co-ed school that offers free world-class education to rural, underprivileged meritorious students from families with an annual income of less than ₹1 lakh. They conduct entrance test to tap poor meritorious students who are about to clear Class 5. At VidyaGyan, the school starts from Class 6.
