Sheer resolve no coaching How youths in Baghpat village made it to UP Police

    Baghpat (UP), Mar 25 (PTI) A total of 36 youngsters from Baghpat's Sarurpur Kalan village made it to the Uttar Pradesh Police force in the recent recruitment drive. What makes it remarkable is that most of them cleared the test on sheer determination, without any coaching.
    "Our village does not have a coaching institute, nor do we have professional physical training facilities. The youths here train themselves," said village head Jagveer.
    The Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board had announced the selection of 60,244 candidates under Direct Recruitment-2023 on March 13. The recruitment drive saw 48,17,441 applicants competing for the posts.
    Sarurpur Kalan village, with a population of around 20,000-22,000, has a strong tradition of youths aspiring to join the police or armed forces.
    "Our Jat-majority village has a deep-rooted preference for careers in the police and army. Almost every household has at least one family member in uniform," Jagveer said.
    "Ever since the Agniveer scheme was introduced, police recruitment has become the top choice for youngsters in the village," he explained.
    The village head recalled that during Mayawati's third tenure as chief minister, 65 candidates from here were selected in UP Police.
    In the absence of formal coaching centres, the youths throng the open grounds at the inter-college and Yogi Nath Degree College to train for physical fitness. Two to three libraries in the village provide study materials.
    One of the successful candidates, Bharti Nain, who has completed BSc and MA in History, said she drew inspiration from her elder sister Parul Nain, who joined Delhi Police five years ago.
    "I had to face multiple setbacks before achieving success. In 2021, I missed the final merit list for the UP Police sub-inspector post. In 2024, I cleared the written exam for Chandigarh Police but failed in long jump. Each failure was disappointing, but I never gave up," she said, crediting her persistence to a couplet by Kabir -- 'Man ke haare haar hai, man ke jeete jeet' (Defeat or victory is determined by the mind).
    Every morning at 5 am, she would run three kilometres on a nearby ground before dedicating the rest of her time to online studies.
    Her parents, Veena and Ravindra, were elated. "We never doubted her abilities. We were confident that she would wear the uniform like her elder sister," they said.
    Another successful candidate, Komal Sharma, said she wrote several competitive exams, including that of Delhi Police, Central Reserve Police Force, Chandigarh Police, Haryana Police, Staff Selection Commission-Stenographer, and Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, but narrowly missed the final selection each time.
    "This was my first attempt at the UP Police exam, and I succeeded," she said.
    Komal's father Vikram Sharma, a fan and motor mechanic, never pressured her into marriage. "He always prioritised my education and never differentiated between a son and a daughter," she added.
    Anjali, another successful candidate, had initially aspired to be a teacher. However, the UP Teacher Eligibility Test had not been conducted for the past two years, forcing her to explore other options.
    "I had also applied for Delhi Police and Railway Protection Force, but their final results are still pending. So I decided to try for UP Police and made it," she said.
    Her father Rajpal has been paralysed for the past one-and-a-half years and remains bedridden.
    Aryan Nain, one of the 36 selected candidates, emphasised the lack of external support. "We received no assistance from the government. It was only our families who supported us," he said.
    Abhishek Nain, another recruit, echoed similar sentiments. "There are no proper training fields, coaching centres or libraries in our village. We had to prepare on our own, ”running from home to the fields daily for physical training," he said.
    Shubham Kumar, son of a mason, had been preparing for competitive exams for the last six to seven years. "I appeared for the SSC General Duty exam twice. I also attempted Delhi Police but failed the physical test. I knew I had only two more chances left. So, I gave my all to this attempt, and it paid off," he said.
    Now that he has secured a place in the police force, he wants to serve the public and take care of his parents.
    "The youth in our village are hardworking, and I am proud to be part of this success story," Shubham said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)