Army jawan’s daughter clears SSB for NDA, says grit matters

While the merit list of those candidates who have been finally selected for NDAs 152nd Course will be made public in April, Priya is hopeful of making the cut even though there are very few vacancies for girl cadets and the competition is very tough.

Priya’s father’s younger brother is also serving in the Army in Infantry while her uncle (father’s cousin), Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, was the co-pilot of the ill-fated helicopter which crashed near Wellington in Tamil Nadu in December 2021 killing all on board including the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat.

“I was determined to clear the NDA examination even though I did not have mathematics as a subject in Class 12. I has a physical, chemistry, biology combination and I dropped a year after Class 12 in order to prepare for NDA with mathematics as a subject,” says Priya.

She completed her Class 10 and 12 from Army Public School Jaipur and is presently enrolled in the Rajasthan University for graduation.

“The competition for selection is very tough with only ten vacancies for Army girl cadets out of a total of 35 vacancies for girls in NDA. The fight is tough but I am sure I will make it,” says Priya.

Understandingly, she says her parents are elated. “My father says that even if I do not make it to the final merit list it does not matter because for him I am a winner for him for clearing the NDA exam and SSB,” she says.

Priya says that while the selection procedure is the same for boys and girls yet it is tougher for girls due to lesser vacancies. “A friend with merit list rank of 224 did not make it but a boy much down the merit list made it because there are more vacancies for them,” she says.

Priya says this aspect causes little lack of interest among girls. “They get disheartened by lesser vacancies. Even those with army background are not much enthused. Their attitude is why try so hard if you are not going to make it ultimately. And then there is also the issue of the mindset of society which has not changed. Relatives say Army is not for girls,” she says.

Gurugram-based Maj Gen Yash Mor (retd), who mentored Priya for her SSB interview, says it is credible that girls from rural backgrounds are showing interest in NDA and getting through the gruelling selection process. He says his focus is now on rural areas where both boys and girls are showing much promise for NDA selection.

When asked about the physically demanding training regime of the NDA and if she would be upto it, Priya says, “Yes it is tough, but if you have made up your mind then nothing can stop you”.