Raising the Bar: From working at NLU Lucknow as security guard for 8 years to clearing the law exam

A resident of Colonelganj in Gonda district, he was barely 16 when he came to Lucknow, about 90 km from his town, to look for work. He took up odd jobs, from welding to working in a factory. Travelling back and forth between his home town and Lucknow, he finished his graduation in political science in 2009 from a Gonda-based college. In 2012, he completed his post-graduation in political science. A year later, Kumar enrolled in a three-year law course at NVM College in Lucknow. He started working at a pizza restaurant chain while pursuing his law degree.

The motivation

Talking about what inspired him to study law, Kumar, who belongs to the Dalit community, said he remembers attending a programme on Dr B R Ambedkar as a child, during which he was given a copy of the Constitution. He said that motivated him to study law. “Another incident that motivated me to study law was our neighbours opposing and filing a case when my grandmother decided to build a toilet on her land,” Kumar added.

Santosh Kumar, who cleared the Bar on May 20, with his daughter Suhani. He completed his law degree in 2016, the same year the seven-year-old was diagnosed with cancer. She passed away in 2018. (Special arrangement)

To ensure he had time to study, he joined a security service company. In a twist of fate, the company placed him at NLU in 2014. He graduated in 2016 but could not afford the fee to register for AIBE. The application fee is Rs 3,500 for general/Other Backward Class (OBC) candidates and Rs 2,500 for Scheduled Caste candidates. “I had joined NLU as a security guard on a salary of Rs 6,500,” Kumar said.

In 2016, Kumar’s firstborn, seven-year-old Suhani, was diagnosed with cancer. She died in 2018. “In those two years, I would stay with her at the hospital all day. I would study during the day and go to work at night. While my supervisors would reprimand me if I was caught sleeping on duty, the other guards would cover for me so that I could get 2-3 hours of sleep,” Kumar recalled.

Future plans

When he told a student last year that he had a law degree and wanted to be an advocate one day, many volunteered to help him. Since the university library only has books in English, the students started a crowdfunding exercise to raise money for Kumar. “Around Rs 9,000 was raised within a few days. We bought books in Hindi for Santosh ji,” said Pravesh Shrimal, a student.

Kumar said, “It had been about 6-7 years since I got my law degree, so I decided to prepare for AIBE discreetly. I would hide my books when the supervisor would come for rounds.”

Talking about his future plans, he said his wife and four daughters will continue to live in Gonda while he starts working for a senior advocate at the Lucknow district court. Kumar said he has already received a job offer to work in the advocate’s chambers.

Besides becoming a lawyer, he has also become a role model. After everyone on campus learnt that he had cleared the Bar, Kumar said at least two of his colleagues expressed interest in studying law. “Dayal, who is also a security guard, and Viren, a peon, also want to study law now. I am highly indebted to the students who helped me buy these books. I hope my books help others too,” Kumar said.