guwahati: After giving birth to a daughter, Baby Sarkar, an anganwadi worker in the Sribhumi district of Assam’s Barak Valley, encountered rejection from her in-laws who desired a male heir. Upon learning of her daughter Diksha’s birth at a nearby hospital, they refused to visit the newborn.
The situation deteriorated to such an extent that Baby Sarkar, with her one-month-old daughter, left her husband and his family, settling in a modest two-room rental accommodation on Dakbangla Road in Sribhumi (formerly Karimganj) near the Bangladesh border.
This anganwadi worker’s persistence and her daughter Diksha’s determination to demonstrate woman capability led to an outstanding achievement. “I am so proud of my daughter for her incredible accomplishments. She has brought so much joy and pride to our Sribhumi district with her hard work and dedication,” says Baby Sarkar.
Diksha secured the eighth position in the recent state civil service examination results announced by the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) last week. Financial limitations prevented Baby from sending Diksha outside the state for higher education, despite qualifying for Banaras Hindu University and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, two top-ranked institutes in the country.
“Initially, I took admission in Karimganj College, but my Gurudev from Deoghar (Jharkhand) advised me to go for undergraduate studies in Guwahati for good exposure,” Diksha told TOI on Tuesday. A devoted follower of Satsang Ashram, she relocated to Guwahati in 2019, attempting admission at Cotton University. When seats were unavailable there, she enrolled in Pragjyotish College in the city
In 2022, she completed her BSc in Botany, receiving the best graduate award from Pragjyotish College and ranking third with first class in Botany (Major) at Gauhati University. Her aspirations to achieve something big led her to pursue civil services coaching in Guwahati, initially preparing for UPSC. However, she first attempted state civil services and succeeded in the APSC examination.
“Diksha is exceptionally brilliant,” said APSC chairperson Bharat Bhushan Dev Choudhury. Diksha acknowledges choosing Assam partly because of her mother’s solitude. “I spent my entire childhood in Sribhumi with my mother. Caring for her is always my top priority and I am happy to serve my home state,” Diksha said.
“My father’s family wanted a boy and when I was born, none of my family members from my father’s side came to the hospital to see me. They were not ready to accept us and my mother went to my maternal grandfather’s home which is nearby. When I was probably one month old, she once went to my father’s house but they did not accept us. Some neighbours were even ready to adopt me. But my mother decided to walk out of that home and single-handedly did everything to groom me, educate me,” Diksha recollected.
Recently, as news of Diksha’s success spread, her father’s family attempted reconciliation. Her paternal uncle contacted her mother, expressing regret over past events. However, her mother remained unresponsive to their overtures. “My father’s eldest brother telephoned my mother and expressed that she (Diksha) is the youngest child of our family and she has brought immense honour to our district. Please don’t sever ties with us… we all are a family. However, my mother did not acknowledge any of their entreaties,” Diksha said.
As she commemorates her accomplishment, Diksha expresses profound gratitude towards her mother’s elder sister who procured a loan of Rs 3 lakhs for Diksha’s coaching and academic pursuits. Since Diksha’s mother was ineligible for any loan owing to her modest income, she is presently reimbursing the amount to her sister.
