Education is the first and most painful casualty of poverty, but five sisters of Rajasthan have scripted a rare story, which will keep inspiring generations to come to fight and not to give in to hardships, writes Rajeev R of Bureaucrats India.

Jaipur: Born to a school drop-out father and unlettered mother, five sisters of a nondescript village – Bhairusari – in Hanumangarh district and their lone brother are a great example of the proverbial but an eternal fact that where there is a will, there is a way. Defeating odds and surmounting all types of challenges, which come along with poverty, they are now shining examples of grit and determination. If five sisters are now members of coveted Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS), while their lone brother, an alumnus of IIT, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, is preparing for the Union Civil Services Examination, the country’s toughest but most fulfilling examination.

Yes, we are talking about Anshu Saharan, Suman Saharan and Ritu Saharan, who have 349, 915 and 945 in the recently declared RAS examination. Their two elder sisters – Roma and Manju -- cracked the RAS examination in 2010 and 2012 respectively. They are currently posted in Surajgarh of Jhunjhunu district and Nohar of Hanumangarh. Their brother Abhiraj Saharan is preparing himself for the UPSC examination.

 What makes them unique is not the fact that they achieved what every student aspires to achieve, but they have been able to chase their dreams against odds when most of us either give up or fail to visualize the fact that there is a silver lining at the end of every tunnel. They left their school after completing Class 5 education as their parents could not afford to send them to nearby school for higher studies. They studied at home.

According to their father Sehdev Saharan, their children studied till Class V in the village and completed their graduation privately. They have also cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET), which is conducted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) for those who aspire to join higher education as teachers. “My children did not take any tuition. They focussed on self-studies. They have made our family and the entire village proud,” Saharan told the media with a brimming face.

The proud father agreed that the achievement of his daughter would be an inspiration for those who treat daughters as a burden. Pawan Kaliravan of Bhairusari Youth Club is of the view that the news of five sisters’ success has put the village on the global map. “No one knew about our village earlier. People could not even find it on Google. These girls have brought laurels to the village. It is a big success to clear the exam by studying in farms, 3 km away from the main village,” he said.

Needless to say that there is no dearth of talent in rural areas. The success of five sisters has left their village Bhairusari gasping in media glaze and a new recognition. Bureaucrats India wishes them all the best for their future endeavours!