Nineteen-year-old Shanan Dhaka has topped the Pune-based National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance examination among women. Hailing from Rohtak, Haryana, Shanan ranked 10th overall in the NDA entrance examination, which will admit women cadets for the first time this year. Out of 5,75,856 candidates, 1,7,654 were women. Shanan Dhaka stood 10th overall.
The Supreme Court piloted the central government in September 2021 to allow women to take the NDA entrance exams. Civil Aviation Miniter Jyotiraditya Scindia in a tweet congratulated Shanan’s achievements and said that her achievements shall inspire a generation of youth towards dedicating themselves to nation-building and service.
India’s daughters lead the way! Felicitations to Shanan on being the topper in the NDA’s first women’s batch. Her achievements shall inspire a generation of youth towards dedicating themselves to nation building & service!https://t.co/HykbDEBcGL
— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) June 22, 2022
In an interview with ANI, Shanan’s father Vijay Kumar Dhaka said his daughter grew up in Army surroundings, lived in cantonment areas, “and saw how respectfully Army officers are treated… this is how she decided to join the Army.” Media reports quoted Shanan stating that she believes working in the Army is not a job but a service to the nation. Shanan, who studied in the Army Public Schools at Roorkee, Jaipur, and Chandimandir (Panchkula), had enrolled for an undergraduate course at Lady Shri Ram College for Women in Delhi last year when she learnt of the opportunity at NDA, stated a report by The Indian Express.