Displaced by Militancy and Living in a Tent, This Girl Was 4th in the KAS Exams

Kashyap Neha Pandita was born in a small village in the Shopian district of South Kashmir. Forced to leave the valley in 1989-90 to escape gun-wielding terrorists, she and her family have since lived in adverse conditions, including a tent in the Jhiri area of Jammu, and a one-room tenement in Mishriwalla, on the city’s outskirts.

Neha holds a master’s degree in Organic chemistry and a bachelor’s degree in Education. She cracked the Kashmir Administrative Services and secured the 4th rank.

Since the declaration of her results, her small tenement is brimming over with visitors congratulating her, reports The Tribune.

Life is hard for the family, whose only source of income is the relief of cash and ration the government gives all Pandits fleeing from Kashmir to Jammu because of terrorism.

Crediting her success to her teachers and parents, Neha said it was her uncle Rattan Lal and brother, Dr Kashyap Viresh, who motivated her to study for the civil services. Under the Government’s special jobs scheme for Kashmiri Pandit’s, she was appointed as an accounts assistant in the Shopian district treasury last year.

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Neha hopes that youngsters will look towards Civil Services as a career option because even though it is a challenging job, she feels that it is an excellent way to give back to society.

Featured image inset photo credit: The Tribune.

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