The story of Bihar’s Punita Kumari:
Punita Kumari lists the many tasks she took care of, such as sending her kids to school, caring for her husband and in-laws, keeping a good name in the neighborhood, and following her own dreams.
Criticism from neighbors, who told her that her children would not have maternal care because she was educated, and complaints from her own children about having to study notwithstanding, she persevered. She was married in 1997 and by 2018 cracked the BPSC exam and became an Assistant Commissioner. I am Punita Kumari, Assistant Commissioner of the State Tax Department, Bihar.
Punita Kumari academic journey:
Punita Kumari opens up on her struggle story, saying she’s from a place called Supaul district, which has traditionally been one of the most backward centers when it comes to education in Bihar. She finished 6th–12th grades at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Supaul.
She leapt over community norms in her district, where girls were frequently married off young, by passing a competitive exam in 4th-5th with flying colors, and that pushed her to continue. Her father was a laborer, and she comes from a family that faced the usual issues of girls’ education in her part of the world.
Punita Kumari Married:
I got married very young once my high school education ended, and all my dreams of being a doctor or engineer were curbed,” Punita Kumari says. She became a housewife, the woman in charge of entertaining and family life.
But the culture and inspiration she got from Navodaya Vidyalaya kept her growing. Even when she was nothing more than a wife and homemaker, she was convinced that life had to be more special. She was constantly doing her best but longing for an opportunity to be all she could become.
She relates it to a poem by Balakrishna Rao, in which he describes “a river finding its way,” thought to be an allegory of her seeking self-expression and freedom.
Bihar women education:
Punita Kumari shares her educational sojourn, says they had absolutely no formal education during their initial years and raised two kids by working ‘like an artisan who kills it both for gold and silver’, yet they were able to rear their children well.
He was eligible for a Government of India scholarship and went to Singapore while his daughter, who now studies B., is studying at Navodaya Vidyalaya. A third-year at Gargi College, is studying at Navodaya Vidyalaya. As the children entered school, the speaker had time for their own dreams.
Balancing family responsibilities that included supporting their husband, pleasing in-laws, and keeping up with appearances, this wife completed a BA from BN Mandal University (in Purnia) in 2010′s midterm alongside fulfilling her own academic dream: journalism.
Inspiring women Bihar:
Punita Kumari says they started applying for forms after crossing the prescribed age limit of 32 years and decided to give the UPSC exam a miss and have tried their hands at BPSC exams instead. They also applied for the job of para-judicial staff through the High Court, got selected, and joined the service while looking after their family.
Their life was a struggle to juggle looking after their three kids, sending them to school, and doing household chores in an atmosphere of joint family and studying for BPSC exams once again with the pressure they faced at their court job—where there was a heavy backlog of cases.
Girl education inspiration Bihar:
“Our work from morning to evening in the judiciary was very hectic,” says Punita Kumari about their grueling routine in the judiciary sector. They woke up at 4 AM and returned to school for morning assembly; they were home by 8 PM, where they cooked, put their children to sleep, and studied till late in the night.
Just to save time, even when tired, they would carefully plan what they should be studying the next day and would sometimes only sleep lightly or rise at 1:30 or 2:00 am to work out problems that bothered them.
Punita Kumari success story:
The nights were long for the punita, who would rise whenever an unanswered question popped into her head and consult tomes for answers before trying to sleep. Their fervor translated into many sleepless nights, from 2012 to 2018.
This was the best period of their life, as this period referred to a spine-chilling journey from their home to the civil court in Purnia, which signified a very, very important distance acquired in their endeavors.
Punita Kumari Bihar:
Punita Kumari had two small children who they loved dearly, and the distance to the Purnia civil court was a symbolic as well as a practical concern. Their work performance may not always have been the best, but they were more concerned about their children’s future.
They received social criticism from neighbors for working outside and leaving children unsupervised at home but believed they were serving an important balancing act.
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Struggle to success story:
This is Punita Kumari cum Koshi and Mithila ko Bhati gurai, as she talks about the struggles in life despite having done education. Neighbors condemned her for not funding the proper education of her children because she studied, while her own children complained their mother chose books over traditional roles.
She said she was also a student like them and would teach history and geography to her younger children in the evening twice, which helped in broadening the knowledge and revision of all.
Punita Kumari stresses the fact that the stories and lessons read from NCERT school textbooks to her children in early classes looked back and were reflected in their academic achievements—G.K. knowledge/school admission fees/scholarships up till grades 10-12.
Punita Kumari Supaul:
This was a great return to see, as it proved that the education input had a long-term effect on intellectual development. In 2018, Punita Kumari noticed maturity and transformation in not only her children but also in herself.
She then began writing all kinds of exams and passed the BPSC, the CDPO, et al. She also talks about her life in personal terms, referring to her marriage in 1997, when her father waited for her to finish class 12 at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya—which are widespread in smaller districts such as the Supaul district of Bihar.
BPSC Topper Punita Kumari Bihar:
Punita Kumari wistfully recalls her lonely odyssey from when she was married in 1997 to being an Assistant Commissioner, once qualifying for the BPSC examination in 2018. She calls attention to the pressure on girls in education and society, while public attitudes insist sons and daughters are equally valued, yet families frequently treat them differently.
Punita advises girls to think of themselves first as students, just like boys, and they too encounter the same academic problems, such as no question papers being different from boys’ questions. Girls have to work as hard at home and in the outside world, she insists, refusing to let them ever feel underprivileged because of their insult.
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Conclusion:
The story of Punita Kumari stands as testimony to the fact that with willpower, education, and diligence, not even child marriage, family obligations, and social ridicule can deter a woman from realizing her dreams.
From the life of a housewife in a small village to assistant commissioner, she motivates girls to have firm belief in themselves and challenge the social pressures.