Udaipur: Sonal Sharma, a milkman’s daughter who learned and grew up in a cowshed, is now appointed to become a judge in her first try at the Rajasthan Judicial Service (RJS) examination 2018. The 26-year-old who has received three gold medals for topping BA, LLB, and LLM exams will be assigned as a first-class magistrate in a sessions court in Rajasthan after a year’s practice.
Sonal, is the second of four children of milkman Khyali Lal Sharma, starts her day at 4 am. She assists her father in milking cattle, cleaning the cow shed, gathering dung, and distributing milk. The results of RJS 2018 were declared in November 2019, however, Sonal was set on the waiting list. When some of the selected candidates did not enter the service, the state government administered an order on Wednesday asking the candidates on the waitlist to join.
“Most of the time, my chappals would be smeared with the cow dung. When I was in school, I felt ashamed to tell my classmates that I was from a milkman’s family. But now, I feel proud of my parents,” she said.
Sonal never took coaching or tuitions. She went by cycle to college early for spending hours in the library as she couldn’t afford the costly books.”My parents have toiled hard to deliver the best education to us. My father took considerable loans to fulfill the expenses of educating us but never complained. Now I can provide them a comfortable life,” Sonal said. Her study table was made of empty oil cans placed at a corner of the cowshed.
“We were confident of Sonal’s selection. But she failed just one mark short in the general cutoff list and was put on the waiting list,” Sonal’s mentor Satyendra Singh Sankhla told. When Sonal got to learn that seven candidates who got nominated but didn’t enter RJS 2018, she filed a plea with the Rajasthan High Court in September. She got a notice from the HC on Wednesday to join one of the seven vacant seats.
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