Five young Punjabi warriors made their families proud by passing the NDA test, joining the ranks in the prestigious institute in Pune, Maharashtra. Fulfilling their dreams, Cadet Sahijpreet Singh, Balroop Singh, Dharwinder Singh, Jatinjot Singh and Sidakpreet Singh, will be going to NDA Khadakwasla in Pune. Out of the 15 students from Nishan-e-Sikhi Institute for Science and Training (NSIST) in Tarn Taran who passed the exam, these five realized their dream and will be joining the reputed academy.
Four of these Cadets come from Rural Punjab. Cadet Sahijpreet Singh is from Shaheed village in Tarn Taran and is the son of a small farmer who owns 5 acres of land. His mother is a homemaker. No one from his family had joined the armed forces, but he was always interested in the valiant occupation. He had opted for the Army.
Cadet Balroop Singh is from Sofian village in border district of Amritsar. His father is also a farmer and his mother a homemaker. His father has 12 acres of agricultural land. He also has a sister who is currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science. He always wanted to join the NDA and was lucky to get training at the NSIST.
Cadet Dharwinder Singh comes from Hariayu village in Sangrur who came to know about NSIST from a signboard in his town. His father is a junior Engineer in PSPCL (Punjab State Power Corporation Limited) and his mother is also a homemaker.
Cadet Jatinjot Singh hails from Kahnuwal village on the border district of Gurdaspur. Both his parents are teachers. His family does have army roots however, as his grandfather is Retired Subedar from the Indian Army.
Cadet Sidakpreet Singh from Jalandhar City, is the only cadet to hail from an urban area. But he shares humble background as well as his father makes aluminum doors and his mother is a homemaker.
Talking about the NSIST, the NDA wing operates under the patronage of Baba Sewa Singh Ji Kar Sewa (Khadur Sahib), who was conferred the Padma Shri in 2010, which he subsequently returned during the farmer’s protest in 2020 against the now repealed three farm laws. The NSIST was inspired by the 1965 war hero Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh and aims at producing Army officers from Tarn Taran. Only those Sikhs with uncut hair are allowed admission in the institute, whereas there are no restrictions for students of other religions.
A total of 15 students from the Nisha-e-Sikhi Institute for Science and Training (NSIST), Khadur Sahib Tarn Taran, had cleared the NDA written exam in September 2023, but these five will be joining the reputed academy. These Cadets, hailing from humble backgrounds made the cut, and their families are very proud of their shining stars.