KOCHI: To chase a distant dream and for it to come true is a real blessing. This rings as a reality for Sandhya P from Gottiyarkandi- a Kurumba tribal settlement in Attapadi. From a life filled with everyday struggles and hardships due to the scarcity of food, water, transport and electricity, Sandhya has come a long way to become the first woman to be selected as a civil police officer from her settlement.
Sandhya wanted to be a police officer from her childhood. But she had to sideline the dream, caught in the fear generated by the people around her. She was told it is a risky job for girls, and her family life will face uncertainty. These opinions made her choose over her dreams. Eventually, she made up her mind to become a teacher.Despite the odds, things went differently for Sandhya. She did her schooling away from home in Palakkad district and later completed her graduation in Economics from Vimala College, Thrissur. Her parents stood with her through thick and thin and gave wings to her dreams.
It was at the beginning of this year that she came across the call for ‘women civil police officer’ in a newspaper advertisement. ‘Women Civil Police officer (SR) for Scheduled Tribes of the Attapadi block’ is a post entitled to the tribal communities in the state.With the support rendered by her parents especially her father, Sandhya along with her sister Sharanya, who also graduated recently from Vimala College, applied for the post.
Then to the obvious questions of if she was sure about this, her reply comes up with a confident smile, “I was never afraid of applying. I was an NCC candidate in my college and also a sports person, all these achievements gave me the confidence. Then my father was beside me through the whole process. He really wanted both of us to do it, even though my sister didn’t make it,” said Sandhya.
The selection process consisted of a physical and medical test and a personal interview in which Sandhya cleared with a good margin among candidates from other tribal settlements in the Attapadi block. Being a shot put player and also good in long jump and sprint Sandhya was confident about the physical test but when it came to the interview she was slightly apprehensive about the medium. To her luck, the medium was Malayalam and she cleared it with confidence.
Sandhya has decided to put a pause on her alternate dream of becoming a teacher and go forward with her childhood dream. Some of the friends and others cautioned that the training will be tough, but she thinks she will do good. “Being an NCC cadet I liked parades and all those activities which were never easy. It has given me the self-assurance to do this,” Sandhya said.Sandhya’s family is also excited for her. Her sister Sharanya says with bright eyes “I am very happy that my sister is going to become the first woman police officer from our community. Our family is also very happy.”
There were also many who were apprehensive about her achievement. Even after the selection, some asked her why she wants to take this risk and why shouldn’t she take up another job since she has a degree. Sandhya has turned her back to all those discouraging voices and is determined to carry on with her dream.
Being the first woman civil police officer, Sandhya wants to give back to her community that has helped her grow. With a voice filled with hope, she said, “There is a communication gap that exists between us and the outsiders which I want to bridge. I want to help them in a lot of ways, from supporting children in their education to helping the community to understand the laws of the land.”