Talking about her preparations for the exam, Shanan Dhaka, who currently lives in Punjab’s Zirakpur, says she studied five hours a day for 40 days and made it a point to solve previous years’ papers. “It was instantaneous,” says Shanan Dhaka, 19, on her decision to apply for the Army. The Haryana resident came first among women candidates — and tenth overall — in the entrance examination for the National Defence Academy (NDA), which will admit women cadets for the first time this year. “I took inspiration to join the armed forces from my grandfather, Chanderbhan Dhaka, who was a Subedar, and my father, Vijay Kumar Dhaka, who retired as a Naib Subedar from the Army Service Corps,” Dhaka told The Indian Express . “Growing up in cantonment areas, I saw the respect being accorded to Army officers. Plus the trust everybody has in Army personnel really motivated me to join the service. It’s an opportunity to serve the nation with unparalleled pride and honour.” To read the full a...