Before dawn, while much of Ramgarh is still asleep, women are finishing household chores and preparing for another kind of test—the race towards wearing a Home Guard uniform. Some run eight kilometres to their practice ground; some run in sarees; some run barefoot. Their circumstances may be modest, but their ambition is not.

In Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district, homemakers are preparing for the Home Guard recruitment examination.

Sunita Devi and Jageshwari Kumari took to the field in their sarees and completed the race, leaving everyone impressed by their determination.

Running Without the Essentials

In Ramgarh, women from rural families are preparing for the recruitment of 284 Home Guards, scheduled from October 24 to November 5. For many, even basic training gear is a luxury. Sunita, 35, from Boodha-Khukhra, says her family cannot afford a tracksuit, T-shirt or running shoes. Yet she has completed the 1,600-metre run in seven minutes, a minute ahead of the reported eight-minute benchmark.

Jageshwari Kumari, also 35, is among the women balancing domestic responsibilities with physical preparation, completing household work early so that she can train. The determination is striking precisely because it is ordinary: these women are not asking for an easier test, only the chance to compete without paying bribe, a feature beyond their expectation. 

The Uniform Must Not Have a Price

The reported recruitment framework requires candidates to meet prescribed standards of age, residence, education and physical fitness, followed by qualifying tests and verification. Women also have a 50% reservation in Home Guard vacancies, with a further 5% sub-quota for widows and divorced women.

Yet behind the preparation lies a deeper anxiety: the fear that merit alone may not secure an appointment. Allegations or perceptions of bribes must never become accepted wisdom. If candidates believe that an appointment letter can be bought, faith in the entire recruitment process is weakened.

Let the Finish Line Be Fair

These women are already demonstrating discipline, endurance and determination.

The responsibility now belongs to the system: to ensure that the person who meets the criteria and earns the merit gets the uniform—without having to pay for it.

A government job should reward fitness, eligibility and merit, not financial ability. For these women, the real finish line is not the 1,600-metre track. It is a fair appointment at the end of it.

Source: https://www.livehindustan.com/jharkhand/jharkhand-home-guard-bharti-2026-women-running-wearing-saree-in-exercise-in-ramgarh-201791310889303.html

https://hindi.news18.com/news/jharkhand/ramgarh-jharkhand-ramgarh-women-complete-1600-meter-race-wearing-sarees-in-ramgarh-local18-ws-ln-10890058.html