How Kalain boy became Lieutenant Nilotpal Chakraborty; With stars on his shoulders he is an inspiration for youth in Barak Valley

In the pipping ceremony of Indian Army yesterday, stars were put on the shoulders of two Barak Valley son. “On Nation’s duty,” they said and then marched on the passing out parade. Nilotpal Chakraborty from Jalalpur Kalain and Khomdram Om Prokash Singha, son of Kh Shyamkishore Singha & Punima Devi who are residents of Kaptanpur part XVI village under Lakhipur LAC graduated from Indian Military Academy in Dehradun yesterday.

Om Prokash had shifted to Sainik School in Goalapara and from there he got on his journey to become an officer in Indian Army. For Nilotpal Chakraborty it was a little complicated. Student of the first English Medium School in Jalalpur Kalain, Radhakrishnan Academy, Niliotpal always wanted to join the army. “I wanted to serve the country and my countrymen,” he says.

But he was demotivated in the very beginning. The hierarchy of the Indian Army or the entry process is not taught or even discussed in the schools of Barak Valley – a region where you either become a doctor or an engineer or nothing. “I wanted to get to the National Defence Academy in Pune, but I could not because of the age criteria which was a big upset for me in my life,” says Nilotpal Chakraborty, popularly known as Neil.

Son of the factory in charge of Jarailtola tea estate Nilmoni Chakraborty (now in Dayapur tea estate) and homemaker Rekha Chakraborty, Neil hails from a humble background. His sister Rupa Chakraborty is now married in Silchar. With no one from the family in the service, Neil feels he missed NDA because of lack of awareness. “There are many others in Barak Valley who can become officers in the Indian Army, but they don’t know enough about it and that is why they are missing the opportunity,” asserts Nilotpal Chakraborty.

Despite early setbacks, he was determined to stick to his goals which he repeats is to, “Serve the country and the countrymen.” In 2012, he joined Indian Army as Jawan and was posted in Arunachal Pradesh. “That is when I got to know about ACC and I started preparing for it,” recalls Chakraborty.

ACC is Army Cadet College. It is an institution which trains Officers, for the Indian Army. The Army Cadet College Wing trains soldiers from the regular army, navy and air force for commission as officers in the Indian Army. What he could not do as civilian as he missed NDA he got a chance to fulfil as he was already in the service.

“I cleared my first ACC written exam that is ACC 1 on 4 in 2016 then I got a chance to appear for Service Selection Board in 20 SSB in Bhopal. There were 104 candidates in Bhopal who cracked the exam in our batch. Out of them, only two got recommended, me and one Sardar. From there I went and joined Indian Military Academy in 2017,” summarises Chakraborty with a sense of pride and accomplishments.

“I have no words to explain how happy I am,” he tells Barak Bulletin after his passing parade. “This was one of the toughest training and more than that, I now get to live my dream of serving the nation as an officer of the Indian Army. I am ready to give every drop of sweat I can count,” he exclaims with joy and a sense of responsibility.

In front of his parents, sister and brother-in-law, Nilotpal marched on his passing parade and became Lieutenant Nilotpal Chakraborty. He also holds a degree from IMA on Military Defence Management. As a lieutenant, his first posting will be at 28 Army Air Defence Regiment in Odisha.