28-year-old tribal woman becomes a civil judge in Tamil Nadu

State celebrating that she achieved it during the cusp of her motherhood...

On Tuesday Chief Minister MK Stalin lauded the achievement of 23-year-old Sripathi a tribal woman from the ..hills of Tamil Nadu who has become a civil judge and wrote her selection exams immediately after delivering her baby.

Her picture with her baby girl in front of the office of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission has been widely shared in the state celebrating her tribal identity and that she achieved it during the cusp of her motherhood.

"I am delighted to see a young woman from a tribal community in a mountain village, without much amenities, achieve this status,” Stalin posted on social media. “I am proud to learn this and extend my congratulations to her mother and husband for their unwavering support. For those in Tamil Nadu who hesitate even to utter the word social justice, the success of individuals like Sripathi is Tamil Nadu’s response!” The “Dravidian Model” of the DMK government had introduced a policy prioritising Tamil-medium students in government jobs, to help those like Sripathi to be selected as a judge, he added.

Sripathi, who hails from Puliyur village near Jawadhu hills in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district, travelled more than 200kms to Chennai to write her exam in November 2023.

Several reports said that she is the first tribal woman to become a civil judge in the state. A teacher who guided her through the process, Mahalakshmi wrote on Facebook that her family and friends helped her reach the city a day after the birth of her child like “a parachute fitted to Sripathi’s wings…”

The state sports minister and DMK’s youth wing leader Udhayanidhi Stalin said that the exam was scheduled just two days after the birth of her child. Her determination to risk her life and travel a long distance to attend the examination is commendable, he said.