This MP Girl Didn't Have a Bicycle for School, Now She'll Perform Bike Stunts at R-Day Parade

Harda: “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic: it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”

These inspirational words of Colin Powel, former US statesman, prove fitting for this 23-year-old girl who hails from a small village in Harda in Madhya Pradesh and successfully made it to the BSF in 2014. This year, she would be part of the first-ever BSF women’s troop that would perform bike stunts at the Republic Day parade.

However, there was a time when Divya Gour could not even ride a bicycle to go to school.

“After completing Class VIII at my native village Phuldi, I had to switch to a nearby school at Rahatgaon which was three kilometers away from my home,” said Divya. It was only after she received a bicycle under a state government scheme that she started cycling to the school.

These days she is practicing with her BSF women bikers’ team in New Delhi.

Eldest among five siblings, Divya pursued BSc and took up a teaching job for further income. Passionate about joining the Armed Forces, she took the SSC exam and joined the Border Security Force in 2014. Posted with the 135 Ramgarh Battalion Rajasthan, Divya has served on frontline border posts for a year.

“When I decided to join the BSF, my parents were averse to the idea but two of my uncles serving in the Army persuaded them to support me,” she said.

Daughter of farmer Ramdas Gour, Divya believes that the first-ever bike show by women riders would definitely convey a message of women empowerment and inspire girls to believe in themselves and achieve whatever they want to in life.

Referred to as ‘Sima Bhawanis’ within the BSF, these 113 lionhearted riders would be the first all-woman stunt group from any of the Indian forces to perform on Republic Day.