Assam: After OIL Super 30, laundry boy makes his journey to NIT Rourkela

OUR CORRESPONDENT

MANGALDAI: In the quiet village of Gerimari on the outskirts of Mangaldai town in Assam, a young boy, born to laundryman Ganesh Baitha and Mina Devi, dared to dream beyond the confines of his challenging circumstances. As a teenage laundry boy, Rajen Baitha’s days were filled with the rhythm of ironing clothes, yet his heart pulsed with an unyielding ambition to rewrite his destiny. Despite a life marked by struggle since birth, his eyes sparkled with determination, and his mind was set on a singular goal: to become an engineer and climb the ladder of success.

Rajen’s journey took a transformative turn when he earned a coveted spot in the prestigious OIL Super 30 programme in 2024, a beacon of hope for underprivileged students aiming for IIT and NIT through JEE. With unwavering resolve, he immersed himself in the rigorous year-long coaching at the Nagaon center, the sixth hub of this life-changing initiative. His hard work bore fruit in the 2025 JEE Mains and Advanced results, where he secured a remarkable score of 49 and an All India SC rank of 3625, earning him admission to the BTech programme in Industrial Design at the esteemed NIT Rourkela in Odisha. This wasn’t just a ticket to a classroom but a gateway to a future he had envisioned against all odds.

Rajen’s academic brilliance had already shone through in his Class XII exams under CBSE at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Darrang, where he achieved an impressive 82.2%, including a near-perfect 98 in Computer Science. His passion for engineering wasn’t just a dream—it was a fire that fuelled his every step. On August 20, 2025, Rajen will step onto the NIT Rourkela campus, not just as a student, but as a symbol of what perseverance and belief can achieve.

His story however isn’t his alone. Rajen’s elder sister, a first-division achiever in her HS final exams, earned a scooty from the Assam Government, while his younger sister completed her HS in Arts under AHSEC, adding to the family’s legacy of resilience.

Office bearers of Mangaldai Media Circle, namely President Bhargab Kumar Das and Secretary Mayukh Goswami, congratulated Rajen on his triumph. ‘The Sentinel’ had captured his extraordinary journey in a detailed feature on May 25, 2024, inspiring countless others to chase their dreams.

Rajen Baitha’s story is a clarion call to every dreamer toiling in the shadows of hardship. From washing clothes to designing the future, he proves that no obstacle is too big when your spirit is unbreakable. As he prepares to embark on his engineering journey, Rajen carries with him not just textbooks, but the hopes of his village and the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

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