Guwahati: A debate has emerged regarding the claim that Shivangi Sonowal is the first person from Assam to earn a degree in fire engineering. The controversy began after Assam Cabinet Minister Ashok Singhal and the social media accounts of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma congratulated Sonowal for graduating from the National Fire Service College in Nagpur, labeling her as the first individual from the state to achieve this milestone.
Padma Mushahary, a senior fire engineer currently working with Oil India Limited in Duliajan, has challenged the accuracy of this designation. Mushahary stated that she completed her own Bachelor of Technology in Fire Engineering from the Institute of Engineering and Science in Indore back in 2023. She argues that the description is misleading unless it is strictly limited to graduates of the Nagpur institution.
Mushahary noted that her own qualification predates the recent recognition of Sonowal by three years. She said, "the description of Sonowal as the first from Assam was inaccurate unless it specifically referred to graduating from NFSC."
Shivangi Sonowal, who is from the Tinsukia district, recently completed her four-year BTech program at the National Fire Service College, a premier institution under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Admission to this program involves a competitive process based on JEE Main scores and physical fitness standards. While Sonowal has secured a job through the college campus recruitment program, the dispute continues to center on whether the historic claim refers to a specific college or the broader field of fire engineering education.
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