Indian Foreign Service officer Pooja Jha has been getting a lot of praise online after she spoke up during a seminar in Dhaka, pointing out that a map of India on display was wrong. The map showed Jammu and Kashmir on the Pakistani side. She didn’t hesitate. “The map of India being displayed is incorrect. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India,” she said, standing by India’s official stance right there in the room.The clip quickly went viral, and people couldn’t stop applauding her for staying so composed and confident while representing India on foreign soil.
13 Jul 2026 | 13:11
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But there’s a lot more to Pooja Jha than that one viral clip. Her story actually starts far from any diplomatic mission, in a family that had very little money and with a young girl who was convinced that education was her way out.
Who is Pooja Jha?
As per an India Today report, Pooja Jha is a 2022-batch IFS officer, currently serving as Second Secretary (Political and Information) at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The seminar where she pushed back happened while former Bangladeshi diplomat Ahmed Tariq Karim was speaking, with a map behind him showing J&K on the wrong side of the border. Pooja spoke up immediately. Karim later clarified that the map was only meant to be symbolic, not a real depiction of political boundaries.
She cleared UPSC on her first try
Pooja cracked the Civil Services Examination in 2021 on her very first attempt.
Before any of this, Pooja did something that most UPSC aspirants only dream about. According to various media sources, she cracked the Civil Services Examination in 2021 on her very first attempt, landing All India Rank (AIR) 82. She was 25 at the time. Given everything she’d had to overcome growing up, that’s no small feat.Despite being eligible for the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS), she opted for the Indian Foreign Service, choosing diplomacy as her career with the aim of representing India globally.
A modest beginning
As per India Today and various media reports, Pooja’s roots go back to Puranhiya village in Sitamarhi, Bihar, though her family eventually moved to Delhi. Her father has spent nearly four decades working as an office helper at a private company in Gurugram, while her mother stays at home. Pooja is the fifth daughter in her family and also has a younger brother. Raising six children on that income was tough, but her parents were determined that every one of them would go to school.Money was tight enough that the family had to pull the kids out of private school and move them into government and MCD schools instead. That didn’t stop her from doing well in her studies.
Father used to say, “Don’t dream too big”
Pooja’s roots go back to Puranhiya village in Sitamarhi, Bihar.
After clearing the UPSC exam, Pooja Kumar Jha shared her journey in an interview with The Better India. She said, “Where I come from, even dreaming of clearing the UPSC exam is considered too ambitious.” She also recalled something her father would often tell her with a smile: “You can become anything except a Bollywood actor, an astronomer or an IAS officer.”Her childhood was not easy. Along with financial struggles, she also faced social pressures while growing up.
Growing up where sons mattered more
In interviews after her UPSC result, Pooja has been open about the bias she noticed as a kid. She came from a community where a son’s birth was celebrated in a way a daughter’s simply wasn’t. Changing that mindset took years. Although her parents tried to treat all their children equally, she felt that society around them gave boys more importance.She chose not to let that hold her back. She said that seeing her parents light up whenever she brought home good marks pushed her to work even harder. Her sisters were a big part of that too, often talking through the unfairness they saw around them, which only made them more determined.
Studying became a way to prove herself
As per NDTV, Pooja said she and her sisters often discussed the discrimination they saw around them. Those conversations made them realise that education could help change their lives. She worked hard in school, and every good result gave her more confidence.“I used to wait for the days when I scored well because my parents would be so happy. Sometimes I felt I received even more attention than my younger brother on those days,” she recalled.
More than one viral moment
The Dhaka incident is what put her name in the headlines, but it’s really just one chapter. From government-school classrooms to clearing UPSC on the first attempt to now representing India abroad, Pooja Jha’s path is a pretty striking example of what persistence and education can do. Pooja’s personal journey has resonated with many aspirants too.For anyone preparing for competitive exams right now, especially young women, her story is a good reminder: where you start out doesn’t have to decide where you end up.
