LUCKNOW, June 16 -- The mood was joyous and the atmosphere festive for the newly recruited police personnel at the Defence Expo Ground in Lucknow's Vrindavan Yojana on Sunday.

Tears of happiness, smiles of satisfaction and acknowledgement of gratitude punctuated the tales of hard work and perseverance of the diligent young men and women who realised their dreams of a better life on the path of duty, albeit with a khaki tinge and opened a new chapter of hope and transformation.

From Awadhesh Prasad of Shravasti to Sukhdev Verma of Mahoba and Akhilesh Yadav of Amethi, thousands of young people came forward to receive their appointment letters - most of them the first in their families to join government service. This milestone event was n...