‘Average or below-average candidates can also crack IAS’

I would love to serve my own people and leave no stone unturned: Athar

Eight youth from Jammu Kashmir cracked the highly-competitive civil services exams this year. An engineering graduate from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district secured second rank in the prestigious exams. It is only the third time that anyone from Kashmir achieved this feat. This year, Athar Aamirul Shafi Khan from Devipora village joined the ever-growing list of Indian civil services from Jammu Kashmir. In an interview with Rising Kashmir’s Daanish Bin Nabi, he speaks about his life and preparations, and gives out valued advice to aspiring candidates.

Excerpts

· The only way to crack IAS is hard work

· No need for a candidate to be a meritorious

· Candidate of any educational background can crack civil services

· There is diversity in IAS

· You have to convince yourself first, then only can you crack it

· I am ready to serve in other states as well

· Honesty, dedication and belief is must to crack IAS exams

Where did you receive your education?

I studied at Green Public School until 5th standard in my village Devipora, Anantnag and completed my 10th from Iqbal Memorial School Anantnag. I passed 11th and 12th from Tyndale Biscoe School, Srinagar. I qualified JKCET, AIEEE, and IIT and starting doing MBBS from Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu but I left the course midway after five months to shift to IIT where I opted for Electric Engineering. In the 8th semester of my engineering course, I began preparing for UPSC. In 2015, I cracked it for the first time with the 560th rank and got a post in Ministry of Railways last year.

Then why did you go for it again?

I did it for improving my rank. Actually, I got Indian Railways Traffic Service (IRTS) last year. It was a good service but the diversity that IAS has cannot be found in other services.

How do you explain diversity?

I mean the type of work profile. Just one field is not diverse but fields like health infrastructure or planning are diverse too. There one gets to contribute in a wide range of activities and does not remain confined to one department. Through IAS, one gets an opportunity to venture into policymaking, which is useful and impactful. This impact remains for a long time.

You qualified exams like JKCET, AIEEE and IIT. How beneficial was it for you to have cracked these exams before taking an IAS exam?

Any candidate can crack an IAS exam. It is not necessary for anyone to crack these exams first. A candidate can be from any educational background or from any other background to crack the IAS exam. The only thing which one needs is honesty toward studies, dedication and belief while preparing for the IAS exams. Average or below-average candidates can also crack IAS. There are people from humanities and science backgrounds who have qualified it. There is no need for a candidate to be a meritorious candidate to crack IAS exam. Basic understanding about the surroundings and priorities of is a must. Attitude about civil service is needed too. Attitude is more important than information or intelligence.

Any tips for an aspiring IAS candidate?

There is no short cut to success. The only way to crack IAS is hard work. A candidate cannot crack IAS till he or she does not work hard. A candidate has to be convinced why he or she wants to come to civil services side. Is it for coming to power or a genuine motive in serving common people? When a candidate is convinced, then he or she does not feel burdened while preparing for the exams. One has to convince oneself first then only can one crack it.

Your have given preference to serve in Jammu Kashmir. What is your preferred department in the State?

It is true that my first preference is Jammu Kashmir but I am also ready to serve in other states. Whatever is allotted to me in any other state, I am ready to serve there as well. And if I am posted in Jammu Kashmir, I would be willing to serve in any department. I would love to serve my own people and leave no stone unturned. I will give it my best shot.

You see Shah Faesal as a role model. How do you look at his service as a senior official in the administration?

When Shah Faesal cracked the IAS exam, it was a turning point in my life. His selection gave me a lot of confidence. He has been a consistent inspiration throughout my journey. As far as his work is concerned, I think he is far better than the present lot we have in our other departments. I cannot judge the amount of work he has done. He is honest and works with dedication. He is a great asset for our State and can do a lot of good things for us.

In the conflict-ridden state, many youth are opting for civil services now even as it has generated a lot of debate at certain level? How do you see it?

I see it as a positive trend. I am not particular about civil services. If our candidates want to go in any other field too, it should be welcomed. I feel happy whenever our youth get selected in any field. I also feel happy about the increase in the number of candidates for sitting in UPSC or civil services exams every year. Like in Maharashtra or in any other state, candidates qualify in huge numbers. I am sure our state will also have good number of candidates qualifying IAS.

A lot of people discourage youth from opting for civil services. How do you respond?

I don’t have any message for such people. My only motive is to serve the people. Instead of answering these people, it is always better to look at positive things. There were many friends who messaged me on social network and congratulated me. This is another side of the same people. We should focus on the expectations of people rather than look at something which is not fair criticism at all.

Feedback at daanishnabi@gmail.com

Published on May 15, 2016 in Rising Kashmir