(Success Story) Govind Jaiswal - The rickshawallah's son who cracked the

IAS

The 2006 competitive examinations for India's civil services is notable for the
number of young people from non privileged backgrounds who feature in the merit
list. For the first time, none from India's elite metros feature in the top ten.

We will bring you some amazing success stories in this special series. Today, meet a
rickshaw vendor's son from Varanasi who is one of the IAS toppers this year.

Tears ran down Govind Jaiswal's face and refused to stop. Staring him in the face was
the only thing he had ever wanted, and now that he had achieved it, he couldn't even
reach out for the keys on his cellphone.

He waited till the tears dried up, till the news sunk in and made that one phone call on
which depended the hopes of his entire family.

Govind, 24, the son of an uneducated rickshaw vendor in Varanasi, had grown up with
cruel taunts like 'However much you study, you will still be a rickshawpuller.' He had
studied with cotton stuffed in his ears to drown the noise of printing machines and
generators below his window in a poor neighbourhood where small workshops existed
cheek by jowl with tiny residential quarters.

He had given Math tuitions to supplement the paltry sum his father could afford to send
him each month. His ailing father had sold a small plot of land to give Govind about Rs
40,000 so that he could move to Delhi which would provide him a better place to study.

Throughout his life, he had lived with only one dream -- to become an officer of the
Indian Administrative Service. For him that was the only way. And when he broke the
news to his family, that he was ranked 48 among 474 successful candidates in his first
attempt at the exam -- it was the turn of his three sisters and father to weep with unbridled
joy.

'Besides the Civil Services, I had no option'

Icould not afford to have any other career goal. My life would have been absolutely futile
had I not made it into the civil services," says Govind, just back from his medicals in
New Delhi, mandatory for the IAS.

"You must understand that my circumstances were such that besides the Civil Services, I
had no option. I didn't have much of a chance with lower government jobs because they
are mostly fixed, neither could I start a business because I had no money. The only thing
I could do was work hard at my studies."

It was almost impossible for him to study in the one room he shared with his family. To
add to his woes was the power cut that extended between 10 and 14 hours every day. The
moment the lights went out, he had to shut the window to block out the deafening noise
of generators in the many workshops around his home.

So in search for a quiet place to study, he briefly shared a friend's room at the Banaras
Hindu University. Since that did not help him much, he did what many civil services
aspirants in northern India do -- he moved to New Delhi.

His father sold his last plot of land for his son's dream

F or his son to make a fresh start in a city Govind had never visited before, Narayan
Jaiswal, Govind's father, sold the only remaining plot of land he had saved after getting
his three daughters married.

Working for ten years at the government ration shop, Narayan earned a living by
weighing goods at the store. One day when the shop shut down, he bought one rickshaw
and hired it out. He added three more and at one time was prosperous enough to own
about 36 rickshaws.

That was a period of financial security and Narayan was prudent enough to buy three
small plots of land. With three daughters to marry off, he knew he would need it in times
to come. But bad times soon befell the family. His wife passed away when Govind was in
school. For 10 years there was acute hardship. The rickshaws dwindled.

On his meager earnings, the uneducated rickshaw vendor with a hearing disability
continued the education of his children. The girls were married after their graduation --
Narayan sold two pieces of land for the weddings, the last plot was sold to achieve his
Govinda's dream.
Narayan gave his son Rs 40,000 to prepare for his Civil Services exam in New Delhi and
pursue his childhood dream of becoming an IAS officer. For the next three years, he sent
his son between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 every month, sometimes foregoing the expense of
treating the septic wound in his foot that continues to nag him till today.

Courier boys found his house with difficulty; now the fruitwallah will tell you where
the 'IAS' house is'

Outside his narrow lane, opposite the Varanasi City railway station, where Narayan
Jaiswal parks his rickshaws and spends most of his waking hours, he still walks
barefooted with a bandage, one end hanging loose and scraping the dirty road.

"Beyond this year, my father could not have afforded to send Govind any more money. It
was getting very tough for him. Govind was earning Rs 1,500 from tuitions, I don't know
what he would have done if he didn't make it to the IAS this year. My father could not
sleep for 10 days before the results came," says Govind's eldest sister Nirmala, whose son
is almost the same age as her brother.

Now that he will earn Rs 8,000 as his starting salary during his two-year training period
in Mussoorie, Govind says his first priority is getting good treatment for his father's
wound.

"I want to look after him, I don't know if he will leave Varanasi but I will definitely move
him out of this rented room that we have lived for 35 years."

If his son's new job dramatically changes things for the better, Narayan Jaiswal is quite
unaffected by it. He is surprised by the scores of journalists and well wishers flocking to
his house.

Until now, courier delivery boys found his house with great difficulty but now even the
fruit cart-wallah, one-and-a-half kilometres away, will tell you where the 'IAS' house is.

"I like my work. I haven't decided about the future -- what could be a better place than
Kashi? As long as my son looks after me, what else can one want?" he says, visibly
uncomfortable with the media spotlight.

'My character will be put to the test, then I want to see what a real man I am'

Having lived his life in Varanasi, the holy city on the banks of the Ganga, Govind has
given his home state Uttar Pradesh as his preferred region of posting. If he doesn't get
UP, he is open to being sent to any state in India.
"Varanasi needs a tight administration. As for me, I want to be a good officer. We are the
agents of change and I as an administrator would like to inform common people about
their right to know, their right to information. The benefit should finally go to the
people."

His hero is President A P J Abdul Kalam. Govind is reading the Hindi translation of the
President's best-selling book On Wings of Fire and takes out a nicely thumbed copy from
a plastic bag.

"After Gandhiji, President Kalam has given us a dream and the power to dream. His
dream is of a developed India and he is a symbol of many common people's dreams."

In a time when the Indian bureaucracy has its drawbacks like a lack of accountability,
corruption and perpetuating a system that was handed down by the British to rule a
subordinate population Govind's thoughts are fired by the idealism of youth. He insists
his idealism will not be watered down in future years, that he will not allow himself to be
influenced.

"I am a product of my circumstances that has been wrought with hardships. When I go
out as an officer my character will be put to the test, and then I want to see what a real
man I am."

Behind her IAS success story, is her

school drop-out husband

Indian Express: Twenty-nine-year-old Rashmi Siddharth Zagade, a housewife from

Warje Malwadi, is the only woman IAS officer from Pune city this year, holding 169th
rank among over 800 candidates. But her success story has been scripted by her husband
Siddharth Zagade who is a school drop out.

Rashmi’s IAS saga began in 2003. Though she could not make it in four attempts, she
never thought of giving up. “That is because I had my husband’s support,” she says. After
four consecutive unsuccessful attempts — the fourth time she reached the interview stage
— Rashmi decided to take a break for a year. This time when she reappeared, she opted
for history instaed of geography.

Till she graduated in BSc (Zoology), Rashmi had no clue what an IAS exam was all
about. “It was my husband who prodded me to appear for the exam,” she says. “My
father expired when I was a child. My mother was not educated and our family had to
struggle to make ends meet. So I could not continue my education. I always wanted to
become an IAS officer. And now my dream has ben realised through my wife,” says
Siddharth.

To convert their dream into reality, the couple sold their flat, 5-acre land in their native
place and Siddharth even gave up his retail business in Tulshibaug. “I decided to
concentrate fully on Rashmi’s preparations for IAS exam. We bought books and other
study material, she joined IAS coaching classes nearer home. We even changed the
school of our daughter so that we could save time. I spent hours discussing national and
international issues with Rashmi,” says Siddharth. “My husband is Class IX pass, but his
general awareness and knowledge is better than mine,” says Rashmi. A former student of
HHCP high school, Huzurpaga, Rashmi took her written exam and interview in Marathi.
“Since my schooling was in Marathi, I opted for Marathi which comes naturally to me,”
she says.

Now moving a step further Rashmi, wants to help out those who dream of becoming an
officer but don’t have the wherewithal for it. “I will guide, provide books and study
material to all IAS aspirants in the city. There are several students like me who have a
dream, but no support or guidance to make it big. I am there for them,” says Rashmi

Peon's daughter makes it to IAS

IAS Guidance | IAS Toppers | Over view of Exam | How to Prepare

Sandeep Kaur

Chandigarh, (PTI) Sandeep Kaur, the daughter of a peon

from Morinda in Punjab, has made it to the IAS.

Sandeep is the eldest of her three siblings and attributes her success to her father
employed in Morinda sub-tehsil.

Citing her father as her immense source of inspiration behind her success, Sandeep,
a civil engineer from Panjab Engineering College, had the sole goal of making it to
the IAS.

"I dedicated myself to preparing for the civil services and failure at earlier attempts
made me stronger to prepare for the examinations," she says.
Her dream is to work against female foeticide which is a big problem in Punjab.

Meanwhile, in a congratulatory message, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal

complimented Sandeep Kaur and her family members, saying she had done the state
proud by making it to the IAS despite her economically poor family background.

Punjab CM has no reason to celebrate Sandeep Kaur's selection in Indian

civil services

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has congratulated

Sandeep Kaur, daughter of a peon who has made into the India civil services, without
realising that Punjab government has no contribution in her success.

She has emerged winner despite poor education infrastructure in rural Punjab and no
assitance by state education department. She has studied in an ill equipped school in
Morinda. It was Sandeep's determination that she has surged ahead crossing all
social and economic hurdels. Badal has announced to honour Sandeep Kaur for her
rare distinction. Rather he should like a gentleman make public commitment that he
would improve the education in rural areas to let the other girls to repeat the suceess
of Sandeep Kaur.

Sandeep is lucky that she was not killed by parents before birth then she was doubly
blessed that her parents inspired her to become the winner. It is an opportunity for
Badal to make an introspection of his government's contribution in parting education
to the rural children. So many Sandeep's in rural areas who failed to get good
education retired to their fate.

Instead of feeling elated over success of Sandeep Kaur, Punjab CM shall feel
ashamed over the fate of Rajwinder Kaur, another girl gifted with rare intelligence
who is working as a peon in Punjab education departmant. Rajwinder who belongs to
Bathinda, the home constituency of deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, may
be the next girl to make into India civil services without any support from the ruling
family.

Rajwinder Kaur belonging to a lower middle class family had cleared her PMT and got
admission in a medical college. Unfortunately, her father and mother died in a road
accident. Her brother who also got injured slipped into coma. At that time her father
was an assistant JE in Punjab State Electricity Board(PSEB) and mother was a teacher
in Punjab education department.

Rajwinder Kaur had no choice but to leave her MBBS course and take care opf her
ailing brother. The PSEB refused to give her job on compassionate grounds. The
education department offered her the job of a peon which she accepted on the
persuation of her relatives. Neither Punjab Chief Minister or deputy Chief Minister
bothered to take care of the poor girl.

Rajwinder Kaur is also a national level cricketer and topped in school without any
extra coaching. The officers of education department in Bathinda are sympathetic to
her but the bureaocracy in Chandigarh is not moved at her fate. Rajwinder Kaur has
now started preparing for civil services exam and she is determined to get into it.
AS Exam Success: These Guys did it -
so can you

They have stars in their eyes, compassion in heart

By Shyam Pandharipande, Indo Asian News Service

Nagpur, May 25 Ten days after making the grade, Vinod's eyes still well up every
time his illiterate father talks to visitors or telephone callers about his son's hard
won success in clearing the Indian civil services exam.

Every time the retired unskilled labourer Janardan praises his son - an MBBS doctor who
will now be an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer - for his perseverance and
toil, the grateful son says his success is nothing compared to the backbreaking labour his
father put in all his life to educate his sons.

With his parents in their thatched house in village Visapur near Chandrapur, 160 km from
here, Vinod Bahade recalls all his yesteryears - in the Zilla Parishad school in his village,
then the Navoday Vidyalaya in Talodhi Balapur nearby, and then the junior college in the
bigger colliery township of Ballarpur .

"As I pored over my books in dim lantern light every night, my father would say he
would do anything to see me become a doctor or an engineer. I wondered where he was
going to bring the money from for my education," Vinod reminisced.

"When I actually passed my school exam with marks enough to secure admission to a
medical college, my father, who was a labourer in BILT (Ballarpur Industries Ltd) sought
voluntary retirement and reserved his Provident Fund for my education," Vinod told
IANS with an unmistakable lump in his throat.

Even while studying medicine, Vinod did not entirely give up the idea of becoming an
IAS officer (that he had toyed with while in junior college) though he thought he could
serve the society as a doctor as well.

"But the stark poverty and backwardness I saw as an intern in the rural hospital in
Narkhed (in Nagpur district) and as a medical officer in Jimalgatta, an inaccessible tribal
village in Gadchiroli district, firmed up my resolve to operate on a larger canvass. I
started preparing for the civil services exam," he said.

Vinod passed the prelims and mains in the very first attempt in 2004 but lost out by a
whisker in the personal interview.
 In the second attempt, which he could take only after another stint as an
medical officer, he failed again but persevering still, he had yet another go
at it - and was through this time.

Gratefully acknowledging the valuable guidance he received from the P.N. Rajbhoj
Institute for IAS Coaching, run by a retired bureaucrat Mumshilal Gautam in Nagpur,
and the government IAS coaching centre in Mumbai, both meant for poor and backward
class students, Vinod says the time has come to repay the debt.

No less inspiring is the story of Madhavi Khode-Chavare, another backward class student
who has stood first from Maharashtra and 29th in the national list. She too took the
medical education route to IAS and, like Vinod Bahade, it was a quest for a lager canvass
that goaded her too to the civil services exam.

Daughter of a junior forest officer supporting a family of five, Madhavi took to medical
education only in deference to her parents' insistence. "But the health illiteracy and
poverty that I saw in the village primary health centre where I served as an intern left me
disturbed," Madhavi told IANS.

"I thought I could do precious little as a doctor in terms of making a difference," she
added, echoing the thoughts of Vinod.

Married to a doctor by that time, Madhavi confided in her husband who encouraged her
to follow her heart and gave her stellar support as she left her job and prepared for the
IAS.

A poor farmer's son looking after his widowed mother, Suresh Chavare, now a plastic
surgeon in Nagpur 's Central India Institute of Medical Sciences (CIIMS), took up a job
in a New Delhi hospital as his wife Madhavi joined an IAS coaching centre there.

"He bought me as many books as needed but not a single shirt for himself during the
three years I was preparing for the exam," Madavi said, recalling how they would make
do with one meal at a time instead of two, living in a small rented room in Delhi .

(Shyam Pandharipande can be contacted at shyam.pandharipande@gmail.com)

Indo-Asian News Service