Small town boys’ big journey to bureaucratic careers

Yunus,who has his roots at Malerkotla in Punjab,had faced hardships early in life. His father survived a major mishap at his factory,which left him completely burnt and permanently impaired one of his eyes. Yunus’ childhood memories are of his mother — barely 25 at that time — single-handedly bringing up her two children,nursing his father,shuttling between the hospital in Rohtak and their home in Bahadurgarh for more than four years.

The third IAS probationer at HIPA is a girl from Darbhanga,whose parents are in the teaching profession. Iva Sahay was hailed by her father as “an IAS officer” the day she was born. She fulfilled the dream in 2010.

With less than a week left for them to join their field postings in districts of Kangra,Sirmaur and Chamba,these 2010-batch IAS officers haven’t forgotten their days of struggle — especially Mokhta and Yunus.

The world came crashing down for Yunus and his family on October 31,1984,the day former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Even as entire nation was plunged in shock and horror,his families’ tragedy was no less small. This was the day when a boiler containing melting steel fell over his father while he was working in the factory.

Yunus said: “There was no hope for me to even get proper schooling. The crisis did not seem to end,but my mother’s determination did not shake. I completed schooling,with no clear idea about what I will do in future. I was faced with a financial cruch in college as well. Even in my dreams,I did not think about joining the IAS. After doing MSc in Bio-Chemistry from Jamia Milia Islamia in 2005,I took up a part-time teaching job at a private coaching centre. It was here that I thought of preparing for the administrative services and made it in my second attempt.”

Mokhta’s story is equally inspiring. His early education was at Rampur,where his father Moti Ram Mokhta was an employee in the state irrigation and public health department. Mokhta joined Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at Theog near Shimla and subsequently began preparations for the MBBS entrance test.

The same year,he lost his father. “It was a big blow,as my father was the sole bread-earner. My mother did not lose courage and gave me emotional,social and financial support to study,” he said. After doing postgraduation in Zoology and winning a gold medal,Mokhta joined the state fisheries department. All this time,his preparation for the administrative services continued.

Heading the Trout Breeding Farm as the Fisheries Officer at Chirgaon near Rohru,Mokhta’s hard work bore fruit and he ensured a significant rise in the income of the farm. The struggle of his early years had made him realise the significance of a good education. “I want to focus on improving infrastructure in primary schools and providing an atmosphere of competitiveness to rural students,who otherwise don’t get an exposure to new technologies and knowledge resources,” he said.

Iva,who secured the third rank in UPSC,fortunately had a privileged upbringing,when compared to her two colleagues. “The day I was born,my father,Vijay S Sahay,who is a professor of Anthropology in Allahabad University,declared that an IAS has taken birth in the family,” she recalled.

According to Iva,his words became a mantra for her — she never considered any other profession. “There is IAS in my name too,” she said with amusement — I(v)A S (Sahay). The hard-working young probationer says her mission is to solve the problems faced by people and restore their faith in bureaucracy.