UPSC Civil Services 2022: 4 candidates from Mumbai’s Haj House IAS coaching centre taste success

Hussain, who went to Pune first to prepare for the civil services exams and then to Delhi, had joined the Haj House facility during the coronavirus-induced lockdown. He then went to the Jaffer Suleman IAS Institute.

🚨 Get an Express subscription to access our special UPSC products 🚨 Start here 👈

Hussain, who ranked 570 in his fifth attempt, wants to join IPS or IRS. The son of a dock worker from Mumbai slums, Hussain, 27, is a commerce graduate from Elphinstone College. “My father did not study and ended up taking a job at the dock. So, he always encouraged us to study. He pushed me to pursue civil services,” he said.

At the Jaffer Suleman IAS Institute, Hussain also taught his juniors. “I love teaching and it is a very effective way of studying,” said Hussain, who also has a YouTube channel where he guides young aspirants for civic services.

Apart from his guides at all the institutes he studied, he thanked his family. “It was because of my parents and older siblings that I never felt any burden and could focus on my studies alone. Teaching would help me earn money to take care of my expenses,” he added.

Another student of the Haj House institute, Ayesha Qazi wants to join the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). The resident of Kalva in the Thane district has got AIR 586. “It is still ambiguous whether I will get IFS with this rank. I am hoping that with the help of reservation, I might, otherwise I will be selected for IRS. In that case, I will give another attempt for IFS,” said the history graduate from Joshi Bedekar College affiliated with Mumbai University.

Qazi said she got to know about the civil services when she was in college where teachers told her about the career option. “I did not know about it until then. I then searched on the internet to know more and decided to take on this path,” said Qazi, who started preparing for UPSC CSE after her graduation.

“I was stuck at not clearing prelims for three attempts and now in the fourth attempt I have cleared all levels,” she said.

She had just cleared the prelims level when Qazi had to leave the Haj House facility due to HCI’s decision to reduce the institute’s intake capacity. “I then studied at home. Thankfully, it is just us three (she and her parents) at home so I could focus on my studies. For many others, studying at home is difficult,” said Ayesha. Her father is a businessman and her mother is a teacher.

The number of hours she put in to prepare for the UPSC CSE depended on how near the exam was. Qazi said she loved to read light fiction books or go for short walks for rejuvenation when she took her breaks.

Taskeen Khan, 25, from Uttar Pradesh who got AIR 736 in UPSC CSE 2022 was on her path to become Miss India before she decided to take up the civil services exam in 2019. Taskeen said, “It has been a different journey for me. After being selected as Miss Dehradun and Miss Uttarakhand, in 2016 and 2017, respectively, I was focused on becoming Miss India. But my height fell short by 2 mm. My father then asked me to focus on studies and I shifted my career path,” said Khan, who was born and brought up in Dehradun.

“Now, my family lives in Uttar Pradesh, but I am in Delhi for my preparations,” said Khan, who started her preparation for CSE at the Haj House facility in Mumbai in 2019. “I then shifted to Jamia Millia Islamia and then the Athiya Foundation both in Delhi for UPSC preparation,” Khan said, adding she is now looking forward to joining the Indian Revenue Service.

M Burhan Zaman from Kolkata is another student who briefly studied at the Haj House facility for a year in 2021. Zaman cleared UPSC CSE with AIR 736. Burhan said he has had no time to celebrate as he is busy preparing for UPSC 2023 prelims scheduled on May 28.