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Journalism of Courage
A 26-year-old doctor from Assam has achieved the remarkable feat of securing the fifth rank nationwide and becoming the highest-ranked male candidate in the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2022.
Mayur Hazarika completed his 12th grade at Ramanujan Junior College in Nagaon, which is affiliated with the Assam state board. He pursued his MBBS at Guwahati Medical College, graduating in 2020. This was his first attempt at the civil service exams, and he now aspires to join the Indian Foreign Services.
Although he had a longstanding interest in foreign affairs, Hazarika initially chose the medical field due to a lack of guidance on approaching the civil services. “Then when I was in the third or fourth year of medical school, I started getting more interested in foreign diplomacy and international relations. So then I thought of attempting for the foreign services,” he said.
While preparing for the prelims, Hazarika fulfilled his duties at a hospital in Nagaon district as part of his rural posting under the National Health Mission. Given his time constraints, he primarily relied on self-study to progress.
“I didn’t attend offline classes. I did follow some online courses, but due to my duties, I didn’t have much time to study. So, if I didn’t understand a topic, I would watch a video. I had duties only until the prelims, not afterward. During my duty hours, I would study for about an hour in the morning or 3-4 hours in the evening after returning,” he explained.
Following the prelims, Hazarika managed to increase his study hours. He found most of the resources he needed online, adapting to the unique requirements of each stage of the exam.
“Each stage – prelims, mains, and interview – demands different skills. For prelims, you need factual information, for mains, analytical abilities, and for the interview, they assess practical knowledge. So, there are various online resources available for each stage. You just need to make the effort and develop your understanding of how to apply them appropriately,” he said.
During his internship, Hazarika was also involved in Covid-19 duties. He utilised whatever spare time he had amidst his responsibilities to continue his studies. His mother, Moushumi Hazarika, said that he put in significant effort despite facing challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic and his duties. His father, Krishna Hazarika, works as an executive engineer with the Public Works Department.
