These UPSC candidates defy disability to achieve their dreams

UPSC 2022: There are candidates who defy all odds and do not let disability become a hurdle in their success, and establish themselves as an inspiration.

Cracking Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams is no cake walk and top it with a bunch of other obstacles, there lies one's civil service dreams in shatters.

Suraj Tiwari and Akhila BS(Twitter/ ANI)

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But there are candidates who defy all odds and do not let disability become a hurdle in their success, and establish themselves as an inspiration for others.

Akhila B S, who secured 760th rank in the prestigious exam, did not lose hope and never let disability become a hurdle in her success. The 28-year-old girl who lost her right arm in a bus accident at the age of five cracked the exam with flying colours.

Akhila, daughter of a former Headmaster at a government high school met with a fateful accident on September 11, 2000 where she lost her right arm from the shoulder. She was asked to consult doctors from Germany. However, her arms were not fixed.

Overcoming the accident, Akhila started doing her daily chores by her left arm. She cleared her board exams with the highest marks. After pursuing an Integrated MA at IIT Madras, she started preparing for civil services. She achieved success in her third attempt. In the first two attempts, she had cleared the prelims.

"The dream of IAS was given by my teacher who told me about the profession of the collector. I was fascinated and liked the idea of service, and thus started my preparations right after graduation," she told ANI.

"The challenge is that it was a very long duration. To sit for three to four hours continuously in the examination became a herculean task for me. My goal was to achieve IAS. I decided that I will prepare for the upcoming exam and till I get chosen for the service of my choice, I decided that I will keep on trying," she added.

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" I took coaching from one of the institutes in Bangalore for a year. Thereafter I came back to Kerala and took help from Thiruvananthapuram-based institute," she added.

Another candidate, Suraj Tiwari of Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri, who scored 917th rank in the prestigious examination, has emerged as one of the standout stories.

The 26-year-old man lost both his legs, right arm and two fingers of his left hand in a train accident at Ghaziabad’s Dadri in 2017. For the family, it was a time of extreme despair.

Son of a tailor and a housewife, Tiwari on his first try in 2020 had passed the written test but fell short in the interview. However, success came in the second attempt and secured 917th rank, according to The Print.

Suraj's father, Ramesh Kumar Tiwari, expressed his happiness at his son's achievement. "I am very happy today, my son has made me proud. He is very brave. His three fingers are enough to succeed," he told ANI. Meanwhile his mother, Asha Devi said, "My son is very brave. Suraj never gave up and worked harder to succeed in his life. He always asks his younger siblings to do hard work."

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The results of the UPSC civil services examination were declared on Tuesday where a total number of 933 candidates- 613 men and 320 women- were chosen by the Commission for appointment to various services.