By Atif Jaleel, IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, 23 June 2014: Among the 1122 candidates selected in the Civil Services examination 2013 whose results were announced on 12 June this year, there were 34 Muslims. Faiz Ahmed Mumtaz and Sana Akhtar, who were part of Jamia Millia Islamia’s free-coaching programme for minorities, cleared the exam with very high ranks. Faiz secured all-India rank of 17 and Sana a rank of 90. In all, 12 students of the Jamia coaching programme cracked the exam this year. IndiaTomorrow.net got to sit with Faiz and Sana to talk about their success, hard work and future ambition.
The Civil Services examination held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is one of the most difficult exams in India with some of the brightest people from all over the country attempting to crack it. It is a rigorous exam which selects the top cadres of India’s civil services. Candidates are selected through three stages – Preliminary, Mains, Interview – and given posts in the government’s civil services for IAS, IFS and IPS according to their ranks.
Faiz comes from Muzaffarpur district in Bihar while Sana is from Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh.
Excerpts from the Interview:
Q: Hi Faiz and Sana. Thank you for speaking to us. You cleared the UPSC exam and both of you have scored very high ranks. Congratulations from IndiaTomorrow.net. How do you feel about it?
Sana: It’s a very happy feeling and of course, a moment of pride. But what lies ahead is a huge responsibility. The responsibility that we have envisioned all through to deliver onto the demands of the people.
Faiz: I feel happy and I feel satisfied. I feel satisfied because my hard work has finally paid off. A feeling of satisfaction and fulfilment.
Credit for Success
Q: What about your family? What’s going on back home?
Faiz: They’re happy and satisfied as well. And they’re proud of me.
Sana: Family is happier than me, that’s all I can say.
Q: Who would you like to credit for this success?
Faiz: My parents first of all, they supported me for this long, financially and gave me moral support that you get from them, and my teachers. And obviously all of my friends who discussed with me and helped me, and enriched my knowledge.
Sana: My family of course, my parents. And all my friends, some of them who have always stayed together and helped me, motivated me. And yes, teachers, they deserve a lot of credit.
Academic Qualifications
Q: What are your prior academic qualifications? And did these qualifications matter?
Sana: I did my B.Tech in Computer Science and Technology. As far as aptitude building is concerned, I think that helped me a lot. But apart from that, the optional was different, it was Anthropology so that did not count. But yes, overall personality building, I would say that Engineering did matter.
Faiz: Well, I’ve done Hotel Management and I took History as my optional, so there’s no link between the two. It helped my graduation and my schooling helped build my personality and it gave me that strength that I could pursue this and the rest of it I studied after that.
Preparation for Civil Services
Q: This is huge exam and a lot of people all over India appear for this. What made you want to opt for an exam that was so tough?
Faiz: I believed in my capacity and this was the biggest exam which one can clear. So I appeared for this exam and I worked hard for it and finally, with God’s grace, I qualified it.
Sana: For me it started as my father’s dream and while I went to pursue that, I realized that this is best opportunity that I can take forward so I went for it.
Q: How did you prepare for this exam?
Faiz: We just did the basics. Studied and got through.
Q: How long did you prepare for this exam?
Faiz: Two and a half years.
Q: Did you take coaching or anything?
Faiz: We studied at Jamia. Jamia provides a really good coaching and it helped us.
Sana: I started my preparation in March 2013. So I got a whole year for the interview. I was also there in the Jamia coaching program. I joined the test series in March and it helped a lot.
Q: How did it help? How long were you studying at the coaching center and what did they provide for you?
Sana: I got almost an year till the interview and the test series were very helpful. The teachers coming here, they provided all the basic notes and everything. Plus, the kind of environment that they provide, the students in the hostel, that environment matters a lot too. You know it’s like birds of a feather preparing together, so that helps.
Faiz: Well, the facilities that Jamia gives and the kind of teachers which they provide are very helpful. It’s very difficult to live outside and live alone and prepare. So when you have a whole group, a team of people who are preparing, it’s far easier and much more helpful. So in that way, Jamia has really helped.
Q: Did you reach any hurdles on the way of your preparation. Were there difficult times?
Faiz: No. Obviously not. It was a fun process and I enjoyed preparing. I feel a better person as when I started. Compared to that, I feel much enlightened and learned person.
Sana: Once I started preparation with a conviction, I guess it has been a very enlightening journey. And as for the hurdles, I guess being in Jamia it was a privilege because we did not really get any of those lacunas or anything. We just went with the flow and it was very easy.
Future Ambition
Q: What are your expectations from here on now?
Sana: As I’ve already said, it’s a huge responsibility that lies ahead. So now it’s the process where we’ll start to learn about our responsibilities and the job ahead. So first is the learning phase and then we have to deliver.
Faiz: I want to work honestly and dedicatedly towards whatever I’m asked to do by the government, by the administration. So that’s what I’m going to do.
