Source: Hueiyen News Service / Agency
Guwahati, June 09 2009:
Students of northeastern states have given a lie to those who believe that they are not good enough for the Indian Administrative Service.
The results, which were announced on Monday, had 21 successful candidates from the region, 11 from Assam, five from Manipur, three from Mizoram and one each from Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, the best show ever.
Ten others from Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, who have also made their mark at the civil services (mains) examination 2008, have made the North-East proud.
All othem feel one doesn't have to come from an urban background or be fluent in English to crack the civil services examination.
Varnali Deka, who is undergoing training after she made it to the Indian Police Service (IPS) last year, topped the list this year with an all India ranking of 16 .
Varnali, a resident of Guwahati, did her BTech from Bangalore followed by an MBA from IIT Bombay.
"At present, I am undergoing training at the National Police Academy.
But I wanted to shift to the IAS as my mindset is inclined towards administrative affairs rather than policing".
Ashiqu Zaman, who ranked 244, said, "There is a notion in the North-East that students from the region cannot compete with others in the IAS examination.
People believe that one has to live in urban areas to crack the examination.
We have proved that all these ideas are false".
The UPSC examination is designed for anyone from any background.
Hard work is the only mantra for success, he added.
Mantu Das (742) feels that same way.
"It is not that we cannot compete with others from outside this region.
All we need is the right atmosphere and today more and more people from the region are taking the test".
For Pritam Dutta (574) of Biswanath Chariali in Sonitpur district, who is pursuing his PhD from JNU in sociology, the mantra for success is sys-tematic hard work, patience and discipline.
The number of vacancies reported by the government is 120 for IAS, 26 for Indian Foreign Service, 130 for IPS, 546 for Central Services Group "A" and 59 for Central Services Group "B".