A physically challenged youth, suffering from cerebral palsy since his
birth, overcame all odds to crack the
civil services examination this year.
Fulfilling his
long-cherished dream, Ashish Kumar Verma (26) secured the 726th rank in
the coveted examination results of which were announced late last week.
"I did not let my handicap come in way of my preparation for the
examination," he said. "I just concentrated on my studies just like any
other student and succeeded."
The wheelchair-bound Ashish said he faced certain difficulties in
going out of his home to places such as coaching institutes, but he made
it up by doing self-study. "I did not attend any coaching classes but I
studied for 12 to 14 hours every day to qualify in the civil services."
Ashish, who opted for History and Hindi Literature as his main
subjects in the examination, said that he had never let his disability
get the better of him as a student in the past. "I have always had a
positive attitude," he said.
The Patna-based youth said that he was happy to note that none of the
members of the interview board asked him anything about his handicap. "I
was treated as any other candidate," he stated.
Ashish's attitude had helped him attain better academic results over
the years. After performing exceptionally well in his school
examinations, he got the third rank in the Hindi (Honours) examination
at Patna College and followed it up by becoming a topper in the
post-graduation examination at Patna University. "I also qualified in
the National Eligibility Test (NET) in 2008," Ashish said.
Ashish, son of a postal department official, said he was doing a PhD
in Hindi when the UPSC results were announced. "I am at present doing a
doctoral research on the works of the noted Hindi writer Dharmvir
Bharti," he said.
He stated that he would like to appear in the civil services
examination again to improve his rank. "Though I will join whatever
central service is allotted to me this year, I would like to give the
examination another shot," he added.
Ashish said that his parents, Satish Chandra Prasad and Neelam Sinha,
as well as his elder brother uncle, friends and teachers encouraged him
a lot during his preparation. "They all motivated me at every stage to
help me achieve my goal," he added.
Ashish, who hails from Nawada district in Bihar, said that he had
always aspired to join the civil services since his school days."But it
was only after qualifying the NET that I concentrated on the UPSC
examination," he added.
Ashish said that he would like to tell all the physically challenged
civil service aspirants that they should not let any negative thought
get the better of them. "If they truly want to achieve success, a
positive approach is a must," he said.
A lover of Hindi, he said that he regularly wrote poems, stories and
articles in the language in his spare time. "Writing poem is a passion
for me and one of them is the philosophy of my life, "Life is a
festival, celebrate it. Every inch of this earth is fertile, grow
flowers on it," he said.
