At an age when most of his privileged counterparts wallow in self-indulgence, 21-year-old Ansar Shaikh refused to be the plaything of a malicious fate and master his own destiny.

Hours after the UPSC results were out, his personal odyssey had already become the stuff of sweat-and-toil legend – how a Muslim boy from a remote backwaters village in drought-racked Marathwada changed his name to a Hindu to crack the Holy Grail of Indian examinations.

Ansar, the son of an autorickshaw driver from Jalna’s Shedgaon village, cleared the IAS in his maiden attempt, snaring a high All-India Rank of 361. Since then, the media has thronged his lodgings in the city in a bid to capture his inspirational and remarkable personal struggle.

A political science graduate from Pune’s Fergusson College, Mr. Shaikh, an exemplary student had secured 91 per cent in his Class X exams (the S.S.C.).

Driven by sheer will, he worked 12 hours a day straight for three consecutive years while preparing for his UPSC exams. Added to these burdens, Mr. Shaikh faced the stigma of social discrimination and a turbulent family life which he triumphed with a strength of character extremely rare for a youth of his age.

“While hunting for a PG accommodation, my friends who were Hindus got rooms but I was refused. So the next time, I said that my name was Shubham, which was actually my friend’s name. Now I don’t have to hide my real name,” says Mr. Shaikh, remarking that this social rejection was “mortifying”.

His troubled background makes his achievement all the more laudable life.

“Education has never been a watchword in my family. My father, a rickshaw driver, has three wives. My mother is the second wife. My younger brother dropped out of school and my two sisters were married off at an early age. When I told them that I had cleared the UPSC and in all likelihood will be an IAS officer, they were stunned shocked,” said the gentle, bespectacled Mr. Shaikh, with a boyish smile that belies years of pain and struggle against seemingly insurmountable odds.

His bitter, first-hand tryst with social ostracisation has made a deep influence on Mr. Shaikh.

“It will be my mission to promote religious equality. Having myself been a victim of discrimination, I will strive to ensure that Hindu-Muslim unity transcends tokenism,” says an earnest Mr. Shaikh.

He credits his success to the efforts of Rahul Pandve, his 30-year-old teacher at Unique Academy who incidentally cracked the UPSC along with Mr. Shaikh, securing an AIR of 200.

Mr. Pandve, who stood seventh in Maharashtra, has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta and had chucked his corporate job for a career in the civil services.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Mumbai / by Shoumojit Banerjee / Pune – May 12th, 2016