Roorkee (Haridwar District), UTTARAKHAND :
UPSC topper among Muslim aspirants, Sadaf Chaudhary of Roorkee uttarakhand, who secured the overall 23rd rank, is of firm opinion that improvement in the education of girls in India will bring great social change and calls for the society to provide special attention to the education of girls.
The ambience at Sadaf Chaudhary’s home at Roorkee, Uttarakhand is of glee. There is a continuous rush of local people at her home at Green Park Colony who are visiting to congratulate Sadaf. Sadaf’s pictures are being shared on social media. In the last few days, Sadaf has seen a change in her life. Cell phones of her family members are ringing continuously. No one in Sadaf’s family was able to sleep in the last three days owing to celebrations at their home.
Twenty-seven-year old Sadaf is the eldest daughter of Israr Ahmed and Shahbaz Bano of Roorkee. Her father Israr Ahmed was a former manager at Gramin Bank at the Deoband branch. In the recently announced UPSC 2020 results, Sadaf has secured all over India 23rd rank. She has got the highest rank among the Muslim aspirants.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Sadaf said that she wants to become an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer like IFS Sneha Dubey.
Considering her 23rd rank and OBC quota, Sadaf has a good chance of getting into IFS.
Sadaf said that she chose International Relations as her subject in UPSC as she is “interested in foreign service.”
“I was getting a good salary at an MNC where I used to work. I left that job and worked hard for two years to clear UPSC,” she said.
Sadaf said that “one of the daughters of the country IFS Sneha Dubey is being praised all over the country, I want to follow in Sneha Dubey’s footsteps.”
She said that if the country that she can do a better job as an IAS officer, “I will be mentally prepared for that as well.”
On the day when UPSC results were announced, Sadaf’s mother was praying all day.
Recalling the tense atmosphere at their home before the announcement of the result, Sadaf’s younger brother Mohammad Shad said, “Last year Baji (Sadaf) missed cracking the exams by a few numbers so this year the atmosphere at the home was tense.”
Sadaf said that her UPSC result is beyond her expectations. “I was sure that I will qualify this year.”
To her credit, Sadaf didn’t take any coaching for her UPSC exam. “I have been preparing for last twenty years,” she said.
Recalling her childhood, Sadaf said that as a kid she would go to her grandfather’s house (in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh) with her mother during summer vacations. “He had a school there and during the summer vacations I would study everything,” she said, adding, “I got the benefit of regular studies.”
Talking about her strategy of cracking UPSC, Sadaf said she “actually had none.” She said after having breakfast in the morning, she would sit down to study as long as she could. “I would review and assess my preparations once a week.”
She said that she would always try to understand the toppers and what they read as she is fond of reading. “Everyone thinks I enjoy reading, That’s alright, I enjoyed the books, I love them. Books are like friends to me. Reading is my hobby and that has made me successful without coaching,” she said.
The passion for civil services runs through the family. Sadaf’s younger sister Fatima is also preparing for UPSC. “You will have to come here once again because Saima is also very talented and is preparing for UPSC under the guidance of Sadaf,” Sadaf’s brother Sikander Ali told TwoCircles.net. “Fatima is more talented than me and always tops the class,” quips Sadaf.
Sadaf’s mother Shehbaz Bano said that Sadaf is very diplomatic and applies diplomacy at home. Sadaf laughs. “I just get my work done. That’s what diplomacy is,” she said.
Talking about her mother, Sadaf said that she herself admitted her mother to college. Her mother had gotten married after higher secondary. “I would always check if Ammi is reading her books,” she said.
“I realized that Ammi wants to study but couldn’t as she was a mother. I persuaded her to study. So, when I took admission in College, Ammi also took admission in BA. As I completed my Chemical engineering from Jalandhar, Ammi also completed her BA,” Sadaf said.
Sadaf credits her success to a good environment for studies at her home. “We all like to study. My brother recently got a 96.5 per cent and he is not happy with that,” she said.
Sadaf said the assessment done by the schools during the Corona period was not totally correct. “I think studies should be done diligently and there should be a clean competitive environment at home,” she added.
Speaking on Sadaf’s success, her uncle Nadeem Pradhan is full of pride, saying, “Those people and relatives who said girls shouldn’t be sent outside to study are saying now that our daughter has done wonders.”
Pradhan said successful stories always change the mindset of society.
“Today only 40 per cent of girls are able to study. If this number increases, a great social change will take place,” Sadaf said, adding, “We have to give special attention to the education of girls.”
source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Lead Story / by Aas Mohammad Kaif, TwoCircles.net / September 27th, 2021