Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

Mumbai :

Muslim community leaders are trying to inspire the youth to aim for the civil services. Three days after the Haj Committee of India launched its coaching centre for civil services exams at Haj House near CST, another initiative kicked off on Wednesday. The community leaders presented some IPS officers as role models.

The officers, who lauded the efforts of civil society in motivating youth, asked students to shed their defeatist mentality and try to crack the civil services exams.

Organised by NGO Milli Council, in association with the vocational and career guidance cell of the Central Mumbai-based Maharashtra College, the meet saw Ahmed Javed, additional DGP, Qaiser Khalid, DCP (railways), and K Moeen Jeelani, superintendent of customs, enthuse the students, a majority of whom comprised burqa-clad girls from middle and lower middle class families.

Besides reiterating the need for hard work, Javed dwelt on the importance of Marathi for those students who want to succeed in the exams conducted by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC). “I have put in 30 years of service in the police and I know how knowledge of Marathi can make the task of policing easier,” said Javed who hails from Lucknow but learnt Marathi after he joined the Maharashtra cadre.

Khalid, a 1998 batch IPS officer, quoting poets, philosophers and paragons of peace like Mahatma Gandhi, underlined the importance of civil servants and said that planned studies was the key to crack the civil services exams. “Despite the importance of liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, civil services command importance and respect because it is these officers who help plan and execute the the government’s policies,” said Khalid.

Referring to a popular instance in Hindu mythology, he said: “Like Arjuna, who aimed his arrow at the eyes of the moving fish, you should focus on your goal. Cracking civil services is tough, but not impossible,” he said.

Jeelani, a former national champion in yachting before he joined the customs department, recalled the background in which he grew up: “My locality was a breeding ground for criminals. But sheer determination helped me excel in my chosen field, which also helped me land me a job in the customs department.”

M A Khalid, general secretary of Milli Council, exhorted Muslim youth to give up their negative attitude and appear in the civil services exams in large numbers.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City>Mumbai / by Mohammed Wajihuddin / TNN / December 08th, 2009