Tag Archives: Shaikh Akhlaque

UPSC: Mohammad Hussain, who had failed in his first four attempts, sat in a mosque and cried out to Allah before succeeding in his fifth attempt

Amazing Feats, Education, Education - Gold Medallists, Toppers, Merits, Achievers (wef. June 12th, 2023), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wadi Bundar, Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA:

Syed Mohammad Hussain said Failing in four attempts disappointed me, but it did not let me break down. I worked hard and cracked the UPSC exam.


Hussain, a resident of Sholapur Lane, Wadi Bandar, Mumbai, has secured the 570th rank in the UPSC Exam 2022.


Success for Hussain was full of struggles and hard work. Hussain lives in a small shanty on the roadside adjacent to the Wadi Bandar Majgaon Dock area. It is the hub of godowns; loading and unloading heavy vehicles is routine here. When I reached Wadi Bandar, Hussain met me enthusiastically and immediately reminded me by saying, Sir, I promised that this time I would definitely give you an interview opportunity.” Now that it has been fulfilled, I remembered that meeting in my flashback. After a while, Hussain got busy between some TV channels and YouTubers and then said, “Sir, we sit at a place nearby; the house is small; people will keep coming to meet me; we will not be focused.” We reached the nearby Jafar Sulaiman Hostel. Hussain said, Sir, the complete preparation of my 5th attempt has been done at this place.

On a question about the journey from primary to graduation, Hussain replied that he studied from 1st to 5th standard at Khwaja Shia Asana Ashri School, then joined St. Joseph High School Dongri in 6th standard, from where he passed the 10th exam in 2012 with 61% marks. Later, I passed 12th Commerce in 2014 from Anjuman Islam Alana Junior College in Vermont with 72%, joined Elphinstone College for graduation, and completed my B.Com. in 2017 with 86%.


Hussain reveals the story of how the idea of doing UPSC came to his mind. My father is illiterate; his childhood was spent in an area that was once considered a hotbed of crime. My father had dreamed of making us government officers by giving higher education to my siblings. He was a member of the Mohalla committee, so he used to participate in the programmes organised by the police station. When I was a school-going boy, I had the opportunity to visit government offices. Then I got inspired by the officers, and the idea of becoming an officer came into my mind at an early age. After graduation, I decided to pursue a career in competitive exams. My father wished that if the situation in the area were to change, I would have to prove myself.

Not having much career awareness, I moved from Mumbai to Pune based on whatever I had learned by myself. There I took admitted to Unique Academy and started regular civil service studies. Alhamdulillah I qualified for the preliminary exam on my first attempt in 2018 after only eight months of preparation, but failed the main exam due to my lack of experience in studying.

Meanwhile, I came to know about Jamia Residential Coaching Academy. I cleared its entrance and went to Delhi, where I learned a lot from seniors. Appeared for the 2019 prelims but didn’t qualify. The reason was that I focused all my attention on the main study. As I had no experience studying, it was a big lesson for me.

Unfortunately, due to the Corona lockdown, I returned to Mumbai. Here, then, CEO Maqsood Khan Sahib gave me an opportunity to prepare in Haj House. With all the facilities near my home, I worked hard and qualified for the 2020 and 2021 prelims, respectively, but failed again in the mains. Due to some unavoidable circumstances, senior students left the Hajj House. It was a sign of great sorrow for me.

At the same time, with the efforts of Maqsood Khan sb., a centre for the preparation of the civil service examination was started at the Jafar Sulaiman Musafir Khana hostel. I was very happy that Allah provided us with the means. It was impossible to study with uniformity among all the members of the house. After joining Jafar Sulaiman Hostel along with my own studies, I started coaching other students as well. Alhamdulillah, ever since this centre was established, students have been achieving success in one or another examination. The full credit goes to Maqsood Khan Sahib and his teammate, who laid the foundation of this centre in times of need. Despite very limited resources and a lack of facilities, doing my studies here has been quite fruitful for me. Having qualified in three out of the four attempts in the prelims, I was very disappointed with the continuous failure in the mains but did not let myself break down.

One day, I sat in the courtyard of the mosque in Jafar Suleman Musafirkhana and wept before Allah. I did introspection on myself and found out my weaknesses, strengths, and the reasons behind my failure. In the end, I stood up with determination by committing myself, “Now the next journey will be for success.” Then I qualified for the May 2022 preliminary exams. This encouraged me. The main exam took place in September 2022. Alhamdulillah, I had success in that too. In preparation for the interview, I went to Jamia RCA Delhi, where I got training and guidance from seniors. Through hard work and continuous mock interviews, I gained confidence and appeared for the interview in February 2023. Alhamdulillah, I succeeded with a 570 rank on my 5th attempt. Due to the support of my parents, relatives, friends, Haj House, Jamia RCA, Jafar Sulaiman Musafir Khana Civil Service Centre, and especially Maqsood Ahmad Khan Sb.

Mohammad Hussain said in a message to the students: The civil service exam takes time. It’s a test of patience and requires hard work with comprehensive planning, concentration, a positive attitude, and consistency. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of stress and pressure. I would like to tell the students that success is not within their realm and takes time.” It’s a test of patience and requires hard work with comprehensive planning, concentration, a positive attitude, and consistency. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of stress and pressure. I would like to tell the students that success is not within their realm.” It’s a test of patience and requires hard work with comprehensive planning, concentration, a positive attitude, and consistency. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of stress and pressure. I would like to tell the students that success is not within their realm. Everyone has a share in it. Meet the professionals with whom you want to make your career, get full knowledge of the field, and work hard.

Interviewer Akhlaque Sk (career counsellor)  can be reached at sakhlaque@ymail.com.

source: http://www.thehindustangazette.com / The Hindustan Gazette / Home> News> Education / by Shaikh Akhlaque / May 28th, 2023

I had a poor JEE score but later I prepared for UPSC – UPSC Achiever Burhan

Amazing Feats, Education, Education - Gold Medallists, Toppers, Merits, Achievers (wef. June 12th, 2023), , , , , , , ,

Kolkata, WEST BENGAL:

Burhan-ul-Zaman, a resident of Kolkata, has secured the 768th rank in the UPSC 2022 exam. He worked hard, underwent many problems, struggled a lot, and fought through hurdles, but by keeping his morale high, he achieved success.


Burhan shared his educational details, from primary to higher education: he did his primary education at Rajabazar Boys & Girls English School. After that, he completed 10th grade at ML Jubilee School with 91% marks in 2013. Due to my interest in math and science, I chose the science stream and passed 12th grade in 2015 with 91.4% from Shri Jain Vidyalaya. My JEE score was not so good, but based on that, I took admission to B.Tech. in Aerospace Engineering at the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shabpur Howrah. I completed my degree in 2019 with an 8.27 CGPA.


About the idea of preparing for the Civil Service Exam, Burhan said that in the final year of my B.Tech., I appeared for the GATE exam, in which I got an All India rank of 141. During GATE preparation, seniors were seen as busy preparing for the competitive exams. I got more information from them, and my good rank in GATE boosted me. Then I did a Google search and gathered more information about the UPSC. I got information about the Sitendra Nath Tagore Civil Services Centre, which is run by the West Bengal government. The institute provides an opportunity for the youth to prepare for the WB State Services with the facility of day boarding (weekend classes and week-long library self-study). I started my regular UPSC preparation in 2019. After spending almost two months there,I appeared for the first preliminary exam. But I could not qualify for the exam. At that time, my goal was to familiarise myself with the exam, which I accomplished.

In the meantime, I came to know about the Haj House IAS Coaching Centre from a senior colleague, and I appeared for the entrance exam for which I was qualified. Thus, in September 2019, I came to Haj House Mumbai. With the best arrangements and a favourable environment, I studied with more enthusiasm.

Maqsood Khan Sahib’s role was very positive; he made all kinds of facilities easily available.

Staying here, I appeared for the 2020 and 2021 UPSC exams, cleared both prelims and mains and reached the interview but unfortunately failed to make my name on the final list. After failing the interview twice, it was sad to be demoralised, but I had braced myself. Both times I prepared for the interview at the Sitendranath Tagore Civil Service Study Centre in Kolkata, but due to some shortcomings, I could not crack the interviews.

Then, due to policy matters or some other reason, the senior students had to vacate the Haj House.

I went straight to Kolkata, stayed at home, and worked hard on the basis of self-study. Qualified for the 2022 prelims, I got the opportunity to get admission in the MS IAS Academy, Hyderabad, which provides a quality environment for students to prepare for UPSC. While staying here for 3 months, I worked hard day and night. There is a very good environment for self-study at MS Academy. I cleared the mains exam and went to Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, for interview preparation. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. This is the best place to prepare for the interview. Guidance from seniors and mock interviews are well-practised and painstaking. The interview went well, the results were announced, and, Alhamdulillah, I got the 768th rank.

Burhan-ul-Zaman advised UPSC applicants that students pursuing careers in this area should carefully comprehend the following information: More than 11 lakh candidates registered for the prelims, out of which 14 thousand showed up for the mains, and out of which 2529 qualified for the interview, according to the UPSC 2022 results. 933 candidates made up the final list, which was eventually made public. The information above is intended to highlight the significant distinction between individuals who appear in the “exam” and those who appear on the final list. The “hard worker” is “rewarded” by UPSC. An endeavour may occasionally take 15 months to complete. You must patiently wait for the second attempt if, regrettably, one of the stages fails. Professionals in the civil service are respected by society. You need to work hard and be patient if you want to pass the exam; those who quit the UPSC in the midst of it lose all opportunities. So continue your diligent preparation and keep showing up for other government job examinations. The rest is up to Allah.

Burhan discussed his accomplishments and the people who contributed to them. I’ve had the thought of being an officer since I was a young child. Therefore, whether deciding whether to pursue further education or begin preparing for the UPSC following aeronautical engineering, I had already made up my mind to apply for the UPSC during my preparation, but I ultimately chose after talking to my family. Everyone was incredibly supportive of me. I thank God that I made the right choice.

In the meantime, I received step-by-step assistance from the SNT Civil Service Centre in Kolkata, Haj House, MS Academy, teachers, and all of my family, friends, and seniors (who are closer to me than teachers and parents). All of these people, in addition to Allah, are my success co-partners, and they all provided me with advice. Thanks to all the well-wishers.


When asked about his family, Burhan-ul-Zam said that his father’s name is Muhammad Masih-ul-Zaman, who is a science graduate and a cloth merchant in Kolkata. Mother Sabiha Begum is a housewife and has studied only up to high school.

The two elder brothers run a clothing business with their father. One brother has a B.Tech. One sister is a doctor, and the youngest is preparing for UPSC.

Interviewer Akhlaque Sk can be reached at sakhlaque@ymail.com

source: http://www.thehindustangazette.com / The Hindustan Gazette / Home> News> Education / by Shaikh Akhlaque / June 07th, 2023