IAS topper should truly inspire us all

There may be hundreds of sagas of diligence and hard academic work behind this year’s civil services exam results, but what makes them even more special is that women have monopolised the top four ranks in the prestigious competition to pick India’s top administrators, policemen, diplomats and other officers. A remarkable year’s results go even beyond the pitched battle between the sexes. What makes it truly incredible is that the topper is the first differently-abled person to qualify in the open category. The story of Delhi’s Ira Singhal is indeed the most inspirational tale of human endeavour and spirit to emerge in a long time in Indian society.

Having been rejected thrice due to physical disability — a spine-related disorder, scoliosis, severely restricts her arm movements — she fought fiercely to make her point at the Central Administrative Tribunal in a 2014 ruling, that got her a revenue service post in keeping with her academic achievements. Now she is eligible to join the elite IAS cadre, and it would be no surprise if her profile in courage were to become the basis of a movie soon. The rules won’t be scoffing any more at her “inability to push, pull and lift” even as her increasing stature makes up for her lack of inches in physical height. Not only did Ira fight a battle against her own disability, but with her indomitable spirit also brought the wall of discrimination against the differently-abled crashing down.

This level playing field, along with the affirmative action needed to help sections of society catch up with their disadvantaged history, represents an opportunity that more and more public service-minded young Indians are now pursuing with greater determination. If a farmer’s daughter or an autorickshaw driver’s son qualifies for the administrative services, it shows how far the people have come in being able to conquer the most basic disability of lack of money.

Opportunity comes knocking these days to anyone with the abilities to pursue tough academic courses and those aspiring for the highly-prized civil services can also fall back on several tuition centres that do exemplary work in coaching students, much as institutes train youngsters for the IITs and IIMs. The level of competitiveness — there were 9.45 lakh candidates for 1,236 posts — is the surest sign of a healthy young society in a nation that has a very high proportion of young people. Many of them, like the doctor who cracked the exam to rank second, are in a position even to switch branches going by what they desire more. The reasons to feel proud about the results this time are plentiful and indicative of a society slowly becoming more progressive in its thinking.