This Muslim UPSC rank holder had to use Hindu surname to get accommodation

[email protected] (CD Network)
May 11, 2016

A young UPSC rank holder has finally broken his silence to expose the communalism, racism and ignorance prevailing in the society. Ansar Ahamad Shaikh, the son of an auto-rickshaw driver from a remote village in Jalna district of Maharashtra has managed to crack the tough UPSC exam in his first attempt, securing an All-India Rank 361.

sheikh

The 21-year-old Bachelor of Arts, political science graduate from Pune's Fergusson College said he came to the city to pursue his degree in Arts and focus on his UPSC preparations.

Forced to change his name to a Hindu surname in order to get accommodation and food in the city without facing any discrimination, Shaikh said he will proudly say his real name now.

“I remember when I went to look 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,” said Shaikh.

His eyes swell with tears when he remembers the difficult circumstances he faced in his life. “My father has three wives, my mom is the second. In my family, education wasn't so important. My younger brother dropped out of school and my two sisters were married off at an early age and didn't study much. When I called home and told them that I cracked UPSC and in all likelihood will be an IAS officer, they were shell shocked,” said Shaikh, adding after a small celebration with friends, he is headed home for bigger a celebration.

Asked about his preparations, Shaikh said there is no shortcut to success. A topper all throughout school and college except Std X where his scores dipped a bit, he said he prepared for 10-12 hours at a stretch for 3 years without a break. “I think I would tell students to question themselves, Why do they want to be in the system? Once they have answered this question, the path will get clear,” he said. Having faced religious discrimination, all his life, Shaikh said that promoting Hindu-Muslim unity and bridging disparity is one area that he would like to work on.

Meanwhile at Unique Academy where Shaikh studied, celebrations were on in full swing as 45 candidates emerged victorious. Shaikh's teacher, Rahul Tukaram Pandve (30) also cracked the UPSC, securing All India Rank 200. Pandve who stood seventh in the state worked as a teacher at the academy. A MBA degree holder from IIM Calcutta, Pandve gave up his corporate job for civil services preparations. 

Comments

K.C.Mohammed Ali
 - 
Wednesday, 11 May 2016

Congratulations............... Inspiration to the community.

S.M. Nawaz Kuk…
 - 
Wednesday, 11 May 2016

any way you reached your goal. congratulations.!

Mumtaz hussain
 - 
Wednesday, 11 May 2016

Congrats to sheikh, his parents, school n college n his teacher Rahul tukaram pandve

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 18: Former Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah has accused the BJP-led government of not passing the benefit of the low price of crude to the common man and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps to bring down prices of petroleum products.

Hitting out at the BJP-led government, he termed it as "opportunistic" and said the price of petroleum products were being increased when people were facing difficulties due to COVID-19.

"It is very disheartening to witness and unprecedented opportunistic government which is trying to extract every pound and flesh from the common man, that too when the whole country is suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is in the backdrop of the continuous price hike in the last 10 days," said the letter was written on Wednesday.

The Congress leader said that the policy decisions taken by the government "with respect to managing fuel sources are inconsistent with the prudent measures generally adopted".

"When the price of crude oil was remarkably low in March, April and May 2020, your government was very reluctant to pass on the benefits to the people by reducing the fuel prices proportionately, but, instead, your government continued to capitalise by increasing the excise duty," he said.

He said the government had also "failed" in the last six years to increase the oil storage capacity which could have been used for the country's advantage when the international crude oil price fell really low.

He said the government should roll back the excise duty and help in the reduction of fuel prices.

"The reduced burden will help the common man to have additional money in hand that will be spent on essential goods and services which will ultimately help them tide over these difficult times," he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 5,2020

Madikeri, Jan 5: Frequent attacks by Tigers on their cattle in South Kodagu region has left the dairy farmers a worried lot and causing concern for their life.

Several farmers have been rearing cows to supplement their income when low prices of pepper and coffee affect their earnings. At least 13 cows have fallen prey to Tigers in the months of November and December last year.

The Forest Department provides a compensation of Rs 10,000 if a cattle is killed by a tiger or in the attack. The compensation amount is meagre when it comes to the loss incurred by the farmers.

Though the Forest Department has submitted a proposal to increase the compensation amount to the government, no action has been initiated in this regard.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 5,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 5: Fake news spreads faster and more easily nowadays through the internet, social media and instant messaging and such news about the COVID-19 pandemic have been labeled a dangerous “infodemic”.

These messages may contain useless, incorrect or even harmful information and advice, which can hamper the public health response and add to social disorder and division.

Asking people to avoid fake news on COVID-19, Hemant Nimbalkar IPS, IGP and Additional Commissioner of Police (Administration), shared a photo on his Twitter page and wrote, “One Mask For Ear Too"

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.