From failures to success in UPSC exams:MPs achievers show resilience, commitment and consistent effort can change lives despite all the odds

Initially, we had no idea which exam our daughter was preparing for. We just told her to have faith in God and prepare with full dedication. During this time, our daughter failed many times. We never let her lose courage. I would just say, ‘Don’t lose hope, don’t forget Ram.’ When Sadhana Chauhan, mother of Prachi Chauhan who secured 260th rank in UPSC, says this, the glow on her face increases. She says that she herself studied only till 8th grade. Father Chandrabhan also didn’t study much, but never stepped back from educating their daughters. On March 23, the state government held a felicitation ceremony at Kushabhau Thakre Auditorium for the state’s talents selected in UPSC. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav honored the UPSC selected candidates here. Yadav told them that we have to sit for election exams every 5 years, but your selection is confirmed for life. Bhaskar spoke with select candidates whose parents underwent difficult hardships for their success. Read the report… Sometimes failed in prelims, sometimes in mains, but never gave up Prachi says, “My UPSC journey was not easy at all. This was my fourth attempt. I took the exam three times before. Sometimes I couldn’t clear prelims, and once I missed mains by just two marks. I faced continuous failures, but every failure taught me something new.” Finally, this entire journey taught me that if you work hard with honesty, success will surely come. After 12th grade, I had decided that I wanted to pursue UPSC. I started my preparation along with college. The most difficult phase came when I didn’t clear the Mains in my third attempt. Continuous failure breaks you mentally. At that time, managing yourself, standing up again… was the biggest struggle. There was another pressure from society and relatives. It was often said – ‘Get her married now, you have four daughters, how long will you educate them.’
Mother said – Had faith that daughter would do something big Prachi adds, “My father had complete faith in me. He clearly said – ‘You work hard. We trust that you will definitely succeed.’ My grandmother also said the same – until I become self-reliant, I won’t get married. This trust and support became my biggest strength. Because of this, I was able to focus completely on my preparation without any pressure.” Prachi’s mother Sadhana Chauhan says that the day her daughter got selected, she came and said – ‘Mom, you were right. We should not lose courage.’ I am proud that my daughter achieved this position after so much hard work. I am not very educated. I had faith that my daughter would do something big.
Mother said – I had decided, I will make her self-reliant The second story is of Akshat Baldawa. One and a half months after Akshat’s birth, the insurance agent parents found out that he had retinoblastoma disease, meaning he had no light in his eyes. Akshat’s mother Meena Baldawa says that from that day onwards, I was determined to make him stand on his own feet as soon as possible. Not let him be dependent on anyone. Initially, we taught him in a regular school for one year. Later sent him to Seva Mandir School to learn Braille. He studied there till fifth grade. After this, from sixth grade onwards, he studied in a regular school again. After 12th, he completed his BA LL.B. from National Law School University, Bangalore. During his studies, his inclination towards social subjects started growing. Like sociology, reading newspapers and taking interest in books. After 10th, he had clearly said that he wants to do UPSC. I also said that if this is what you want to do, start preparing from now. Read newspapers. Increase understanding. Gradually his interest grew stronger. ‘Want to give back what I received from society’ Akshat says, “I come from the blind community. There, most people go towards Group-D type jobs. I thought that I don’t want to be part of the crowd. I want to do something different. Want to take the country’s biggest exam. Want to prove myself. When the result came, my parents’ happiness that day was worth seeing. Whatever support I have received from society to reach here, it is my responsibility to give it back to society. I want to work in that direction, so that other people also get the opportunity to move forward. It is necessary to accept what you don’t have Akshat adds, “If I talk about my entire journey, I have learned one thing very deeply – it is very important to accept what you don’t have. I have a physical limitation myself. I cannot see, if I had not accepted this and not tried to move forward, I would have probably remained stuck.” In today’s language, it is very important to move on. If you remain stuck in one place, you won’t be able to progress. As far as future responsibilities are concerned, I believe that due to my disability I will face many challenges, but to reach this far, I have found solutions to every difficulty. I don’t know what new challenges will come ahead, but I am fully confident that there is a solution to every problem. I am not someone who fears challenges. Cleared UPSC in fourth attempt Ankush says, “I didn’t know much about UPSC until 12th grade. When I went to Indore for graduation, I found a competitive environment there. That’s when I first learned about the UPSC exam. From there, I decided that I had to move forward in this direction. My early education was in the village. Studied in the village till eighth grade. Then completed 9th, 10th and 12th at tehsil level, I completed all my education in Hindi medium. As far as attempts are concerned, this was my fourth attempt. This time the rank wasn’t that good, so I will try again, so that I get better opportunities as an IAS officer. If I talk about my goals, issues related to women and farmers are most important to me.” The biggest problem with respect to women is that they often don’t get the opportunity to dream and fulfill those dreams. I believe that education is the biggest medium that can empower women and give them a path to reach their dreams. While there is much discussion about farmers’ issues, few people understand the ground-level problems. 61 candidates from MP out of total 958 selected candidates The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) latest results show Madhya Pradesh’s best performance so far. This time, out of total 958 selected candidates, 61 candidates are from MP, which is an all-time high for the state. The notable thing is that 16 of these students are from government colleges and universities, which indicates a major shift in selection trends. MP’s performance has improved rapidly in three years. While there were only 29 selections in 2023, the number increased to 53 in 2024, and has now reached 61. The selection has almost doubled in three years. This time MP also had a strong presence among top rankers. After UP, Bihar and Rajasthan, MP is the fourth state from where maximum students got selected in UPSC.