IAS without UPSC: How a boy who lived in orphanage, worked as domestic help and delivery boy became a civil servant

We all know the classic story. To become an IAS officer, you have to pass the incredibly tough UPSC exam. It's a path often filled with expensive coaching classes and years of stressful studying. But the story of a man named B. Abdul Nasar shows us a different, equally challenging road to the same dream. His story is deeply inspiring, but it's also a testament to the extraordinary perseverance required when opportunity is hard to come by.

Nasar's life started with great difficulty. His father passed away when he was just five years old. His mother worked as a house cleaner to provide for the family, but it wasn't enough. He and his siblings had to live in an orphanage in Kerala for 13 years.

His childhood was about work, not play. By the time he was ten, he was already working jobs as a cleaner and a delivery boy to help his family make ends meet. He kept studying, but he also kept working by delivering newspapers, tutoring other students and working as a phone operator, all to pay the bills.

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He began his career in public service as a Health Inspector in the state government. For many, this would have been a stable and respectable career. For Nasar, it was just the beginning. He didn't have the means to prepare for the UPSC exam, so he chose a different path: he decided to be the very best at the job he had, while relentlessly pursuing advancement through the state's own competitive system.