Pawan Kumar, the son of a labourer from Uttar Pradesh, has cleared the UPSC civil services examination with an All India Rank of 239. Kumar was seen celebrating his success in his humble mud house in a video that has moved internet users.
The video was shared on X by IAS officer Awanish Sharan. It shows Kumar distributing sweets to his family under the thatched roof of their mud house in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district. “Pawan’s house. He got 239th rank in the civil service examination. Hardworking people write their own future,” the IAS officer wrote while sharing the clip on X.
Kumar, for his part, credits his success to his family. “My family had a very big role to play in my journey, especially my parents and my sisters,” he told news agency ANI.
Kumar’s parents told the news agency of how they prioritised the education of their two children over everything else.
“We did all sorts of odd jobs to be able to afford his and our daughters' education,” said his father Mukesh Kumar. “We saved money with a lot of difficulty so he could prepare well. We couldn't renovate our house because we educated our children... Our roof leaked during rains and we would all spend the night sitting in one place, but he was adamant to study... We often went to bed hungry. God has now blessed us,” Kumar’s father said.
His mother, Suman Devi, also spoke of their leaking roof and the financial troubles they faced. The family is overjoyed by their son’s success.
“I feel good that we got to see this day. We have a thatch roof which leaked when it rained. It caused us a lot of trouble. We don't have money to be able to afford a gas cylinder, that's why we still use a stove. I worked hard as a labourer... He would study at home in silence, using his mobile phone,” said Suman Devi.
25-year-old Pawan Kumar cleared UPSC civil services exam in his third attempt. He spoke to ANI about his strategy for the highly competitive exam, saying he did self study as he could not afford expensive coaching classes.
“The exam is tough and the syllabus is very vast, but it is not impossible to crack it,” he said. “Taking coaching is not necessary. The condition of my family was such that I could not afford such expensive coaching classes. I mostly did self-study… You can make use of the internet for help, and carry on with honesty in your attempts... Perseverance is very important.”
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