Vision, not sight, is needed to become an IAS

Mr. Ajit Kumar has proved that it is not sight but vision that takes a man to places. With 100% visual impairment, the struggle to become an IAS has not been easy for Kumar. He cleared his civil services exam in 2008 but DoPT was not ready to offer him a position of an IAS despite a good rank, due to his physical handicap. A long struggle ensued and finally, Ajit is now an IAS officer.

Kumar initially wanted to be a doctor because he had lost a relative after prolonged illness. But when he was five years old, he lost his eyesight due to acute diarrhoea. This made it impossible for him to work as a surgeon. Hence, he changed his goals and decided to take up civil services as a career.

Born to a block development and panchayat officer in Haryana, Kumar studied in a blind school in Delhi. His academic record has always been good. Kumar did his MA in Political Science and worked as a government teacher in Haryana. In 2007, he became an assistant professor in Sham Lal College of Delhi University and cleared civil services examination held by UPSC in 2008.

Despite getting a good rank of 208 (amongst 791 candidates who cracked civil services examination that year), he was only offers the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IPRS) and not the position of Indian Administrative Officer (IAS) that he coveted. Thus, Kumar approached the Central Administrative Tribunal.

In 2010, the CAT did order the DoPT to appoint him as an IAS within eight weeks but it was never acted upon. It was only when CPM MP Brinda Karat came to the aid of Kumar, the files started moving. Ajit , now a 32 year old, will soon join his IAS training in Mussoorie, which will start on February 20.

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