A 36-year-old Scheduled Caste youth from a remote village in Malda has emerged as an inspiration by securing the 9th position in the Indian Information Service (IIS) conducted by the UPSC.
Abhijit Chowdhury’s rank, announced earlier this month, has nothing to do with his caste. He sat for a segment of the IIS exam to recruit Indian Information Service officers under the Union information and broadcasting ministry, which doesn’t offer reservation benefits. “On social media, I faced trolls who said I had got a caste advantage. I explained to them that no, I didn’t,” he said.
Now readying for a career as a central government officer, Abhijit hasn’t always had it easy. Hailing from Sattari, a small village in Malda district’s Englishbazar block, Abhijit was born in a humble home — his father was a panchayat worker and his mother an ICDS worker — and went to a modest Bengali-medium school.
After clearing his Madhyamik in 2005, he enrolled in the science stream in a school in Malda town. But the two-day 40-kilometre commute from his village every day took a toll.
“I had to travel 20km each way just to attend school. My attendance dropped, and I was barred from appearing in the annual examinations. I lost two years,” Abhijit said.
Eventually, he passed his higher secondary from another rural school, only to face a more difficult challenge.
His father was diagnosed with cancer, and as the only child, Abhijit postponed his college plans to care for him. Later, he managed to enroll at Gour College, pursuing honours in journalism and mass communication, while simultaneously taking up part-time work in media outlets to support his family and finance his father’s treatment.
His father passed away in 2009. Struggling financially, Abhijit took a contractual job in the postal department in 2013, posted in Adina.
“That was the beginning of my proper career, I’d say,” he recalled. “My ambition had been kindled.”
He soon secured a position as a lower division clerk in the judicial department in Malda, and alongside his job, pursued post-graduation at the University of Gour Banga, which he topped.
Still aiming higher, Abhijit cleared a railway recruitment exam and joined as a publicity inspector in Calcutta. But even then, his aspirations remained undeterred.
“The IIS selection process differs from the IAS or IPS. It involved three stages of screening based on academics and work experience. I was among the 130 shortlisted candidates called for interviews at the UPSC office in Delhi from June 30 to July 4,” he said.
Abhijit chose Bengali as his medium of language and was stunned when the results were announced on July 15, placing him 9th on the merit list.
Now posted with the Asansol division of Indian Railways, Abhijit is preparing to resign from his job and join as an Indian Information Service officer.
“It is my dream to serve Bengal if the information and broadcasting ministry places me here. Through my work, I want to repay the state that made me who I am,” he said.