Topper Story - SAMYAK S JAIN Background
UPSC declared the result of Civil Service 2021 on 30th May 2021, and it is important in this perspective that Samyak S Jain cleared the UPSC exam and secured the 7th All India Rank after conquering his disability (Samyak is virtually impaired). Samyak S Jain, a delhite boy, cleared the UPSC exam in his second attempt. His father's name is Mr. Sanjay Jain, and his mother's name is Mrs. Vandana Jain, and both are government employees. Samyak can't read and write; despite this, he secured 7th rank; it is a motivational story for all students, not only UPSC. He was diagnosed with a problem in his eyes (macular degeneration) when he was just 18 years old. It is a genetic disease, but the most interesting fact is that nobody in the Samyak family had this disease. When he reached 21 years, he completely lost his reading and writing ability. There is no remedy for macular degeneration. Samyak decided to leave his study because the problem was increasing over the course of time, and there was an arrangement and facility in college for a student suffering from this genetic disease. Samyak completed his Bachelor of Arts in English from the open university of Delhi. During the Corona time period, he joined online coaching classes and was preparing UPSC exam.
It is the classic example shown by Samyak Jain that if your perseverance, commitment, dedication, and strong willpower, then no struggle or problem can defeat you. Samyak melts iron and makes its sword to fight instead melt iron to make a shield to hide behind. Samyak was optimistic, and he never overcomes pessimism; he failed to clear UPSC on 1st attempt but cracked UPSC on 2nd attempt with top rank. Samyak never felt demotivated or depressed in the UPSC preparation journey, and he enjoyed every moment.
Samyak's hobbies are watching movies and reading books and going on long drives, but his diseases shook him. His birthplace is Shahdara in East Delhi. Samyak completed his primary education in Delhi and secondary education in Mumbai because his father got transferred. Samyak also did a diploma course in English Journalism from IIMC (Indian Institute of Mass Communication). After his diploma, he completed his master's in International Relations. His parents are working in Air India. His father is the country manager, and his mother are the manager of the finance department.
Samyak's optional subject was Political Science and International Relations, as Samyak is suffering from visual problems and he needs help with reading and writing. As we live in the digital era, where all study material is available on the internet, so he never faced a significant problem regarding learning as a plethora of software available which helps to read out books. Samyak read books in the audio format, and his mother was writing for him and written exams in UPSC mains that he dictated to her. Samyak's mother worked very hard to get him success in the UPSC exam. Samyak's interview was excellent, and Mrs. Smita Nagaraj was the chairperson of the interview panel; most of the questions were about his educational background. Some questions were related to media as he completed a diploma course in media journalism; some questions were asked about his optional subject.
In his interview, questions are also asked mostly analytical, not factual or knowledge-based. They wanted the approach of civil servants when he faced issues during his service on the ground level, as we are already cleared prelims and mains, so we have knowledge of the fact. But they want our approach as a civil servant to sort out the issue of common people's concerns. Questions about India - Pakistan relations and change of guard in Pakistan and new Prime Minister, i.e., Shahbaz Sharif, as he is the brother of the former Prime Minister, who was in favor of a good relationship with India.
PREPARATION DURING COVID TIME
The covid time period was not good for anyone, and it affected students' preparation for all competitive exams as offline classes were off. At the same, we were not able to meet our friends, but this changed the pattern of study as online education got prominent, and I was the beneficiary of this shift in education pattern.
Samyak totally does not discard the use of social media during his preparation; he advises students that there should be a balance because this gives you some relaxation when you exhaust after studying. You should not use too much that affects your study; at the same time, he is vocal about some positive changes like the prevention of fake news and sensible and mature content promotion.
Samyak's inspiration for joining the UPSC exam is that he wanted to change society for the good of his countrymen. Policy implementation has implications for the life of poor people; at the same time, he wanted to work on education, women's equality, and social justice.
Message for UPSC aspirants from Samyak that you should not consider yourselves weak; everyone has some strengths and weaknesses. We should work to overcome our weaknesses and make our weaknesses into strengths. Keep always remember Darwin's words, "Survival of the fittest." You must always be positive, it might be possible you will not achieve success in 1st attempt, but consistency and perseverance will surely give you what you deserve.
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