A Farmer's Son Overcomes Poverty to Become an IAS Officer

In Rampur village, before the sun was fully up, farmers were busy in their fields, and among them were Ramu and his son, Arjun.

Arjun had graduated from university, but due to his family's poverty, he couldn't find a job in the city and was helping his father with farming. He didn't even have the luxury of moving to the city to prepare for employment.

Neighbor Raghu Kaka scoffed at Arjun, who, despite his higher education, was still farming, ridiculing him, saying, “Poor people should know their place and dream accordingly.”

But his father, Ramu, defended his son, stating that being poor doesn't mean one cannot dream, showing his belief that the size of a dream is never determined by one's status.

In their small house made of dirt and bricks, Arjun's family shared a simple dinner. His mother, Kamala, comforted Arjun, telling him not to mind others' opinions and to pursue his dream.

The family decided to make every sacrifice, saving as much as possible on living expenses to help Arjun pass the IAS exam, which brought a great sense of responsibility to Arjun.

Before the harvest, the family planned to use the earnings to repair the roof, fix the pump, and pay off old debts. His mother, Kamala, was determined to prioritize Arjun's education expenses above all other expenditures.

Witnessing his parents' sacrifice, Arjun considered finding a part-time job to lessen their burden while continuing his studies in the city.

Meeting a merchant at the Mandi (market), Ramu and Arjun were devastated by the price the merchant offered. The merchant offered a significantly lower price than last week, trying to buy their crops cheaply.

This is a hardship farmers face every year, once again showing the reality of farm households that were forced to sell their crops at low prices last year.

Farmers had to visit government offices multiple times to receive government subsidies, and preparing the documents was not easy. It was even difficult to get accurate information due to the unhelpful response from officials.

For farmers who had to juggle field work and complex administrative tasks, these administrative procedures were a great burden and barrier.

Arjun was greatly shocked to witness firsthand the suffering of poor farmers and the unjust reality. He resolved to empower himself so that farmers like his parents would no longer be subjected to unfair treatment.

Arjun vowed to study hard, become an IAS (Administrator), and change all this, and resolved to work even harder to reduce his parents' financial burden.

Villagers scoffed and criticized Arjun's IAS challenge, saying he was dreaming a reckless dream. They viewed him negatively, believing that a poor farmer's son could not succeed.

Arjun, however, was not deterred by such ridicule. He said, “If it were easy, everyone would do it. That's why I'm trying harder,” and he resolved that even if he failed, the responsibility would be entirely his, and that he would grow stronger through this challenge.

Leaving behind his parents' worries and sacrifices, Arjun headed to the city to pursue his IAS dream. In this new environment, he had to begin his struggle.

Upon arriving in the city, Arjun was able to find temporary accommodation with the help of his old friend, Vikas, which gave him a small boost for his new challenge.

Arjun experienced difficulties and felt a great burden on his living expenses due to the lack of funds to purchase textbooks needed for the IAS exam preparation. The expensive book prices were a practical barrier for him.

In this situation, his friend Vikas willingly lent Arjun the good-condition textbooks he had used the previous semester. He also suggested using the library for books he lacked, helping Arjun with his studies.

Months later, as the living expenses sent from home decreased, Arjun called his father out of concern. His father explained that rising seed and fertilizer prices had increased farming costs, making financial support difficult.

Arjun tried to cover his living expenses by combining studies with part-time work, but his father earnestly urged Arjun to focus solely on his studies to achieve his dream.

After months of effort, exam day arrived. Before taking the exam, Arjun recalled his father's face, who had firmly believed in him and sacrificed for him, and vowed to give his all.

After the exam, Arjun was briefly flustered by the high difficulty of the questions, but he comforted himself by thinking of his past efforts and knowing he had done his best.

On the day the exam results were announced, Arjun couldn't find his name on the list of successful candidates. He expressed deep disappointment to his friend Vikas, saying, “My name isn't there. I checked the whole list, but I wasn't selected.”

Vikas comforted him, saying it was just his first attempt, but Arjun was deeply frustrated, recalling his family's support and his own efforts. Nevertheless, he acknowledged his shortcomings and decided to try again for the next exam.

Returning home after hearing the news of his first exam failure, Arjun received warm comfort from his mother, Kamala. His mother showed unwavering support, saying, “Parents never abandon a son who gave them hope, even if he fails.”

However, the villagers sneered at Arjun, saying, “I knew it would happen,” and “Give up studying now and just farm.” Their cold reactions hurt Arjun even more.

Nevertheless, with his family's strong support, Arjun reaffirmed his resolve not to be swayed by the villagers' criticism and not to give up on his dream.

After saying goodbye to his family, Arjun left for the city again to resume his studies. This time was different from before. Beyond simply passing the exam, he clarified his goal and reason for becoming an IAS officer.

He no longer aimed solely at passing the exam. Instead, he formulated a more systematic and concrete study strategy and dedicated himself to his studies with much stronger determination than before, vowing to re-attempt.

Upon returning to the city, Arjun thoroughly analyzed his failure in the previous exam and focused on improving the subjects he was weak in. He invested a lot of time to turn his weaknesses into strengths.

Thanks to his improved study strategy and thorough preparation, Arjun approached the Prelims exam in a much better state than before, and showed a different level of confidence after finishing the exam.

Arjun revealed in an interview that he is a farmer's son who grew up watching his parents work diligently all their lives without receiving fair compensation. This is the background to his decision to become an IAS officer.

He said that he worked alongside his father to ease his burden, and by directly experiencing the hardships faced by farmers, such as selling produce at low prices, he recognized the structural problems that could not be solved by simple support policies.

He showed his determination to achieve tangible results for farmers, without fear of failure, stating that true change begins with efficient delivery systems and policy implementation.

Arjun, whose name appeared on the final list of successful candidates, shared his joy with Vikas and informed his parents of the news.

He proved his worth to the villagers who had mocked his efforts. Arjun realized that true success meant repaying his parents' hard work and bringing hope to his hometown.