BackHow Ira Singhal overcame the odds to top the civil services exams
Ira Singhal's biggest challenge was not so much topping the UPSC exam as it was getting society to accept her
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Ira Singhal is not your average Indian Administrative Services (IAS) exam topper.
Not just because she’s a woman but also because she is the first physically disabled person to have stood first.
With 62% locomotor disability, 30-year-old Singhal topped the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC’s) civil services examination, in which women bagged four of the top five spots. But this was not her first attempt.
Singhal had appeared for the civil services examination in 2010, 2011 and 2013 and 2014. Recalling the 2010 episode, Ira mentioned how her file was rejected in 2011. That is when she had filed a law suit and won in 2014.
“They said my disability did not fit into any of the disability categories they could accept and, hence, they rejected me. They violated the Persons with Disabilities Act (PWD) Articles 14 and 16. I not only moved the Central Administrative Tribunal with my case, but also won it, and in 2014, I was inducted as assistant commissioner in the customs and central excise service," she said.
Singhal has locomotor disability since childhood. She cannot fully twist her arms because of problems with her spinal cord and her short height.
Locomotor disability, which affects the bones, joints and muscles, leads to substantial restriction on the movement of the limbs. Although it is a progressive disease, that grows till one reaches adulthood, in Singhal’s case, there is no chance of it getting worse.
But the disability itself has never hampered her.
She says she has travelled the world and her disability never came in the way of discharging her duties.
Singhal’s father is an insurance and financial sector consultant.
“When my brother died, people told my parents that now you only have a girl child. How will you manage? Who will earn for you when you’ll be old? My father clearly told them that he’s happy to have me and I am no less than a son for him," said Singhal recalling the 1994 incident when her brother died.
But Singhal’s biggest challenge was not so much topping the exam, as it was in getting society to accept her.
She was her school topper at Sophia Girls School, Meerut, and Loreto Convent School, Delhi. She recalls how she was rejected for admission at Modern School, New Delhi. “The principal asked my parents to put me in a special school for the differently-abled as I was not ‘good enough’ to study with the others," she said.
According to Singhal, differently-abled children face the worst discrimination in Indian society, ignored by schools, colleges and workplaces. Her parents and friends were her only motivation. “Overcome these challenges, work with them (the challanges)," she said.
“Accept who you are and never pity yourself. You are not useless," is her message to others who are differently-abled.
Singhal said she wanted to become an IAS officer as she has always been interested in working for women and the disabled.
When asked how she plans to do so, she said she has no answer for it at the moment. As and when she’ll find problems with the system, she’ll try to work on it.
“But more than my dream, it was always my father’s dream," she said.
On her previous attempt, when she didn’t make the cut, she said, she had “almost given up" when a friend insisted that she persist and got her the study material and forced her to take the exam again.
Singhal believes that women are in no way less capable than men.
“We girls are not meant for the kitchen, we have to shine and show we can do wonders in the work field," she said.
The success of Singhal, and the other three women—Renu Raj, Nidhi Gupta and Vandana Rao—who emerged at the top of the civil services examination is a testimony to it.
The other women toppers are also conscious of being game-changers.
“Women should not tolerate exploitation and marginalization. I am extremely happy to see the results. Ira is an inspiration for many," said Lok Bandhu Yadav, who secured the seventh rank and is currently working with the Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS).
One of Yadav’s sisters is with the Indian Police Service (IPS) and another with the Indian Revenue Service (IRS).
A total of 1,236 candidates, including 590 in the general category, 354 from other backward classes, 194 from scheduled castes and 98 from scheduled tribe categories were recommended for appointment to various central government services, UPSC said.
“Even though I come under the physically disabled special category, I feel reservation doesn’t matter. There is a difference of 5-10 marks only. I have seen people coming from villages to study and they are equally talented. It’s not like a general category student puts in more efforts," Singhal said.
The UPSC annually conducts the civil services examination in three stages—preliminary, mains and interviews. A total of 1,364 posts are to be filled through the civil services examination.
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