Three Fingers, Two Rejections, One IAS: Harvinder Singh's Journey of Triumph in UPSC

March 3, 2024

4 Minutes

Introduction

Tough journeys are generally marked by the difficulties one faces on the way; however, this one is known for the resilience shown by Harvinder and the joy he got out of the roadblocks he faced. IAS Harvinder Singh secured rank 335 in the UPSC CSE 2018. Losing three fingers—a rejection from the side of the army—his journey was weaved with rejections in plethora. This is the journey of the brave and resilient Harvinder Singh.

A 3-year-old Happy Child loses Three Fingers.

When Harvinder was just 3 years old, his house was not even completely constructed. His mother used to cook food on the ground since the house had no kitchen. Once, his mother went to fill water from outside the house. All of a sudden, she heard the sheer cry of Harvinder, and she rushed to the house. She saw that he put his right hand in boiling hot oil, and as a result, his three fingers were not straight anymore. A 3-year-old happy child was now termed disabled.

Schooling and the Urge to Join the Army

Harvinder was then sent to a boarding school, and he studied at Sainik School. He wanted to join the army; therefore, he started preparing for the NDA exam. In 12th grade only, he cleared the written exam for the NDA, and when he went to get his medical done, the doctor noticed his three fingers on the right hand. The doctor told him that he was unfit for the army because of his fingers. Harvinder was firm on his dream of joining the army, and the doctor suggested that he get his right hand operated on and then give the exam again. He did the same, as suggested by the doctor; however, when he went again for the second time for his medical, the doctor said he could not join the army because of the stitch marks. Harvinder accepted this as his fate and started his normal engineering life.

One Motive: Serve the Country

After getting rejected by the army two consecutive times and seeing his father’s struggles in the fields, Harvinder was extremely sad. After working in the fields, his father used to drive the truck; therefore, he decided to prioritize getting independent over his dreams. When he completed his graduation in 2013, he tried to get placements, but unfortunately, that year, a very small number of companies came to college. Later on, Harvinder was offered a position to teach at a college in Jammu, which he accepted. Then he also worked as a civil engineer for a private firm. However, fate had some other plans, and he got a job at the IFFCO company, and he had to again relocate to Allahabad. Here he remembered that he wanted to serve the country, and if not the army, UPSC is the best way to do this. However, the next big problem was that he was not in the state to leave the job, and preparing for UPSC along with a private job is not possible.

Harvinder’s UPSC Journey Kicks Off

Harvinder’s fate was good, and he was soon offered a job by the Jammu & Kashmir government in the PWD category. He promptly joined the service and used to take optional classes after work every day. Here, he also understood the importance of self-study. It was December 2015, and he decided to appear for his first prelims in June 2016. However, he failed, and in these times, he made his diary his best friend. He used to write about all his worries in his diary and try to find solutions for them. In June 2017, he cleared his preliminary but failed the mains.

Final Successful Attempt and Learnings

It was very difficult for Harvinder to study along with his job. Therefore, he decided to give UPSC a last try. In his third attempt, he started studying three months prior to prelims but was confident that he would clear it. He cleared all his levels, and in April 2019, he secured the 335th rank. In all this, his diary helped him to know himself better.

Learnings

• First, Harvinder’s journey is a true example that problems will always be there and we should never lose hope. Harvinder burned his three fingers but never stopped dreaming.

• Second, he was rejected by the army twice, but still he kept going. Being consistent in a journey like UPSC is of utmost importance.

• Third, it is a myth that one can only clear UPSC by leaving their job. However, one should understand that UPSC is very uncertain and one has to have a backup plan.

In the end, IAS Harvinder Singh quotes a few lines from a prayer that motivated him throughout his journey:

“Itni shakti humein dena daata, Mann ka vishwas kamzor ho na.”