NOOH SIDDIQUI, who is presently Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax in Bhopal, had qualified UPSC with AIR 326 in 2017 with Urdu as an optional subject. In an interview with MOHD NAUSHAD KHAN, he shared at length about his experiences after qualifying UPSC, Urdu in UPSC, its comparison with other subjects, his goal of life and his guidance to Urdu students and many others. 

Tell us, how has your life changed after qualifying UPSC, what are you doing now and where are you posted now?

Alhamdulillah, life during the last six years post declaration of results and after qualifying the UPSC examination has been a roller coaster ride. Earlier, things were on quite predictable lines, struggle was constant as in the life of every other student coming out of university, though energy and emotion were very high but uncertainty loomed over thoughts and mind and life was quite unsettled.

After qualifying the UPSC examination, a sense of stability has permeated. Emotions and energy have found a clear aim and direction, and the zone of accessibility has increased manifold.

The training and exposure during the next two years of selection bring about a personality transformation in almost every other successful candidate. During the training, you get to visit Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament, and other institutes and organizations of national importance and repute.

The interactions with the Honourable President of India, the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, other ministers, and the leading officers heading the government of India departments and ministries bring about a transformational change in your worldview.

The training and interactions with the leading scholars of various fields in academia and on various platforms instigate a churning of ideas and thoughts in your mind and personality. This is the stage where you feel the power spectrum which runs the whole country and the functional role each and every person plays in running the whole government machinery.

This training also brings you the opportunity to travel to different regions of the country and to get a firsthand experience of different cultures, languages, people, and geographies.

On a personal front, apart from the work responsibilities and the constant go-getter nature of the job keeps you running and engaged throughout the day and night. A sense of financial security, dignified social prestige, and numerous work opportunities keep your head balanced between your shoulders.

My current posting as a Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax in Bhopal is simply an extension of all these experiences—a new chapter with altogether different work challenges and opportunities.

How easy or difficult was it for you to qualify with Urdu as an optional subject and what would you like to say to students who have opted for Urdu as an optional subject? In terms of scoring marks, how would you like to compare Urdu with other subjects?

For me, opting for Urdu as an optional subject was a natural choice as my schooling was in the same medium up to the tenth grade in Aurangabad. Being familiar and well-read in basic grammar and vocabulary made things quite easy for me, where I just had to go through the UPSC syllabus and find the source material or books to cover various topics.

Although initially, this appeared to be very easy, eventually, I realized that the notes, study material, and books covering various topics apart from professional guidance into the same were completely missing and out of place.

Although a few individual efforts had been made by some students and scholars, an organized solution to the students’ needs preparing with the same optional was literally absent. This took me some time to study from different sources, gather various books, and seek guidance from subject experts and earlier selected candidates.

After going through all this, I was successful in preparing comprehensive study material and a resource pool that not only helped me personally but also other candidates preparing with the same optional subject.

Alhamdulillah, post-UPSC selection, the same notes were published in the form of two books and released. Since then, the same books Kawish and Ummeed have become the source material for hundreds of students and candidates preparing for UPSC and state service with Urdu as an optional subject.

My suggestion to all the students preparing with Urdu as an optional subject is that this optional subject has good average score potential in UPSC mains examination. A candidate with average preparation and practice can score anything between 240 and 265 in the UPSC mains.

This is better in comparison to the other optional subjects where the number of candidates opting for the subject is quite high (in thousands) and where the average score with the same preparation is 200 to 220 marks. However, getting marks above 280 and 300 has been a task in Urdu optional since 2013 till date.

No successful candidate or candidate who appeared in the mains has scored marks above 300 to date (the highest being 296). This limit has been breached in almost all the other optional subjects and literature subjects but Urdu optional is lagging behind in this comparison.

To my mind, the reason for the same could be the smaller number of candidates appearing in means leading to the average zone of variation in marks (high and low) and the lack of writing practice and test writing skills among the Urdu optional candidates.

Also Read: Difference between Nazm and Ghazal in Urdu poetry

These days not only a structured material source is available to the Urdu optional candidates but some of the private initiatives are offering to fill this void by offering test series and guidance. This will definitely help a candidate breach the three hundred marks barrier in the future.

After qualifying UPSC, what finally would you like to achieve in life?

Qualifying exams like UPSC Civil Service is indeed a milestone in the life of every candidate preparing for competitive examination. The output to result ratio is very high in terms of efforts, exposure, and opportunities. But soon you realize this is a milestone, a major turn into the professional life and not the end.

You have a long career spanning more than thirty years filled with different challenges, ups and downs in your life ahead. Considering the aspirations and ambition of the new generations of our age, forecasting and predicting anything beyond the next five to ten years will be an overstatement.

Apart from fulfilling all the official responsibilities of my work personally, I would like to complete my Masters in Public Policy and Administration or any similar subject from an institute of repute nationally or internationally.

Also Read: Urdu poetry is thoroughly secular

Simultaneously, I would like to continue guiding and helping students and aspirants preparing for competitive examinations like UPSC and state services in the coming future.

Finally, what would you like to say to Muslim students preparing for UPSC in particular and students in general?

My friendly and brotherly advice to all the students preparing for the UPSC and other similar examination would be to give at least two serious attempts with the best of your potential and abilities. Ultimately, results are not in your hand but the hard/smart work is.

The kind of knowledge resources, books, and subjects you get to read and understand not only brings about a transformational change in your personality but brings an upside-down change in your personality.

For me, the transformational change in thought process and understanding of the real issues is the main fruit of harvest when anybody prepares for the UPSC examination. This person is not only a productive individual with a clarity of thought and vision, the same person can bring positive change in the society being part of the government machinery and from outside as well in various different roles.

Also Read: Urdu poetry and the transitional era

I have the same advice for our Muslim students and candidates, be it male or female. These days a lot of attention has been given to Muslims and civil services in India and various centers have come across offering residential and coaching programs. What is required is the sincerity and focus and suitable parental/family support.

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