By Maariyah Siddique, TwoCircles.net
“I faced poverty and misery since childhood and my father took up odd jobs to support the family financially,” recalls Azharuddin. Son of Zahiruddin, a taxi driver form Yavatmal, Azharuddin Quazi has made his family proud by securing AIR-315 in the Civil Services examination of UPSC.
A jubilant Azharuddin remembers his childhood full of difficulties and obstacles when irrespective of their troubled socio-economic status, his parents encouraged him to study. “My mother played a huge role in education of all my brothers including myself,” he says. Azharuddin, who is the youngest of his other three siblings, was forced to come back to Yavatmal a year after he had gone to Pune for undergraduate. After securing the merit list in his standard 12th examinations, he was admitted to a college in Pune but could not continue his studies as his parents did not have enough resources to support his expenses in another city. He shares that his own life has been an example of how problems due to financial instability persisted but his mother, having studied till Matric, never gave up on the career of her children.
“For her, education was the only empowering tool,” he says about his mother, Meraj. He recounts that his mother was a bright student herself but due to family constraints, she was forced to give up studies after 10th. After her marriage with Zahiruddin, she continued her zeal for education and pursued her own dream by giving her children the best of education. Throughout schooling, his mother used to teach all her children at home, assisting the four of them with homework and projects. She was disciplined and strict and showed no mercy or excuses when it came to studies, shares Azharuddin fondly.
“I got felicitated by the then SP of Yavatmal, Mr Abdur Rahman Sir who became inspiration for my IAS dream,” says Azharuddin. He narrates that after having to drop out of college in Pune and motivated by his role model, Abdur Rahman, he resumed undergrad at Yavatmal itself. In 2010 after completing his graduation in Commerce, he went to Jamia Hamdard University in New Delhi for preparation of civil service examinations but again due to lack of finances he had suffered a hindrance. His determination, however, led him to grab a job in a Corporation Bank through a competitive exam and he was appointed as the Probationary Officer where he served for 6 years.
Seeing his younger siblings work hard, as the oldest one among them, he had always dreamt of doing something big for his family and community, he says. Azharuddin has three younger brothers – one has completed MBBS, second is a chemical engineer and third a lawyer. His father being a non matriculate and his mother a matriculate, were always focused on providing quality education to their children, he says.
Azharuddin, who is also a national colour holder in handball, served at the Corporation Bank in New Delhi from 2012 to 2018 in various capacities, including his days as a Branch Manager too. As better days were approaching due to his hard work and will, he resigned from the bank job in 2018 and decided to pursue his dream career as an IAS.
Once again, Azharuddin returned to Jamia Hamdard in New Delhi to prepare for civil services and after one attempt in 2018, he ultimately secured AIR-315 in 2019 examinations.
“Hard work, consistency and perseverance always pays,” he states, while describing that he was guided by Noorul Hasan (IPS addt. SP, Yavatmal) and Raj Kumar (SP Yavatmal dist.) during his UPSC preparation. He further praises his family, friends and teachers who guided him through thick and thin.
When asked about a message for the aspirants belonging to minority communities, Azharuddin says, “Those coming from backward regions and poor socio-economic backgrounds like me, I will tell them to not be afraid and distracted by these limitations.” The Constitution of this country as well as independent institutions like UPSC provides everyone with equal opportunities irrespective of caste, creed, religion, region and gender.
He continues, “If you are good at doing hard work, please have patience and confidence in our Constitution and institutions and Insha’Allah you will succeed.”