Life in underdeveloped Bihar was my inspiration
Ghuncha Sanobar got rank 424 in Civil Services exam 2014.
By Mumtaz Alam,
New Delhi: It is not common that you come from an empowered family and yet you feel the pain of life in a small village and small town of an underprivileged state like Bihar. But living with her father (an officer of Indian Police Service (IPS) who retired as Director General of Police) and other family members, Ghuncha Sanobar, second in her three female siblings, has been moving through the state and seen the life in the backwaters of the country from “close quarters”.
“Living with my father I could see from closer quarters the life in the small towns and small villages in the country especially Bihar which is underdeveloped – it has in fact all sorts of deprivation. So inspiration came from there,” says Sanobar who was ranked 424 in the list of 1236 successful candidates of civil services examination (whose result was declared (on this 4th July).
She opted for civil services after doing B.E. (Bachelor of Engineering (electronics).
Her first preference was Indian Administrative Service but with this rank, she has got her second choice – Indian Police Service. And Sanobar, 24, will be the first Muslim woman to become IPS officer in Bihar. Her father Anwar Hussain retired as DGP, Bihar and lives in Patna.
You come from an empowered family. Your father was an IPS officer who retired as Director General of Police, Bihar. Don’t you think your success was set for you?
“I will not say that. Only thing which my father’s job helped me to get was to have a closer view of how life is for people who don’t have as much as you and I have. Living with my father I could see from closer quarters the life is in the small towns,” says she.
When the results were announced on 4th July and she saw her name in the list, she first couldn’t believe it.
“I could not believe it. It was really great that my name was there. It was very nice to see that.”
Had you dreamt to become a police officer one day?
“No, my first choice was IAS and second choice was IPS. With this rank (424) I will get my second preference. But I am again writing for the civil services examination this year to improve my rank,” said Sanobar whose elder sister Khushboo Yasmin is a doctor and younger sister Zeba Parween is a medical student.
Sanobar laughs out loudly when said that a Muslim woman becoming IPS officer looks an out-of-the-box idea when a good number of Muslim families do not send their girls to schools.
She got coaching for General Studies at Vajiram study centre in Delhi. Geography was her optional subject.
Her message to Muslim girls:
Nothing is impossible, we must dream big. We should help ourselves, instead of waiting for somebody to come and help us. We should have determination to help ourselves. There are lots of opportunities. We can do our best to get them. Sky is limit.
Courtesy: Indiatomorrow.net