From 12th Fail to Class-1 Officer: The Inspiring Journey of RAS Officer Brijesh Parmar
Not all success stories have a happy beginning. Some of them, in fact, have an entirely different and significantly darker start. The story of RAS officer Brijesh Parmar is one of those inspiring tales, where the main character started his journey to become a class-1 officer not from an impressive academic result, a reputable educational institution, or a well-defined career plan – but rather a solid failure of his academic performance and, more precisely, the failure of his class 12 exams. Failing Class 12 could be the end for Brijesh Parmar. The RAS examination twice cleared him a chance to make it to a Rajasthan Administrative Service officer. Parmar comes from a middle-class family in Rajasthan state. His father works as Assistant Sub-Inspector of the Central Industrial Security Force and his mother is a homemaker. In school, he did not stand out. After finishing Class 10, he decided to pursue the science stream as many of his friends did. However, it was not long before he knew that he took the wrong decision to choose science. The subject matter was getting tougher with each passing year. He failed his Class 12, eventually deciding to change his stream and complete his science education. After that, he also joined a BA course but got stuck in the first year since he was not confident what he really wanted to do.This was when something totally unexpected happened for Parmar. Parmar used to love dancing. Rather than waste his life in the BA course, he decided to get into dancing seriously. He joined The Danceworx , Delhi, to acquire professional dance skills. Therein, he trained himself in contemporary, jazz, ballet and modern dance. He soon became a part of the professional dance circuit interacting with renowned dancers and choreographers For a while, dancing seemed to be a settled profession for Parmar.The sudden COVID-19 pandemic, however, brought an end to dance performances. Being jobless, he returned to his home town. Since there were no jobs in view in Delhi, he decided to think what he really wanted to do with his life. It was in this phase that he discovered lectures on civil services examination. Preparing for the civil services examination became a new mission in life for Parmar.It was anything but straightforward for him to divert his attention from dancing to academics. Thereafter, to join the IAS or IPS cadre he had to face the challenge of a competitive examination. Moreover, he also needed to acquire a thorough knowledge of various subjects needed for the exam. It involved a long and tiring process. After failing in academics repeatedly, it was not surprising that Parmar was full of self-doubt while contemplating civil services examination. However, he was not to know then that a career in civil services was destined for him.He began studying for RAS in 2022. The initial phase of preparations was arduous. Parmar’s dance training provided him with a crucial lesson- to improve his performance one needs to practice after practice. In other words, there is no substitute for hard work. One does not prepare for examination, one practices for it. Just like a dancer, a candidate for IAS can also get success so long as they stick to their studies.Parmar practised more and more for the RAS exam. He worked hard on his weak points. This was when the results began to show. He succeeded in scoring high marks and cleared the RAS in 2023. He was given the position of a Cooperative Inspector. Such an achievement was quite an unprecedented one considering how it had happened given the kind of life he had lived so far. Yet, he was not satisfied with these achievements and wanted to do better. He prepared once again and this time he cleared the examination for the second time in 2024. For Parmar, the story of clearing RAS examination seems to be inspirational. What makes Parmar’s story inspirational is the fact that he did not always aim to enter the civil services.After he failed in science education, the next best thing he decided was to do BA. However, he failed again and took dancing as his profession. But this ended up in COVID-19. The final twist was that after completing such a long preparation, he faced the RAS examination and then got selected. His initial failures and the changes of career which could have been considered ridiculous were the major contributing factor for his selection in the civil services examination. In his own words, “I did not get success because I always wanted to join the civil services. Success came because I tried again and again.” Students often believe that the initial failure in their career determines their future career prospects. A student who fails in his examination believes that the world is going against him. The one who selects the wrong stream feels that their career is ruined. A student who finds his true passion late in life feels that there is no time to start over. Parmar’s story teaches young students that these feelings do not have to control their lives.A poor score in one’s academic record cannot decide who one is. A wrong career move cannot decide one’s future. Even getting engaged in some activities for a while cannot decide whether someone moves on to the civil services or not. After his Class XII Board exams, Parmar did not have clear ideas about his future. He did not fare well in graduation. He could not find good job opportunities. Yet, he eventually made it to the civil services because none of these setbacks decided what he would become. His journey is an important lesson for students in general and struggling students in particular. No matter what happens, one should always find a new path and attempt once again to see if things can change. There are times when one takes wrong steps in life, but these steps can always be retraced. One may stumble but must remember the fact that the fall