IAS TOPPER SHENA AGRAWAL - वैश्य गौरव - शेना अग्रवाल

Shena AggarwalStart talking about her future as an IAS officer and the change in Shena Aggarwal is instantaneous. Her eyes gleam, her soft voice rises a decibel, and her short measured sentences become longer and more passionate. Aggarwal topped this year's prestigious civil services exam. "I can't wait to get on the field and start working," she says, visibly excited.

A MBBS doctor from India's top ranking All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), it had been Aggarwal's dream since school to appear for the IAS exam. But the 25-year-old became serious about it only during the last year of college when she interned in rural India. 

It was when she saw first hand what life was like in the countryside, that she became aware of the basic problems such as a lack of education and understood the need for preventive healthcare. "I realised such problems could be solved by an administrative officer. I thought if I passed the civil services exam I could have a wider influence," she says.

Her first shot at the exam was in 2009 while completing her internship. "It was just for practice. I didn't even clear the first round," she laughs. The second time was a year later when she was working as junior resident doctor at AIIMS. She cleared the exam and got into the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In her third attempt, she hit the jackpot. 

"I had a feeling I would clear the exam but topping it was something I never anticipated," she says. It's no small feat. The Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination in 2011 was taken by about two lakh students while the main written exam saw around 12,000 candidates. Out of this only 2,400 students made it to the final personality interview.

Aggarwal has been a topper right through school. Receiving accolades and media attention is nothing new for her. She topped CBSE's Pre-Medical Test in 2004 and held the 19th rank for the AIIMS admission test, a college that admits only around 75 students in total. So when her grandmother heard of her latest triumph, she was happy but not really surprised. 

"Shena is such a hard worker I knew she would do well. She deserves this," says Sarladevi Aggarwal who came all the way from Patiala to meet her granddaughter in Delhi. What makes Shena's achievement especially noteworthy is the fact that she hails from a small town in Haryana, a state notorious for female foeticide. 

"I hope it will send a message to all parents that girls and boys are equal. Girls can achieve whatever boys can. So girls should be provided with equal opportunities and be given an equal chance to develop," she says.

Luckily for her, her father, Dr CK Aggarwal who has his own clinic and her mother have been extremely supportive. "They have never imposed their thoughts and encouraged me to do whatever I wanted," she says. She recounts her days of preparation when she would often be wracked with self-doubt. 

"But my mother always had faith and reassured me that my MBBS degree was a great back-up," she says with a smile. Inspired by his sister, her brother Shivin who is currently pursuing engineering from BITS Pilani is also contemplating appearing for the IAS exam.

In September Aggarwal will head to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie where she will be groomed to become an IAS officer. This means she will leave her IRS training midway. But she has no regrets and in fact, is already planning ahead. "I want to be accessible to all and want to make sure I understand everyone's problems," she says.

During her rural posting, Aggarwal met a frail woman who was pregnant with her fifth baby. She told the woman how dangerous it was to have a baby after having two girls and then two abortions in quick succession. The woman had been pressurised by her family and was left with no choice. "I realise this situation has to change. If a woman is independent, she can stand up for herself," she says. Hence relying on her experience as a doctor, Aggarwal plans to initially focus on education, preventive healthcare and sanitation.

Her biggest source of inspiration is her maternal uncle S K Goel, an IPS officer. "He is my role model," she says, narrating with pride how he dealt with a difficult posting in Punjab when terrorism in the state was at its peak. She also looks up to former President APJ Abdul Kalam. 

"He comes from a middleclass background and yet has risen so high," she says, admiration evident in her tone. Aggarwal is not approaching her future with rose-tinted glasses. Speaking to women IAS officers, she realised that being a woman makes it doubly challenging.

"Although times have changed, I will have to constantly prove myself because I'm a woman. But I can hardly wait," she signs off.

साभार : इंडिया टुडे 

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