The recently constructed Atal tunnel is not only the longest tunnel above 10,000 feet (3,048 m) in the world, but is also a gateway to the remote tribal district of Lahaul & Spiti in the Himachal Pradesh. The tough terrain of the remote district was a big issue for the residents for long, and for almost six months in a year, the entire region remained virtually cut off from rest of India due to heavy snowfall.
Lahaul and Spiti were combined together to make one district in 1960. According to the 2011 census, it had a negative population growth since 2001 and was also the second least populous district in the country. However, despite the daunting constraints, the district has produced another IAS officer last year, which is a no small achievement.
Mr. Rohan Chand Thakur, hailing from Lahaul cleared the UPSC exam in 2009 to become an IAS officer. He recently visited Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) and was presented a souvenir from Divesh Shashni, another IAS officer who cleared UPSC from Lahaul in 2019. It was an emotional moment for Mr. Thakur as he was proud that after 11 long years, the district of his birth produced another IAS officer.
While speaking to Indian Masterminds, Mr. Thakur reminisced about the time when he cleared UPSC and the changes that have emerged in the Lahaul valley over the years.
DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF CIVIL SERVANTS
Mr. Thakur, who is currently the Managing Director of Himachal Pradesh Kaushal Vikas Nigam (HPKVN), said, “During the 1970s and early 1980s, many people from the valley made it to the civil services. However, over the years the number started dwindling because of the rise in income and the emerging business opportunities.”
“As Spiti and Lahaul gradually became a good spot for tourism, the propensity to work hard and diminished. Being a very small community, people are now exploring various ways to earn, whether by running a business or working in the private or government sector. Civil service, on the other hand, requires a lot of hard work and very few people are willing to really go through that struggle”, he explained.
MAKING IT TO THE IAS
Coming from a civil servant’s family, Mr. Thakur travelled to various places and got exposure from some of the best institutes in the country. He is an alumnus of the Doon School, DPS RK Puram, St. Stephens’ College, IIM Ahmedabad and is also an Oxford Chevening Fellow.
He said, “As my father was also into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), I got a chance to study at good institutes and get good exposure. However, my parents kept me rooted at the same time as I was exploring the wider world. A larger part of credit goes to my parents, who helped me manage the balance between the two forces.”
After completing master’s from IIM Ahmedabad, Mr. Thakur got into the Tata Administrative Services (TAS). Following the footsteps of his father, he cleared UPSC to become an IAS officer in 2009.
A GUIDING LIGHT TO YOUNG OFFICERS
LBSNAA frequently invites Mr. Thakur every year or two for conducting lectures for the trainees. He has also taken keen interest in improving the learning levels of young officers during his stint as Deputy Commissioner of Hamirpur and Shimla. He said, “While serving as DC Hamirpur and DC Shimla, I took an initiative for improving the quality of learning levels among the young officers. While talking to them, I used to focus on the practical challenges these young officers have to encounter when they try to implement something new in the field.”
The lesson which Mr. Thakur learned from his parents about being connected to the roots must have flashed through his mind on encountering a young IAS officer from Lahaul.
