Every year with the announcement of the UPSC result, many stories emerge which depict the real struggle of aspirants, not only while appearing for the exam but also about what they experienced in the early stage of their life. This is the story of an IAS officer from Kerala cadre who was orphaned at the age of five, spent many years in an orphanage, and is now serving as a District Collector in Kollam, Kerala.
Mr. Bayyil Abdul Nasar, a native of Thalassery, Kerala was just five, when his father passed away and it became quite impossible for his mother to bear the responsibility of her six children. But she always wanted to provide her children with good education for a bright future, therefore, she started working in the various households to bear the basic expense of the family.
Being a single parent, the responsibility of feeding six children was becoming quite difficult for Manhumma (his mother), therefore after consulting with the relatives, she decided to send her youngest, Abdul, to a local orphanage named Darussalam in Thalassery.
Mr. Abdul Nasar while speaking with the media, said “We were dealing with extreme poverty. My mother was the only one who was earning in the family. It was a very tough time and `Amma’ (mother) was the biggest support system of the family.”
Stayed In Orphanage For 13 Years
Mr. Abdul Nasar had an unlikely childhood, as he did not receive a loving and caring environment. At such an early age he saw his mother struggling to provide food to him and his siblings for survival. However, Kerala’s community-based orphanage system helped him to overcome all the difficulties for a period of 13 years until he turned 17 years old, by providing him with education, food, and shelter.
Initially, he was not inclined towards studies. At times, missing his mother and siblings, ran away from the orphanage a few times. But every time he ran out, he used to remember that his mother would get worried after knowing that he ran away from the orphanage. So, he used to return.
Watching his mother working endlessly for the family, he also found places to work wherever he traveled in Kerala. “Being a 10-year-old at that time, hotel jobs were easily available. I have also experienced working as a supplier and a cleaner at various hotels”, he recalled.
IAS Officer Amitabh Kant Ignited The Spark
When Mr. Nasar was studying in upper primary orphanage-run school, Niti Aayog CEO, Mr. Amitabh Kant, who was posted as a sub-collector at that time, visited the orphanage. Watching such a young IAS officer, Mr. Nasar started dreaming to become a district collector one day.
After a few years, he completed his SSLC (class 10) and was transferred to another reputed orphanage for further studies. After shifting to Vatanapally Orphanage in Thrissur, he completed his class 12 studies.
Soon after getting over with his school studies, he joined a job-oriented course of Health Inspector Diploma in Bangalore, as he was facing a family burden in pursuing higher studies. However, after that, he went back to his native place to pursue graduation and post-graduation in English Literature.
Even while studying BA in English Literature, he continued to earn, giving tuitions to students, working as a telephone operator, and even by delivering newspapers!
The First Government job
In 1994, Mr. Nasar got his first Government job, as a health inspector in the Kerala Health Department. After one year of service in the health department, he went back to his native place to work as an upper primary teacher, but he returned to the earlier job soon.
Aiming to become a collector, he applied to the Kerala State Civil Service Executive (deputy collector) post and started preparing for it, while working as a health inspector. However, he took leave from the services as his wife M K Ruksana came in support of him. Ruksana took the responsibility of taking care of the family, as she was working as a school teacher.
Mr. Nasar was highly dedicated towards clearing the state level civil services exam and went to various places for the preparation. He sat for the prelim’s exam in 2002 and for the mains exam in 2004. He was among the few aspirants who were called for the interview round. And in 2006, he got selected for Kerala State Civil Service and was appointed as the Deputy Collector.
His vision was to become an IAS officer, and the first step to conquer the dream was already accomplished. He was named the `best Deputy Collector in Kerala’ for the year 2015.
It was in October 2017, when the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension issued an order regarding the elevation of Mr. Abdul Nasar to the rank of an IAS officer.
He worked as Housing Commissioner to Government of Kerala before he was appointed as the District Collector of Kollum, Kerala, in July 2019.
The sheer hard work and dedication of Mr. Nasar have been applauded by many, and his story of becoming an IAS officer after living for 13 years in an orphanage is admired by several young civil services aspirants.
