His humble background did not stop Anil Basak from having very high aspirations. He nurtured a dream to become an IAS officer one day. His father toiled day and night, doing odd jobs, just to earn enough to educate Anil and his brothers with the hope that they would do well in life in the future. And Anil did not disappoint him. He went on to get a seat in IIT Delhi, and after completing is graduation in civil engineering from here, he cracked UPSC exam and became an IAS officer.
Indian Masterminds brings to you the success story of Anil Basak who despite all odds cleared the most difficult examination of the country and stepped into the prestigious Indian Administrative Service.
BACKGROUND
Hailing from Bihar’s Kisanganj, Anil Basak cleared UPSC 2020 with AIR 45 in his third attempt. He surprised his family and relatives by entering into the prestigious IIT Delhi for his civil engineering in 2014. And from 2016, he started preparing for civil services.
Anil is the second child among his four siblings. His elder brother is a working professional while other two brothers are still pursuing their studies. His mother Manju Devi is a homemaker and father Binod Basak did all the odd jobs he could to feed and educate his sons.
“My father has studied till fourth class but he speaks several languages. My family has been in a state of abject poverty,” he said. His father used to work as a hawker and also worked as a house help in Rajasthan just to sustain his family. Finally, his father, after doing numerous odd jobs, single-handedly managed to build a small clothes business unit in Kisanganj.
THREE ATTEMPTS
Anil Basak first attempted UPSC in the year 2018. The result broke his heart as he was unable to clear his prelims. “I had put a lot of efforts and energy between 2016 and 2018 and yet I couldn’t clear the prelims,” Anil told media.
He further said that wrong strategy and approach were the reasons. He had become arrogant that if he can clear IIT Delhi, then he can undoubtedly clear UPSC. This proved to be a big mistake.
He recollected himself and prepared again for his second attempt. In his second attempt, he got through civil services and secured his placement in the IRS by getting 616th rank.
Finally in the 2020 UPSC result, Basak managed to be in the list of top 50 by securing AIR 45. He says, “Sahi batau to kathi paristithiyan thi, aur unhi parristithyon ne mujhe majboot banaya hai (financial background of his family was adverse). Possibly it was the tough times that tested me, also gave me strength.”
INSPIRATION
Basak says that his father is his biggest inspiration. He single-handedly used to run the business, cook food for his family and managed daily chores. “I used to think if I am able to put even 10 percent of the effort that my father puts in every day, I would be able to get through the civil services,” Basak said.
He says that due to his father’s obsession of watching news, his whole family became a family of news buffs. “In my childhood, when we were consuming so enormous amount of developments related to current events through news channels, I didn’t know that I would end up becoming an IAS officer,” said Basak.
