In the selected candidates’ list of CSE 2021 results declared by UPSC on Monday May 30, 2022, only 25 Muslim candidates’ names feature, out of a total of 685 candidates selected for IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS and other civil services posts. And among the 25 Muslim successful candidates, not a single name is in the top 100.
The best performer among these 25 candidates is Ms. Areeba Nomaan, who is the topper among Muslims with a rank of 109.
We, at Indian Masterminds, look at the success rate of Muslim candidates in UPSC CSE over the years, following the graph closely to draw a comparison.
MORE THAN A DECADE, STILL THE SAME
The last time when Muslims fared this poorly was in 2010, when 21 Muslims out of the total 875 had cracked the exam. However, that year also saw Dr Shah Faesal from Kashmir bag AIR 1, which made up for the otherwise overall poor performance of the community. Noticeably, this year, there was no name from Kashmir in the successful candidates’ list.
CSE 2021: HOW MUSLIM CANDIDATES FARED
A total of 68 Muslim candidates reached the interview stage in CSE 2021 after clearing prelims and mains. Out of them, only 25 cleared it and made it to the final list.
Areeba Nomaan from UP’s Sultanpur is the topper among Muslims this year with AIR 109. She completed her 10th from UP and did her 11th and 12th from Delhi. She graduated in Computer Science engineering from Delhi University. She started her UPSC journey in 2018 from old Rajinder Nagar in Delhi, when she appeared for CSE but couldn’t clear it. She subsequently failed in the 2019 and 2020 exams, too.
In her fourth attempt in 2021, she finally cleared the exam securing the all India rank 109. She had taken coaching from Jamia Milia’s RCA (Residential Coaching Academy) which helped her perform well in the personality test (interview). She scored 193 marks in the interview this year.
Last year, too, a woman was the topper among successful Muslim candidates. Ms. Sadaf Chaudhary of Haridwar had topped the Muslim candidates list with AIR 23. She had cleared the exam without any coaching.
In the last few years, many coaching centres have come up across the country which provide free or affordable coaching to Muslim candidates. Prominent among them are Jamia Millia Islamia’s Free Residential Coaching Academy (RCA), Hamdard Study Circle and Aaghaz Foundation.
List of successful Muslim candidates in UPSC CSE 2021:
1. Areeba Nomaan (109), 2. Mohd Suboor Khan (125), 3. Syed Mustafa Hashmi (162), 4. Afnan Abdu Samed (274), 5. Arshad Muhammad (276), 6. Mohd Saqib Alam (279), 7. ASRAR Ahmad Kichloo (287), 8. Ashik Ali (305), 9. Mohd Abdul Rawoof Shaik (309), 10. Nazish Umar Ansari (344), 11. Faisal Khan (364), 12. Shumaila Choudhary (368), 13. Mavis Tak (386), 14. Md Qamaruddin Khan (414), 15. Mohd Shabir (419), 16. Faisal Raza (441), 17. Masoom Raja Khan (457), 18. Ashif A (464), 19. Muskan Dagar (474), 20. Tahseenbanu Dawadi (482), 21. Shaikh Mohd Zaib Zakir (496), 22. Mohd Siddiq Shariff (516), 23. Mohd Shaukath Azeem (545), 24. Makakmayum Hosni Mubarak (575), 25. Anwar Hussain (600).
(This list is not final. It will be updated as and when required.)
PREVIOUS YEARS’ RESULTS
In last year’s results (UPSC CSE 2020), a total of 31 Muslims cracked the exam out of 761 candidates selected. In 2019, 42 Muslims had cracked the exam whereas in 2018, just 27 Muslims had made it to the final list.
The years – 2016 and 2017 – saw the highest Muslim candidates qualifying, 52 in 2016 and 50 in 2017.
Otherwise, the other years’ results have gone the similar way. In 2015, 34 Muslims were among the 1,078 successful candidates and in 2014, 38 Muslims were in the list of total 1,236 candidates. 2013 saw 34 Muslims clearing the exam while 2012 had 30, but four of them were among the top 100.
Similarly in 2012, 30 Muslims were among the successful candidates and in 2011, 31 Muslims were among the 920 selected for the civil services.
2010 was one of the worst years in terms of performance with only 21 Muslims qualifying out of the total of 875 successful candidates. However, that year, the saving grace was Dr Shah Faesal from Kashmir who topped the exam securing all India rank 1.
In 2009, a total of 31 Muslims were in the list of 791 successful candidates.
LOW REPRESENTATION OF MUSLIMS ALARMING
The Sachar Committee report of 2006, focusing on the low representation of Muslims in government jobs, advocated increasing their numbers. Since then, governments have paid special attention to the education and representation of minorities through various schemes and scholarships. The report sought upliftment of Muslims on numerous fronts.
The report showed that they lagged behind other communities, barring the SC and ST communities on every socio-economic index. Muslims constituted just 3.2% of the total officers in IAS, IPS and IFS (Indian Foreign Service).
The recommendations of the report, however, still await implementation.
