IAS Pranjal Patil proved the age-old adage – where there is a will, there is a way – true, when she made it to Indian Administrative Service despite being visually handicapped. She is currently posted as Joint Director, Social Welfare, New Delhi, with additional charges of Women and Child Development. Her struggle to reach this position inspires awe and respect, at the same time. She had once said that “success alone does not inspire; it is the struggle behind success that inspires.” And she literally translated her words into action with her exemplary UPSC and career journeys.
BACKGROUND
IAS Pranjal Patil was six years old when her classmate hit her left eye with a pencil, after which she lost her left eyesight. The doctors warned her parents that after this incident she may lose her other eye as well. Unfortunately, the warning came true and she lost vision in both her eyes soon after.
Her parents got her admitted in Smt. Kamla Mehta School for blind in Dadar, Mumbai. After completing her 12th with flying colours, she took admission for Bachelor’s in St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. After finishing her graduation, she did MA from JNU, Delhi.
“I used to travel every day from Ulhasnagar to CST. Everyone used to help, sometimes to cross the road, sometimes to get into the train. But there were few who asked me why I was travelling alone so far and told me that I should study in a college somewhere in Ulhasnagar itself. But I told them that I want to study only in this college and I am comfortable travelling every day for that,” she had told media.
DREAM COME TRUE
During her graduation days, she read an article about Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and subconsciously she started gaining interest in it. Slowly, she started gaining knowledge about the entrance exam and in 2015, she started the preparation for the UPSC exam. She was also pursuing her MPhil simultaneously.
Finally, in 2016, she cracked UPSC in her first attempt with AIR 773. However, she was refused a job in the Indian Railway Account Service on the ground of her being visually challenged.
However, this didn’t leave her disheartened. She started preparing once again and in 2017, she cleared UPSC again and bagged AIR 124. This time, she was posted as Assistant Collector in Ernakulam, Kerala, in 2018.
TECHNOLOGY PLAYED A BIG ROLE
IAS officer Pranjal Patil said that technology played a huge role in her success. She installed a software named Job Access With Speech (JAWS), a computer screen reader program that allows visually challenged individual to read the screen with a text-to-speech output or with a refreshable Braille display.
“It was a long process. I had to get the books, get them scanned and then use JAWS to listen to them. I couldn’t use those hand-written notes which save time as JAWS only reads printed documents,” she said.
The other challenge for IAS Patil was to get a writer for her examination who could match up her vocal speed. She says that she had perfect tuning with Vidushi. “She would scold me if I slowed down in the exam. It was like I uttered a word and it was on paper,” she added.
IAS Patil is married to Komal Singh Patil, a cable operator. She gives credit for her success to her family and parents who never left her side during her challenging days.
WISE WORDS
“Success doesn’t give inspiration; the struggle behind success gives you the inspiration. But success is important because only then, people will be interested to know your struggle. The attitude and the approach to do something matters and each individual can become a building block for a beautiful society.” With these beautiful words, she had expressed her views on success, in an interaction with media organisations in the recent past. Beautiful words that tell a beautiful story of struggle and success.
