To suffer a personal bereavement just before your exam can be extremely disheartening and affect one’s focus and state of mind. This happened to IAS officer Rajdeep Singh Khaira before the interview round of UPSC CSE 2020. He lost his father to the dreadful second wave of Covid-19 in the country. However, despite suffering this personal loss at a crucial time of his UPSC journey, he didn’t allow his focus to waver from his goal and cracked the tough exam with AIR 495. This was his fifth attempt, which again goes to show his persistence and grit to reach his goal. Indian Masterminds presents his success story today.
BACKGROUND
A resident of Jamalpur, Ludhiana, IAS officer Rajdeep Singh Khaira did his early education from Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar. After this, he took MBBS degree from Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital, Patiala.
In the year 2017, he was selected for the post of Medical Officer, and he started working at the Civil Hospital, Koom Kalan Ludhiana. However, he had made up his mind to appear in the UPSC CSE exam during his MBBS days only.
After cracking CSE, he had spoken to media about this journey: “The most critical thing in this five-year journey is that when you prepare, you can often get disappointed. There is a lot of distraction during preparation. But you have to keep going without being influenced by them.”
FIFTH ATTEMPT
Mr. Khaira cracked UPSC CSE in the year 2020 with AIR 495 in his fifth attempt. Earlier, he had reached till the interview round twice but couldn’t clear it.
He says, “Never leave before achieving the goal. Leaving should not be an option. We should all have a never-give-up attitude. I failed many times but kept trying until I succeeded.”
NEVER GIVE-UP ATTITUDE
Even though he failed so many times, he didn’t let his failures define him. Instead, he stood up, learnt from his mistakes, accepted them, and worked hard on them.
He says that aspirants have two options: either they get frustrated at their failure and demotivate themselves or pick themselves up. “Take the learning from what happened in the past and do not repeat the mistake again,” he says.
FATHER SUCCUMMED TO COVID-19
It was not easy for Mr. Khaira to crack his fifth attempt. His father succumbed to the second wave of Covid-19 before the interview round. It was a devastating moment for him to not have his father by his side in the final stretch. Nevertheless, he didn’t buckle under the sorrow and stress and attended the interview round with full confidence and preparedness. His dedication and hard work finally paid off and he came out successful.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
Mr. Khaira had bagged 91% marks in his 10th, he was the district topper in 12th, and the gold medallist in MBBS. But while preparing for UPSC, he tasted his first failures. He says that this exam always tests the patience of the aspirants.
He also says that between the age of 24-28 years, there are many distractions and challenges that one faces. From seeing a fellow student earning and becoming successful to the pressure of marriage… all these things affect a lot. Nevertheless, if one has a never give-up attitude, he can reach any heights, come what may.
“Social media also causes great distraction. That’s why, I did not create any account on social media during my preparation,” he says.
MESSAGE TO ASPIRANTS
IAS officer Khaira says that no two aspirants are exactly alike. “If any technology, book or trick is working with me, that doesn’t mean it will work with you as well. Therefore, always have your own mantra, schedules, and means of studying and preparing for any competitive exam.”
He says that with a firm belief in themselves and a positive attitude towards the exam, aspirants can achieve all their desired goals.
