Growing up in Chhattisgarh's Naxalite-affected Dantewada district, Namrata Jain had aspired to join the civil services.
Her dream came true, on Thursday, when the 23-year-old cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam for 2016.
“I am really happy to get selected in the exam. It is like a dream come true for me and my family. I want to become an IAS officer and serve Bastar.” Namrata told the Hindustan Times in an interview.
I have seen the conflict of Bastar since my childhood and I believe that the government should make more attempts to win the faith of the tribals.
Namrata, who lived and studied in the troubled Geedam town of the district moved to Durg for high school and then to Bhilai for an engineering degree. She stood 99th in the list of 1099 successful candidates in the 2016 UPSC exams.
"She had been very studious all through her schooling and in her college also. We knew she would clear the civil service examination some day," said her uncle, Suresh Jain, from Geedam.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, who is on an official visit to Japan, congratulated her for the success.
Dantewada district comes under the state's Bastar region, where Naxalites have been waging a guerrilla war for years.
Three other students from Chhattisgarh have also qualified for the civil service. Gagan Giri Goswami, Lal Das, and Piyush Kumar Lahre have been ranked 710th, 746th and 977th respectively.
A total of 846 men and 253 women cleared the exam this year. Of them, 500 belonged to the general category, 347 were OBCs, 163 from the Scheduled Caste category and 89 from Scheduled Tribes.
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)