Tag Archives: Women IAS Officers

Adiba Anam becomes Maharashtra’s first Muslim woman IAS officer, daughter of an auto-rickshaw driver

June 23, 2025Amazing Feats, Education - Gold Medallists, Toppers, Merits, Achievers (wef. June 12th, 2023), Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021)Adiba Anam, Adiba Anam - IAS Officer, Adiba Anam - Maharashtra, Adiba Anam Ashfaq Ahmed, Adiba Anam Ashfaque Ahemad, Alifa Khan, Arshad Aziz Qureshi, Ashfaq Ahmed, Farkhanda Qureshi, Farkhanda Qureshi - IAS, Female Muslim IAS Officers, Female Muslims of Maharashtra, Female Muslims of Yavatmal - Maharashtra, Ghanchi Gajala Mohammad Hanif, Ghulam Haider, Hasan Khan, Indian Muslims of Maharashtra, Iqbal Ahmed, Iram Chaudhary, Javed Mev, Maharashtra's First Muslim Female IAS Officer, Maharashtra's First Muslim Woman IAS Officer - Adiba Anam, Md Nayab Anjum, Mohamma Salah T A, Mohammad Aftab Alam, Mohammad Haris Mir, Mohammad Haris Mir - AIR 345 - UPSC 2023, Mohammad Muneeb Bhat, Mohammad Shaukat Azeem, Mohsina Bano, Muslim IAS Officers, Muslim Women IAS Officers, Muslims of Madha Pradesh, Muslims of Maharashtra, Muslims of Maharashtra in Education, Muslims of Yavamal Town - Eastern Maharashtra, Muslims of Yavatmal - Maharashtra, Nadia Abdul Rashid, Najma Salam, Nazeer Ahmed Birjan, Nizamuddin Sheikh, Nizamuddin Sheikh - Local NGO - Yavatmal, Positive News of Female Muslims of Maharashtra, Positive News of Female Muslims of Maharashtra in Education, Sadaf Malik, Shah Mohammad Imran Mohammad Irfan, Shakeel Ahmed, Syed Mohammad Arif Moin, Wasim Ur Rehman, Women IAS Officers, Yasir Ahmed Bhattimpositiveone@gmail.com

Yavatmal Town, MAHARASHTRA :

Adiba Aman in the centre.

New Delhi :

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) declared the results of the 2024 Civil Services Examination on April 22, with 1009 candidates clearing one of India’s most competitive exams. Among them, Adiba Anam has made history by becoming the first Muslim woman from Maharashtra to be selected for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

Hailing from Kalam Chowk in Yavatmal, a small town in eastern Maharashtra, Anam secured an all-India rank of 142. Her achievement has been widely hailed as a breakthrough for both women and minorities in the state. Her father, Ashfaq Ahmed, earns a living by driving an auto-rickshaw.

Raised in modest circumstances, Anam completed her schooling in Urdu medium from a local Zilla Parishad school. Despite limited resources, she consistently excelled academically—scoring 94% in her Urdu board exams and 92% in 12th grade with a science stream.

Speaking to India Tomorrow, Anam recounted her journey through UPSC. Her first attempt in 2021 ended at the preliminary stage. Undeterred, she progressed to the mains in her second attempt, and finally, in her fourth attempt, clinched success with a rank likely to earn her an IAS cadre.

“My parents never asked me to give up on my education. There were people who suggested I take up a small job to ease our financial burden, but my parents never let those voices affect me,” she said.

Anam noted the social barriers women often face in her community. “Yes, girls do face restrictions. But these challenges only overpower us if we allow ourselves to feel weak. Once we build our mental strength, those obstacles lose their power,” she said. Her message to young women: “Stay mentally strong. Chase your dreams with courage and determination.”

Initially aspiring to become a doctor, Anam couldn’t clear the NEET exam. It was then that her uncle, Nizamuddin Sheikh—a local NGO secretary in Yavatmal—encouraged her to consider civil services as a way to serve the public.

Adiba Anam draws inspiration from the poetry of Allama Iqbal. Two couplets, in particular, fuel her determination:

“Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqdeer se pehle, Khuda bande se khud pooche, bata teri raza kya hai, ” meaning, “Elevate your selfhood to such heights that even destiny, before shaping your fate, is compelled to ask you: ‘Tell me, what is it that you desire?’”

This powerful verse emphasizes self-empowerment, urging individuals to strengthen their character and willpower to such an extent that even fate bows before their determination.

“Amal se zindagi banti hai jannat bhi jahannam bhi, Yeh khaaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na naari hai.” This translates in English as “Through actions, life can become either a paradise or a hell. This being (the human) made of dust is by nature neither angelic nor demonic.”

The couplet underscores the idea that our actions determine the quality and direction of our lives. Human beings are not inherently good (like angels) or evil (like demons); it is their actions (amal) that shape their destiny and define their identity.

Explaining the two couplets, she said, “These lines remind me of the power of action. If you just sit still, nothing will change. But if you act, if you try to change your situation, something will definitely happen,” she said.

Anam’s journey—from a small-town Urdu-medium student to a future IAS officer—stands as a powerful story of resilience, ambition, and the transformative potential of education.

Here is the list of 26 Muslim candidates who cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination this year, with their ranks written in front of their names.

• Iram Chaudhary – Rank 40

• Farkhanda Quraishi – Rank 67

• Mohammad Muneeb Bhatt – Rank 131

• Adiba Anam Ashfaq Ahmed – Rank 142

• Wasim ur Rehman – Rank 281

• Md. Nayab Anjum – Rank 292

• Mohammad Haris Mir – Rank 314

• Mohammad Shaukat Azeem – Rank 345

• Alifa Khan – Rank 417

• Nadia Abdul Rashid – Rank 429

• Najma Salam – Rank 442

• Shakeel Ahmed – Rank 506

• Shah Mohammad Imran Mohammad Irfan – Rank 553

• Mohammad Aftab Alam – Rank 560

• Mohsina Bano – Rank 585

• Syed Mohammad Arif Moin – Rank 594

• Ghulam Haider – Rank 633

• Hasan Khan – Rank 643

• Ghanchi Gajala Mohammad Hanif – Rank 660

• Mohammad Salah T.A. – Rank 711

• Sadaf Malik – Rank 742

• Yasir Ahmed Bhatti – Rank 768

• Javed Mev – Rank 815

• Nazeer Ahmed Bijran – Rank 847

• Arshad Aziz Quresh – Rank 993

• Iqbal Ahmed – Rank 998

source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Education / by Mohammad Akram / April 2025

BDO inspires young girls

July 21, 2022Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021)Choudhury Abdul Karim, Choudhury Abdul Karim - Minister for Library Services & Mass Education - West Bengal, Indian Muslims of West Bengal, Muslim Women IAS Officers, Muslim Women in Leadership Roles in India, Muslim Women of India, Muslim Women of India in the 21st Century, Muslims of West Bengal, Muslims Women Leaders in West Bengal, Positive News of Indian Muslims, Positive Stories of Indian Muslim Women, Positive Stories of Indian Muslims, Rashid Alam - Resident - Lodhan - Goalpokhari - West Bengal, Shama Parveen, Shama Parveen - First Woman IAS Officer for North Dinajpur District - West Bengal, Shama Parveen - IAS Officer, Women IAS Officersmpositiveone@gmail.com

WEST BENGAL:

This IAS officer held a career counselling camp at the recent Islampur Book Fair.

This IAS officer held a career counselling camp at the recent Islampur Book Fair.

In the few months following her first posting at Goalpokhar-I in November 2014, Shama Parveen, “BDO Mam” as she is addressed by many, has become a source of inspiration to several, especially young women belonging to the minority community.

She is the first woman IAS officer in North Dinajpur district from the minority community.

Shama, a 2013 batch officer from Kanpur, had wanted to do something for the underprivileged. At Goalpokhar-I, one of the most impoverished areas of North Dinajpur, she began to act on her dreams.

Goalpokhar is largely agriculture-based. There are no industries here and not a single college in the block. People from the minority community comprise roughly 80 per cent of the block’s population.

During her short stint — she is waiting for a transfer order — Shama has, on her own, held career counselling sessions by visiting schools in her area. She told the young girls as well as their parents that if she could make it, these girls could too.

“The main impediment for the girls from my community are members from their own families. It is a popular belief that we cannot do well in higher studies. Whenever I meet the guardians, I tell them their daughters have the capacity to do well in higher studies. Please stand beside them. I tell them, let them shine. I am a woman from a humble background and if I can achieve what I have, so can these girls,” said Shama, who hails from a middle-class family. Her father is a businessman and her mother a homemaker.

Shama said her younger sister is studying civil engineering and her brother is a schoolteacher. She said her father is proud of both his daughters.

“When I started preparing for the civil service exams, I went to a tutorial in Delhi. But I realised that it was not the proper way, it was a kind of cheating. I left the tutorial and began preparing at home. I concentrated on reading media reports and hunting up events and data on the Internet. I had done my masters in history and that remains my favourite subject. I tell young people to read books as they are the cornerstone of success,” Shama added.

Choudhury Abdul Karim, minister for library services and mass education and Islampur MLA, could not praise the young bureaucrat enough. “She is an inspiration for the women of our community,” Karim said.

Rashid Alam, resident of Lodhan in Goalpokhar, said that this year’s Madhyamik exams were being conducted smoothly mainly because of the efforts of the BDO. Examinations have often been conducted here among allegations of cheating and violent reactions.

Shama’s interactions with school students have prepared the way for peaceful examinations. “She has been keeping a watch. My daughter is sitting for her Madhyamik and all arrangements are being overseen by the BDO. We know that she will be promoted and leave the block. But she will remain an inspiration for all of us,” he said. The students of the schools that Shama has visited fondly recall her quiet manners and gentle way of persuading them to carry on their studies.

“Once she came to our school. The manner in which she spoke to us was very impressive. I do not know about the others but I am determined to pursue higher studies. I used to be convinced that higher secondary would be as far as I would be able to study. Almost all girls here do not go to college as the two colleges are far away in Islampur or Dalkhola. But BDO Mam has kindled a tremendous urge in me to study,” said Arjuna Khatun, a resident of Goagaon, a village in the block.

Shama’s formula of success is simple. “If you have nek irada (honest resolve), it can help you achieve anything,” she said.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph Online / Home> West Bengal / by Mehdi Hedaytullah / March 09th, 2015