After Aijaz Asad’s IAS 2012 entry and Prasanjeet Kour’s remarkable performance of 11th rank in the IAS 2022, more Poonch youngsters start cracking the prestigious exam; Dr Akash Jaggi, Aijaz-ur-Rehman Tantray, and Dr Koh-e-Safa are new entrants into IAS from Poonch

After Aijaz Asad’s IAS 2012 entry and Prasanjeet Kour’s remarkable performance of 11th rank in the IAS 2022, more Poonch youngsters start cracking the prestigious exam; Dr Akash Jaggi, Aijaz-ur-Rehman Tantray, and Dr Koh-e-Safa are new entrants into IAS from Poonch

SALIL RAINA

(POONCH TODAY NEWS)

POONCH: The border district of Poonch always remained in the news for internal security and LOC-related issues for several decades; as a result, the common man of the Poonch district witnessed administrative deficits and lack of developmental planning from those at the helm of affairs.

The successive J&K governments and the Union government always considered Poonch a backward district, as no strong efforts were initiated from the government to bring Poonch on the path of development touching all fields. For years, the people of Poonch were considered to be from a backward border district, as there was nothing for the people to show to the leadership of J&K and the Union government. A number of people during the last more than two decades cracked the IAS and JKAS exams, but the majority of them failed to leave a strong impact on the minds of the people because of their weak work culture. Although a few Poonch-based IAS, JKAS and JKPS officers have carved a niche for themselves due to their strong determination, wisdom, lack of arrogance and their public-friendly aura, a majority of JKAS/JKPS bureaucrats from Poonch remain liabilities for the government and the people because of their open indulgence in misuse of their official powers by indulging in corruption and other unparliamentary activities. Although a number of youngsters (both boys and girls) from Poonch district have also cracked various prestigious exams in banking, education, defence and other important fields in addition to excelling in sports at various levels, announcing the arrival of Poonch-based youngsters competing at the all-India level was initially started by Mohd Aijaz Asad when he cracked the IAS 2012 exam. Aijaz Asad, who did a B.Tech from IIT Delhi, is considered the first IAS officer from the Poonch district. Aijaz, who held important positions in the J&K bureaucracy, is known for his total professionalism and pro-public approach. After Aijaz Asad’s maiden entry from Poonch into the elite IAS service eleven years later, another young girl from Poonch, Prasanjeet Kour, cracked the IAS 2022 exam with an 11th rank, which was never expected by anyone in Poonch. After Aijaz Asad, Prasanjeet’s remarkable performance at such a young age brought Poonch onto the map of national-level IAS brains that are by default destined to lead India during the next three to four decades at various levels starting from this technology-driven age of the first phase of artificial intelligence. Earlier, Mohd Shabir Gorsi from Bachianwali village in the Poonch district also cleared the IAS 2021 exam with the rank of 419. However, the thundering performance of young Prasanjeet Kour in IAS 2022 with an all-India 11th rank opened the gateway for others in the Poonch district to think about entering into the elite field of IAS despite being citizens of this far-flung border district of Poonch, which also witnessed the worst time during Operation Sindoor with the loss of 13 lives. The invisible confidence and dedicated path shown by Aijaz Asad and Prasanjeet Kour to youngsters of Poonch with the latter’s once-in-several-decades performance at an all-India level by any Poonchi was enough to increase the self-reliance of youngsters of Poonch. This year, three candidates from Poonch have cleared the prestigious IAS exam, and the success of these three candidates has shown that the people of Poonch are not backward, but they are blessed with an inborn stuff to shine at the UT and national level if encouraged and guided properly. Three years ago, after the historic success of Prasanjeet Kour, daughter of S. Nirmal Singh and Smt Darsan Kour, at the young age of 23, three candidates from the Poonch district have now entered into the elite IAS services, which is really a proud moment for the district. Dr Akash Jaggi, who was serving as a veterinary surgeon in the animal husbandry department and is a son of Sh Daleep Jaggi, who retired as a 10+2 principal from Kishtwar, a resident of Mohalla Khorinar, Poonch, got an all-India 747th rank. Dr Akash Jaggi cleared the IAS exam at a very young age, and his success is enough to influence other youngsters of Poonch who are still in their school days to start thinking in advance to appear for the prestigious exam. Another youngster, Aijaz Ur-Rehman Tantray, who is the son of former MLA Poonch Haveli Shah Mohd Tantray, originally a resident of Loran in Tehsil Mandi, also cleared the prestigious exam with the 869th rank. Aijaz-Ur-Rehman Tantray is serving as a JKAS officer and was posted as manager at the DIC Reasi district. He becomes the first youngster from tehsil Mandi who has cracked the prestigious IAS exam. Moreover, the granddaughter of former J&K minister Lal Mohammad Sabir from Mendhar, Dr Koh-e-Safa, has also cleared the prestigious exam with the 763rd rank. Her father, Sh. Mehmood Choudhary, is a serving principal and district session judge in Shopian, while her mother is a doctor. The arrival of Poonch-based youngsters at the national-level bureaucracy, initially started by Aijaz Asad and Mohd Shabir Gorsi and later by young Prasanjeet Kour (IAS), who was allotted the Gujarat cadre based on her high merit, and the emergence of Dr Akash Jaggi, Aijaz-ur-Rehman Tantray and Dr Koh-e-Safa are very encouraging signs for the future, especially for the school- and college-going youngsters of Poonch, who are likely to use and learn from the success of Poonch-based IAS officers to shape their future in the elite IAS and related services at the national and UT levels. Although the people of Poonch, despite their nationalist credentials, were always given stepmotherly treatment by the successive J&K and union governments, they always stood behind the nation and have shown their mettle in various fields at the UT and national levels, but as far as the prestigious national IAS/IPS exams are concerned, Poonch was lacking in this field, but the path shown by a sitting IAS officer from Mendhar, Mohd Aijaz Asad (IAS 2012), a powerful face in J&K bureaucracy, who has won a million hearts with his total professionalism and good public dealing; Mohd Shabir Gorsi (IAS 2021); and young Prasanjeet Kour (IAS 2022), who got the 11th rank in all of India, has started inspiring the youngsters of Poonch to shine at the national level, and the recent success of Dr Akash Jaggi, Aijaz-Ur-Rehman Tantray and Dr Koh-e-Safa is a big example of this inspiration. It’s high time for the Poonch-based school and college youngsters to learn from the success of these young IAS officers to achieve heights and serve the nation in any capacity.