Asansol/Burdwan: It's a glorious day for Bengal as two of its sons made it to the topper list of the Indian Statistical Services (ISS) Examinations, 2024, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the result of which was declared on December 12.
Sinchan Snigha Adhikary of Asansol of West Burdwan district topped the list with 738 marks while Biltu Maji of East Burdwan seconded him with 680.
Known to be meritorious, Adhikary (27) studied at Asansol Ramakrishna Mission and belongs to a middle-class family. He attributed this feat to incessant dedication.
Busking in Adhikary's success, family members said his upbringing was in the Mother Teressa Sarai of Asansol's Ismail. His father Pradeep Adhikary is a health staff of the ailing Asansol Mines Board which made the family manage in shoestring budget. His mother Sujata Adhikary is a homemaker. After leaving Ramakrishna Mission, Adhikary earned his master's in statistics from ISI, Kolkata.
He ranked 168 in medical and engineering entrance examinations, but the dream of pursuing a career in statistics kept driving him. After completing B Stat and M Stat, Adhikaryn dreamt of becoming an IAS and appeared in the Civil Services Examinations. But success eluded him. He shifted his entire focus to ISS and topped it.
"Satyendranath Bose said those who say science can't be pursued in Bengali either don't understand the language or don't have an understanding of science. That's the eternal truth. Unfortunately, the standard in Bengali medium institutions has fallen recently and if that can be resuscitated, Bengali-medium students would produce outstanding results," Adhikary, who studied in a Bengali medium school, said. He gives the total credit to his parents.
"Cracking UPSC was his dream but we never expected he would stand first. We are overwhelmed by his achievement. Not only as a student but we want to see him as a successful administrator," Pradeep said.
A Rabidrasangeet aficionado, Adhikary loves to read Harry Potter in leisure. He watches movies but keeps a safe distance from social media.
The second rank holder Biltu Maji hails from Panduk village of Ramnagar panachyat under Aushgram Block II. He said we should never give up after one failure.
Locals said after passing the higher secondary examination from Dinnathpur High School, Maji pursued honours in Statistics and secured a job in India Post as a village postmaster of the Rupupur Post Office in Birbhum.
His father Joydeb Maji owns two bighas of land from where he earns his living and runs the household expenses while his mother Sumitra does stichwork. They could not afford the coaching fees for their son to prepare for UPSC. But that couldn't stop him from earning this feat in his third attempt.
"We did not know about UPSC exams. But after our son cracked it, we know he will secure a job," Joydeb said.
"It was a four-year journey to crack the ISS Exam with the second rank. My father is a farmer and holds a small land parcel which is the only way of earning. I could not clear the interview in the first attempt and the second attempt remained unsuccessful by just two marks. I gave up all hope and could not concentrate on study. But my mother motivated me a lot and I started preparing for other examinations. But I want to sit for NET and GATE after completing my master's," Maji said.
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