“And I Still Rise”, Says UPSC Aspirant After Failing To Make The Cut On His Final Attempt

The UPSC Civil Services Exam is a dream for lakhs of people across India. Every year roughly 5 lakh candidates appear for the preliminary exams out of which less than a thousand are finally selected. It is an endless cycle of grit and determination that will finally yield good results, and this year, 685 candidates have made it to the much-coveted recommendation list of UPSC CSE.

However, with the maximum number of attempts fixed at 6, for many, this has also been their last attempt, and the disappointment for those who could not make it in their final attempt is understandable. As the country applauds all the victors, it has also found the time to celebrate those who could not make it.

Also read: UPSC Results 2021 Out; All Women In Top 3 - Shruti Sharma From JNU Gets AIR 1!

One such person is Rajat Sambhyal of Jammu. Rajat won the hearts of the Indian Twitterati after he shared his UPSC story. He said on social media, “10 years of hard work ended in ashes. 6 UPSC attempts over.” Sambhyal has appeared for the UPSC exam 6 times, out of which he failed the prelims 3 times, and also failed mains twice. In his latest and final attempt, he qualified for the interview but missed the mark by only 11 marks.

10 years of hard work ended in ashes.
6 UPSC attempts over.
3 times prelims failed.
2 times mains failed.
In my last attempt, yesterday I succumbed due to low score in interview. Missed by 11 marks. #upscresult
“And still I rise”. pic.twitter.com/m8FRcJGCWu

— Rajat sambyal (@rajatsambyal_) May 31, 2022

His tweet was met with a huge response from netizens who applauded his grit and perseverance. He was also interviewed by many news channels as the whole country stood firmly in admiration of his spirit.

Yet, there are others who do not seem to possess the same spirit as Rajat. Dealing with failures after years of preparation can be hard and many such students shared their disappointment on the internet. They were applauded for their efforts and hard work and were encouraged by everyone to not lose hope.

One such person was Kunal Virulkar from Amravati in Maharashtra. Kunal shared with Twitteratis that he could not clear the UPSC CSE exam even after ten attempts. Unlike Rajat who was full of positivity and optimism, Kunal made it evident that he was more than just disappointed. “Don't know what is written in the destiny,” he wrote in a Tweet.

To boost his morale, many users shared their own experiences with the exams and encouraged him to explore other opportunities.

10 attempts
6 mains
4 interview
Still couldn't get selected in UPSC

Don't know what is written in the destiny. #UPSC

— Kunal Virulkar (@kunalrv) May 30, 2022

Also read: This 22-Year Old IITian Cleared UPSC In Her First Attempt; How Did She Do It?

Seeing Kunal heartbroken, several IAS and IPS officers replied to his tweet and encouraged him to not lose hope. Among them were IAS Awanish Sharan and IPS Santosh Singh, both of whom said that something better is in store for a hardworking person like Kunal.

You are made for better. Don’t get disappointed. UPSC के आगे की दुनिया भी ख़ूबसूरत है.

— Awanish Sharan (@AwanishSharan) June 1, 2022

UPSC पास करना या न कर पाना काबिलियत का एकमात्र पैमाना बिल्कुल नहीं है। UPSC क्लियर करने के बाद भी हमारे लिए हर बड़ा टॉस्क इक एग्जाम जैसा होता है, जहां हम फेल भी होते हैं। लेकिन फिर अगले लक्ष्य में लग जाते हैं। Believe that something better than UPSC is in store for you. Wishes!

— Santosh Singh (@SantoshSinghIPS) June 1, 2022

After the UPSC results 2021 were out, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his good wishes to the finalists. At the same time, he made it a point to also applaud the rest for their efforts.

“I fully understand the disappointment of those who couldn’t clear the Civil Services Exam but I also know that these are outstanding youngsters who will make a mark in any field they pursue and make India proud. My best wishes to them," he wrote on his Twitter handle.

I fully understand the disappointment of those who couldn’t clear the Civil Services Exam but I also know that these are outstanding youngsters who will make a mark in any field they pursue and make India proud. My best wishes to them.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 30, 2022

Yet there were many others who expressed their concern over the whole point of conducting the UPSC CSE exam.

One such user wrote on Twitter, “With #UPSCResults out, I seriously want to understand the wisdom behind letting lakhs of youngsters waste the prime of their life memorizing bucketload of information that they won't need or remember after a while. There's something fundamentally wrong about the selection process.”

With so many opinions pouring in, how do you think the exams could be modified? Let us know in the comments.

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