Limited resources and challenges cannot stop you from cracking UPSC. IPS Ishwarlal Gurjar, a resident of Bhamar village in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan, is proof of this. He failed his 10th grade and faced numerous setbacks in the future, but ultimately became an IPS officer. Until the ninth grade, his life was similar to many rural Indian children—swimming in the pond all day, grazing cattle, and looking after sheep and goats. Living a simple life with his grandparents, he had limited resources and many challenges. Despite these obstacles, he achieved something that neither his village nor his family had ever witnessed earlier. (Image: Instagram/@ishwargurjar9680)
Ishwarlal Gurjar was the first person to pass class 10 and graduate in his family. Later, he also became the first person from his village to get a government job. A turning point in his life came when he failed in Maths and Science in the class 12 exam in June 2011. He gave a supplementary exam a month later and failed in that too. After this, he got disappointed and thought of leaving school, reported News18 Hindi. (Image: Instagram/@ishwargurjar9680)
Gurjar’s father used to run a small grocery shop in Surat. He and other mentors like Ishwarlal’s PTI teacher Ramnarayan and relative Nathulal encouraged him to continue his studies. Thus, he re-enrolled in class 10 in August 2011 and started studying afresh. (Image: Instagram/@ishwargurjar9680)
After passing 12th, Gurjar was introduced to BSTC (Basic School Teaching Certificate) exam by a village teacher Mahavir. After doing BSTC, he became a teacher in a school in 2018. However, in the meantime, he gave many government recruitment exams. Which included forest guard, jail guard, constable, patwari and army recruitment. (Image: Instagram/@ishwargurjar9680)
After becoming a teacher in a government school, one day, he met Mahendru Pal, an IAS officer from a nearby village. He inspired Gurjar to appear for the UPSC Civil Services Examination. He assured him that it is possible for a person from a simple background to crack it. After this, he started preparing for the Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS). In 2018, he passed the preliminary examination, but could not clear the main examination. (Image: Instagram/@ishwargurjar9680)
Gurjar continued his preparation along with his job as a teacher. During the Covid lockdown, he focused on UPSC Civil Services 2020. With limited time and many responsibilities, he cleared the prelims and then the mains in just 90 days of preparation. But he was eliminated in the interview. He appeared for the 2021 prelims exam a few weeks later, but this time he failed to clear it by a margin of five marks. (Image: Instagram/@ishwargurjar9680)
In 2022, his hard work paid off. He cleared the Rajasthan Police Sub-Inspector exam, RAS Prelims and Mains exam, and finally UPSC Prelims and Mains exam. By May 2023, he got a place in IRS, secured 22nd rank in RAS and cleared the Rajasthan Police Sub-Inspector exam. His journey culminated with the result of UPSC Civil Services Exam 2024 in which he secured All India 483rd rank and became an IPS. (Image: Instagram/@ishwargurjar9680)
