Stories from Chambal, where the sound of rifles, deep pits, and scattered settlements once echoed, now have different chapters. In a village in the Muraina district of Madhya Pradesh, Deva Prabhakar Singh Tomar wrote a completely different story. Despite his family having ties to banditry and violence, Deva Prabhakar Singh decided to dedicate himself to studies.
He successfully graduated from IIT and subsequently secured the 629th rank in the UPSC examination. His journey is a narrative of years of struggle, persistent hard work, and overcoming a difficult family past that was hard to leave behind. Nevertheless, Singh did not give up and found a way forward. After this, he got a job abroad but decided to return to India to serve in the administrative sector.
In an interview, Deva Prabhakar Singh recounted that his path did not begin with the UPSC or IIT Ropar exams, but back in his grandfather's time. In an interview for Josh Talks, Tomar stated that his grandfather became a 'baghi' (outlaw/bandit) about 75 years ago due to family problems and disputes with officials of that time. Although police records might have registered him as a robber, the family subsequently faced numerous hardships. During the conversation, Tomar recalled that his family had to fight even for food after that.
The situation did not end there. After his grandfather, his uncle also became a 'baghi'. However, Singh's father chose a different path. Tomar explained that his father wanted to study and find a job that could provide the family with a salary. Moreover, he wished to live far from his native village. He decided to move to Gwalior without informing anyone and continued his education there. Through hard work, he became a teacher, marking a new turning point for the family.
Singh Tomar followed this example. He completed his primary education according to the Madhya Pradesh state curriculum for five years. Then, in sixth grade, he transferred to a school with the CBSE curriculum to continue his studies. The school change was not easy for him, as it took some time for him to adapt to the new language and environment.
Over time, things started to stabilize, but when he reached 11th grade, he first considered applying to IIT. His classmates were preparing for the engineering entrance exam, and he decided to do the same. However, traveling to Kota for preparation was impossible for him because his family's financial situation could not cover such expenses. Therefore, he began preparing for the engineering exam at home. He enrolled in IIT Ropar and studied electrical engineering.
After graduating from IIT, Tomar sought employment through the campus placement process. His search led him to Philips, a company located in the Netherlands, where he worked near Amsterdam and later received a preliminary job offer. This position provided him with a unique opportunity to build a career abroad. Nevertheless, as he recalled later, he began to feel that the lifestyle he was leading did not match his desires at all. But as soon as he learned about civil service, he became even more interested in this field.
After long deliberation, he decided to resign to prepare for the civil service. He felt that preparing for UPSC while fully employed was extremely difficult. Therefore, he returned to India, leaving his job. In his first attempt, he failed to clear the preliminary selection, falling short of the qualifying score by 12.5 marks. In the second round, he improved his results but again failed, missing the qualifying score by only 2.5 marks.
After two failures, he revised his approach to preparation. He realized that simply studying material and collecting many textbooks was not enough; understanding the exam structure and requirements was crucial. Following this, he changed his preparation methodology.
Tomar did not give up and made another attempt. This time, he passed both the preliminary and main stages of the exam, reaching the interview stage. However, ultimately, he was not selected. Even after this, he did not lose hope and started preparing for UPSC again. During this time, he worked as a teacher in Delhi. His family also supported his aspiration to continue preparing for the exam. Working a full-time job, he took the exam again. This time, he also cleared the preliminary selection and reached the interview.
After this, he waited for the results. On the day the results were expected to be announced, Tomar was at home with his wife. According to him, the results were published around 13:30. He opened the UPSC list and began searching for his name. At first, he several times...