by Sheikh Saman
Srinagar
The Wani’s of Shaheedi Mohalla in mountainous Kishtwar were busy in daily errands when the news about the qualification of their daughter in Kashmir Administrative Examinations broke the serenity of Monday evening.
Aaliya Wani, the youngest of the three siblings born to Ghulam Mustafa Wani and Safiya Mir, had not only qualified the examinations but also stood the second rank in the list.
By the time the Wani’s could react to what was happening, locals had converged into the small porch of their house and started congratulating her parents. Thrilled to know about the success of Aaliya, the local women were jumping and dancing.
“It was a moment of ecstasy,” recalled Aaliya, “I had not expected such massive reaction from the people.” She said the moment will remain engraved in her memories for the years to come.
Aaliya said she harbored the dream of getting into the state administration when she was just a kid. She credits the success to her parents who encouraged and supported her during the “bad times”.
After completing her schooling from Sir Iqbal Academy, Aaliya joined Government Higher Secondary School, Kishtwar and later graduated in law from Jammu University in 2012. She later pursued her master’s in law from the same university.
Daughter of a government employee, Aaliya had earlier made it to third round (interview) of the KAS examinations but could not get through. “I made it to the KAS in my second attempt,” she said with a sigh of relief.
Born to a retired CAPD department employee, Ghulam Mustafa and recently retired BDO Kishtwar Safiya Mir, Aaliya said that she was inspired to take to the administrative services by her mother. “My mother has been a visionary, her sense of decision making is all that motivated me to keep going. I always wanted to be like my mother,” Aaliya said.
Although Aaliya did not trail any formal coaching institute, but she constantly stayed in touch with the former KAS qualifiers and took assistance from them. “I didn’t go for formal coaching but yes I got guidance from the people who had already qualified KAS.”
Besides, Aaliya credits her success immensely to ‘Initiative for Competition Promotion’ (ICP) led by former KAS qualifier Shahnawaz Bukhari and Kashmir’s IAS topper Shah Faesal. “The ICP really helped me to grow intellectually. I appeared in various mock tests there. But the thing that really boosted me was the feedback they gave after every test.”
The ICP experience was something extraordinary, she said, “It helped me with listing my short-comings and consequently I could shun them.” The guidance of Kashmir’s Faesal and Bukhari at ICP helped me in overall personality development, she added.
Aaliya concluded by expressing her gratitude to Ranjit Kalra, who she said was more of a brother than a teacher. “Ranjit sir helped me in my optional subject, i.e political science,” she added.
“She was also all praise to her parents, brother who is an excise inspector, sister, teachers and all her well-wishers. “Without their trust, belief in me, love and cooperation I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this feat in my life. Patience and immense dedication are all that you need to accomplish anything in life, and then Allah helps u. All those things worked together and brought success to me.”
