AGRA: When Suraj Tiwari, 29, a resident of UP’s Mainpuri district, lost both legs, an arm and two fingers of the other hand after he fell from a moving train in 2017, most thought he would not be self-reliant all his life. But he proved everyone wrong and cleared the UPSC exam in his first attempt with 917 rank on Tuesday.
Suraj, who is currently pursuing MA in Russian language from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, told TOI on Wednesday, “I used to work for a private company in Noida when I met with a train accident in January 2017, while visiting home in Mainpuri. A few days later, I woke up in AIIMS and was told that I lost both my legs below the knees, my right hand and two fingers of the left hand in the accident.”
“Later, when the doctor was telling me about the nature of my injuries, it dawned on me that my life does not end here. I would not go by what everyone else thought. God saved me for a reason. That’s when I decided to enrol myself in JNU.”
While Suraj’s treatment was still going on, his brother Rahul died by suicide in May 2017. According to his family, it was the “darkest phase of his life”, but he “defeated it with grit and determination”.
His mother Asha Devi said, “We were drowning in debt due to his treatment. With my elder son gone, we were left with only my husband’s income. Suraj accepted God’s decision and decided to do something big. And he finally did.”
His father Rajesh Tiwari, who works as a tailor, said he still couldn’t believe it. “Hardships did not prevent him from working tirelessly to realise his dream.”
Crediting a large part of Suraj’s success to his parents, his younger brother Ragav said, “The tragedy not only took away his ability to walk and write, but also put him under depres- sion. He was miserable after getting discharged from the hospital, but my parents supported him and motivated him to continue his studies. They had lost one son, and weren’t willing to lose another.”
Dhirendra Kumar, a friend from JNU who is also preparing for UPSC, said, “His achievements are inspirational. Ever since the results came out, he has become the talk of the town. He didn’t give into pressure and took out whatever time he had between classes to visit the library. Seeing him moving around the campus in his automatic wheelchair with a bundle of books in his lap was a common sight.”
Suraj is scheduled to go home next month. “My family is ecstatic. It’s like Diwali back home,” Suraj said.
Suraj, who is currently pursuing MA in Russian language from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, told TOI on Wednesday, “I used to work for a private company in Noida when I met with a train accident in January 2017, while visiting home in Mainpuri. A few days later, I woke up in AIIMS and was told that I lost both my legs below the knees, my right hand and two fingers of the left hand in the accident.”
“Later, when the doctor was telling me about the nature of my injuries, it dawned on me that my life does not end here. I would not go by what everyone else thought. God saved me for a reason. That’s when I decided to enrol myself in JNU.”
While Suraj’s treatment was still going on, his brother Rahul died by suicide in May 2017. According to his family, it was the “darkest phase of his life”, but he “defeated it with grit and determination”.
His mother Asha Devi said, “We were drowning in debt due to his treatment. With my elder son gone, we were left with only my husband’s income. Suraj accepted God’s decision and decided to do something big. And he finally did.”
His father Rajesh Tiwari, who works as a tailor, said he still couldn’t believe it. “Hardships did not prevent him from working tirelessly to realise his dream.”
Crediting a large part of Suraj’s success to his parents, his younger brother Ragav said, “The tragedy not only took away his ability to walk and write, but also put him under depres- sion. He was miserable after getting discharged from the hospital, but my parents supported him and motivated him to continue his studies. They had lost one son, and weren’t willing to lose another.”
Dhirendra Kumar, a friend from JNU who is also preparing for UPSC, said, “His achievements are inspirational. Ever since the results came out, he has become the talk of the town. He didn’t give into pressure and took out whatever time he had between classes to visit the library. Seeing him moving around the campus in his automatic wheelchair with a bundle of books in his lap was a common sight.”
Suraj is scheduled to go home next month. “My family is ecstatic. It’s like Diwali back home,” Suraj said.