Train Guard’s Daughter Only Muslim Woman In Karnataka To Clear UPSC

In the 32-year-old history of the school run by the South Western Railway Women’s Welfare Organisation (SWRWWO) in Hubballi district, Tahseen Banu Dawadi became its first student to crack the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Exam in the results announced a week ago, The New Indian Express reported.

Dawadi, the daughter of a retired goods train guard is also the only Muslim woman to clear the exams out of 26 in the state. The SWRWWO college held a mega program to felicitate Tahseen Banu, who secured 482nd rank in her second attempt.

Khadar Basha, a retired chief trains clerk said that he is happy and proud of his daughter after seeing the results.

“I was very happy when the results were out. I was confident she would clear it. My two sons and two daughters are all good in academics. It was a proud moment for me when the General Manager, SWR and the Divisional Railway Manager, Hubballi invited us to their office and honoured my daughter,” Basha told TNIE.

24-year-old Dawadi completed her B.Sc in Agriculture from the University of Agricultural Sciences at Dharwad in 2019. She aimed for the civil services exams when she was studying in the final year of her graduation. She took coaching from the Mumbai Hajj House in Mumbai and also from the Residential Coaching Academy of Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi.

“My father and mother Hasina Begum supported me and even sent me to Mumbai Hajj House in Mumbai for my coaching. I could not clear even the preliminary exams in my first attempt in 2020. But in my next attempt in 2021, I have cleared the prelims, mains and the interview. I was confident I would clear it as I have been good in academics throughout,” she told the media.

For Dawadi it was a surprise that she secured 482nd rank out of 680. “I had thought I would be in the bottom five. I am also the only Muslim girl from Karnataka to clear the exams.”

“I was keen on civil services as it directly gives one a chance to serve the society. I always wanted to be in a government job,” she expressed her keenness to take up a career in administration.

(With inputs from TNIE)