By Ummar Jamal
Meet Mohammad Haris Mir from District Kupwara whose journey in UPSC is nothing short of inspiring. Having received his initial education in Srinagar, he completed his BA.LL.B in 2022 from Jamia Millia Islamia.
With his eyes set on the horizon of possibilities, Haris embraced the challenge of UPSC preparation with unwavering determination, making his name to the list in his first attempt by securing AIR 345. His story is testament to the power of dreams and the relentless pursuit of aspirations.
In an exclusive interview with Kashmir Observer, Haris reflected on his journey and shared insights into his approach to success.
Congratulations on qualifying the UPSC exam on your first attempt! Tell me about your background?
My name is Mohammad Haris Mir. I am originally a native of Handwara, District Kupwara. However, I have done my schooling from Srinagar. Subsequently, I completed my BA LLB from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi in 2022 after which I started preparing for UPSC with this being my first attempt.
What motivated you to pursue a career in civil services?
I was drawn to the services from a very young age being motivated by several successful candidates from Jammu and Kashmir and over time I came to appreciate the significance of the role and impact that civil servants perform in society and this helped me in keeping true to this goal.
Were you expecting that you would crack UPSC in your first attempt?
Belief in cracking the exam is always the first requisite without which an aspirant cannot be dedicated. That being said, there is always an element of fear and self-doubt. However, I was able to manage it.
Could you share your journey of preparation for the UPSC exam, including any challenges you faced and how you overcame them?
Having this goal in mind for a long time, I started preparing intensively only after my graduation was complete around mid 2022. I decided not to join any coaching since the coaching programmes for 2023 had already commenced 4-5 months prior and it would not have been possible for me to cover the entire syllabus by following their timeline.
I started preparing for my optional paper (Law) and some GS subjects which I had lost touch with during my graduation. After the commencement of the year 2023, I devoted my preparation exclusively to the prelims exam which was held in May 2023 covering remaining areas of study.
Regarding challenges, I have been fortunate and privileged enough to not have any financial challenges. However, certain mental challenges such as prolonged isolation, continuous self doubt and maintaining discipline were there and everyday I tried only to be better than the previous day instead of focusing on absolutely overcoming the challenges. Adding some exercise into my routine also helped.
What was your strategy for effectively managing time during the preparation phase, considering the vast syllabus of the UPSC exam?
I had no strategy in mind at the outset. However, I tried to complete my Law optional paper before January 2023 but was able to achieve only half of my target. Then I immediately dropped the preparation for the optional and focused entirely on Prelims. Here I would like to emphasize on what is known as “smart work”. I merged the overlapping areas between my Optional paper and General studies into one reading (ex. Constitutional law and GS-2). Due to paucity of time I had to skip some subjects such as international relations altogether. However, daily newspaper reading and MCQs solving and attempting mock tests helped me fill that void.
How did you prioritize your preparation among the different components of the UPSC exam, such as prelims, mains, and the interview?
I tried to complete my Optional before embarking on my prelims preparation. I had set the deadline to 1st of January to finish it. After that I focused entirely on Prelims till April. I dedicated all of May to solving the previous 10 years papers apart from mock tests.
After clearing prelims, I immediately prioritized mains specific papers like Ethics (GS4) and Essay besides covering the rest of my law optional syllabus. At this stage, answer writing practice for mains/essay and mock tests is the most important step. This stage also requires collecting some data, facts and figures. All this I tried to complete in 2 months leaving the last month solely for revision/mock tests before appearing for mains in mid September.
For the interview, I was fortunate enough to have almost 5 months after mains. And I started preparing for it without waiting for my mains result.
Can you share some tips or techniques you used to stay motivated and focused throughout your UPSC journey?
Not compromising on physical health, staying away from friends who are not aspirants, avoiding seemingly benign discussions on syllabus and current affairs which actually are just a waste of time, and simply trying to be a little bit better with a little more focus, a little more discipline every new day instead of trying to completely revolutionize one’s life are the keys to have a more consistent and sustainable preparation journey.
How did you approach current affairs preparation, considering its significance in the UPSC exam?
I relied on daily newspaper reading only before prelims besides using mock test papers (available for cheap at local markets) as a source of current affairs. After Mains, I only used the compilation magazines offered for free on different coaching websites (ex. Vision 365,onlyias prahar)
What role did mock tests and previous years’ question papers play in your preparation strategy?
As previously mentioned, mock tests and previous year papers are the most important sources of preparation and not just supplemental sources. They helped me refine and consolidate my knowledge.
Could you describe your experience of appearing for the UPSC interview and how you prepared for it?
I started preparing for the interview immediately after the mains exam without waiting for the result and the interview process commenced just 20-25 days after the result(in December). My interview was held in the last phase in March. I prepared for the interview by thoroughly researching all possible aspects of my Detailed Application Form. Generally, the interview revolves around the words that one has mentioned in this form (ex. Hometown, graduation subject, hobbies, opinion on current affairs related to these).
The interview itself was one of the best experiences of my life. The interview board was very cordial and made me feel very comfortable. I was asked a lot of questions related to my Law background, developmental issues of my home state and the honorable members listened patiently. The interview went for around 40 minutes.
You didn’t join any coaching, but you still came with flying colours. Many think coaching is essential for cracking UPSC, what is your take?
I think every aspirant has a unique set of circumstances in terms of their prior educational background or the level of general awareness. I was able to appear comfortably without coaching as I had aligned my previous studies in accordance with this exam (ex. Having humanities in class 11-12 and subsequently studying law). So for aspirants who are able to understand and grasp the study material, coaching is not required. Even for candidates who are absolute freshers to the syllabus, there is a treasure of simplified information on Youtube, Telegram and other platforms. Hence, coaching is not necessary and may be availed only if one feels the need for it.
Does social milieu impact your preparation? How does preparing in Delhi help an aspirant in cracking UPSC?
The socio-economic circumstances of an aspirant indeed have a role to play. However, only to a limited extent. This exam requires a full-time preparation of at least 1 year and 1 more year to go through all the stages. Thus, candidates who may not be able to manage time due to employment or any other responsibilities will face additional challenges. Apart from this, there is no other cost as almost all of the material is available for free on the internet and the mock test papers are available for cheap in the market.
Being in Delhi for UPSC preparation has both its advantages and disadvantages. For me, the advantage was being able to study in isolation and temporarily staying away from demanding social responsibilities besides having easy access to cheap materials eg. Test series papers
On the flip side, being alone in Delhi also presents the challenge of arranging each and everything for one’s sustenance such as food, laundry, and occasionally Healthcare. Another challenge is being distracted by the sea of pessimism that prevails in coaching hubs as a lot of aspirants do not succeed in this exam.
When should a student start his UPSC preparation?
An aspirant should start preparing as early as possible however never at the cost of one’s schooling or graduation subjects. If not possible during graduation, 1 year of intensive study after graduation is sufficient to appear for the exam.
What inspired you to choose Law as your optional subject for the UPSC exam?
I found law to be quite relevant both to the preparation as well as the service. During the course of law, a deeper understanding of subjects like constitution, CRPC, IPC, apart from diverse minor laws, helps in all mains papers especially GS2.
Can you share some strategies you used to effectively prepare for the law optional paper?
Previous year papers are the most important resource as a lot of questions every year are repeated. Another important advice would be to strictly stick to the syllabus (eg. Contemporary legal developments do not include all of the legal developments but only those specified in the syllabus). Besides merging the study of GS paper 2 and law paper 1 can save a lot of time.
Now that you’ve successfully cleared the UPSC exam, what advice would you give to aspirants who are preparing for it, especially those attempting it for the first time?
I would advise them to believe in themselves, stick to syllabus, give a lot of mocks, limit your materials to only one resource per subject and revise it instead of reading multiple sources and appear for the prelims regardless of the level of preparation.
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