Umme Fardina Adil, the first muslim girl created history very silently by achieving what others could not do in 66 years after the Independence. She cracked India’s most coveted Civil Services examination what female members of her Muslim community in the Northeast state could not do by obtaining 319th rank.
Umme Fardina Adil says, “It took 66 years of independence to produce a Muslim woman civil servant from Assam which is a very unfortunate scenario, it is not because of facilities are absent but it is due to lack of awareness”. She also realizes participation of Muslim women in public services is much lower than tribal and dalit women.
Umme Fardina Adil wants every Muslim woman to “believe strongly in their abilities and capabilities” and join every field to chase their dream. And if they do so, sure the entire scene will change. It can be improved if every woman is given equal opportunity from her very childhood like any other man. There is no difference between a man and woman in their mental ability. Along with fulfilling duties as a daughter, sister, wife and mother, a woman should also think about herself as an individual.
Mahbubul Hoque, Chairman of the Education Research and Development (ERD) Foundation, the largest educational network in northeastern region, honoured Fardina by words in a function organised at Regional College of Higher Education (RCHE) in the city, “Assam gave the only President of India from the North East – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. Assam also gave the first and only Muslim woman Chief Minister of the country – Anwara Timur. But it took Assam 66 years to produce the first Muslim woman Civil Servant – Umme Fardina Adil.”
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Marks Obtained
| Total Marks | Marks Obtained | |
| Total (Written) | 2000 | 757 |
| Interview | 300 | 210 |
| Total | 2300 | 967 (42.04%) |
Educational Background
Umme Fardina Adil belongs to a resident of Hatigaon in Guwahati. She was born and brought up in Guwahati. She did her 10th from Disney Land High School, Khanapara, and 12th from Cotton College. Then she did her engineering in Computer Science from Mody Institute of Technology and Science, Rajasthan. After that she joined Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd. Currently associated with Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd. as a senior programmer Fardina is also working on a project ‘Low Cost Sanitation Technologies’. She said she would attempt the civil service exam again to improve her rank. Since her rank is 319 this time, she will not get IAS but will definitely try for this in future.
Attempts by Umme Fardina Adil
Umme Fardina Adil was obviously very glad to clear the Civil Services Exam at the very first attempt itself. It means a lot to her as it was her childhood dream.
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Preparation Strategy
Umme Fardina Adil cracked UPSC Exam with about 8 months of preparation putting in about six hours every day. She depended on newspapers and Wikipedia for gathering knowledge about new topics and never referred to any guide books. Allah’s blessings and her parents’ prayers are the main force that helped to get her goal. Her parents have been very kind to her and never let her face any problem and encouraged me throughout to be here at this position. Also there are great contributions of my friends during my preparation.
Dream Goal
Umme Fardina Adil mentioned that she wanted to be an Indian Administrative Officer so that she can work for the society with efficient utilization of the resources of the Government. Moreover, she have a dream to see India free of open defecation. For this, she have already started working by doing research in “Low Cost Sanitation Technologies”.
Umme Fardina Adil says the increasing atrocities on women upset her. At times religions are misused to hinder women’s advancement, especially when social evils such as female infanticide and child marriage take place. But no such discrimination is entertained any religion. So we should follow the true teachings of our religion and allow our children to go ahead in life without discriminating their gender.
Advice for Young Aspirants
- Strong determination, right motive and hard work are the mantra to be successful in this exam or in any other test.
- Develop a politically neutral view and showing an aptitude for analytical dissection of the subject in question to be socially committed, stressing that this attitude would see them through in any interview.
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