‘Give peace a chance’: UPSC exam qualifier to protesting youth in Kashmir

Jammu, Apr 29: Abhishek Sharma, one of the 15 candidates from Jammu and Kashmir who qualified the prestigious civil services 2017 examination has a word of advice for the stone throwers in the state — “give peace a chance”.
Sharma, who secured 69th rank in the coveted examination whose results were announced on Friday, appealed to the youth to “shun violence and work for betterment” of the state and the country.
“My request to the stone-pelting youth is to bring positivity in their lives.. We are second to none and given a peaceful atmosphere, we can take the state and the country to new heights,” Sharma said.
Sharma, who is from Kishtwar district, arrived in Jammu from Delhi this morning and left for his home to celebrate the success.
“Destruction is easy but construction takes a lot of effort. Our goal should be to take the state to new heights of peace and prosperity and secure the future of coming generations otherwise they too will get impacted by this,” he said.
Sharma said the youth of the state should focus on their goals to make the state prosperous. He said focus, perseverance, hard work and patience are the keys to success.
“One can get distracted easily without a focused mind and if you are able to fix a goal for yourself, you have to work for that. Make your plans and divide them into sub-plans and work accordingly to achieve your goal,” he said.
He said the news of the result came as a big relief for him because he was “trying my best for the past two years.”
“I am feeling relieved,” he said.
His father Suresh Sharma gave credit to his family and the prayers of the poor for the success of his son.
“I have been working for the betterment of the poor and want my son to work for the underprivileged and ensure zero tolerance to corruption,” he said.
Another candidate, Aamir Bashir, qualified with 843rd rank. Bashir, who is from Mendhar area of Poonch district, asked the youth to stay away from drugs and channelise their energies in making the lives of the people and their families happy.
“This is second time I have qualified the examination in as many years…I appeared again to improve my ranking to get desired service. I have a vision and a dream and hopefully I can fulfil it now with a better ranking,” he said.
Aamir lost his father in 2006 and credits his success to his mother and teachers.
“My mother, who is posted as section officer in the state agriculture department, guided me and played an important role in my life,” he said.
At least 15 candidates from Jammu and Kashmir have qualified the prestigious civil services 2017, with three candidates from Kashmir making it to the top 100.