I’m Armstrong Pame. My parents, Heithung Pame and Ningwangle Pame, have always been supportive. I had been staying at Impa village, 50 km from Tamenglong, since 1989. My village is unconnected with the outside world. There are no good roads and it takes two days to reach my village by foot from the main highway. To make matters worse, there is no electricity in the area. However, I still visit my village whenever I get a chance to remind myself of the problems that people here face. It’s also a good way to stay in touch with my roots.  

I was born in 1984. I studied till 10^th standard at a town school in Tamenglong. In 2000, I enrolled at St Edmund's College, Shillong, and completed 12^th standard in 2002. After that, I went on to complete higher studies from St Stephen’s College, New Delhi, in Bsc (Physics Honours). Finally, I became a graduate in 2005.

My father has retired as a primary school teacher and my mother is a homemaker. I have eight siblings – five sisters and three brothers. My family has faced overwhelming challenges but we never gave up. My sister Poureigale was an English teacher before she switched over to social work. My another sister Ramining was a former HR manager with a BPO company and is now engaged in social work at Tamenglong. My brother Jeremiah is an assistant professor of English in Delhi University. My younger brother Lungtuabui is studying Mcom in Delhi School of Economics after graduating from Hindu College, New Delhi. My youngest sister Tamineile, too, is pursuing Sociology Honours from Hindu College.

I was in Mumbai when the results were declared. A friend in New Delhi told me that I’ve made it to the Indian Administrative Service. It was hard to believe the news. I still can’t believe it, and I have difficulty in expressing my feelings as a whole. I had dreamed of joining the IAS when I was in 2^nd standard, and now it has become true. The prayers of people back home have been answered. I feel I’m the most relaxed person on Earth!

Despite having done Physics Honours and graduating with a top score, I opted for new subjects in the run up to the IAS examination. I chose Public Administration and Geography, strangely because I got interested in them. Since I have a Science background, studying Geography was not much of a problem because the chapters were closely related to aspects of Science, which made life easy for me.

However, my advice to IAS aspirants is that they should choose their optional subjects carefully. Don’t choose a certain subject just because people think scoring is easy in that subject. In my case, I have not scored any better in Geography, which people claim to be a high-scoring one. So find out where your interest lies and go through the syllabus before committing to a subject.

My strategy was that great things couldn’t be achieved without taking risk. I believe God will not take away the good and desirable unless He sees a better one. The success ratio in the IAS examination is less than 0.03%. Although I cleared the IIT examination after graduation, I gave it up in order to follow my dream.

It was hard, but I was confident of turning my dream into reality. And today I look back with absolutely no regrets. You don’t have to beextraordinary or above average – I wasn’t one. But you should be willing to give 100% effort, not 99.99%. I maintained a balanced distance in relationships with people and never got entangled with hatred or too much love. This freed me from unnecessary hassles, made me morally sound and enabled me to take time off for studies without distraction.

The IAS examination is not for everyone. However, this does not mean we are not gifted in different ways. I wrote the test because I realized it was my calling. From my experience in school and college, I discovered that I find the greatest joy in working with and for people. I was never meant to be a scientist because the monotonous job of a researcher cut off from the world never interested me. In college, when my friends were doing summer internship with IISc, Bangalore, I would be somewhere in a village, teaching young people and helping them raise funds.

Yes, ups and downs are part of the IAS examination experience. When I could not clear the fist main exam, I was speechless for over two hours. Money was another problem in the beginning. Some people told me to look for other career options since this exam was too tough. When I was down and out, when it seemed nothing could save me from falling deep into the pit of despa ir, in my hour of frustration, God’s love in the form of Jesus Christ gave me strength. I simply prayed and things fell into place. My family worked very hard to meet my financial needs. I also want to thank many other persons who helped me along the way. I have no mentor, but I reached out for successful persons to draw positive qualities from and incorporate those in my life.

During the interview on April 9, after I had introduced myself, they asked me why I want to become an IAS officer. I replied this: “Yes, I would be privileged and honoured in collecting tax for the nation through the revenue service, but from my little experience in social service, I know that my conviction and desire is to work for people. It gives me the greatest satisfaction. Personally, I am not the only one wanting to be with the IAS, but it’s the dream of thousands of people back home to see me become one.”

The interviewer was taken aback. He asked me how I could work for my people when I would be supposedly posted in Tamil Nadu.  To this, I said: “Sir, poverty, hunger and thirst know no boundary; they are the same. So I am willing to work in any part of the country.”

Then they proceeded on knowing my general views on India, uniform civil code, right to education, topics from Physics, etc. The toughest part was when they handed me a book of the Constitution and the Bible. They wanted to know which one I would choose and which would go to the dustbin. “I don’t have to choose the Bible,” I said, “because it’s ingrained in me and I've grown up living it.”

The interviewer then concluded that I would condemn the Bible, to which I replied that if I have to choose one and condemn the other, I would rather not choose any at all. At this point during the interview, I managed to keep my integrity intact. I feel I have done the right thing.

Luck is another factor that you can’t ignore. But it favours you if you’re prepared. For example, luck plays a trick while choosing a good board after the interview.

Some people from the North East keep trying again and again to clear the IAS examination despite many failed attempts. However, they should know where their interest lies. Civil service is not the end of the world. There are other options too. In my opinion, one should not give more than four to six attempts. Even I was ready to pull out of it and had already started distributing my used books after the third and final attempt.

And to all the IAS aspirants out there, you have made the right choice, I’m telling you. There will always be some people talking behind your back. But don’t waste time listening to them or pleasing them. People from the North East speak and write good English; they just need a little polishing. English is required in this globalized economy. This is a necessary quality from which all other success flows. So give your best shot for this examination. You will come out a winner, I’m sure.

Lastly, New Delhi has been a blessing for me. I spent six years in that city. There are many good coaching institutes here. The study material is of superb quality and the competitive environment will give you an edge over others.

And here’s my motto: Be all you can be by helping people to be all that they can be.

 With love

Armstrong Pame