Taskeen Khan candidly acknowledges her early struggles with Mathematics, a subject that troubled her until class 8. However, she defied expectations, scoring over 90 percent in her Class 10 and 12 board exams in the science stream.
Each year, thousands of hopefuls vie for success in the UPSC exams, but only a handful manage to secure their place among the elite. Taskeen Khan, hailing from Dehradun, is one such achiever whose story challenges the conventional notion that only “nerds” dominate these exams.
Initially, Taskeen aspired to a career in modeling, earning titles like Miss Dehradun and Miss Uttarakhand, with hopes of representing her state in the Miss India pageant. Yet, financial hardships forced her to abandon this dream. Undeterred, Taskeen redirected her energy toward academics, setting her sights on cracking the UPSC exams.
Undeterred by three unsuccessful attempts, Taskeen Khan’s resilience led her to success in 2020, when she cleared the UPSC exams on her fourth try, earning an All India Rank of 736 and the prestigious title of IAS officer.
What sets Taskeen apart is not just her achievement but her openness about not being a natural academic prodigy. Her interests leaned more toward sports, where she excelled as a national-level basketball player and a skilled debater.
Taskeen openly acknowledges her early struggles with Mathematics, a subject she found challenging until class 8. Yet, she triumphed academically, scoring over 90 percent in her Class 10 and 12 board exams in the science stream
Taskeen Khan’s path to the UPSC was far from conventional. Initially, she was set on a career in professional modeling and acting. Despite qualifying for admission to the prestigious NIT, financial constraints forced her to forgo the opportunity.
Her life took an unexpected turn when an Instagram follower, also an IAS aspirant, inspired her to consider the UPSC exams. This pivotal moment led Taskeen to Mumbai, where she studied at the Hajj House before securing free coaching for the UPSC entrance exam at Jamia Millia Islamia. In 2020, she made the decisive move to Delhi, dedicating herself fully to her UPSC preparations.
Pics ©Taskeen Khan Civil servant UPSC CSE 2022
You can follow on https://www.instagram.com/taskeeenkhan/
