The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) 2016 results were released on Wednesday bringing rejoice to 1,099 successful candidates. Among those, there were 50 Muslims candidates who made the cut for the first time ever. Also, the past record of several years was broken since nine out of these fifty candidates got their names in top 100 ranks.
Six Muslim women came up with flying colours in the examination. Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat from Jammu and Kashmir led the lot with the 10th position in the merit list.
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Salam Siddiqui, the former principal of Mumtaz Inter College expressed his happiness and gave its credit to several non-profitable social organisations which have been working constantly for literacy and creating awareness about the importance of education in the community. Thus, it is no surprise that sixteen candidates among the 50 successful Muslims aspirants were guided by the Zakat Foundation of India (ZFI) - a charity organisation giving free coaching to the candidates interested in civil services examination.
The number of successful Muslim candidates this year has increased considerably in the last few years.
In the year 2016, 36 Muslims had cleared the prestigious examinations, while 38 candidates got their names in the merit list in 2015. The number stood at 34 in the year 2014 and in the year 2013, 30 Muslim candidates cracked the UPSC exam.
Although Muslims population comprises 13.4 percent in the country, they are dismally represented in the top government services mostly due to unavailability of resources and lack of education. According to reports in the last few years, around 3 percent of the Muslims clear the civil services examination.
According to data provided by organisations working in the field of employment and literacy, Muslims comprise about 4 percent in the Indian Police Service (IPS), 1.8 percent in Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and around 3 percent in Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
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Agha Pervez Masih, the administrator of Lucknow Guidance Centre - an institute offering free coaching at Halwasiya Market in Hazratganj revealed that 3 percent representation of Muslims in civil services in the 14 percent of the population is not very inspiring figure. He added that there is still a long way to go and according to the population, Muslims reaching the number 170-180 in the civil services exams will mark a respectable proportionate representation.