Tea-leaf plucker's son becomes Assam Police Service officer

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Public Service Commission's (ASPSC) CCE 2020, the results of which were declared on Friday, has revealed a story or two of candidates overcoming poverty and humble backgrounds and finding places in elite civil and police services of the state.

A prime example is provided by the story of Haricharan Bhumij, a fatherless youth whose mother, Lokshmi Bhumij, is still working as a tea-leaf plucker in the Kathalguri Tea Estate near Mariani. The tea estate concerned is owned by the Assam Company Limited.

While inhabitants of the tea garden erupted in joy as soon as the news came last evening that the APSC has selected Haricharan as an officer of the Assam Police Service (APS), his simple mother is not aware about the enormity of her son's achievement. She only knows that her son has secured "some sort of job" because her neighbours and fellow-workers are congratulating her.

When mediapersons asked about Lokshmi Bhumij about her feelings, she said that people have been coming to congratulate her son since Friday evening and she has realised that he has secured "some sort of job", but she does understand the details. "I pluck tea leaves in the Kathguri Tea Estate and but I made sure that Haricharan got an education," she said.

When asked whether she will continue to pluck tea leaves now that her son has become a police officer, Lokshmi said that regardless of what her son does, she will have to continue doing her duty at the tea estate.

When The Sentinel contacted Haricharan Bhumij, he said that all the credit for his success goes to his mother because she educated him despite facing great hardship. "I did not receive too many facilities, but I studied very hard for around three years. I also took inspiration from the example set by others who had attained success by overcoming a humble background," Haricharan said.

He further said that he had previously heard that APSC examinations were not free from anomalies. "This examination must have been transparent and error-free, which is why even a candidate like me got selected," Bhumij added.

Haricharan, who obtained the 41st rank among those who made it to the APS, had passed the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination in 2010 from the Assamese-medium Mariani Jatiya Bidyapeeth with 88% marks. He narrowly missed being among the top 20 successful candidates that academic year. He passed the Higher Secondary (HS) examination in the Science stream from the Pragjyotika Junior College, Titabar, with 78% marks.

He subsequently obtained the B Sc degree with Chemistry Major from JB College, Jorhat with 78% marks. He obtained the M Sc degree in Chemistry from the Dibrugarh University in 2017 with 'A' Grade.

Haricharan had secured a job with a pharmaceutical company through a campus interview at Dibrugarh University and joined service in Punjab. While working in Punjab, he came to know that the state government was organizing a special coaching drive for APSC examination aspirants from the tea tribes community. He returned to Assam towards the end of 2018 and underwent a six-month coaching at the Administrative Staff College, Khanapara.

Bhumij told The Sentinel that the coaching drive helped him immensely and he started preparing for the CCE from that point and made it to the APS in his first attempt.

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