First person from the Scheduled Tribes in the district to clear Civil Services exam

Sreedhanya Suresh from the district has cleared the Civil Services Examination - 2019, becoming the first person from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the district to achieve the feat.

Daughter of Suresh and Kamala of the Ambalakkolly tribal settlement at Achooranam, near Pozhuthana in the district, Sreedhanya secured 410th rank in the examination.

She was born and brought up in a Kurichiya tribal hamlet. Her father is a daily wage worker and mother is a worker under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Sreedhanya is an an alumnus of Thariyodu Government Higher Secondary School. She did her postgraduation in Applied Zoology at the University of Calicut after graduating in Zoology from St. Joseph’s College, Devagiri, Kozhikode.

Malayalam literature

Her optional subject for Mains was Malayalam Literature.

“Former Wayanad Subcollector Sreeram Sambasiva Rao, the current Kozhikode Collector, inspired me to attend the Civil Services Examination,” said Sreedhanya. She said her first preference was the Indian Administrative Service, adding that she still found the feat hard to believe.

Sreedhanya received training from Fortune IAS Academy, Thiruvananthapuram.

Staff Reporter writes from Thrissur:

Sreelakshmi Ram of Kadungalloor, Aluva, got the 29th rank.

“It was my fifth attempt at the Civil Services Examination. Mostly I prepared myself. I would like to tell the Civil Service aspirants that determination and perseverance will definitely bring success,” she said.

A postgraduate in Economics, she prefers the IAS.

Daughter of retired State Bank of India officers V.A. Ramachandran and Kaladevi, Sreelakshmi did her BA in Economics from Stella Maris College, Chennai. She did her postgraduation from the London School of Economics. She has worked with some NGOs too.

Her elder sister Vidya is an Assistant Professor at Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University.

Other winners

Renjina Mary Varghese from Perdala, Kasaragod, bagged the 49th rank. Her optional subject was Sociology.

Malayalis from the Kerala State Civil Service Academy who secured ranks include Jishnu J. Raju, 132, from Thiruvananthapuram; Nidhin Raj P., 210, from Kasaragod; and Vishnuraj P., 234, from Thrissur.

Kanishak Kataria topped the examination. Srushti Jayant Deshmukh was the topper among women candidates, securing the fifth rank.