Daughter of labourer ranks 7th in UP Board, dreams of becoming IAS officer

MEERUT: Naina Kashyap, a 19-year-old student from Meerut, lives with her family of five in a 10-by-10 square-foot room. She secured rank 7 in Meerut city, scoring 89.8 per cent marks in the Class 12 UP Board exams.
Her father, Sunil Kumar Kashyap, works as a labourer in a sports manufacturing company in Meerut and travels 16 kilometres daily by bicycle. “I feel very hurt when I see my father commuting on a bicycle. He never bought a vehicle because he could either afford our education and manage our basic needs or could have purchased a vehicle for himself,” Naina told TOI.

Her mother, Pushpa Kashyap, has been saving every rupee for their future and hasn’t bought a saree for herself in years.
Naina added, “My parents studied only till Class 5. They don’t want us to live the kind of life they endured. Their biggest dream is to make us financially stable. But how much can one man do with a nominal income? I want to become an IAS officer so that I can help people who are deprived of basic resources.”
To support her education, Naina started giving tuition when she was in Class 9. “In Class 10, I narrowly missed the district topper’s position. Now, as I aspire to clear the UPSC exams, I’ve already begun preparing for them,” she said.
However, behind her ambition lies a silent worry she rarely voices: “What if I fall short because of a lack of resources?”
Recalling her struggles, she said, “I used to study after midnight, once everyone in the house fell asleep. With six members cramped into a single small room, it was difficult to concentrate during the day.”