Meet IAS Lipin Raj, Who Cleared UPSC Despite Disability And Financial Adversity – News18

Many choose to surrender to circumstances, while others rise above all the obstacles to fulfil their dreams. In this article, we will talk about IAS Lipin Raj, who fought all odds to emerge victorious. Lipin Raj hails from a poor family and suffers from partial blindness. From the age of 24, he dreamt of becoming an IAS officer. Despite all the hurdles, he managed to clear the UPSC Civil Services Examinations, and is now a successful government officer. Lipin Raj, through his inspiring journey, has set an example for thousands of disabled and ordinary youth. He cleared the exam, which is deemed to be the toughest in the country. Lipin passed the UPSC Civil Services Examinations in 2012 with AIR 224.

Born in Pathanamthitta, Kerala, Lipin was born with normal eyesight. Until the age of 9, he had no health issues. One day, a classmate of Lipin hit him with a compass in the eye that left him wounded; as a consequence, his one eye was damaged. There was a scope of treatment but his alcohol-addicted father did not pay attention to his wound which led him to lose his vision of left eye.

In one of his interviews, Lipin revealed that he was average in studies and that he did his early schooling from a Malayalam medium government school. In the 12th Class examination, he got 100 out of 100 marks in Malayalam. His life changed after the day he went to a photocopy shop to get some copies of his documents. The photocopy shop owner Cherian convinced Lipin to take admission in a good college in Thiruvananthapuram. Not only this, he also provided the required assistance for admission. Lipin completed his graduation in Mass Communication and post-graduation in History and Malayalam.

Before selection in UPSC, Lipin was employed at the State Bank of Travancore and IDBI Bank for about five years. He gave the UPSC Mains exam in Malayalam language; whereas for the interview, he chose English.