can take you places, and that’s exactly what happened with Rajesh Rajak. A former food delivery boy from Lalodih village in the remote Kendua area under Barkatha block of Hazaribag district, Rajesh cleared the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examination 2023 recently. Currently, he is serving as superintendent in Jharkhand Jail Service.Rajesh told STOI that his life took a turn in 2017 when his father, who worked in a private company in Mumbai, passed away, leaving the family shattered both emotionally and financially. At that time, Rajesh had just completed his intermediate education. “With the head of the family gone, continuing education became a major challenge,” he said.To support the family, Rajesh’s mother, Janki Devi, took up work as a cook at the upgraded middle school in Turkbad. His elder brother migrated to Mumbai and started working as a daily wage labourer.Despite the severe economic crisis, Rajesh refused to give up on his dreams. According to locals, Rajesh completed his primary education at the upgraded middle school in Turkbad and later passed his matriculation examination from Project High School, Gaida. Following this, he moved to Hazaribag, where he lived on his own, gave tuition classes to students, and managed to complete his graduation.As financial pressure mounted, Rajesh shifted to Ranchi and started working as a delivery boy with leading food aggregators, going door to door to earn a livelihood and supporting his family. He stayed in a lodge in Ranchi, where several residents prepared for competitive examinations. The atmosphere kept his academic aspirations alive even while he struggled daily to make ends meet, Rajesh added.Rajesh began preparing for the JPSC examination when advertisements for the 7th to 10th JPSC cycles were released. In his first attempt, he cleared the preliminary examination but failed to qualify for the mains. Despite repeated failures in various competitive examinations and persistent financial hardship, Rajesh never allowed disappointment to weaken his resolve.Out of 342 candidates who cleared the JPSC Civil Services Examination 2023, Rajesh emerged as one of the successful aspirants. He secured the 271st rank and was selected for the post of superintendent in the Jharkhand Jail Service.Recalling her son’s struggle, Janki Devi said that Rajesh was hard-working and resilient since childhood. “My son achieved this success through relentless struggle and hard work. This achievement is not only a matter of pride for me as a mother, but also for our village, society, and the entire region,” she said.Rajesh shared that his biggest inspiration came from a youth from a nearby village who earlier cleared the JPSC examination and joined the police service.“I struggled hard, but family support was there,” he said.
