English
Gazi Abbas Shahid
Starting as a ground reporter back in his home UT of Jammu and Kashmir, Gazi has been a part of the news industry for well over a decade. While he finds every type of news engrossing, politics, partic ... Read More
Village of Officers: When we think of competitive examinations such as the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE), the JEE, or the NEET medical entrance test, the image that often comes to mind is that of big cities and major urban areas, which is understandable to some extent because a majority of aspirants do come from these parts of the country.f
But did you know that there is a tiny village in Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh, which has churned out more than 100 IAS officers, and almost every student here who opts for NEET or JEE, has achieved success in these exams? Let us find out more
Padiyal, a remote, tribal-dominated village in Dhar district has earned the moniker ‘village of officers’, and for good reason. According to various media reports, this tribal-dominated village in Madhya Pradesh’s Malwa region has a population of just over 5,000 people, out of which more than 100 native sons and daughters are working as civil servants across different parts of India.
Around 90 percent of Padiyal natives belong to the Bhil tribe– an ethnic community native to central Indian states, including Dhar, Jhabua and West Nimar districts of Madhya Pradesh, Dhule and Jalgaon in Maharashtra, and in parts of Rajasthan.
According to the Madhya Pradesh government Padiyal village has a literacy rate of over 90 percent, and more than 100 people from the village are serving in the Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Administrative Service (IAS), and other central civil services. Additionally, there are scores of others who are lower court judges, engineers, doctors, prosecution officers, forest officers, among others.
In a statement, the state government claimed that every household in Padiyal has at least one government employee. There are a total of 300 families living in the village. According to the government, the youth of the village started appearing in competitive examinations since independence.
Beyond its high literacy rate, the quality of education in Padiyal is even more remarkable with various reports claiming that 4 out of 7 school children here have cleared the NEET test, while the remaining 3 have cracked JEE Mains in 2024, an astonishing feat for a such a remotely-located region which lacks facilities found in urban and semi-urban areas.
Manoj Dubey, who has served as a block resource centre official in the area for an extended time bears witness to Padiyal’s success stories. Dubey says that unlike other villages, Padiyal has focused on providing education to children, and students here usually begin preparing for competitive exams from a very early age.
“More than a dozen officers residing in Padiyal village have retired and are engaged in public services like education and medicine. Presently, the youth are getting higher education inspired by the elders,” Dubey told news agency IANS. The official also highlighted the role of retired IAS officers and other former civil servant, who run smart classes to prepare the aspirants for civil services examinations.
A good portion of natives are now living in foreign countries like the United States, and the UK where they work as engineers, doctors, IT professionals, while some run successful businesses. The village has a higher-secondary school with 23 teachers and 702 students, as per reports.
For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest Exams & Results News on India.com.