‘Pratiyogita Darpan’ arranged an exclusive interview with Mr. Aishwarya Pratap Singh who has been selected in Uttar Pradesh Judicial Service Exam. attaining the 1st Rank. He deserves all admiration and our heartiest congratulations on his splendid success. This important, thought provoking and highly inspiring interview is being presented here in its original form.
PD—Achieving top slot in the Judicial Service Examination is no small feat; accept our heartiest congratulations on your splendid success.
Aishwarya—Thank you so much.
PD—Can you recall the exact moment when you realized the importance of Judicial Services ?
Aishwarya—The moment I joined law I gradually realized the importance of Judiciary in the society and was fascinated by it as an institution which has over the years become a ‘savior on call’ from a ‘sentinel qui vive’ and hence I decided to aspire to be a judicial officer.
PD—Finally, at what point of time did you make up your mind to make career in ‘Judicial Services’ ?
Aishwarya—I aspired to be a judicial officer from the moment I joined law, but I began my concrete preparations from the final year of my law.
PD—You must have read IAS Toppers’ interviews in newspapers/ magazines;. Who inspired you the most ? Any particular success story which influenced your journey to this result ?
Aishwarya—I was focused to join the Judicial Service in particular, so I looked for the interviews of selected judicial officers. I was inspired by the success story of Mr. Mritunjay Srivastava, as he achieved the top slot in UP Judicial Exam 2012.
PD—Was JSE a planned decision of yours or your parent’s wish ? Did you keep in mind some time frame, for the examination preparation and number of attempts ?
Aishwarya—It was entirely my wish, exam in the very first attempt.
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“PD was immensely helpful in my pre-paration. PD Economy is a master-piece. Its extra issues on Polity and General Science are exceptional.” —Aishwarya Pratap Singh |
PD—The first step is the most difficult; how to prepare ? Which optionals ? What to read? How much to read? Many such questions come in your mind when you really get serious about Judicial Services Examination ? From where did you get the right advice?
Aishwarya—Yes, that’s true. My strategy was that as and when I read the law papers in the Law Faculty. I used to go through the past year papers of UP Judiciary and accordingly jotted down the focus areas, and prepared extensive notes on those topics. I would give special thanks to Rahul Sir of Rahul’s IAS, as he truly redefined legal answer writing to me.
PD—Were you confident of your success in this examination and how did you react to the news of your success ?
Aishwarya—To be candid I was always afraid considering the ground reality and the toughness of the competitive exams these days. I never expected that it would be the very first seat. I thanked God to have rewarded me for my hard work and intense desire to be a Judge.
PD—In how many attempts have you achieved this success ? How do you visualize your preparation/ previous attempts ?
Aishwarya—It was my very first attempt.
PD—Were you preparing for other career opportunities as well while preparing for your career in Judicial Services ?
Aishwarya—No, I always wanted to be a judicial officer.
PD—While the changing economic environment offers immense lucrative career opportunities in various sectors, still what kept you motivated towards Judicial Services ?
Aishwarya—As I said Judiciary as an institution always fascinated me, so I never thought of going into any other field.
| Bio-Data |
| Name—Aishwarya Pratap Singh
Father’s Name—Dr. A. K. Singh Mother’s Name—Mrs. Anjali Singh Educational Qualifications— High School—83% Intermediate—80·6% LL.B. (Hons)—76% (Gold Medal). |
PD—‘Time Management’ is a key factor while making preparations as well as in writing examination papers. Did you come across such a problem during this period? If yes, then how did you manage things ?
Aishwarya—I believed that one must do one’s bit daily. I used to make targets subjectwise, and divided my day in such a way as to make it colourful and not monotonous, with law, current affairs, GS and English on a daily basis. As far as answer writing in the exams was concerned I earmarked time as per the number of questions, and was easily able to manage my paper within time
PD—What shift did you adopt in your strategy for MAINS (Written) ?
Aishwarya—I had a strategy to have completed my mains preparation before beginning the preparation for the prelims. I had a habit of writing and so had prepared my own notes which helped me immensely during the last moments of the mains preparation. The shift in strategy for the Mains is mainly from factual knowledge to conceptual clarity and better expression in answer writing.
PD—Was there any special effort for effective preparation for ESSAY Paper ? Which topic did you pick up this time and why did you choose this particular topic ?
Aishwarya—I used to read the editorials of the Hindu, kept the cuttings of the important ones. I had also prepared a list of current socio legal issues and had written essays on most of them. I wrote on Judicial Activism in this exam.
PD—List some of the Magazines, News papers, Books etc. which you read for ‘General Studies’ preparation.
Aishwarya—Prelims : PD monthly issues (For Current) The Hindu Newspaper Old NCERTs of History, Economics and PD Extra Issues on Economy and Polity.
Mains : Same books.
PD—How did you prepare yourself for Interview ? When and which Board did you face ? How did your interview go on, how much time did it last and what were the questions asked during the Interview ?
Aishwarya—I believe there isn’t an exclusive preparation for the interview as it’s a personality test. My Board was No 3 presided by Hon’ble Justice A.P. Sahi. The Board was extremely cordial. My interview went on for about 20 minutes. Broadly the questions were from the following areas :
- Speciality of Indian Secularism
- Misuse of gender specific laws
- Constitutional Review Commission
- Arrest without warrant
- Arts:39A, 243,195&6 Constitution of India
- Registration of wills and revocation orally
- 1 problem on Aptitude.
PD—In your opinion at which Educational Level should one start preparing for Judicial Services and what should be the minimum period of time required to prepare for Judicial Services Examinations ?
Aishwarya—For this exam I believe the final year of your law is the right time, considering the level of competition these days. Minimum time I think should be at least 1 year.
| Personal Qualities |
| Favourite Person—Swami Vive-kanand
Strong Point—Madness to achieve what I want to and capacity to work hard. Weak Point—I am a very emo-tional person and not very social. Hobbies—I love watching debates on television participating it and playing cricket. |
PD—Does the educational, financial and demographic status of the family of an aspirant have any impact on the preparation?
Aishwarya—To be frank yes, but that should never bother an aspirant, as the harder the challenges the better would be the taste of success.
PD—In your opinion what role do the Competition Magazines play when you are preparing for an examination like Judicial Services ?
Aishwarya—They play a very important role, as whatever you miss in the newspapers you get that in the magazines. I was an avid reader of PD monthly magazine (esp. Nation This Month, the Memorable Points, essays and the articles).
PD—According to a recent report published by a reputed survey agency, PRATIYOGITA DARPAN (Hindi) is the largest read and the only Career & Competition magazine in top four magazines in India. How do you find Pratiyogita Darpan ?
Aishwarya—It was immensely useful in my preparation, both for the PT and the Mains.
PD—Please give your comments on the PD Extra Issues Series on ‘General Studies’ and a few Optional Subjects ?
Aishwarya—PD Economy is a master piece, it truly has no substitute. Be it the basics or the latest trends on the Indian Economy, it is a classic. I also read PD Extra Issues on Polity and General Science and found them extremely useful.
PD—What is the secret of your success ?
Aishwarya—I have always believed ‘If you have the passion you can create the talent’. There is no substitute for hard work and no short cut to success.
PD—Any suggestion/advice you would like to give to the future aspirants.
Aishwarya—I have always believed ‘If you have the passion you can create the talent’. There is no substitute for hard work and no short cut to success. My message to the future aspirants would be not be bothered by the darkness of the tunnel, rather to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Remember it is the action of a person in crisis that speaks of his character
PD—Thank you very much and wishing you all the best for your future endeavours.
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