Meet Manoj Sharma, Who Once Slept On Roads Along Side Beggars But Still Managed To Clear IPS

Every now and then we come across inspirational stories of people from very humble backgrounds who remain undeterred in the face of adversity and achieve such feats that may have once seemed almost impossible.

The story of IPS Manoj Sharma, who is currently an Additional Commissioner of West Region in Mumbai, is one such as achieving his current glory was not only unlikely during his youth but also far from what he was doing or wished to do.

According to a new book in Hindi titled ¡°12th Fail¡±, which is based on the real life story of Sharma by his friend Anurag Pathak, the would-be IPS officer was born in undivided Madhya Pradesh and his journey from school to the Indian Police Service is filled with references that will inspire readers to challenge their own potentials.

As the story goes, Manoj somehow managed to pass the examination for the 9th, 10th and 11th standards with low marks. He secured third division in all three examinations but could not manage to pass the class 12 examination.

The reason?

The vigilance was extremely tight and there was no way of cheating during the exam. He had so far wished that he would somehow pass the class 12 examination and then learn typing, which would get him some sort of job in the surrounding areas. But it was never to be. Destiny had better plans for the man who today proudly adorns the Police uniform.

Incidentally, there was no cheating during the examinations since strict orders had come in from the SDM¡¯s office to prevent it. Manoj contends that the decision of the SDM to prevent cheating left a lasting impression on him.

He wondered who was this powerful man and decided that he too would become an SDM one day.

So he came to Gwalior with a bag and since he did not even have money, sleeping with the beggars and down-trodden on the pavement seemed the best possible option for him. He could not even afford daily meals.

They say destiny favours the brave and so it was in his case as he soon found a job of librarian-cum-peon. The library proved the changing point in his life as it opened a whole new world of ideas before him. He read the works of Abraham Lincoln and other great icons from around the world.

These only reinforced his belief in himself and he thought if they could, he could too.

Manoj then came to Delhi, where he began to take pet dogs for daily walks and earned roughly about Rs 400 for every dog that he took out for walks. He made regular attempts to crack the civil services examinations and had even cracked the preliminary examinations in his first attempt.

He recalls that he told his girlfriend that if she supported him, he would turn things around and achieve the feat he was following so passionately. With bliss in his love life, he soon cracked the IPS in his fourth attempt and is today an inspiration for many of us.