The inspiring story of Vijay Kumar Deharia is the perfect example of “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
Growing up amid all odds and learning the alphabets of the English language when he was in class 6, this man from tribal-dominated Jamua village in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh has topped the list of M.P. Public Service Commission (MPPSC) under ST category, and all because of his determination and hard work.
He managed to seal the top spot under ST category in his third attempt, holding overall the 36th position in the entire state. Another interesting fact about the village of Jamua is that the population comprises of 1500 people and only 6 people are graduates including Deharia and his younger brother.
Where Vijay stays, the closest pucca road is 3 kilometers from his village. While speaking to TOI, Deharia says, “My father was a contractual teacher and he used to get Rs.2200 as salary till 2007. While the financial condition of the family was very bad the environment to study in the village primary school was also not good.”
Apart from the financial issues, and the daily struggle to meet basic needs, Deharia says that just to reach school, he has to travel 8 kilometers from his village. But, things started to change for better, when he got admission at a school in Lakhnadon and it was in class 6 when he became familiar with the English alphabets.
“Later on, I could not take admission in an engineering college as we had no money to pay fees. Then I got admission in Jabalpur engineering college since I had a green card and was not required to pay the fees,” he added.
Unable to figure out a way to earn money and meet his expenses, Deharia finally decided to give home tuitions. He also worked in Indore for Rs.6000 a month after completing engineering. According to the report, in 2014, he got selected as a forest guard in Shikhara forest area of Seoni.
While striving for a better life, he used to carry his books to the forest and study there.