Young Achiever Dr Rehana Bashir

 

Dr Rehana Bashir, a tribal girl from Salwah village located in the Mendhar tehsil of frontier Poonch district has come a long way in her brief journey of life.

A qualified doctor, she cracked UPSC- 2018 examination by securing an AIR-187 and becoming the first Gujjar IAS officer from the region.

After completing her training and mandatory probation period she is currently serving the people of West Bengal as Sub Divisional Officer, Dinhatta, Coochbehar. On August 15

Before joining her maiden field posting Dr Bashir also served as OSD in the Health and Family Welfare Department, West Bengal. She was part of the team of IAS officers who were chiefly responsible for the successful implementation of the National Health Mission.  

Speaking exclusively to The Indian Tribal Dr Rehana Bashir talked about her journey and the challenges she faced. She also shared her vision and how she is trying to learn new things in life while discharging her part of the duties.

My civil services journey started while I was doing an internship from the Government Medical College, Jammu. She is an alumni of the prestigious Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar and Army school, Ratnuchak in Jammu.

"While I was doing my internship I realised that I can serve people better by taking part in governance. I appeared in the UPSC exam in 2017 but could not make it". Her brother, Amir Bashir, who had already cracked UPSC and was serving as IRS officer, motivated her to appear again.

"I can say Amir is my real mentor. He guided me all through the journey and my mother, Parveen Akhtar, stood like a rock behind me. She is one of the most powerful women I have seen in my life".

Dr Rehana Bashir lost her father Mohd Bashir due to prolonged illness in 2006. He was employed in the State Forest Corporation. She was barely 14 at that time. It is her mother, working in the Agriculture department, who  raised her  children and inspired them to fulfil their dreams.  

Dr Rehana Bashir said, "ever since I have started working my perspective towards many things in life have changed".  She said when she was working as OSD in the Health department she attended a large number of health camps in rural pockets of West Bengal. There I realised how important it is to reach out to the common people and serve them at their doorstep.

"They deserve these services and  we can make them aware of their rights by holding such camps at regular intervals". Referring to the flagship scheme of West Bengal Government 'Duare Sarkar' Dr Rehana Bashir said,  ' "Under this scheme government officials from different departments converge at one place and provide all possible facilities/ information about various government programs".

She said, ``We held several screening camps to prepare a database of diabetic patients, those suffering from Hypertension and other lifestyle diseases so as to organise their treatment plan".

She said the work culture in West Bengal is different. People are aware and demand their rights. Women are also empowered and where ever required they assert their authority. She said my background also helped me in delivering these services to the common people on ground. She said when they were in the academy they had a different perspective and when they go to the field the real picture emerges. "We learn so much from the common people. We gather inputs from them. I believe they are part of us and we are them. As officers it is our duty to serve them to the best of our abilities". Staying away from her home Dr Rehana is trying to adapt to the new culture and new flavours. After returning from office she still manages to cook her favorite food and green tea( salty nun chai) also commonly known as pink coloured kashmiri tea. She is a bird watcher, loves tracking space, fond of knitting, coding and painting  and also learns languages when free.