Life was bad! No, it was terrible for Manoj Sharma. He lived a frugal life in his early youth days and he couldn’t even afford daily meals and he couldn’t sleep properly. He slept on roads alongside beggars and his life took a dramatic turn.
In what appeared straight out of a cinema story, he defied all odds and managed to clear IPS. Yes, you read it right! The man who once slept on roads alongside beggars has managed to find a way to clear IPS.
The life story of IPS Manoj Sharma, who is currently posted at West Region in Mumbai as Additional Commissioner is one that needs to be told to inspire youths of the nation.
As per new book in Hindi titled “12th Fail”, which is based on the true story of Sharma by his friend Anurag Pathak, the would-be IPS officer was born in Madhya Pradesh.
Talking about his story, Manoj did manage to pass the examination for the 9th, 10th and 11th standards somehow with very low marks. He was not cut above the rest of other students as he always secured third division in all three examinations. But to his dismay, the man could not manage to clear the class 12 examination.
Strict rules were being followed and there was no way of cheating during the exam. He had by far wished that he would somehow clear the class 12 examination and then learn typing, which would get him some kind of job in the area. But God gave better plans or ideas for the man who today proudly dons the Police uniform.
Incidentally, there was no malpractice during the examinations since strict orders came to effect from the SDM’s office to stop it. Manoj adds that the decision of the SDM to prevent cheating left a long-lasting impression on him.
It was when he started to think and wonder who was this powerful man and so his journey started as he decided that he too would become an SDM one day.
He proceeded further by moving to Gwalior with a bag and there was no turning back since then. Well, he did not even have money and he had no other choice but to sleep with the beggars on the pavement could not even afford meals daily.
He soon found a job of librarian-cum-peon and the library turned out to be a life-changing experience as it opened a wide range of ideas before him. He started reading the works of Abraham Lincoln and other great personalities from around the world.
Manoj then came to the national capital where he started to take pet dogs for daily walks and earned roughly about Rs 400 for each dog which he took out for walks. He made regular attempts to clear the civil services examinations and had even cracked the preliminary examinations in his maiden attempt.
He had even recalled that he told his girlfriend that if she supported him, he would turn things around and accomplish the feat he was following so passionately. He then cracked the IPS in his fourth attempt.