Taskeen Khan from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, once dreamed of securing the title of Miss India. Today, she’s an officer, having cracked the UPSC Civil Services, one of the country’s toughest exams. Her journey from beauty pageants to bureaucratic ambition is as unusual as it is inspiring. (News18 Hindi)
In 2022, Taskeen secured an All India Rank of 736 in the UPSC exam, joining the league of young officers shaping the country’s governance. But her path wasn’t straightforward. Before she ever opened a polity book, Taskeen was making waves on stage, winning Miss Dehradun and Miss Uttarakhand in 2016-17. With dreams of walking the Miss India ramp, she was poised for a glamorous future. Then life took a sharp turn. (News18 Hindi)
Her father, Aftab Khan, retired around that time. With limited pension and mounting costs, her dreams of fashion and fame hit a hard wall. She had also cracked the entrance exam for NIT but had to forgo it, simply because the family couldn’t afford the fees. A science student who consistently scored over 90% in both Class 10 and 12, Taskeen had always been academically inclined. In school and college, she wasn’t just a model, she was also a basketball player and a national-level debater. (News18 Hindi)
But it was an unexpected Instagram conversation that rewrote her future. A follower, preparing for the IAS himself, suggested she explore the UPSC path. Curious, she started digging. What she found changed everything. In 2020, she earned a place in the free residential coaching program run by Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi. She moved to the capital with little money and big ambition. The family, now based in Meerut, pulled through on her father’s modest pension. (News18 Hindi)
Against all odds, navigating financial pressure, emotional strain, and the weight of expectations, Taskeen stayed locked in. She prepped, revised, failed, and rose again. Her success isn’t just about breaking into the civil services. It’s a statement, that brains and beauty aren’t mutually exclusive, and that grit outlasts glamour. (News18 Hindi)
Today, she’s not just a model or an influencer with a massive online following. She’s a role model for thousands preparing for UPSC without privilege, without Plan B, just pure determination. Taskeen lives in Meerut with her parents Aftab and Shaheen Khan, and her younger sister Aliza. Her story is now doing the rounds on social media, not because she walked a ramp, but because she walked into the system. (News18 Hindi)
