Meet Taskeen Khan, former model who gave up her Miss India dream to become an IAS officer

Taskeen Khan’s journey from a social media star, model and beauty queen to cracking India’s toughest exam, the UPSC, is truly remarkable and inspiring.

While many people quit their normal jobs to pursue their dreams in a glamorous world, there are very few examples where individuals leave showbiz for national duty. Taskeen Khan, a former Miss Dehradun and Miss Uttarakhand is one such example. The former fashion decided to give up that dream and focus on cracking the tough civil service exam, achieving an impressive all-India ranking of 736.

Taskeen Khan is already a popular figure on social media with a huge following. In the years 2016-2017 she won both the Ms. Dehradun as Miss Uttarakhand. She is also known for her impersonation of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut. Indeed, Taskeen’s journey is nothing short of a Bollywood movie. Despite her initial ambitions of winning the Miss India title, she chose to follow her passion for civil services and cleared the exam in her fourth attempt.

After winning the titles of Miss Dehradun and Miss Uttarakhand, Taskeen Khan’s next dream was to become Miss India. But after her father’s retirement, she considered pursuing another profession. She wanted to become an IAS officer and started preparing for UPSC. She got the idea to attempt UPSC from an Instagram follower who was an IAS aspirant. After this, she went to Haj House in Mumbai to prepare for UPSC.

In 2020, Taskeen secured admission to the free UPSC coaching offered at Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi. Despite her family’s tight finances and depending on her father’s small pension, she worked hard and remained committed to passing the difficult exam. Her journey was not an easy one as she failed the exam three times before finally achieving success. Now Taskeen Khan is a true source of inspiration for many young people who dream of becoming civil servants.