Sreedhanya Suresh, Kerala’s First Woman Tribal IAS Officer, Is Now Asst Collector Of Kozhikode

A trailblazing woman from Kerala, Sreedhanya Suresh took charge as Kozhikode's Assistant Collector on Thursday. The 2019 batch IAS officer had made headlines after she became the first tribal woman from Kerala to crack the civil service exam.

Now, the IAS trainee will be working under the district collector S Sambasiva Rao, her role model and her inspiration to enter the civil service.

Education will liberate us! The more we will study and tell people our stories. The more we will grow.
Congratulations to Sreedhanya Suresh! https://t.co/mfU1r9QuJz

— Dalit Lives Matter (@dalit_lives) June 12, 2020

Background

Before this, Sreedhanya has served as a Project Assistant in Scheduled Tribes Development Department in Wayanad in 2016. Recalling how she was inspired to start her civil service journey, Sreedhanya said, “It was an experience I had in 2016 while I was working at the Scheduled Tribes Development Department that took me to civil service. I received a warm welcome from the present Kozhikode Collector Seeram Sambasiva Rao, who was the then Wayanad Sub-Collector, which gave wings to my dreams. Now, I am delighted to work with him,” The News Minute reported.

What You Should Know

• Sreedhanya Suresh is the first woman from a tribal community in Kerala to crack the UPSC civil service exams.
• She has joined as Assistant Collector in Kozhikode district.
• Suresh said improving the education of the tribal children is her priority.
• Sreedhanya's parents Suresh and Kamala are daily-wagers.

Talking about how she sees Kozhikode as her second home, Sreedhanya stated, “It has many factors that taught me and made me think. It's a great responsibility to assume charge during the pandemic. I will give my cent percent," she said to The New Indian Express while taking on her new role.

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Sreedhanya is a native of the Kurichiya tribal colony Idiyamvayal, near Pozhuthana in Wayanad. She is a post-graduate in Applied Zoology from the Calicut University and cracked the civil service exam in her third attempt.

 Kurichiya community is considered the second-largest tribal community in Wayanad district.  P.K. Jayalakshmi, the first minister from a tribal community in the State also belongs to the Kurichiya community.

“I am from the most backward district in the state. There are no tribal IAS officers from here even though there is a considerably large tribal population. I hope this will be an inspiration and motivation to future generations to overcome all hurdles,” she had added.

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Sreedhany's parents are daily wage workers enlisted under the MNREGA scheme. Her elder sister is a government servant and her younger brother is a polytechnic student. Talking about improving the education of the tribal children, Sreedhanya explained, "I firmly believe that only education can bring change in our living conditions. I will also work towards ensuring the land rights of the people, women's safety and conservation of the environment apart from trying to bring some sort of financial security of the people," Manorama Online reported.

She has now returned from Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussorie, where she was undergoing training, and completed her mandatory 14-day quarantine in Thiruvananthapuram.

Feature Image Credit: Twitter

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