Pu Neilienthang Telien : : IAS MN-2013
A brilliant officer who cracked AICS in first shot itself

Lunminthang Haokip *

Neilienthang Telien was born on 26 May, 1985 at Lower Keirap near Moirang in Manipur. The foothill vil-lage that falls within the jurisdiction of CCPUR District is close to the original village of the world famous boxing champ, Mary Kom.

Neilienthang is the son of Dr. TR Kom, a medical practitioner who married Late Mrs Alfina Serto. Mrs Alfma, the mother of Neilienthang, was a role model in her own times. She was an unique combo of brilliance and grace and was remembered for having memorised the maximum number of Bible verses in her Church. Tragedy struck the do-gooder Doctor couple when their kids were minors.

In Feb - March, 2013, when we, 50 plus fading home-grown IAS officers, were undergoing 113-ITP (Induction Training Prog) course at Indira Bhavan, LBSNAA, Mussoorie, I was told that young Bro Neilienthang too was under-going Foundation Course training in the main LBSNAA campus. As our training modules and sched-ules were different, I couldn't meet the brilliant direct recruit from my own State.

Now, after my retirement, I cultivate this penchant to write about the best performers in AICS. Bro Haulianlal Guite, IAS, another scion of a medical Doctor, ranked 33rd in AICS Exam, 2010. Next, among Chin-Kuki-Mizo brethren, comes Bro Neilienthang Telien who distinguished himself as the 193rd ranker in AICS exam, 2012. Brilliance was in the genes of the top-notch achiever from Lower Keirap.

His mother, a medical Doctor herself, was talked about for her aca-demic excellence. Even in HSLC, Dr Alfina's son scored 83% in 2001 from St. Joseph's School, Imphal and a coveted 80% in Higher Sec exam of 2003 from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Imphal. Succoured by the top-rated inherent genes, it was no wonder that the son of Dr. TR Kom came out with flying colours as a gold medalist in Gynaecol-ogy from RIMS, Imphal.

That itself was no mean feat for a son who grew up missing his dear mom's presence in his adult life. Immediately after being equipped with an MBBS Degree, Dr. Neilienthang worked in a Mission Hospi-tal in Assam. Being a Geminian (26 May) the medical graduate was moved by the plight of the underprivileged people around his port of call.

It was there that the seed of the craving to become an Administrator took roots. Civil service, we all know, provides the best vantage platform for one to do things to improve the lot of the poor. The wannabe Babu began to study books on Medical Science and Public Administration for 4 to 5 hours every day. He began to mug CS materials from an Administrator's perspective. His hard labour paid off.

Right in his first attempt, Bro Neilienthang cracked AICS exam of 2012 and was perched in the 193rd position. It was a feather in the cap of the outstanding achiever, his family and his community.

Apart from having exhibited glimpses of greatness in his UPSC interview the success in which he attributed to "humility, honesty and showing respect," the Civil Servant from Lower Keirap, in an interview with SimleMarNet, revealed gems of flashes of his prep for CS Exam.

When asked about the importance of 'writing skill' in fulfilling his goal, Mr Telien said "more than writing skill, thinking skill is important." In his exam prep strategy, the practical aspirant read newspapers like The Hindu and the Indian Express. He also drew inspiration from periodicals like Krukshetra, Frontline, Yojana and EPW.

After having been chosen to serve in India's premier civil service, when asked about his first reaction to his super success the future bureaucrat quipped, "I thank God that I don't have to undergo the ordeal of prep for CS exam again." That kind of holistic yet simplistic take on life speaks well of the `surgical' bureaucrat's hu-mour and practical bent of mind.

Bro Neilienthang had his stints as AC to DC, Ukhrul and AC to DC, Chandel. He also served Kakching Dis-trict as DC. The Officer whose inspiration to join IAS was the suffering peo-ple of his land, did not have any issue with his postings. In 2019, he was posted as Joint Secretary (Finance) in Manipur Secretariat and still holds that incumbency till date. Future challenges are there.

The best is yet to come out of the gold medalist bureaucrat. But one thing is sure that whatever the future holds for him, the Administrator with an MBBS Degree to boot, will take challenges head on and solve issues with 'clinical' precision.

May God bless him and the family.