In the southern state of Kerala, nestled in the quiet town of Pathanamthitta, a young woman once burdened by grief has now emerged as one of India’s most inspiring civil servants.
Minnu Joshy, now an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, wasn’t always a public figure. At 21, she was married. At 23, a mother. And at 26, she made an improbable decision: to chase a dream she had shelved years earlier — to become a civil servant, just like her late father had once hoped.
Her father, a policeman, died suddenly while on duty. The family, reeling from the loss, received a clerical job in the police department under the government’s ‘die-in-harness’ scheme. In 2012, at the age of 19, Minnu took that job, working in uniformed silence at the Kerala Police Headquarters.
For years, she juggled work, motherhood, and household responsibilities, with little time for herself. Yet the ambition never left her.
A Dream Rekindled
Minnu’s break came not through a sudden opportunity, but through steady resilience. At 26, she began preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations — India’s most competitive and grueling selection process for the civil services. Her first attempt saw her miss the final list by just 13 marks in the interview round.
Many would have stopped there.
She didn’t.
Supported by her husband, Joshy D.J., a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and encouraged by seniors in the police department who noticed her quiet resolve, Minnu pushed forward.
In 2021, she cleared the exam with flying colours, securing an All India Rank of 150 — placing her comfortably within the IAS cadre.
A Personal Victory, A Public Message
Minnu’s story resonates far beyond the walls of a government office. It is a tale of persistence in the face of grief, of ambition rekindled in the thick of duty, and of a woman who refused to be defined by her circumstances.
Her journey from a government clerk to a top bureaucrat exemplifies a broader truth about India’s changing landscape: that the path to leadership is no longer reserved for the privileged or unburdened.
“I wanted my son to grow up seeing his mother as someone who never gave up,” Minnu said in an earlier interview. “Even if it took time, I had to do it — for him, and for myself.”
Today, she stands not just as a government officer, but as a symbol — of what it means to rise, quietly and determinedly, toward a goal once thought unreachable.
