Success Story: Muhammad Ali Shihab Stayed in Orphanage, Sold Paan, Passed 21 Govt Exams Before Becoming an IPS

The life story of Mohammed Ali Shihab, a resident of Kerala, can prove to be very inspirational for people who are afraid of failures in life. He has struggled a lot since childhood. However, he never got scared of any trouble and kept on moving towards his destination.

Mohammed Ali Shihab is originally from the village of Edavannappara in the Mallapuram district of Kerala. He was born on 15 March 1980 to Korot Ali and Fatima. Shihab has an elder brother, an elder sister, and two younger sisters. Shihab’s childhood passed in very difficult circumstances.

Sold betel leaves with father

Shihab used to sell bamboo baskets and betel leaves with his father Korot Ali in his childhood. On 31 March 1991, Shihab’s father died due to some illness. After that, the responsibility of the whole family fell on the shoulders of Shihab’s mother. Shihab’s mother was not very educated and she was not able to properly raise her five children.

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Mother sent him to an orphanage

Only two months after the death of her husband, Fatima sent her 11-year-old Shihab, 8-year-old daughter Sauhrabi, and 5-year-old daughter Naseeba to the Kuttikattoor Muslim Orphanage in Kozhikode. All three siblings were away from their homes at a young age. Shihab completed class 12th and pre-degree by staying in an orphanage.

Returned home after 10 years

While living in an orphanage for a decade, Shihab studied in distance mode before returning home. Shihab has so far passed 21 exams for government jobs. In the year 2004, he also worked as a peon, then railway ticket examiner and jail warden.

Cracked UPSC in the third attempt

Mohammad Ali Shihab faced many troubles during the preparation for the UPSC exam made in the third attempt. He was unsuccessful in the first two attempts but he did not give up and continued his preparations. In his third attempt in 2011, Mohammad Ali Shihab cleared the UPSC exam. He secured 226th rank at the All India level. A translator was hired for him in the UPSC interview.

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