466 out of 759 candidates cleared UPSC exam from RSS-backed coaching institute this year

While a section of the media conducted a propaganda in the name of "UPSC Jihad" where minority institutions like Jamia and Zakat Foundation got targeted over the rising number of Muslims cracking the Civil Services Examination, an RSS-backed coaching institute, Samkalp Foundation, has claimed a 61 percent success rate in this year's exam.

The foundation has claimed that 466 of 759 candidates who cleared Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams this year, received their Interview Guidance Program (IGP).

According to Sankalp's website, 649 candidates had enrolled for the IGP, out of the 990 candidates chosen by the UPSC in 2018. In 2017, 2016, and 2015, the numbers were 689, 648, and 670 against the total recruitment of 1,099, 1,078, and 1,236, respectively.

Meanwhile, senior journalist Vijaita Singh shared a picture of an invitation card from the foundation, wherein Union Petroleum Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, and Nagaland Governor RN Ravi will interact with the successful candidates as Chief Guests of the Webinar meeting.

The webinar meeting is scheduled for September 20 at 11:00 am where several other Guests of Honors will address the candidates along with Pradhan and Ravi.

Last year, Home Minister Amit Shah and senior RSS functionary Krishna Gopal had delivered a lecture on national security to retired and serving civil servants at an event organised by Samkalp. Gopal is one of the senior-most 'mentors' at the foundation.

The foundation's photo gallery on its website is filled with photographs of its students with BJP ministers such as Smriti Irani, Prakash Javadekar and Ramesh Pokhriyal.

History of Sankalp Foundation

Samkalp started as an organisation engaged in running schools in several towns and cities of north India in 1986. As an organisation which gives training to school teachers to inculcate "rashtriya bhawna" in its early age, it morphed into one of the leading institutes training civil service aspirants in the 1990s.

It had reportedly trained 26 aspirants in its first batch, 14 of whom qualified for the civil services. No one made it to the IAS but one aspirant joined the IPS while others joined other Central services.

The next year, Samkalp breached the IAS barrier, and 13 of their alumni qualified for this prestigious service. The number of aspirants who approached the institute was 84, and 59 of them qualified for different services.

By 1999-2000, more than 100 interviewees had reportedly approached Samkalp as its success rate went up to 90 percent. Over the years, the foundation started centres in different cities like Agra, Ludhiana, Bhopal, and Bhilai, apart from its first centers in Delhi.

While the claim of the foundation has created little controversy and public discussion on the telecast of a program by Sudarshan TV News about the entry of Muslims into the All-India Services after clearing the UPSC exams has created much fuurore.

On Tuesday, Supreme Court made some strong oral remarks taking objection to the show, which had portrayed the large entry of Muslims into UPSC as "UPSC Jihad".

(With inputs from various agencies)