Who is Divya Mittal, the IIT-IIM graduate-turned-IAS officer who resigned?

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The viral resignation post of 2013-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Divya Mittal has created an uproar, with the Congress describing it as “very serious” and adding that respect for honest officers, their independent and impartial functioning, and an environment free from administrative and political pressure are much needed in the State.

Ms. Mittal, who announced her resignation from the service in a social media post calling her 13-year journey “unforgettable,” grew up in what she described as modest circumstances in New Delhi.

She studied at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, completed her management education at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, and eventually moved to London for a finance job. Some time later, however, she began preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination and succeeded in 2013.

Her first assignment in Uttar Pradesh came in December 2015, as Joint Magistrate in Meerut, followed by a posting as Chief Development Officer in Gonda. She went on to serve as District Magistrate of Sant Kabir Nagar, Mirzapur and Deoria.

During her tenure as District Magistrate in Mirzapur, she worked to bring piped water to Lahuria Dah, a remote village tucked into the district’s semi-arid hills, where residents had long depended on water tankers. The village, home to roughly 2,000 people, most of them families who had spent generations relying on tankers, a cracked well and a distant reservoir, finally received piped water in August 2023 — reaching 125 households after decades of waiting.

In her resignation post, Ms. Mittal said the image that stayed with her was that of an elderly woman touching her head in gratitude after seeing the water arrive.

“Today, I have voluntarily resigned from IAS, putting an end to an unforgettable journey of 13 years. Growing up in a humble environment, I dreamed of a good, successful life. After studying at IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore, I worked day and night and landed a job in London. But even after having everything, something felt incomplete. I felt uneasy about not being in my own country.

“My education, my self-confidence, my ability to walk with my head held high anywhere in the world — all were a debt I owed to this land. I had to repay that debt. I wanted my handprints on the bricks that would build the India I dreamed of. So I returned, and was fortunate to become an IAS officer.

“I had the opportunity to do many things and learned a lot. Deoria taught me that standing up for what is right is not an option, but a duty. Mirzapur taught me that ‘impossible’ is not a fact, but simply an opinion. And sitting at the feet of Mother Vindhyavasini, I learned that power comes not from a position, but from her grace and the trust of the people.

“The biggest lesson was that the dreams I had for myself had been fulfilled; now I had to live the dreams I had for my people.