'I want to be an IAS': 7-year-old UP girl saves schoolbooks during bulldozer action

LUCKNOW: One must have fire in the belly to pursue dreams. Seven-year-old Ananya Yadav surely has it in abundance.This little girl from Ambedkarnagar rushed to save her most prized possession — her school books — as a hut adjacent to hers in Arai area caught fire amid bulldozer action outside her makeshift home. A video showing Ananya running out of her hut clutching her school bag went viral on social media.It melted hearts and moved many, including the Supreme Court which cited this incident in its Tuesday order slamming bulldozer action in Prayagraj. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav shared the video while hailing the SC observation in a post on X and slammed the bulldozer action of the UP govt. The incident unfolded on March 21 when Ananya, who aspires to be an IAS officer, returned home from school. A district administration team came marching to her hut with a bulldozer to raze structures "built by her family illegally over the govt land". While the family members were still trying to dismiss the administration's charges, Ananya saw an adjacent hut going up in flames while the bulldozer began to raze encroachments. Without wasting time, she rushed inside her hut, clutched the school bag and ran out."I am the first person in my family who goes to school. I study in Class 1 in a govt primary school. My younger brother Adarsh has also started going to school," said Ananya whose parents are daily wagers and unlettered. "Since no fee is charged, my brother and I are able to attend the school," she said. The school books were gifted by teachers and villagers after I fared well in tests, she said.Asked what motivated her to aspire for the IAS job, the girl said, "A senior officer once visited my school. I do not know his name but teachers told us that he was an IAS officer. He became my inspiration and therefore I too want to be an IAS," said the little one beaming with enthusiasm.Her father, Abhishek Yadav, told TOI they had been living on this land for the past 50 years and there was no illegal construction.Ananya's grandfather, Ram Milan Yadav, said they were getting a stream of visitors, mostly politicians, after the girl's video went viral. We will continue to fight to save our land, Ram Milan said, adding, "Local authorities and influential individuals have turned a blind eye to our plight. No official has come forward to help us. We are extremely poor and barely manage to survive on daily wages."A team comprising SDM Jalalpur, SHO, tehsildar and a revenue inspector went to Ananya's home to raze encroached land."Notices had been served to Ram Milan in Nov last year and this Feb, asking him to vacate the disputed land but he did not act," said Ghanshyam Verma, lekhpal, Jalalpur."We had tried to persuade the family to remove their belongings when we went to demolish the structure. However, Ram Milan's son, Akhilesh, who was drunk, provoked the women of the family to stall the demolition and thereafter torched a hut adjacent to the disputed land. The family members misbehaved with the officials and obstructed govt work," Verma stated in his FIR lodged against Ram Milan's family.SHO, Jalalpur, SK Singh said that on the complaint of Ghanshyam Verma, an FIR was registered against Ram Milan and Akhilesh Yadav under the BNS sections of 329 (3) (criminal trespass), 325 (intentional causing crime), and 121 (1) (causing hurt to public servant).SDM, Jalalpur, Pawan Jaiswal, said they served Ram Milan a notice two months ago to clear the encroached land. "When a team went to raze the encroachments the family started protesting. One structure was demolished but it was non-residential," he added.