Dr. Vikas Divyakirti is an IAS trainer, author and lecturer. He is the founder and director of Drishti IAS coaching, a UPSC coaching institute based in Delhi.
Wiki/Biography
Dr. Vikas Divyakriti was born on Wednesday, December 26, 1973 (age 49 years; as of 2022) and his birthplace is Haryana. His star sign is Capricorn. He went to school at Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Bhiwani, Haryana.
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti during his student days
After completing his schooling, he joined Zakir Hussain Delhi College at Delhi University to pursue Bachelor of Commerce (Honours); however, he later switched from Commerce to Arts because most of his friends started preparing for the UPSC exams and they advised him to follow the same path, so he pursued a Bachelor of History at Delhi University. According to Dr. Vikas, his family moved from Bhiwani, Haryana to Faridabad during his third year of graduation. Unable to enroll in the courses at Delhi University, he then pursued a Master of Arts in Hindi Literature at Zakir Hussain College through evening classes. He completed the final years of his Masters at Hindu College. During his final year of his Masters, he cleared the UGC NET JRF exam and received a monthly scholarship of Rs. 2,500. Vikas also holds a Master of Arts (Sociology), Master of Philosophy, Bachelor of Laws and a PhD. Vikas was interested in language translation, so he also obtained a postgraduate degree in English to Hindi Translation from Delhi University.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 6″
Hair color: Black
Eye color: Black
family
His ancestors belonged to Punjab.
Parents and siblings
His father is a lecturer in Indian literature at a college affiliated to Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, Haryana. According to Dr. Vikas, his parents were members of the Aryan Samaj.
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti with his parents, wife and son
He has two brothers. His elder brother lives in the US and is a software engineer. His elder brother is a civil servant and works as a DIG in the CBI.
Wife and children
He married Dr. Taruna Verma (MD of Drishti- The Vision) on 26 May 1997. They have one son, Satwik Divyakirti.
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti and his wife
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti and his son
In an interview, he revealed that it was a love marriage. According to Dr. Vikas, his wife believed in Sanātana Dharma.
Religion/Religious Views
Dr. Vikas is an agnostic and revealed in an interview that he read Osho’s books while studying at Delhi University and was deeply influenced by them. He also revealed that he was deeply influenced by Karl Marx and Max Weber and lived an atheist life for several years.
Student Politics
He was interested in politics since his school days and won almost every assembly election held in his school. After completing his schooling in Bhiwani, Haryana, he moved to Delhi and enrolled in Zakir Hussain Delhi College at Delhi University. According to Dr. Vikas, he went to Delhi University to pursue a career in politics as his father wanted him to become a politician and he became a member of the All India Students’ Union (ABVP). In his first year at Zakir Hussain, he became very popular and actively participated in the nationwide campaign against the Mandal Committee, which was formed in 1979 by the BJP government led by Prime Minister Morarji Desai. According to Dr. Vikas, he wanted to contest the student elections and become the president of the student union; however, he was advised not to contest the elections as it would endanger his life and he dropped the idea of contesting the elections. In an interview, he revealed that he was very good at debates and had won many cash prizes in various debates held at Delhi University.
United Early Childhood Education Center
After completing his M.A., he decided to take the UPSC exams. In 1996, he appeared for the UPSC exams and qualified in his first attempt, with a rank of 384, in the optional subject of Sociology. Vikas was posted as Assistant Commandant of CISF, but was not fit for the post due to his flat feet and poor physical condition. Later, he joined the Central Secretariat under the Ministry of Home Affairs. In the following year, he made his second attempt but failed to qualify the Mains exam. While pursuing his Ph.D., he took his third attempt to study the optional subject of Philosophy, however, he failed to qualify the interview. In 1999, he received a letter of admission from the Central Secretariat, but he did not take the post. Later, he took the post because he was heavily in debt at that time and his only motive for taking the post was to pay off his debts. He was posted in the Ministry of Home Affairs and, as per his request, was posted in the Rajbhasha Department, where he was posted as an Office/Sectional Officer; however, after six months of his tenure, he resigned. In 2003, he made his fourth and final attempt for the exam but failed to qualify again; he took this exam while teaching at the coaching institute Drishti IAS.
Drishti IAS Coaching
In 1999, he founded Drishti IAS coaching in Delhi with the aim of providing simplified coaching to UPSC candidates. Vikas uses a unique teaching style to help students prepare for the UPSC exam.
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti at his institute
Vikas is also the editor of Drishti Current Affairs Today, a monthly current affairs magazine.
Drishti Today’s News
In 2017, he created his own YouTube channel ‘Drishti IAS’ where he uploads study materials, lectures, and exam preparation strategy videos. The channel has over 6 million subscribers (as of 2021). He is also the author of the book ‘Nibandh Drishti’.
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti’s book Nibandh Drishti
According to Dr. Vikas, he started Drishti IAS after being rejected for a Hindi lecturer position at Shivaji College, Delhi University. He borrowed around Rs 15,000 from his friends to start Drishti IAS and rented chairs and classrooms to run coaching classes. He started teaching in Hindi so that students could understand the subject more easily and the first batch had around 12-15 aspirants. Later, he started teaching philosophy and taught the subject for around 11 years until 2011.
dispute
Controversial remarks about Sita
In November 2022, while giving a class to UPSC candidates, Dr. Vikas compared Sita to “ghee licked by a dog” in a viral video. In his speech, he quoted the Ramayana to explain that Rama did not fight with Ravana for Sita because she was “unqualified” for him and Rama found her to be like “ghee licked by a dog”. His remarks triggered a backlash from social media users and #BanDrishtiIAS became a trending hashtag.
Favorites
- Travel destination: Kashmir
- Films: The Lunchbox (2013), Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007), Gulaal (2009), Masaan (2015)
- Philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Immanuel Kant, Osho
- Sociologists: Karl Marx, Max Weber
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, he revealed that his academic performance was not very good when he was a student and he failed almost every English course, but he always got passing scores in the exams every year.
- Vikas enjoys reading and journaling in his free time.
- In an interview, he revealed that he listens to the song “Chadhta Sooraj Dheere Dheere” from the Bollywood film “Indu Sarkar” (2017) every morning.
- He loves animals very much and has a pet dog.
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti and his pet dog
- Divyakirti is often seen drinking alcohol at various events.
Dr. Vikas Divyakirti at the gathering
- Vikas has a keen interest in psychology, philosophy, social issues, film studies and political science.
- According to Dr. Vikas, he first taught UPSC candidates at the age of 24. Interestingly, at that time, he had cleared the UPSC exam in his first attempt; however, his position was not yet confirmed and he decided to earn money through teaching so that he could get out of debt as he was heavily in debt at that time.
- In an interview, he revealed that although he came from a wealthy family, his family encountered a huge financial crisis when he was a freshman at Zakir Hussain College and he had to do odd jobs selling calculators. Later, he helped his brother run a printing business and also worked in a printing company for a while before starting his own printing business.
- While preparing for his third UPSC exam, he taught at DAV College in Delhi for four months.
- He was a lover of travel and enjoyed long drives, and he said he had ridden his bike from Delhi to Mumbai, Delhi to Patna, and Delhi to Goa, all without stopping.
- In an interview, he revealed that he wanted to be a filmmaker and even tried to pursue a PhD in Arts and Aesthetics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. Later, he took a course in filmmaking from FTII in Pune and studied film studies for three days at a college in Mumbai.
- In 2012, he went to New York, where his brother lived, to watch the women’s singles final and men’s singles semi-final of the US Open. In an interview, he revealed that this was an appointment with his brother, and when he settled in the United States, his brother would invite him to watch the US Open final. While in the United States, he was inspired by the 2011 Bollywood movie “A Better Tomorrow” and tried skydiving. According to Dr. Vikas, he has tried paragliding 5-6 times.
- In 2015, he contested the Delhi Local Residents Welfare Association (RWA) elections and won.
- He revealed in an interview that he likes Nitin Gadkari’s style of politics.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education