PARVEEN TALHA: THE STRINGENT BOSS OF NARCOTICS DEPARTMENT
Our motherland India has produced many heroic figures from time to time. Not only men, women of India have made immense contributions in various fields serving the nation in their own unique way. When we try to recall some of the distinguished women achievers of India usually Mother Theresa, Kiran Bedi, Hima Das, Mary Kom etc. are the names that swiftly strike our mind. But not many of us know about the super hero Parveen Talha.
Parveen Talha is India’s first Muslim woman to get the honor of serving the class-1 civil service. She is also known to be the first Indian Revenue Service officer to become a member of the Union Public Service Commission and the first woman to serve in Narcotics Department of India. Recognizing her immense contributions in the field of civil services government of India honored her with 4th highest civilian award Padmashri, in 2014. She served the Government service from 1969 to 2009 and for her distinguished service she was honored with President’s award in the year 2000. Parveen Talha was born in 1944 in the land of etiquettes Lucnkow, Uttar Pradesh. Patriotism was in her blood. She was the eldest daughter of Mohammed Talha, a freedom fighter and a renowned lawyer of his time. He was an active participant of Indian independence struggle and chose to stay in India while his siblings moved to Pakistan after partition. Before joining civil services Miss Talha worked as a lecturer of economics from 1965 to 1969 at the Lucknow University. She joined civil services in the year 1969. During her tenure Miss Talha has served at Mumbai and Kolkata Commissionerates. Apart from this Miss Talha served as Director General of the NACEN: National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics. In her able administration NACEN got recognized globally as the best accredited training institute of the World Customs Organization’s (WCO) in Asia-Pacific region. She is the one who strategized the training modules to curb the smuggling of ozone depleting substances. Her training strategies are effectively implemented to date. She was the woman who signed the MoU with United Nations Environment Program, making NACEN, the only training academy for imparting training for the control of ozone depleting substances and environmental crimes. After her retirement Miss Talha became an author. Her first book was Fida-e-Lucknow — Tales of the city and its people,was a collection of 22 short stories, highlighting the glory of Lucknow and its women. The book was officially released in 2013 by the working Vice-President of India, Sri. Hamid Ansari. She also authored the book A Word Thrice Uttered: Stories on Life’s Realities. Which was based on the bitter realities of triple Talaq. Miss Talha never got married and dedicated her entire youth in the service of the Nation. Parveen Talha always kept her personal life to herself. In an interview Talha answered some of the questions posed by reporters. To PTI She said, “I have no regrets on being single. Literature is a great companion. I still recall those times, once my bosses began to trust in my capabilities, I started getting challenging assignments including posting as Deputy Narcotics Commissioner in Uttar Pradesh…,”
“Once, there was a large-scale leakage of opium going on in UP then. While I tried my best to play a stringent officer dealing with certain illegal channels, poppy cultivators were surprised too because they had never seen a woman at that level.” Her words, her acts and her deeds are truly motivating. On the occasion of Women’s Day I salute Miss. Parveen Talha for being the inspiration for many civil service aspirants. I wish more and more women join civil services and make our nation proud. HAPPY WOMEN’S DAY!
