Vikas Divyakirti

Last updated

Vikas Divyakirti
Vikas divyakirti.jpg
Born (1973-12-26) 26 December 1973 (age 51)
Bhiwani, Haryana, India
Alma mater Delhi University
Occupations
Known forCo-founding of Drishti IAS Institute
Spouse
Taruna Verma
​
(m. 1997)​
Children2
‹ The template Infobox YouTube personality is being considered for merging. ›
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2022–present
Subscribers4.14 million [1]
Views143 million [1]
YouTube Silver Play Button 2.svg100,000 subscribers2022
YouTube Gold Play Button 2.svg1,000,000 subscribers2022
Last updated: 15 July 2025

Vikas Divyakirti (born 26 December 1973) is a former civil servant, educator, author and lecturer. He was a member of Central Secretariat Service [2] and is the founder and coaching head of the Drishti IAS Coaching Institute, a UPSC coaching institute based in Delhi.

Early life and education

Vikas Divyakirti was born on 26 December 1973 in Bhiwani, Haryana. After early schooling in Hindi medium at Halwasia Vidhya Vihar, he entered Zakir Husain Delhi College studying for a Bachelor of Commerce (honors) degree. He later changed his stream to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in History at University of Delhi. [3] [4] Later, he studied for postgraduate degree in Hindi Literature, scoring second rank in first year at Zakir Husain Delhi College and then migrated to Hindu College, Delhi in his final year, where he finally earned Master of Arts in 1995. [5] [6]

He later earned Bachelor of Laws from Faculty of Law, University of Delhi and then Master of Philosophy, [7] and also Doctor of Philosophy in Hindi literature [2] from University of Delhi. [8] [2]

Career

After completing his master's degree, Divyakirti started teaching at Pannalal Girdharlal Dayanand Anglo Vedic College and Maharaja Agrasen College, both at University of Delhi as an assistant professor. [3] In 1996, he cleared the UPSC Civil Services Examination on his first attempt with an All India Rank (AIR) of 384 in 1996. After training at Institute of Secretariat Training and Management, he was inducted into Central Secretariat Service [2] by Government of India. [2] He served as section officer [2] at Department of Official Language in Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi. [2]

He resigned from service after a year and continued teaching. [9] In 1999, he founded Drishti IAS Coaching Institute in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi. [3] His notable students include - Manoj Sharma, Shraddha Sharma.

In November 2022, Divyakirti started his YouTube channel, which currently has over 3.93 M subscribers. [10] [11] In 2023, Divyakirti made an appearance in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's biographical drama film 12th Fail , playing himself. He also contributed to the scriptwriting for this film. [12]

Personal life

Vikas is married to Taruna Verma [5] and they have a son. He was nominated for Padma Awards in 2023. [13] Divyakirti is the follower of Arya Samaj and thus does not believe in the caste system. His surname is as a result of his parents' literary interests. [14]

Controversies

In 2022, Divyakirti faced major criticism over his comments about the Ramayana, quoting an author that after the war, Rama said to Sita, "I (Ram) did not fight this war for you (Sita) but for the respect of my lineage. Just as ghee licked by a dog is not fit for eating, you, Sita, are not fit for me." However he reacted on his criticism saying that He didn't read Ramayana in Sanskrit and it's not what Rama is saying but the authors point of view through Ram, which according to him the poet says their word through the character. And the clips didn't conclude his full words. [15] [8] Sadhvi Prachi shared a clip of his statement on X , demanding a ban on his coaching institute. Later, Divyakirti clarified his views in an interview with The Lallantop , stating that whatever he claimed in the video is supported by documents. [8]

The basement of his coaching "Drishti IAS" was sealed by municipal corporation of Delhi for violating norms and illegal use of basement following deaths of multiple students in a similar coaching on 27 July 2024 [16]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2023 12th Fail Himself [12]

References

  1. 1 2 "About Vikas Divyakirti". YouTube.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Pied Pipers: Meet The Stars Of India's Online Teaching Industry". Outlook (Indian magazine) . Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Meet Vikas Divyakirti, Who Cleared UPSC CSE In 1st Attempt But Left Job To Establish One Of India's Famous IAS Coaching Centres". Zee News . 13 August 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Singh, Prashant (5 August 2022). "पहले ही अटेम्प्ट में UPSC निकालने के बाद कोचिंग क्यों पढ़ाने लगे डॉ. विकास दिव्यकीर्ति?". The Lallantop (in Hindi). India Today Group. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  5. 1 2 Gupta, Archit (12 November 2022). "Dr. Vikas Divyakirti: जानें कौन हैं डॉ. विकास दिव्यकीर्ति जिनके मुरीद हैं लाखों UPSC उम्‍मीदवार". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Baliarsingh, Cassian. "Vikas Divyakirti: Journey from IAS officer to founder of Drishti IAS". OdishaTV. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Dr Vikas Divyakirti: From IAS success to educational leadership in UPSC coaching". Daijiworld Media . Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Ghosh, Poulomi (12 November 2022). "Controversy over Dr Vikas Divyakriti's statement on Sita: 'I have proof'". Hindustan Times . Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Meet Dr Vikas Divyakirti, man who quit IAS to become teacher; internet sensation has millions of followers on..." DNA . 28 July 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Vikas Divyakirti". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Nibandh, Vinod (6 January 2024). "Trending Post '12th Fail', IAS/IPS Guru Vikas Divyakirti Says 'Rumours Fly Like Dust..'". News18 . Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Vikas Divyakirti, a real-life UPSC prof, to play himself in Vikrant Massey-starrer '12th Fail'". Times Of India . 6 October 2023. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "Nominations/Recommendations for Padma Awards 2023" (PDF). Government of India . Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  14. ↑ Vijay, Pankaj (14 October 2023). "विकास सर का सरनेम दिव्यकीर्ति क्यों, उनके दोनों सगे भाइयों का सरनेम उनसे अलग क्यों, बताई वजह". Hindustan (in Hindi). HT Media. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  15. ↑ "Drishti IAS founder Vikas Divyakirti faces criticism for comparing Sita with a 'ghee licked by dog'". The Economic Times . 11 November 2022. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  16. ↑ "Drishti IAS centre's basement sealed in Delhi amid row over students' death". India Today. 29 July 2024.
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