Divya Mittal, a 2013 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has resigned from the civil service after 13-year service in which she served as district magistrate in Deoria, Mirzapur, and Sant Kabir Nagar.
“Today, I have voluntarily stepped away from an unforgettable 13-year journey by resigning from the IAS,” Mittal said in a statement on social media.
Mittal, who studied at IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore, had earlier worked with JPMorgan in London before coming back to India to appear for Civil Services examination.
Mittal's husband Gagandeep Singh, also studied at IIT, IIM, had resigned from Indian Trade Service. He was 2011 batches officer. When he resigned in 2022, he was serving as Joint Director General of Foreign Trade.
She wrote in the post that she felt something was missing despite having achieved what she had wanted.
Mittal's rich experience in field
Mittal served as DM of Deoria, Mirzapur, and Sant Kabir Nagar.
She said her postings shaped her understanding of public service.
“Deoria taught me that standing with what is right is not an option, but a duty. Mirzapur taught me that ‘impossible' is not a fact, but just an opinion,” she said.
Her time in Mirzapur also gave her a deeper connection with the people she served. “And sitting at the feet of Mother Vindhyavasini, I learned that true power comes not from any position, but from her grace and the trust of the people,” she said.
Mittal said her biggest lesson was that her own dreams had already come true. She then began to see the dreams of the people she served as her own.
She recalled families receiving land rights, differently-abled people gaining a chance to live with dignity, and farmers finally getting water for their fields.
“Walking alongside their struggles, I learned that behind every government file is a person, and upholding their dignity is what justice truly means,” she said.
“I was a fool to think I had come to give something.”
Mittal said she had initially believed she was entering public service to give something back.
“I was a fool to think I had come to give something. The truth is, I received the most, and that debt only grew deeper,” she said. “I received so much love, so much respect, so much belonging, that my lap overflowed,” she said.
Mittal also recalled an elderly woman from Lahuriya Dih who blessed her after water reached her village for the first time. The woman said nothing, Mittal recalled, but touched her head with trembling hands and blessed her. “The position may be left behind today, but that touch will never leave me in this lifetime,” Mittal said.
Vivek Shukla is a management graduate who has worked in corporate worked for 20 years and is now pursuing his passion — news.
