Uttar Pradesh IAS officer resigns, calls journey ‘unforgettable’

A 2013-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Divya Mittal, on Sunday (August 30, 2026), announced her resignation from the service in a social media post calling her 13-year journey as unforgettable. 

“Today, I have voluntarily resigned from IAS, putting an end to an unforgettable journey of 13 years. Growing up in a humble environment, I dreamed of a good, successful life. After studying at IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore, I worked day and night and landed a job in London. But even after having everything, something felt incomplete. I felt uneasy about not being in my own country. My education, my self-confidence, my ability to walk with my head held high anywhere in the world, all were a debt I owed to this land. I had to repay that debt. I wanted my handprints on the bricks that would build the India I dreamed of. So I returned, and was fortunate to become an IAS officer. I had the opportunity to do many things and learned a lot. Deoria taught me that standing up for what is right is not an option, but a duty. Mirzapur taught me that “impossible” is not a fact, but simply an opinion. And sitting at the feet of Mother Vindhyavasini, I learned that power comes not from a position, but from her grace and the trust of the people. The biggest lesson was that the dreams I had for myself had been fulfilled; now I had to live the dreams I had for my people. The true peace of this life was visible in the eyes of the family who got the right to land for the first time, the disabled person who got the opportunity to live with dignity, and the farmer whose fields got water. Walking with them in their struggles, I learned that behind every government file is a person, and maintaining their dignity is justice,” she wrote on X.

The officer added, “I was foolish to think I had come to give something. The truth is, I received the most, and that debt only grew. People rejoiced in my happiness more than I did. They looked at me with the same confidence even when I was tired or broken. And this gave me the courage to keep moving forward. I received so much love, so much respect, so much affection that my bag was filled to the brim. And in this, the colleagues, officers, and employees who worked shoulder to shoulder with me and stood by me deserve a lot of credit. Today, my eyes are moist with gratitude. A single scene is etched in my heart: the elderly woman from the Lahuriya Dah hills, who, seeing water reaching her village for the first time, said nothing but touched my head with trembling hands and blessed me. I may have lost my position today, but that touch will remain with me for life. And I will never forget the dream this land of our country has given me.”