TIRUNELVELI: From a farmer to a policeman, and now to an assistant professor. The road that 34-year-old Aravind Perumal traversed to realise his dream, the dream to disseminate knowledge to the younger generation, was replete with twists and turns.
The constable, attached to the Suthamalli police station for the past 11 years, was relieved of his duties on Thursday and is getting ready to join as assistant professor at ST Hindu College in Nagercoil, thanks to the PhD he earned from the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU).
The son of a farmer, Aravind said he wanted to continue education after completing MA Economics in MSU but could not do so due to the financial crisis his family was facing. He joined the police department as a Grade 2 constable in 2013 at the age of 23. “Even while doing my bachelors and masters degrees, I had to work in the field to make the ends meet,” he said.
Ask Aravind, he would say his desire to become a professor did not diminish even after joining the police force. “Later, I applied for PhD and passed the entrance examination of MSU. When I requested permission from the then Superintendent of Police and current DIG of Coastal Security Group, R Chinnasamy, to do part-time studies, he extended his full support. That’s how I started my course in 2014 under the guidance of a professor,” he said.
Aravind did his thesis on ‘Economics Study on Employment on Wage Level in Informal Sector’, focussing on Tirunelveli district. He said being a policeman helped him a lot in completing the work as he was able to meet a lot of people from all walks of life.
Though Aravind completed PhD in 2019, he received the it only in December last due to the pandemic.
Superintendent of Police P Saravanan said he encourages police personnel to do higher studies. “Many in the department are pursuing higher education at present,” he added.