Chennai, Feb 7 (IANS): The journey of 34-year-old Aravind Perumal is unique in many aspects with twists and turns to achieve his goal. He began as a farmhand and then wrote the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission exam and joined the police as a constable.

After doing his post-graduation in economics from Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, he wanted to pursue higher education but could not do so due to a financial crisis at home.He wrote the Tamil Nadu PSC and joined the police force as a constable.

Perumal told IANS, "I am the son of a farmer and we were struggling to make ends meet, and hence all through my academics, I was working in the fields to support my education. During my graduation and post-graduation, I worked in farms to support myself and my family. I wanted to pursue a Ph.D but could not do so at that time due to financial constraints."

He said that at the age of 23 he joined the police force and continued there for 11 years.

The 34-year-old said that after joining the police force, he wrote the entrance for the Ph.D course at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University (MSU) and got into it. "I requested permission to pursue a part-time Ph.D course from the then Superintendent of Police, R. Chinnaswamy who is presently the DIG of Tamil Nadu coastal police who readily agreed to my request."

He registered for the Ph.D under the guidance of a professor for the thesis "Economic study on wage level in the informal sector" with the focus on Tirunelveli district. He said that he was supported by a lot of people from all walks of life.

He completed his Ph.D in 2019 but he was awarded it only in December 2021 due to the pandemic. Perumal who was working with the Suthamalli police station for the past 11 years was relieved from service on Thursday last week and is now joining ST Hindu College, Nagercoil.