Upamanyu Chatterjee, a 1983-batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, is perhaps the quintessential civil servant of the 1980s and 90s바카라the kind that flourished well into the 21st century. He went to 바카라The College바카라, as Delhi University바카라s St Stephen바카라s college is referred to by its alumni, several of whom found their way into the civil services, giving it a tint of elitism.
Chatterjee captured the zeitgeist in his novel English, August through the protagonist Agastya Sen, who after clearing the IAS finds himself posted in Madna, a small town described as 바카라a dot in the hinterland바카라 바카라a place he can바카라t relate to and finds hard to decipher.
An increasing number of civil servants, including IAS officers, are now emerging from these 바카라dots in the hinterland바카라. One such 바카라dot바카라 is Shedgaon village in Jalna district of Maharashtra바카라s Marathwada region. In 2015, a 21-year-old from Shedgaon, Sheikh Ansar Ahmad, became the youngest to crack the civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Son of an agricultural labourer mother and an autorickshaw driver father, Ahmad is currently posted as the sub-divisional officer of another 바카라dot바카라바카라Dinhata in West Bengal바카라s Cooch Behar district. He is often seen walking around, fully at ease as he interacts with people, explaining to them the importance of wearing masks in fluent Bangla. 바카라Learning Bangla was not difficult as it felt like a mixture of Marathi and Hindi to me. I insist that people talk to me in the language and I listen intently,바카라 he tells Outlook over the phone from Dinhata.
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Ahmad doesn바카라t carry his thrice-marginalised status with a sense of victimhood. 바카라As a Muslim belonging to an economically backward family from a poor district of Maharashtra, I have seen all kinds of problems and hardships. But I never wavered from my decision to join the civil services,바카라 he says.
It was in Class 10 that he made up his mind to become an 바카라officer바카라 after his favourite teacher made it to the local newspapers on clearing the state civil services examination. Ahmad says he loved going to school, as it was the only way to escape the all-pervasive negativity around him. His father, a Class 1 dropout, nearly withdrew Ahmad from school after Class 4 as he thought it was enough. A teacher dissuaded him, saying Ahmad was an intelligent kid with a bright future. His family supported him thereon, even selling off their small house in the village to send Ahmad to Pune바카라s Fergusson College, another hub for future IAS officers. Studying eight to nine hours a day, Ahmad made it to the IAS in his first attempt.
This year, Pradeep Kumar (), son of a farmer from Tevadi village in Haryana바카라s Sonipat district, made it to the top of the list among nearly eight lakh candidates. Pratibha Verma, daughter of a schoolteacher couple from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, secured the third rank. Yashaswini B., ranked 71, hails from Banur village near Chikmagalur in Karnataka and studied in a Kannada medium school till Class 7.
바카라The market takes care of those who live along the GT Road,바카라 says Sanjeev Chopra, director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie, who refers to aspirants from the hinterland as those living away from the GT Road. 바카라The government remains the largest employer in the country. The fact that aspirants from the interiors are making it to the civil services is a very positive trend. They are not coming from Doon School and Welham. The trend of diversity will ensure a more inclusive, vibrant and open bureaucracy.바카라
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It is not just exclusive and elite schools that are falling off the civil services map. Even the representation of higher education institutions like Allahabad University, JNU and Calcutta University has gone down considerably. Former Delhi chief secretary Shailaja Chandra welcomes the trend of increasing number of aspirants from village government schools and district colleges breaching the civil services barrier. 바카라It is a great moment in the country바카라s history and ought to be celebrated,바카라 she says. The public service is finally becoming public in the real sense as people from diverse backgrounds and places take the lead.
바카라With the steady and desirable trend of more candidates from rural areas, small towns and dispersed institutions qualifying for the IAS, the earlier charge of social elitism may no longer be valid,바카라 says former UPSC chairman Deepak Gupta. An alumnus of St Stephen바카라s and a 1973-batch IAS officer, Gupta believes the IAS still retains an elite status within the civil services. 바카라There must be something in the IAS if more than 10 lakh candidates apply every year for the civil services exam, and many of them, even after qualifying for other services, try repeatedly for making it to the IAS,바카라 he adds.
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Yashaswini had cleared the UPSC last year too in her first attempt, but with rank 293, she did not get her service of choice. So she took the exam again and bettered her rank to 71, making her eligible for the IAS. For this year바카라s topper Pradeep Kumar, it was the fourth attempt. Failing the first two attempts, he had made it to the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) with 260th rank in his third. The lure of IAS made him take the exam again in 2019, propelling him to the top.
Rahul Bose in a scene from the film English, August.
The IAS is still the most significant part in the bureaucratic architecture of governance. Gupta says it remains the premier service that provides the widest variety of experience possible in any job, notwithstanding the consequent generalist tag. 바카라Several factors make the IAS almost irresistible: leadership positions and challenges at the very start of the career and continuing throughout; possibilities to rise to the highest positions in states and the Centre; maximum opportunity to do public service and contribute to public good, and also to make a real difference during the many years in the field, and later in the making of policy and implementation of national programmes,바카라 he adds.
According to Gupta, many candidates are not even satisfied with the Indian Police Service (IPS), once considered as powerful as the IAS, especially because of the overt display of power through the uniform. 바카라Now we find so many IPS probationers on leave, trying to prepare for the IAS,바카라 he says.
There also continues to be a heavy tilt towards some states that produce more civil servants than others. Though the latest break-up of figures for 2019-20 is not available, the earlier trend shows that the largest number of IAS officers come from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Bihar. In 2017-18, 17 candidates from Delhi made it to the IAS바카라surpassing larger states like Bihar (12 candidates), Tamil Nadu (8) and Karnataka (6).
바카라Some northern states still have a feudal culture. In a village or small town, power still means the collector, whom everyone salutes, so clearing the IAS is like becoming the kingpin of the 바카라biradari바카라,바카라 says Shailaja Chandra. Pointing out that a rural agricultural background doesn바카라t necessarily mean being poor, Gupta adds: 바카라Many come from rural landed families. For them, it is about the status, power and prestige.바카라
While diversity among those making it to the civil services is a welcome trend, it takes more to make the system truly inclusive. 바카라There remains an innate prejudice against candidates who aren바카라t English speakers,바카라 says a retired bureaucrat, who served on UPSC바카라s interview panel for five years. He cites an example of a woman candidate from a border village in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. 바카라She was the daughter of two beggars and studied in the local government school. Seeing her aptitude, a teacher recommended her for admission to a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. She was brilliant in her interview. She put all of us to shame with her knowledge and poise. It바카라s just that she was not fluent in English, with Hindi being her preferred language of communication. While I was in favour of her making it to the IAS and awarded her high marks, the chairman of the panel, an IFS (Indian Foreign Service) officer, did not find her 바카라officer material바카라. I argued in her favour as I believed she would make an outstanding officer, but the chairman asked me not to worry, saying she would probably make it to the IRS.바카라
The panel member claims he does not know the final outcome of her interview, which accounts for 275 marks out of the total 2,025. He says the entire experience of the interview can be intimidating for anyone, more so for a person coming from a small village. 바카라Just walking into the imposing Dholpur House (the UPSC building) with formidable liveried guards manning the premises can leave anyone overawed,바카라 he says.
The RSS has been urging the government to do away with the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), and to replace the interview with a psychological test. The organisation believes the CSAT puts to disadvantage those who take their exam in Hindi. The aptitude test was introduced in 2011 to test a candidate바카라s comprehension, communication and decision-making skills.
Devendra Singh, national convener (competitive exams) for the RSS-affiliated Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas, says the UPSC exams must provide equal opportunity to people of all backgrounds without any discrimination. 바카라Ninety per cent of those who qualify the CSAT are from English medium background and it is discriminatory in nature,바카라 he adds.
However, the ministry of personnel claims that a candidate needs to secure only 33 per cent marks in the CSAT and it is only a qualifying exam for the next level, which is the interview. As per the latest 2019 figures, of the 326 civil servants who attended the Foundation Course at LBSNAA, just eight had taken their exam in Hindi, with 315 opting for English. In 2018 too, of the 370 trainees at LBSNAA, eight had taken Hindi, with 357 taking the exam in English.
The UPSC results announced earlier this month also show the continuing under-representation of Muslims in the civil services. Only 42바카라about five per cent바카라of the 829 candidates who made it are Muslims, while the community comprises about 15 per cent of India바카라s population. Only one made it to the top 100바카라Safna Nazarudeen from Kerala, with 45th rank.
The ministry of personnel official claims it is difficult to ensure equal representation of all marginalised sections. 바카라Seats are already reserved for SCs, STs, OBCs, economically backward sections and physically handicapped. There are relaxations in terms of age and number of attempts for them. We try to make the services as inclusive as possible, but seats cannot be reserved on grounds of religion,바카라 he adds.
Public policy expert Rajendra Pratap Gupta, who has been rooting for reforms in the bureaucracy, strikes a note of caution on the culture of entitlement in the civil services.
바카라Whether you come from St Stephen바카라s or a remote village in Munger, it doesn바카라t matter much after a few years,바카라 he says. 바카라One unwittingly becomes a part of the system when a junior, even twice the age, addresses the officer as sir or madam. The culture is deeply embedded in authority, hierarchy and entitlement. I am not very optimistic if the trend of people coming from the hinterland into the civil service will change the insensitive system called bureaucracy.바카라 While the Modi administration is trying to bring changes through steps like 바카라lateral entry바카라 of domain experts, he says it cannot be limited to that. 바카라Till we have the option of 바카라lateral exit바카라 for non-performance, nothing changes,바카라 he adds.
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