At New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan, the venue for the ‘National Conclave: 9 Saal – Seva, Sushasan, Gareeb Kalyan’ on May 27, 26-year-old Ishita Kishore happily obliged people seeking to click a selfie with her. She, along with some other top rankers of Civil Services Examination 2022, were special invitees to the event organised by the Prasar Bharti to celebrate nine years of Modi Government. The result of CSE 2022 was declared on May 23; Ishita and other toppers have been in news since then, posing for TV cameras smilingly and answering questions such as those regarding their study schedule and inspiration.
Just like the toppers, there are other successful candidates who get the limelight for having braved odds to crack this prestigious examination. This year, two such candidates are Suraj Tiwari and Ram Bhajan Kumar. Tiwari, pursuing an MA in Russian at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Lost both his legs and his right hand in a train accident in January 2017 but aimed for civil services and got successful in his second attempt. Kumar, son of a labourer in Rajasthan and a head constable in Delhi Police, managed to crack the exam in his eighth attempt.
The toppers get celebrityhood and candidates such as Tiwari and Kumar become fodder for inspiration. This is the routine every year after the result of the CSE is announced. Civil Services is considered to be the most prestigious service in India. Every year, around 500,000 candidates appear in the first round of CSE and only around 1,000 get past the final barrier of personality test to be recommended for appointment to various services, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS). Even though there are other examinations in India in which the success rate is as low as that in the CSE, the civil services examination is considered to be the toughest because this examination is a year-long process. The first stage, the Preliminary Examination, is generally conducted in May-June and the final result is announced in April-May.
Along with hard work, this examination is also a test of perseverance and dedication. And, still we have people making attempt after attempt at this examination. Isn’t it difficult to remain motivated for so many years? Difficult, it may be, but not impossible. Look at the story of the Delhi Police head constable who got successful in the eighth attempt.
Looking at how success at the CSE is celebrated, I often wonder why we put so much premium on the civil services? Why do toppers get so much footage on TV news and in newspapers? Apart from giving them the advantage of getting a cadre of their choice, the rank may not serve any other purpose but still the toppers of CSE become heroes in our society. Why does that happen? Why do we celebrate success at the civil services examinations? Is it because being in the civil services, especial the IAS, you get an opportunity to bring about qualitative and quantitative change in society? Or, because of the power associated with these services? Or, because the services ensure a secure and cosy future not just for you but also for your future generations?
If you ask children in schools in the Hindi heartland about what they want to do when they grow up, at least six out of ten will say they want to become IAS officers. Even the students who make it to the country’s best engineering, medical or management colleges want to take a shot at the civil services, aiming mostly for the IAS or the IPS. Many of them take the exam even after being successful once, to improve their ranks because only about the top 100 get the IAS. For most aspirants, the fight is to get into this club of top 100 candidates.
Sometimes I think that our colonial mindset is responsible for our paying so much importance to the civil services. Maybe we believe that the civil servants are not servants but masters of our destiny. Some civil servants also get this false notion and behave in an arrogant and condescending manner. This may have stemmed from years of subjugation, especially as a British colony. It is a welcome change that the Modi government is doing away with colonial legacy. (Changing Tomorrow has earlier done a cover story on the steps that this government has taken to change the colonial mindset.)
As we do away with one colonial relic after the other, maybe it is time to stop the practice of making heroes out of candidates who get success in the civil services examinations. Some odds stories about perseverance and dedication may serve the purpose of motivating the youth but making toppers stars may serve no real purpose.
