UPSC and Civil services aspirants lock horns!

Every year like the annual releases of Aamir Khan, the issue of Indian identity is discussed be it about Bharat or India, the influence of American culture and what not. And this year is no different .Aamir’s all baring bravado converges with the climactic turn of the fire games between the civil services aspirants and the UPSC.

The government has announced that the English comprehension skills in the CSAT paper 2 will not be used for scoring. Although the address by the MoS of Personnel still does not spell out the exact course, it is a respite nonetheless.

Among the two counts ‘fired’ by the protesters, where the aptitude angle remains debatable the argument against the language needed immediate attention.

Two things must be understood here with clarity. One, India is a diverse nation. Equal opportunity for representation from non-English and non-Hindi background is but a right. The recognition of twenty three languages in the eight schedule of the constitution must not be forgotten.

The prelim CSAT paper 2 which features English comprehension skills for a good weightage poses a problem for students from non-English background. Moreover the careless usage of google translate for literal translation into Hindi is plainly outrageous.

The eliminating nature of this preliminary test then makes language a barrier. The presence of qualifying paper in English and regional languages in the mains paper is sufficient to check the candidates but allocation of precious marks for the same makes it an elitist affair. The presumed correlation between language and intelligence not only reeks of tasteless imitation of the west but exposes a far bigger problem and carelessness of the officials on the planning table. The UGC-DU debacle is a similar example.

Secondly, India is a HUGE nation. For the perks of about a 1000 posts lacs apply. The irregularities in the weightage of different skills, yes must be addressed so as to allow level playing field but the scrapping of CSAT paper 2 is a little too extreme, shouldn't an administrator be expected to possess good analytical abilities even if he hails from a humanities background? Engineering and business school graduates are more versed in such questions but they also have to put in extra hours to study other subjects like history on which a history graduate may spend less time. The necessity of analytical skills, according to me, stand more important to optional subjects (as offered in earlier pattern), which is tested later in the mains stage anyway.

The government needs to avoid pulling a FYUP move and address these issues with caution.It should be more transparent about the commission reports, so as to gain confidence of aspirants. The dates then need to be postponed. Aamir’s film might be over a good 120 days away, but the fate of lacs is going to be tested in just under 20.


Picture credits- thehindu.com