Language Controversy in Civil Services Exam

Have they totally lost it?

Or at least that’s what it would seem from their inexplicably ridiculous actions. Why on earth would they take a decision like this in the first place – to actually make the marks of English part of the competitive agenda in civil services exams, and on top of that, actually make it harder for those who speak and write in their regional languages?

But however weird and absurd that may seem, that is exactly what our extraordinarily intelligent political leaders did. And now they have been pushed on the backfoot once again, because of the protests by different groups.

Though it is a very legitimate demand that such imposition of linguistic barriers is unfair and unjust, it is also true that there is no point depriving the students of all the means necessary for making themselves ready for employment. So if English is necessary to sell labor in the labor market (because that is what employment basically means!), then it is the duty of the educationists and those in charge of the education of the nation’s next generation of citizens to make sure that the needful is done.

Also, there are many kinds of groups with diverse interests and political ideologies behind the protests. While there are the left and progressives who oppose this move because of its inherently unethical discrimination and favoritism toward the lucky and privileged elite, there are also those on the right, who are conservatives and stress on “cultural heritage” and “tradition” with a truckload of provincialism and communalism. Then there are many who just oppose without getting the hang of it in proper terms.

Care must be taken to distinguish among these groups. Failing to do so, will inevitably lead to a total misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the political mess that has been created.

The above is a pic of ABVP students holding a poster that says the UPSC language diktat will only favor urban students as opposed to those from village. While there is certainly legitimacy to this claim, the way they make it solely a rural vs urban issue is what is indicative of their vote political tactics, which should be easily identifiable to any serious observer of Indian politics.