[This is Essay #14 in our Spotlight Series. Click here for archives.]
Why Civil Services?
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“Why civil services?”
That’s the most clichéd question every civil services aspirant expects on the day of his interview with the wise men (and women) at the Dholpur House. For the uninitiated, Dholpur House houses the famed, and at times feared, Union Public Services Commission. However, the question persists long after the interview is over. Sometimes even long after you enter the service and at times it would even be your sole companion after you leave this world.
So when Kuffir asked me the clichéd question, I was very reluctant to write on this. Reluctant because I think that I do not have any interesting answer to the question. Yet, he persisted. He said that he often noticed that I had an interesting way of looking at things. Well, I must attribute that to his ingenuity to see ‘perspectives’ in my pedestrian ponderings. By the time you complete reading this, which I am a little doubtful, I am sure you will be more in agreement with me than him.
Getting back to the question, it was pretty simple in my case. Long long ago, when I was a little kid in the middle school, my dad once told me that IAS was the most prestigious tag anyone can have after their name. Considering the contempt he has for the bureaucracy, I wonder if he really said that. But he must have said something really nice. Else how could a lethargic middle school kid who never thought about the next day’s homework ever think about something as farfetched as a career. So those magical three letters found their way into my memory.
And then we have these nosy uncles and aunties who are inherently dumb and incredibly restless to show off how boring they can get. They pick the smallest of the kids in any party and ask his name. In case, he manages to answer that, the next question would be, “What would you become when you grow up?”. Thus the underlying corollary is that every kid who has learned to talk should definitely know what he wants to become after two decades. If the kid embarrassingly smiles and wriggles in discomfort, he would even be given choices to choose from. I found that I had a wonderful antidote for all these tormentors. The moment I said that I wanted to get into the IAS, they would be filled with awe. They would praise me sky high. One lady even termed it dynamic. I never could get what was ‘dynamic’. If she meant the civil services, my dad would laugh at her ignorance. If she meant me, my mom would laugh at her innocence. But anyways, I must admit that I began to enjoy the adulation. I had something different to say, especially in a place like Hyderabad where people think it is a blasphemy to think anything other than being a doctor or engineer.
My dad, who has changed two careers (I am not sure if he is still clinging to his third or has left it for the fourth), was least bothered what I would do in life. He was more concerned about what I would do to him. All he wanted was that I did not miss the school bus in the morning or my school bag in the evening. Simple man, simple thoughts. Of course, with a son like me it wouldn’t be prudent to expect more.
Life went on. Be it my high school or my engineering, I shrugged off my academic incompetence saying that since I wanted to enter into civil services, these technical inputs would be of little use to me. By this time, however, I learnt that there are other interesting services too, in addition to the popular IAS and all these had a common examination. Engineering days breezed by me and I found myself in my penultimate year. True to their code of honor which they undertook on the day they were born in Andhra Pradesh, all my friends picked up Barron’s and started preparing for GRE. Day in and day out, I was surrounded by names of American universities, their rankings, visas, passports, dates etc. I felt as out of place as Darsheel felt in the classrooms of Tare Zameen Par. So just like the kid in the movie went to a different teacher, I too went to one of the prominent coaching centers in Hyderabad. And then, after four years, three attempts and two interviews, I finally managed to scrape through.
In retrospect, it was not a totally unconscious choice. Somewhere along the years, I found that Government is the place where I would be happy to work. Nothing patriotic or serve-the-people or make-a-difference-in-people’s
However, the civil services do have an appeal of their own, distinct and undeniable. The challenges in the Government are immense. Any industry would have a section of population as its prospective clientele. But for the Government, the entire population is its clientele. The Government of India is represented in more countries and performs more varied activities than all the MNCs combined. The sheer numbers, the geographical stretch and mind-numbing diversity in its activities makes any Government the most challenging employer. The impact of its working is all pervasive. One of my batchmates, who had earlier put in more than a decade in the railways, recently told me that Mumbai runs more than three times the number of local trains for which the infrastructure was actually created. And that too with 99% trains running on-time. Trust me, work at Indian Railways is more challenging than any MNC.
If the challenges in the Government are one attraction, its conditions of employment are the other. It ensures that the work pressure does not lead to a burn-out. Personally, I always wanted to lead a balanced life. I believe that work should not become life. It should just be a part of life. I wanted to have enough time to pursue my other interests, say bore people by writing blogs. No wonder bureaucrats are such prolific writers. In such matters, Government of India is a very benevolent employer. Be it the five-day week or the sufficient leaves or the provision of benefits like health, housing etc, Government seeks to be the ideal employer. Its mid-career training programmes, where it funds the entire cost of post-graduation in prestigious universities like Harvard, Duke etc are something which you can never expect in even the best of the private sector firms. The exposure you get from the interaction with numerous institutions and distinguished persons in course of your career is invaluable.
So to put it simply, civil services offer a right mix of challenging opportunities and benevolent conditions of work, which nurtures a balanced growth of personality. As a pay-off, you might have to be contended with abysmally low salaries and curbs on your freedom in the form of conduct rules. But, that’s how life always is, a trade-off. I felt, and still feel, that implementing the Income-tax act, investigating tax evasions, conducting search and seizure operations, dabbling with transfer pricing and international taxation, being a part of budget formulation etc are more interesting than coding in a cubicle in a far off land earning tons of money but carrying the burden of monotony. It is a decision I made based on my observation of the world around me. It is for time to judge whether it would hold good in my case too.
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Wow.. you are good, you should definitely write fiction. ;) Just kidding. Anything with the tag ‘Government’ brings to mind pictures of tobacco chewing ministers, long siesta’s, ‘under the table’ deals and all filmy expression that when you actually hear of people doing work it surprises you. I really like how you said it offers you a lot of challenges.. it must be interesting to think out of the box given the infrastructure and resources, to get things done.
Interesting essay :) You say: “I believe that only interest that men have is self interest.” Ummm…Making a real difference in people’s lives can also be a self interest for some, don’ you think? I think civil services is one place wherein one can actually make a real and tangible difference in the lives of several people.
nice essay..!yes civils is still a good tag but aftergetting in to such a career why civil servants just flow along the flow rather really do something to make this country corruption free.
@ All
Thanks!!!
@ Chica
You really need to think out-of-the box in the Government.Even a difference of Rs 50 can rise audit objections. So you can imagine the constrains amidst which administration carried out.
@ Shobha
“Making a real difference in people’s lives can also be a self interest for some, don’ you think?”
Absolutely. But still you are working for your happiness. The happiness of others is incidental. Often, irrespective of who is the welfare commissioner, people would continue to be served. Thats the beauty of institutionalization in Govt. May be a particular officer might increase the efficiency. So I personally place more premium on the efficiency rather than the nature of the job. It is much more difficult and demanding to work in NGOs and I hold those who join NGOs at a much higher level. It is truly selfless to work with no powers, where you would probably never be recognised and where there is no guarantee of pay or job
@ Rakesh
Corruption is too complicated an issue to place the onus on a single point, bureaucracy. I am not defending the corruption in the Government, but public too should to should be vigilant. 100 crore vigilance officers will be more effective than a small govt department. The actual problem lies in the varied perception of corruption both among the public and the officials. I might sound cliched, but I am sure we are in for better days after RTI.
I like your writing and appreciate your candid approach. Yes, you are right when you say,
” I found that Government is the place where I would be happy to work. Nothing patriotic or serve-the-people or make-a-difference-in-people’s-life about it. I believe that only interest that men have is self-interest. So when people tell me that they join civil services to serve the nation, I become a little circumspect. I am not really sure if we really serve the people. The job has a mandate to fulfill. We do it and we get paid for it. Nothing selfless or altruistic about it. It is just another job on earth.”
And Shobha is also right in her own place when she asks, “Making a real difference in people’s lives can also be a self interest for some, don’ you think?”
I think it is more related with how you take your work. Some people execute their philanthropical attitude very professionally, whereas, others could pose themselves as if they serve people but actually they don’t. However, it could sounds little harsh to some people that at a post where you have opportunity to serve people, you feel “it is just another job on earth”. One can think little paradoxically even if your performance remains up-to-mark. But, I don’t see anything much to raise finger on. It is your psychology how you take your work. What matters is how punctual you have been towards your job and professionally ethical. You need not to exhibit yourself loudly to make people believe in you about your serving-people attitude.
Rakesh ! Your comments shows your concerning attitude about corruption free society. But allow me to say that corruption hides a lot within its roots. This big tree has a lot issues in its roots spread well in earth. This burning issue can be understood well from psychological point of view. This 100 crore “vigilance” will be effective on small government until this 100 crore guarantee that if they get opportunity to enjoy bribe, they will refuse it for the sake of corruption free India. Most of the people speak loudly of their honesty whereas they themselves wait for such opportunities of becoming rich through short-cut ways. Moreover, this 100 crore is already busy in leading their livelihood. Poor and middle class has so much insecurity within them that they hardly have time to be felt secured. They are running and running. In the countries where there is a social security for every citizen, corruption is very low. In short, if we want to make this nation corruption free than we have to work on making this nation secured for everyone. But, of course, corruption is an offence and ignorance of law is no excuse. Law can play a part in removing corruption but it cannot act as a single tool. In fact, major role is in the hand of active citizens who will have to work in the direction where India will become a secured nation for everyone. Secure means … no one will die with hunger and ill-nurture atmosphere. Everyone live with dignity and enjoy all human rights equally no matter whosoever belong to whosoever caste, class or religion.
Rich people indulge in corruption because they want to secure their children’s future, as they know once they loose money; there is no security for their kids. They certainly will be on roads. In addition to this, they want to fulfill all the desires of their children. Consumerism is playing vital role in leading corruption. Hence, they want to accumulate as much money as possible. Later on this become their habit. Afterwards, they don’t have much to teach their kids so much healthy to stop them going towards corruption. This is a big and complex issue, but in short, it forms a vicious circle, which is not easy to break. Only guaranteed-social-security with everybody will stop this ugly trend of corruption. Let the law play its own role but civilians have to think how to make this nation a secured one.
That is very unpretentious of you but do I detect more than a hint of cynicism? I had an argument with a friend of mine who tried to stop it saying that neither of us would convince the other of our point of view and I pointed out that statement of his was extremely cynical. So, should I bother arguing with you?
@ Madhat
You should. I will try my best to contribute to the dialectic amidst my constraints.
Yes, Gurinder you are right. I like you viewpoint and feel it quite close to reality.
You say that every person scts in his/her self-interest even if they were doing it in the interest of others because it makes them happier and that is in their self-interest..
I think that is a fallacy. More often than not, you would be faced with situations where none of the possible actions would make you any happier or where conflicting actions have the same effect on your happiness or sadness or, umm, wealth. It is those times that you have to choose what to do and what you do would not really be guided purely by self-interest.
But that doesn’t concern me as much as the implication of your statement. Does it come from a person who has grown cynical? Particularly, a person who very soon would be in a position of power. I do not know what your department is, or if it hasn’t been decided, is going to be and depending on that, you would have a differing degree of (direct) impact on masses of people. An extreme case of cynicism would be to think that none of one’s action would make any impact in the larger picture and hence, what is really the point of doing anything or that any action is fine? I am not suggesting that you are in such a position. In fact, I do not even know whether you are cynical at all. But it is a possibility in the light of your statements and for me, it is disturbing to see a cynical person who is, or in your case, is going to be in a position of power. And that might affect a lot of people, perhaps, including me.
“More often than not, you would be faced with situations where none of the possible actions would make you any happier or where conflicting actions have the same effect on your happiness or sadness or, umm, wealth.”
I wouldn’t agree on that. No two actions, irrespective of whether they are similar or conflicting, can have the same effect on your happiness (or sadness).
“An extreme case of cynicism would be to think that none of one’s action would make any impact in the larger picture and hence, what is really the point of doing anything or that any action is fine?”
I have never said or meant that. What I find disturbing is people taking credit for something they are not entitled to. Are the people being benefited because of you or because of your office? I was just trying to point out that distinction. Let me assure you that I would always work to best of my abilities and power, if I really have any, in my hands wouldn’t be a cause of concern.
Cosmic Voices, I read your blog and I think I have a fair idea about you. I was not questioning your integrity or something like that. Anyway, lets drop this and maybe we can discuss this sometime when Naren treats us to a cup of coffee at his house..
Thanks Madhat. :-)
I will be relieved to discuss this over a cup of coffee than here. Looking forward to the coffee. Naren, are you hearing?
apurva/cv,
thanks for so generously inviting yourselves.. :)yes, i’d always love to meet you two guys.
I was browsing the net in my office in South Block, looking for an interesting area for research, and I stumbled onto this blog. It took me back to a little over a decade, a time when I was myself pondering on the immense possibilities that the service holds…all too familiar cliches some might say..service of the nation, challenge and opportunity, work life balance, etc…and yet when you enter the troubled water…you realize that all of it was not totally unreal. There is indeed enormous challenge..a mammoth task..which most of us are unequal to, and even when we are…we lose track of the lofty ideals which we started our journey with. I sometimes think to myself that why is it that we become cynical and brooding..why cant there be an alliance for change…why cant we work as a team and as a group , and learn from each other!
In a time when young entrants look at the world with jaundiced eyes, it was an interesting reading on the whole!
ashish
Hi Kuffir,
Have a desire to meet you. Possible ?? I live in South Delhi.
You have given such a big essay on all those subconscious thoughts that you had which made you pick up civil services…….but give us the real story…wasnt it the charm to use the red or blue light over your ambassador car…… the idea of not having to stay in queue in most situations that attracted you….
So how is the training going on. So you still in Nagpur or you keep traveling around. I was in Delhi for past 2 weeks.
@ Vamsi
“red or blue light over your ambassador car”
In my service, it will take more than a decade for me to get a car, let alone the red or blue beacon light.
“stay in queue”
I am still standing in queue. I would be really happy if I get a stag entry in the pubs of Hyderabad on a saturday night.
Training is real hectic. I.T. Act is draining the life out of me
gurinder,
sorry- noticed your comment only now. much flattered- but i don’t live in delhi or anywhere close. but yes, it’d be nice if we could meet.
also, you comment remids me: you’ve been sending us posts without any links to your blog (or to the particular post you want published)..we can’t publish your posts here without any links. could you please send us the link/s to your post/s the next time you send us a post?
Perfect reasons for entering the civil services. I must admit that this could not have been put better.
The bug enters in childhood through our surroundings and I think this most important reason of becoming a civil servant. Its the best one could achieve, so one achieves it.
I wonder how this truth shall be rated in Dholpur house.
Anyways you write really good :)
Thanks Anurag!
As far as the rating of truth at the Dholpur house is concerned, I guess it is the honesty and comfort with which you reply counts. If you could get away with weird service preferences, I am sure others can manage the same about the choices they make.
a very well written post, cosmic :)
i wonder now why i didnt take my dad seriously when he asked me to try for the civil services ;)
anyways, wishing you the best of the best for your career and i sincerely hope that it fulfills your dreams (not the stag entry at pub thingy) :p , the career ones.
I am amused. I explained same reason to some of my friends, believe me more or less same words, when they asked me why I want to leave 10 lacs job now for this exam, which I am going to write after 2 years.
Thanks for writing this essay.