This refers to your cover story Uniform Civil Services (August 31). Agastya Sen, the lead character in Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English, August, captures the zeitgeist of the eighties in India. Sen’s urban realities stand in sharp contrast to those of rural India. However, four decades later, there is a pleasant twist in the tale—the barriers are breaking. There is now a Pradeep Singh for every Agastya Sen. Candidates from so-called ‘dots in the hinterland’ are making it to the services, bringing in a wealth of grassroots experience. After all, who can relate to the welfare of the deprived better than those who have themselves had a brush with deprivation and all that it entails? Their intimate understanding of the district administration’s functioning gives us hope that governance paradigms could finally undergo a change. Young officers might focus on making things happen rather than just being a cog in the wheel. Hopefully, the never-say-die spirit of these young officers will trigger a change of attitude and shift the focus to social justice rather than swagger and soirees.
Sangeeta Kampani, New Delhi
The civil services are no more a fiefdom of the elite. People from small towns and villages are working hard to crack the code. Students from Bihar, of course, have been quite successful, but now people from other underprivileged regions are also making their mark. The civil services are the backbone of a strong nation and represent its values. It hardly matters if a person can speak or write English well; understanding, prudence and hard work matter more. China and European countries speak their mother tongue and are proud of their languages. Our obsession with the English language and its use as a parameter to judge people should be junked for good. What matters are the beautiful minds that hold the power to change the country.
Ashok Goswami, Mumbai
There is no denying that once upon a time, the civil services were a preserve of the elite. Now, however, young people from villages and families of modest means are cracking the UPSC exams. Many of them have studied in village government schools and district colleges. A couple of decades ago, who could have imagined that youths like Sheikh Ansar Ahmad, the son of an agricultural-labourer mother and autorickshaw-driver father, would succeed in the UPSC exams? Former UPSC chairman Deepak Gupta, also an IAS, says that there must be something great about the IAS if more than 10 lakh candidates apply every year for the civil services exam—many of them repeatedly try to become an IAS officer, even after qualifying for other services. In a democratic system like ours, politicians wield power, but the show is run by the bureaucracy. With the power and prestige it brings, the IAS is indeed the most appealing of the civil services.
M.C. Joshi, Lucknow
This refers to Periyar Sunset (August 24). Periyar was neither an atheist nor a rationalist in the 1920s. He started his rationalist movement in the 1930s and intensified it only after 1944. There are few takers today for his shibboleth “There is no God…He who invented God is a fool…” Periyar was OBC-centric and stigmatised Dalit women with his remark that textile prices were rising because Dalit women had started wearing blouses. While many Dravidian stalwarts have more than one wife, Periyar himself married a girl less than half his age. He openly denigrated ancient Tamil writers and treatises. Knowing well that the deeply conservative Tamil society would not subscribe to such a radical ideology for long, the DMK is trying to move towards the Hindu right to take the wind out of BJP’s sails. Rattled by all-round opposition to the denigration of Kanda Sashti Kavacham by YouTube channel Karuppar Koottam, DMK went out of its way to condemn the maverick outfit. Surprisingly, even die-hard Periyarists like Thol Thirumavalavan and poet Vairamuthu followed suit. That the DMK has chosen strategy over ideology is clear from the fact that it has employed Prashant Kishor, a Bihari Brahmin, to formulate its political strategy.
Kangayam R. Narasimhan, Chennai
I was happy to read your August 24 edition. In my perception, your magazine is rather negative and usually projects negative news that is sceptical of India’s achievements. In this issue, while you dwelt on some negative aspects, you did so without malice. It addressed some important issues.
Gurumoorthy, On E-Mail
This refers to Make In India Gathers Momentum (August 24). If there is a positive aspect of the pandemic in India, it is the momentum the PM’s pet project ‘Make in India’ has received. After all, why should India, a nation self-sufficient in space technology, that launches foreign satellites in orbit, depend on China for commodities such as salt and camphor?
George Jacob, Kochi
This refers to Supreme Stalemate (August 31). Prashant Bhushan has always been in the news for controversial reasons. This time, he shoved his hand right into a beehive and is now complaining that bees stung him. Bhushan’s tweets making insinuations about four former CJIs are unacceptable. Bhushan made a career out of filing frivolous PILs, but this time, he has gone too far. Either he should prove his allegations or stop trying to be a hero of free speech. Baseless tweets and criticism are two different things. The SC must not relent and establish that firing empty missiles on premier institutions will have repercussions.
Bholey Bhardwaj, Mumbai
Kamala Harris’s selection is historic. Her induction into the campaign is a sign of the rise of Indian-origin leaders on the political stage in the West over the past decade. In Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau’s cabinet has more Sikh ministers than our cabinet. In Europe, the rise of Indian-origin politicians is even more noteworthy—former prime minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar; Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa; Priti Patel, Britain’s home secretary; and Rishi Sunak, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer. The list of Indians heading global conglomerates is long and needs no reiteration. Kamala Harris could well be the next vice president. Other nations may rejoice in her origins, but the fact is that her achievements are owing to the USA.
H.N. Ramakrishna, Bangalore