The real tragedy in the UPSC/CSAT mess

Wanna know what the real tragedy in the UPSC/CSAT exam language mess is?

First, note what's hilarious.

When told a language change in the exam (as part of a TV debate) can aid aspirants in better understanding the questions being asked, a bureaucrat on the show takes the personalized attack route. He assigns to Yogendra Yadav political motivations, and protests that language changes down assessment rigor. So much for analytical skills of bureaucrats with educational pedigrees steeped in IITs and IIMs, and who have graduated the UPSC exam in flying colors! The bureaucrat then defends his ilk by proclaiming how they have aided ably in running our country for so long. On that he is right, ably running it to the ground is more like it really is!

Now I can't for the life of me understand what language changes have to do with rigor? If rigor's a problem when the exam language is changed, for god's sake get in better assessment methods, and assessors. Why throw stones at language? Tell you what, personally I don't care if the exam was in Swahili, but what I do care about is this pulsating desire among our citizenry to join the bureaucracy! If IIT/IIM graduates had better sense they wouldn't be taking the UPSC, warming positions in bureaucracy, and earning paychecks off taxpayer money. In fact, the reason why we are in the mess we are in as a country is partly due to bureaucracy. Jairam Ramesh once aptly termed it (Indian bureaucracy) the world's most dangerous animal.

To progress and get out of the mess bureaucracy aided socialism has put us in, we have to usher in free markets. We have close down bureaucratic departments that do nothing other than waste away taxpayer money sans any accountability. We need to eliminate regulations (read, bureaucracy) so the ingenuity of India's free citizenry flourishes. Such freedom will propel inventions and discoveries that will power entrepreneurship that will then create jobs. Such job creation is in effect wealth creation. Higher wealth translates into greater consumerism which will fuel even more wealth creation.

Its a pity there's a mess over an exam that does nothing other than burgeon the ranks of bureaucracy making it harder for us to progress as a nation. We need to remember what our Prime Minister promised us, 'lesser government, greater governance'!

Here's hoping that happens.

P.S. - If you want to know why greater freedom sans a burdening-innovation-killing bureaucracy results in greater prosperity, watch the video above on the Industrial Revolution. See why Great Britain beat France to become the most prosperous nation in the Industrial century.