Expert Talk | BPSC aspirants protests in Bihar, Pooja Khedkar’s case: Here’s an ‘ethical’ reading of your 2024 issues

Manas: The year 2024 saw aspirants protesting for their various demands related to the examination process. Even today as we speak, many BPSC aspirants in Bihar are protesting. How should we understand these protests from an ethical perspective?

Nanditesh Nilay: Why is there a need for an aspirant protest? The answer is simple, in a developing democracy, everyone’s needs have to be addressed — like Maslow’s pyramid. Maslow’s pyramid, also known as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, is a motivational theory that organises human needs into five levels: Physiological, Safety, Love and belonging, Esteem, and Self-actualisation.

Hundreds of candidates who had appeared for the BPSC prelims, conducted on December 13 at 912 centres across Bihar, have been protesting in Patna since December 18. (PTI Photo)

Every government need to understand this. We must realise that an aspirant is a citizen first. So their genuine needs must be addressed at priority without any protest. If there will be transparency and trust between stakeholders, then the path of protests can be avoided.

Aspirants need a free and fair examination system. We should avoid politicising it.

Manas: Sanjeev Sanyal’s posts on social media platform X earlier this year created a stir. He wrote, “As mentioned, it (is) perfectly fine to attempt the UPSC or other such exams, but only if the person wants to be an administrator. The problem is that lakhs of people are spending 5-8 years repeatedly doing this exam as a ‘way of life’. This is such a waste of youthful energy.” Your views …

Nanditesh Nilay: Neither does this exam give us the liberty to treat the outcome as a way of life, nor does it expect some form of fixed administrative skills. When you look at the issues in health, education, law and order, infrastructure, and even public sensitivity toward civic life, you will agree that a public servant has to be a person who must have a deeper sense of understanding of the policies as well as of civil life; which further can lead and guide common people towards peace and prosperity. The least we can expect is to have someone who stands higher in values and competencies.

Manas: Three UPSC aspirants died in July this year after they were trapped in the basement of Rau’s IAS coaching centre in Central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar, which was flooded when a drain burst during heavy rain. How do you see this incident?

Nanditesh Nilay: The whole incident was tragic. Students died due to the negligence and cruelty of coaching and the system. We hope that the whole mess up at Karol Bagh and Mukherjee Nagar area will be addressed with full sincerity and honesty. What also worries me is that the incident happened in Delhi, a tier-one city. What about places like Kota or other coaching hubs in smaller town with less facilities and vigilance?

Lakhs of students’ lives can come in danger if the system does not take strict safety measures in advance. There is no scope of politics here. But there is definitely a scope for repentance and ethical decision making. What we must pray for is that such incidents should not be repeated.

Charlie Chaplin was right when he said that life is a tragedy in closeup. Afterall, above anything else, it is a question of human being’s life.

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Manas: The UPSC in July cancelled trainee Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Puja Khedkar’s candidature in the 2022 Civil Services Examination (CSE) and barred her from appearing for any future examinations of the commission, after finding she had violated rules by appearing for the exam more times than what was allowed. The whole incident brought ethics of individuals and institutions into question. Your comments…

Nanditesh Nilay: It was a discouraging episode. It has arrested the image of civil service as well as the steel frame of Bharat. Simultaneously, this incident will have a chagrin effect on all those aspirants, and serving civil servants who believe in ethics. Now if anyone after qualifying for any examination will act so arrogant and child-like, and give priority to the mundane then I must remind them of Epicetus who said that you become what you give attention to.

Former IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar

Regarding the UPSC exam process, one must know that the whole process not only prepares an examinee for an exam but also crafts the person with that kind of knowledge which can be expressed succinctly. UPSC has a robust and structured selection process. However, no one can deny that this incident has robbed its bastion and brought a dent in its image.

We all wish to see the moral compass bending towards justice. When I think of the solution, I think of ethics.

Till the time an individual will not wish to become a good human being and ethics will not become a natural expression of behavior, such incidents of temptations, errors and obnoxious behavior will loom large and will eclipse the ethos of this service.

Manas: The above mentioned cases of corruption, controversies, and unethical practices by civil servants that made headlines in 2024 have raised questions about the relevance of ethics. A veteran even suggested removing the ethics paper from the Civil Services Exam, claiming it serves no purpose. What is your opinion on such views?

Nanditesh Nilay: The purpose of Morality, Values and Ethics has always been the same — ‘Goodness’. By introducing this paper, UPSC also felt the same. The Commission hoped to see the civil servants pass the baton of policies and benefits to the last man without carrying any ego, arrogance, superiority, apathy any prejudices.

The paper on Ethics has a similar message i.e. to believe in goodness — to become and remain a good human being. Remember, any developing nation needs not only brilliant officers in governance but also those who are caring, compassionate and courageous. So, moral intent and a clear message on values and ethics were what the ethics paper had at its core as a part of the UPSC syllabus.

I am reminded of the first ethics paper in 2013, in which you will notice signs of a clear thought process, conscious planning and a methodical approach to bring objectivity to the assessment mechanism. For example, if the questions were asked on integrity, the voice of consciousness or any concept, case studies that followed validated the understanding of those concepts which the examinee has answered in the paper. Only this kind of framework can assess and validate that alignment for a better understanding of the examinee’s thought process. We can not ask questions in ethics only for the sake of asking. It must carry a structured objective pattern for facilitating the assessment process. There is a qualitative aspect of this paper that cannot be counted in numbers but can only be felt in the longer run.

Should we remove this paper from the syllabus? No way. Infact, I will suggest bringing Ethics in Prelims too.

Exposure to goodness is an opportunity. Only ethics and values can answer fundamental questions of democratic societies. Consider Japan as an example: the Japanese education system and citizen behavior emphasise ethics. A soldier’s conduct differs from that of a civilian primarily in their stronger sense of values and ethics. This defines what it means to be a soldier.

Let’s ponder:

Are courage, integrity, compassion, empathy, togetherness, love, and discipline only meant for soldiers? What about other institutions and their representatives?

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Manas: So where is the problem with all the controversies around the UPSC universe and as we step in 2025 in a few days, what should be the solutions?

Nanditesh Nilay: The problem is everywhere. Unethical practices have been treated as normal behaviour across the globe and even in our country after independence. Plato said that the state of justice depends on the state of a just man, a just state. Ultimately ethics is not a one-way traffic. Even Mahatma Gandhi was worried about the state of affairs, particularly about the conduct of citizens. Don’t forget that the battle of Plassey was over in a few minutes due to a few compromises and the result was that the destiny of India was doomed.

When I completed my second PhD in 2022 from IIT Delhi (NRCVEE) in A study on Ethical decision-making by Indian Bureaucrats , the results and findings were highly encouraging and simultaneously suggested something urgent and important to be taken care of for an effective, efficient and ethical governance. The work specifically has practical relevance, since the outcomes of the qualitative studies can be used in the expansion of the code of conduct as well as the training material to include guidelines on handling the conflicting situations of various types of ethical dilemmas as highlighted in this study. It also highlights the need to improve the ethical climate in Indian bureaucracy to strengthen the moral courage of the officers required for ethical decision-making. It is hoped that the outcome of this work can be used to have a positive influence on ethical decision-making among the Indian bureaucrats.

The training curriculum at LBSNAA and all state academies must have an open-minded approach to ethics and values. Ethics should be incorporated in all kinds of teaching and training endeavours. Ultimately governance is for whom, and for what? All those who have been uninitiated must realise that becoming a civil servant is not only competency-driven but value-driven too.

Further, in all kinds of performance appraisals, values and moral conduct must be given preferences. If someone has done hard work with utmost sincerity, honesty and kindness, that effort must be counted and it should not be lost in the result driven mindset. The moral act is itself as important as the result of the act. The Categorical Imperative of Kant should be treated as pragmatic as the Utilitarianism of Bentham.

In the long run, the moral science paper must begin from the nursery itself. Make it a compulsory subject at all levels. It is also pertinent to remind ourselves that we need good doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, police, judges, leaders, citizens etc.

“In the long run, the moral science paper must begin from the nursery itself,” says Nanditesh Nilay.

Therefore why is this paper only for the civil services exam, and not for all exams? The change must begin from the top. It has been said that values are like water drops and they should reach to the top and economic benefit is like smoke and must reach to the bottom first. Values must be weighed with the spirit of justice.

Nanditesh Nilay is the author of ‘Being Good and Aaiye, Insaan Banaen’, ‘Ethikos: Stories Searching Happiness’ and ‘Kyon’. He teaches courses on and offers training in ethics, values and behaviour. He has been the expert/consultant to UPSC, SAARC countries, Civil services Academy, National Centre for Good Governance, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI), etc. He has PhD in two disciplines and has been a Doctoral Fellow in Gandhian Studies from ICSSR. His second PhD is from IIT Delhi on Ethical Decision Making among Indian Bureaucrats. He writes for the UPSC Ethics Simplified (concepts and caselets) fortnightly.

Manas Srivastava can be reached at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com.