Saffron tinge in UPSC exams?

I was recently forwarded an examination paper from a person in his 20s with two queries Do I find some of the questions ideologically motivated Do I think the Indian statersquos surreptitious agenda is to filter out examinees who from their answers seemed opposed to the Modi governmentrsquos policiesI was stunned for the examination paper was for recruiting 159 Assistant Commandants Group A to the Central Armed Police Forces CAPF which includes the Border Security Force the Central Reserve Police Force the IndoTibetan Border Police and such like The Union Public Service Commission UPSC conducted the CAPF examination on August 8The person who forwarded me the paper available on the UPSC website got me in touch with a few examinees They said the test paper had them reeling in disbelief Never before did the previous CAPF papers ask so many questions on recent political events almost all contentious Never before did CAPF questions echo the Bharatiya Janata Partyrsquos position on a variety of issuesQuestion 1 of the CAPF paper on General Studies required examinees to write essays in about 300 words on four out of six topics One of these topics was ldquoParty politics in India is a flourishing family businessrdquo This has always been the BJPrsquos shrill pitch against the Opposition Were examinees expected to lavish praise on the BJP which too has a high percentage of MPs who are dynasts ndash but where the top party leadership and executive posts unlike in most Opposition parties are not reserved for prominent families in the saffron brigadeAnother topic read ldquoInfiltrators are a threat to Indiarsquos securityrdquo In BJPrsquos parlance infiltrators are synonymous with illegal immigrants For many the topic raised the spectre of the National Register of Indian Citizens NRIC which the Modi government until recently was adamant on preparing Were examinees expected to trumpet the NRIC as a solution to the problem of infiltratorsQuestion No 2 asked examinees to write ldquoforrdquo and ldquoagainstrdquo on two topics One said ldquoElections in States should be held simultaneouslyrdquo This has been for long Prime Minister Narendra Modirsquos mantra The second topic was ldquoFarmer protests are politically motivatedrdquo Political partisanship was also palpable in Question No 3 which required examinees to prepare a 200word report each on ldquooxygen cylinders crisis in Delhirdquo and ldquopoll violence in West BengalrdquoOne examinee whose acuity is breathtaking for his age pointed out that oxygen shortages occurred across India Was Delhi singled out because an Opposition party is in power in the citystate Or was the question designed to devalue the Delhi governmentrsquos muchacclaimed health programme He said the poll violence in West Bengal is a matter pending in the High Court The UPSC is guilty of prejudging the issue presumably why Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee fumed at the question on poll violencePerplexed I read out the CAPF questions to a former UPSC official He said the questions cannot be ldquofaulted per serdquo and what is of importance is the Uniongovernmentrsquos intent ldquoBut the apprehension of examinees cannot be dismissedrdquo he saidIndeed the dismay among examinees over the CAPF paper testifies to the psychological impact the politics of polarisation has begun to have on the young They have become paranoid They suspect the state is mapping their ideological predilections However a retired senior police officer widely respected in Uttar Pradesh said UPSC examinees are supposed to tread the middle path neither hostile nor blindly in support of state policiesThe examinees I spoke to have mastered the art of camouflaging their beliefs One of them said his answer emphasised ldquoforrdquo rather than ldquoagainstrdquo on the question that farmer protests are politically motivated ldquoMy last sentence was that the time for the three farm laws has comerdquo he said chuckling Another examinee said all his answers had a progovernment tilt The middle path is not always truthfulCAPF papers of 2020 and 2019 too had a couple of questions on political events But their tone was neutral In 2020 examinees were asked to prepare a report on the ldquoimpact of the new agricultural laws on farmersrdquo In 2019 examinees were asked to write ldquoforrdquo and ldquoagainstrdquo on the topic ldquoNoteban effective tool against black moneyrdquo Although the questionrsquos political undertone was clear it can be argued that three years had already passed since demonetisation was implementedmdashand a rich vein of data was available for examinees to weigh in on the issueI also looked up the past questions papers of the elite Civil Services Examination The 2020 Prelims paper did not have a question on what is referred to as the ldquoMuslim periodrdquo In the 2019 Prelims paper there were four questions on that era but none in the 2019 Civil Services Mains paper which hold your breath asked examinees to write on ldquowhat are the challenges to our cultural practices in the name of secularismrdquo What marks would examinees get for rubbishing the questionHope the UPSC upholds what Rabindranath Tagore wrote Where the mind is without fearand the head is held highWhere knowledge is freehelliprdquo Hope UPSC examinations do not turn into a charade for pleasing political mastersThe writer is a senior journalist Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper