THE EIGHTIETH YEAR of India’s independence from colonial rule is historic in every sense of the term. It is tragic that on this occasion of national significance, the youth of our country are confronting their existential crisis manifested in the leaking of examination question papers and recruitment scams. The traumatised youth is now at the forefront in spearheading a movement demanding accountability of the Government for paper leaks and earnestly asking for a quality education rooted in values of honesty and integrity. Undoubtedly, the interrogations of the youth are rational and logical. They are questioning, “Is this the way we redeem our pledge for which we made a tryst with our destiny long ago?” – to use Jawaharlal Nehru’s ringing words uttered at the stroke of midnight when India got independence.
C.D. Deshmukh’s Example in Defence of Quality Examination
It is well documented in history that Lokmanya Tilak’s clarion call, “Swaraj is My Birth Right and I shall Have it”, electrified the nation for achieving freedom from colonial rule. It was during that phase of our history that a young Indian, Chintamani Dwarkanath Deshmukh, the founder of India International Centre in Delhi, who topped the Indian Civil Service (‘ICS’) in1919 by clearing a tough examination conducted in London, thought of sacrificing the coveted service and plunging into the freedom struggle.
While in London, Deshmukh met Tilak and asked if it would be wise for him to be part of the freedom movement by shunning the coveted civil service. In his autobiography “The Course of My Life” published in 1974, he gave an account of his interactions with Tilak in London in 1920 and seeking his guidance in regard to his future line of action. He asked him, “Although I had passed into the ICS, did my duty call me to participate in the political struggle?” “No”, said Tilak emphatically and proceeded to add with a firm assertion, “We are sure to achieve independence soon, and India will need trained administrators to reinforce self-government”.
The profound articulations of Lokmanya Tilak that self-government in India would endure on the strength of trained civil servants recruited based on their merit and worth decisively determined through a rigorous examination system are of seminal significance when the integrity of examinations has been violated by the powers that be.
