Which medium should I use for writing and interview?
Officially, you can write your Mains papers (except the language
and Optional literature papers, which you have to write in the
respective media) in any of the eighteen official languages: Assamese,
Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam,
Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil,
Telegu or Urdu, and, of course, English. But you can be sure that the
UPSC officials would be in a tight corner if all and sundry were to
use all these languages- they would simply not find examiners who
could check the answer scripts in so many native languages. Unless
it is a literature paper, it is always safe to write either in
English, or Hindi. Same with the interview. You will be
interviewed by a board of eminent people - about half a dozen in
number - and you can be sure they do not know all of the above
languages. You could be lucky if one of them knows your vernacular,
but the rest would not be able to communicate with you- the basic
purpose of the interview. The more difficulty you have in
communicating with those who would be checking your merit, the greater
disadvantage you would be at- you have to decide if you want to
jeopardize your employment opportunity in favour of linguistic
chauvinism.
Relevant is another consideration. A civil servant is one who
serves the society; he is expected to have extensive interaction with
the people. Since you could be posted anywhere in India, or even
outside, the knowledge of your native language (unless you are posted
in your native state, which is rather unlikely) would be superfluous,
and would not help you in a professional capacity. English, Hindi, and
the vernacular of the state you are posted in, would be your lingua
franca. It is incumbent upon UPSC, therefore, to ensure that you have
sufficient communicating prowess. Vernaculars as a medium is, thus,
not recommended. If you aspire to be IAS, make sure your linguistic
skills in English, and even Hindi, are profound. Certainly this does not
mean that you have to be a grammar expert, a novelist or a lecturer; but this
certainly means that you should have the capacity to make yourself
understood to your audience in a language which he knows. These
comments are, of course, personal.
Written: 5th of December, 2003. |
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