Syed Shahnawaz Bukhari, presently posted as commercial tax officer, shares his experiences of the civil service interview, when he faced it in 2008.
I entered the room and wished the Chairman and members, collectively, a good afternoon. The Chairman smilingly welcomed and offered me the seat. I thanked him and took the seat.
CHAIRMAN: SO MR. BUKHARI, WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IMAM BUKHARI?
SHAHNAWAZ: Imam al-Bukhari is one of the most eminent of those pious people who have given endless bliss upon the Muslim Nation of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). This is made manifest in the book of Ahadith an-Nabawi that Imam Bukhari has compiled, commonly known as Sahih al-Bukhari, the most authentic book after the Holy Qur’an. This is the conclusion that every learned religious Scholar came to. No matter how great these Scholars were, they were forced to unanimously agree that ‘Sahih Al-Bukhari’ is the most authentic work in Hadith literature ever compiled.
CHAIRMAN: DO YOU VISIT AHAD SAHIB SOPORI?
SHAHNAWAZ(ME): Yes sir
WHEN DID YOU VISIT HIM LAST?
ME: Sometime, in the last month sir.
CHAIRMAN: MR BUKHARI DO YOU KNOW THE CRIME RATE IN SAUDI ARABIA IS LEAST?
ME: Yes sir
WHY SO?
ME:Because of the fact that, unlike other Arab countries, Saudi Arabia has adopted Holy Quran as its constitution and has implemented traditional Islamic law practices (the Shariah) as its penal code. (Then the chairman goes on to explain some of the Islamic law punishments for theft, murder etc. to the other members. He explained to them how the punishments include amputations of hands and feet for robbery, and flogging for lesser crimes such as “sexual deviance” and drunkenness)
FIRST MEMBER: DO YOU THEN THINK THAT WE SHOULD IMPLEMENT THE SHARIAH LAW IN INDIA?
ME: No sir. India is a multi-religious society. I am afraid the majority Hindu community as also the other non-Muslim communities would resist such implementation. Besides, it will be anti- Constitutional.
FIRST MEMBER: DURING MUSHARAF REGIME IN PAKISTAN THE CRIME RATE DECLINED AND IT WAS LESSER THAN THAT OF INDIA. SHOULDN’T WE SHIFT TO ARMY DICTATORSHIP IN INDIA?
ME: Sir, the crime rate may have declined because of some other reasons. Some people do feel that dictatorships are the most effective form of government because decisions are made quickly and extreme nationalism benefits the military and economy. These individuals value order, nationalism, and authority. However, these systems often result in violence, repression of the public, and few provisions for changes to the system. Democracies are multiparty political systems that rest on the principle of rule by the people. Most people that live in democracies have civil liberties and political rights. I feel that multiparty systems are the best government as it values equality, accountability, and freedom. Nations that have multiparty political systems meet the needs of the public better through the means of political equality, a higher standard of living, and civil liberties.
BUT THEN IN INDIA WE HAVE INEQUALITY, HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS, LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY, POVERTY, ILLITERACY AND WHAT NOT, AFTER DECADES OF DEMOCRACY.
ME: Sir, Democracy as a system has not failed. But the people who execute the democracy have failed us. (The member appreciates my answer by his gestures)
SECOND MEMBER: WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE? WHAT ARE ITS EFFECTS?
ME: Climate change is now widely recognized as the major environmental problem
facing the globe.
Actually, energy from the sunrays is reflected back by the Earth. All this rising heat is not lost to space, but is partly absorbed by some gases present in very small (or trace) quantities in the atmosphere, called greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gases (for example, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour, ozone), re-emit some of this heat to the earth’s surface. If they did not perform this useful function, most of the heat energy would escape, leaving the earth cold (about -18 ?C) and unfit to support life. However, ever since the Industrial Revolution began about 150 years ago, man-made activities have added significant quantities of GHGs to the atmosphere. An increase in the levels of GHGs leads to greater warming, which in turn, could have an impact on the world’s climate, leading to the phenomenon known as climate change. Indeed, scientists have observed that over the 20th century, the mean global surface temperature increased by 0.6 °C. (Then I even went on to give data about Carbon increase in atmosphere but the Member interrupted)
HOW WILL INDIA BE AFFECTED?
ME: Precisely at a time when India is confronted with development imperative, we will also be severely impacted by climate change. Like other developing countries, several sections of the Indian populace will not be able to buffer themselves from impacts of global warming. Impacts are already being seen in unprecedented heat waves, cyclones, floods, salinisation of the coastline, melting of glaciers, and effects on agriculture, fisheries etc.
THIRD MEMBER: Any other area of impact?
ME: Food security….
NOT HEALTH SECTOR?
ME: Yes sir, diseases like Malaria will be on rise because of the increasing temperature.
FOURTH MEMBER: You had anthropology as your optional subject. Can you tell me how did the Indus Valley Civilization decline?
ME: There is fierce controversy about it among experts. While one group finds an Aryan invasion as the cause, another group of investigators conclude that some internal factors such as salination of the soil, flooding, or even the change in the course of the Indus river – one of these or all together may have become the cause. Another finding point to a tectonic activity, as a result of which the rivers went dry and their cities perished and that was the end of it.
WHICH THEORY DOES ROMILA THAPPAR SUPPORT?
ME: I don’t know sir.
HAVEN’T YOU EVER READ IT?
ME: No sir.
CHAIRMAN: Do you know what is E-governance?
ME: The last few decades in the history of mankind has seen enormous growth of technology and its utilization for creating better governance to the society by disseminating the knowledge down to common man. E-Governance is the delivery of government services and information to the public using electronic means (usually Information Technology). IT is seen as the best way for the implementation of e-governance because it is efficient, speedy, participatory, transparent, and affords accountability when disseminating information to the public while at the same time performing Government activities. In E-governance the internet and other information technologies (IT) have had a great impact on the productivity and performance of the government fosters new and deeper citizen involvement within the governing process.
CHAIRMAN: Why do you want to join civil services?
ME: Sir civil services offer a right mix of challenging opportunities and benevolent conditions of work, which nurtures a balanced growth of personality. Unlike corporate sector, government sector ensures that the work pressure does not lead to a burn-out. Government is a very benevolent employer. Be it the five-day week or the sufficient leaves or the provision of benefits like health, housing etc, Government seeks to be the ideal employer.
The challenges in the Government are immense. Any industry would have a section of population as its prospective clientele. But for the Government, the entire population is its clientele. The Government performs more varied activities than all the MNC’s combined. The sheer numbers, the geographical stretch and mind-numbing diversity in its activities makes any Government the most challenging employer. Diversity of departments you see through out your career in it self is an attraction.
Besides no doubt, it does give you status, power and a seat where from you can help the society. You also get a chance of personal development in civil services.
CHAIRMAN: YOU CAN LEAVE.
ME: Thank you sir.
