Why the Constituent Assembly viewed Integrity of the Examination System as crucial to Self-Government

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.  

Life rarely offers ‘answer keys’. An honest examination culture teaches young ones to face challenges and life situations with their own preparation and resilience. Young ones get the opportunity in examinations to encounter the first structured ‘test’ of integrity, and consequently success through hard work builds their moral character.      

Mahatma Gandhi wrote in  Harijan  published in 1938, “character building is more important than career building.” Thus, an honest examination system helps students, teachers and institutions identify the real strengths and weaknesses. This is the hallmark of a mature democratic nation.

Cockroach Movement 

Just a few months before the commencement of the 80th  year of independence, it was the Chief Justice of India who made oral observations that unemployed youth are like ‘cockroaches’. His clarifications, later, that those observations were in the context of those having fake law degrees were of no avail.      

Those words of the CJI hurt the self-respect of many young Indians who are struggling hard to get settled in life. In response, a young Indian, Abhijeet Dipke, well-versed in information technology and political communication, formed a satirical Cockroach Janata Party (‘CJP’) online and asked the youth of India to join and support it. In four to five days, millions of Indian youth joined CJP virtually  and expressed their solidarity with Dipke. If one dissects the given socio-political development as a rational and thinking Indian, one could very well make out that the response to the virtual group is a reflection of the wounded self-respect of young Indians who are crushed under a cracking system exhibiting paper leaks, employment scams in different states and massive unemployment. 

The most recent incident was the NEET exam paper leak and the suicide of 21 adolescents, the budding talents of our country. On getting an unprecedented online  response, the founder of CJP gave a call to all cockroaches to gather at Jantar Mantar to protest against NEET exam paper leaks and the massive fiasco caused due to the bungling of the evaluation of Class 12 answer sheets. The response to the protest call was massive and spontaneous. Probably, the youth of the 21st century thought the older generation did not desire to understand their pains and sufferings and the administration had no ‘governmentality’, the active consent and willingness of individuals to participate in their own governance. Their intense feelings transformed into a strong resolve and resulted in their demand for accountability from the governors.