UPSC-CSE: DECOLONISATION TO INDIANISATION

Abstract

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a constitutional institution empowered to function as the watchdog of merit and excellence in hiring permanent executives to the service of the nation. The commission conducts around 25 examinations/ recruitments in a year to fill the vacancies of All India Services- the Indian Administrative Services, the Indian Police Services & the Indian Forest Services, and specialised central government services & various other groups A services under the central government. This paper strives to analyse the various dimensions of the structure and functioning of UPSC concerning the Civil Services Examinations (CSE) and associated challenges from the prism of decolonial studies.

The paper attempts to deconstruct the continuing colonial legacy of the UPSC-CSE from its foundation to contemporary challenges. In this process, the reports of prominent reform commissions and their interventions with the ground reality will be thoroughly examined through the lenses of constitutionalism and substantive justice. Finally, this paper attempts to advocate for decolonisation and Indianisation of UPSC along the lines of the Indian Prime Minister's call for the decolonisation of minds and institutions for achieving the target of a Viksit Bharat@ 2047.