'In UP-Bihar, UPSC Isn't Just An Exam': Woman Reveals Aspirants Who Fail To Make It As Civil Servants Go 'Invisible'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Each year, thousands of young Indians appear for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam, and many more enrol in coaching centres to begin their preparation. However, like every competitive exam, only a handful successfully pass all the rounds of the UPSC exam to become civil servants.

The question is, what happens to those who never make it as civil servants? Those who fail the UPSC and other competitive exams that guarantee“power” and a government job?

A LinkedIn user, Arunima Lal, said they go“invisible” for friends and family.

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In a viral post, Arunima shared an anecdote about an uncle she had in Bihar. She said he had prepared for UPSC for 5 to 6 years, but after failing the exam, he took on menial jobs.

“...the last I heard was that he was selling chicken. He was a butcher in the village, and now he's working in a factory in Ludhiana,” she said, adding that she doesn't even have his number anymore.

However, she highlighted from his story that it wasn't rare for people from where she came to stop associating with those who failed.

“In UP-Bihar, UPSC isn't just an exam. It's an emotion. A family project. A full-blown social upgrade plan,” Arunima said.

Sharing her personal brush with UPSC, she said,“The moment someone in Bihar says, 'Main IAS ki tayyari kar raha hoon,' phones start ringing...mama, chacha, phupha, bua, even that distant cousin who never returned your pen in 6th grade. No one asks if the boy has a study plan or if he even knows what optional he's taking. That doesn't matter. What matters is that 'Beta IAS banega.'”

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“Suddenly, the entire house starts revolving around this one boy. No chores. No noise. No interruptions. Even his sulking is labelled 'tension hai bechare ko.'” she added.

Arunima also wrote that what begins as preparation for the UPSC exam spirals into wedding talk and a handsome dowry in the name of“wedding gifts.”

“...wedding talk kicks in, sasurji mentally allocates one floor of the house, a Honda City is thought of as a 'gift, and we all pretend it isn't dowry because 'khushi se diya gaya dahej thodi hota hai?'” she wrote.

What comes after UPSC preparation?

Arunima said that the lucky few who clear the UPSC exam get caught up in politics, and then a chain of transfers begins.

“A friend of mine cleared it- got transferred twice in a year because he didn't align with a politician's views. Another spent months in court defending an order. One told me, 'Power toh mil gayi, par chain chali gayi, '” she wrote.

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But things are worse when the UPSC preparation doesn't work out.

In the viral post, Arunima said, those who never make it quietly fade out of conversations.

“And then there are those who never make it. Who spend 6–7 years in Old Rajinder Nagar, living on 40-rupee Rajma Chawal, mock tests, and hope. When it doesn't work out, they quietly fade out of conversations,” she wrote.

She highlighted that some of them become teachers, some join insurance firms, and some never quite recover.“But we don't talk about them. Because in our culture, preparing for UPSC earns you respect, but failing it makes you invisible.”

Arunima urged people to stop romanticising the outcome of UPSC and start“acknowledging the cost of this dream,” because for many,“Main IAS ki tayyari kar raha hoon” isn't a statement.“It's a burden they carry long after the attempt is over.”

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