Fate of India's First Scheduled Classes IAS (1950): Achyutananda Das. [By A. K. Biswas]

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) under the Constitution of free India started functioning from January 26, 1950. The UPSC conducted its first examination to recruit personnel for the IAS and Central Services the same year. The First Report of the UPSC does not mention the number of SC/ST candidates. But it discloses that Achyutananda Das was the country’s first Scheduled Classes to make it to the IAS in 1950 itself. He was, in fact, the topper of his batch in the written examination. Achyutananda Das, from West Bengal, secured 613 out of 1050 marks in written examination whereas N. Krishnan from Madras secured 602. But in the interview, Krishnan secured 260 out of 300 as against 110 by Achyutananda Das. Thus Achyutananda was left miles behind by Krishnan due to the latter’s performance in the viva-voce test.
But the case of Aniruddha Dasgupta, also from West Bengal, is both interesting and revealing.

The marks obtained by these three may be examined to appreciate the case of the topper in below [ Candidate/ Total (1050 marks) / Interview (300 marks) / Grand (1350) ] 1) N.Krishnan 602/ 260 / 862. 2) Aniruddha Dasgupta 494 /265/ 760. 3) Achyutananda Das 613/ 110 /719. The margin of difference of marks between Achyutananda Das and N. Krishnan in written papers being eleven only so in the interview if the latter out stripped the former, there is not much surprise perhaps. But the written and viva-voce marks of Aniruddha Das gupta in comparison with those of Achyutananda Das raise a number of issues. Dasgupta secured the highest marks in viva-voce among all successful candidates recommended for appointment to the IAS, IPS, IFS, etc. But it was also he who got the lowest aggregate as well as the lowest average of all those qualified for appointment to the IAS and Allied Services. Further, he scored the lowest marks of all the qualified candidates in General Knowledge. Dasgupta scored 26.66 % in General Knowledge, 47.04 % in written aggregate but an astounding 88.33 % in Personality Test as against 52.66 %, 58.38 % and 36.66 % respectively scored by Achyutananda Das. The margin of difference of marks between Das and Dasgupta in written examination was as vast as 119. Reduced into %, Das wasan unbridgeable 11.33 % ahead of Dasgupta.
Any candidate strong in General Knowledge is usually expected to face the Selection Board very confidently and to perform competently. Aniruddha Dasgupta’s poorest (26.66 % ) score amongst all successful candidates in General Knowledge notwithstanding; he must have thrown up the biggest surprise by scoring the highest marks in the interview. His viva-voce score of 265 which was followed by Krishnan with 260, not only helped him make up the vast gap between him and Achyutananda Das but he left the latter far behind. In the ultimate count, Krishnan topped; Aniruddha Dasgupta occupied the 22nd position in the merit list and Achyutananda Das was assigned the 48th position. Das was the last man in the list of qualified candidates recommended for appointment in the IAS. He was allotted to the cadre of Uttar Pradesh. There is no published record to examine the questions which were posed by the Selection Board to Das, Dasgupta and Krishnan and the answers offeredby them. If those were available, posterity would have benefited by acquiring the tools and techniques adopted by Dasgupta as to how to impress the Selection Board of the UPSC despite miserable written scores. ~ A. K. Biswas. [ A retired IAS officer, an eminent writer, ex Vice-Chancellor of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar.]