India's first civil servant, & types of bribes | #107
Also, Fun Facts about Mr. India ➡️
Hello friends
“Uss din samaj aaya, Shaktimaan to ch****a hai, asli power toh IAS mein hai”, Quote from the wonderful TVF show Aspirants.
This week saw the results of the UPSC exams announced and from over 10 lakh aspirants, only a few have fulfilled their dreams. This week we take a look at India’s civil services and some fun facts about them.
Things we learnt this week 🤓
The first Indian civil servant was a man from a distinguished family. Satyendranath Tagore, the brother of Rabindranath Tagore became India’s first civil servant in 1863. Apart from being an administrator, Satyendranth was a prolific writer, poet and composer. And like his much more accomplished younger brother, Satyendranath wrote what is considered India’s first anthem ‘Mile Sabe Bharat Santan, Ektan Gago Gaan’. Given how they have given anthems, maybe country music runs in the Tagore family.
What is IFS? Is it Indian Forest Service or Indian Foreign Service? This has been a point of beef between these 2 agencies. Foreign Service folks want to use the abbreviation as Foreign Service is older of the agencies, but Forrest folk are like ‘Macha, isn’t Indian foreign an oxymoron?’. The government is not getting into this and has said both can be called IFS. IFSoos to one agency if this ever gets resolved.
Nazrana, Shukrana, Mehrana, Hakrana, Jabrana… this might sound like the words in a Gulzar song. But these are in fact the classifications of the types of bribes that Income Tax officials take. Nazrana is an intro gift, Shukrana is a thank you gift, Mehrana is a gift to make illegal things legal, Hakrana is the ‘rightful’ earning of a tax official and Jabrana is a de facto earning, only because the person is a tax official and needs to be paid no matter what. Don't bribe someone with food, lest they accuse you of currying favour.
From IWTK, with love 💌
Nargis Dutt’s final film as an actress was in 1967 called Raat Aur Din. And it spoke about dissociative identity disorder 32 years before the Fight Club. Read more here.
One of India’s most beloved films turned 35. Our thread on the phenomenon that was Mr India.
Mr. India starring Sridevi, @AnilKapoor and Amrish Puri, directed by @shekharkapur and written by the iconic duo of Salim-@Javedakhtarjadu turned 35! The film also had an ensemble cast featuring @satishkaushik2, @annukapoor_ @khan_ahmedasas, @AftabShivdasani among many others.
Only In India 🇮🇳
Talking about Babus, only in India can an IAS officer clear out a stadium to take his dog out for a walk. And as punishment, he and his wife are transferred to Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh.. Wonder who is it a punishment for the states or the officers?
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