NDA (II) 2019 General Ability Test · Question 120 of 148

Correct — A, Satyendranath Tagore. He was the first Indian to qualify for the Indian Civil Service, passing the competitive examination in 1863 and joining the service in 1864; an elder brother of Rabindranath Tagore, he went on to serve for decades in the Bombay Presidency. Surendranath Banerjee entered the ICS only a few years later (and was famously dismissed from it), R. C. Dutt joined afterwards, and Subhas Chandra Bose passed the exam in 1920 but resigned rather than serve.

• (b)Surendranath Banerjee — He qualified for the ICS in 1869, six years after Satyendranath, and was later dismissed from the service — he was not the first.
• (c)R.C. Dutt — Romesh Chandra Dutt joined the ICS in the early 1870s, well after Satyendranath Tagore.
• (d)Subhas Chandra Bose — He cleared the ICS examination in 1920 but resigned in 1921 to join the freedom movement — far later, and he never actually served.

The Indian Civil Service (ICS), the elite administrative service of British India, was in practice long closed to Indians. Satyendranath Tagore broke that barrier as the first Indian to qualify, in 1863, opening the way for others such as Surendranath Banerjee and R. C. Dutt.

Order the four men by when they entered the ICS. Satyendranath (1863) is earliest; the trap is the more famous Surendranath Banerjee, who came later (1869).

• Satyendranath Tagore was the first Indian to qualify for the ICS — exam 1863, joined the service 1864.
• He was an elder brother of Rabindranath Tagore and a son of Debendranath Tagore.
• Surendranath Banerjee (ICS 1869) was later dismissed from the service.
• Subhas Chandra Bose passed the ICS in 1920 but resigned to join the national movement.

• Picking the more famous Surendranath Banerjee.
• Assuming Subhas Chandra Bose, who ranked high but resigned, was the first.

Who was 'the first' Indian in the ICS — order the well-known names by year of entry.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Satyendranath Tagore is remembered as the first Indian to

  • (a)win the Nobel Prize
  • (b)qualify for the Indian Civil Service
  • (c)become Governor-General
  • (d)preside over the Indian National Congress

  Answer(b) qualify for the Indian Civil Service — in 1863.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which nationalist leader passed the ICS examination in 1920 but resigned to join the freedom struggle?

  • (a)Surendranath Banerjee
  • (b)R. C. Dutt
  • (c)Subhas Chandra Bose
  • (d)Satyendranath Tagore

  Answer(c) Subhas Chandra Bose — he resigned in 1921.