The Great Indian Obsession – Government Jobs

KAKALI DAS

Have you ever heard someone say, “Just get a government job, and your future will be secure“? If you have grown up in India, you have probably heard this sentence many times. It may have come from your parents, grandparents, relatives, or even neighbours. For generations, this simple sentence has reflected one of the biggest dreams in Indian society.

Now imagine this. A government department announces just 500 vacancies. Within a few weeks, more than 10 lakh applications arrive. Among those applicants are engineers, doctors, MBA graduates, PhD holders, and even people who already have well paying private jobs. Yet they are all standing in the same queue. They are not competing for a crore rupee salary, a multinational company, or the next successful startup. They are competing for a government job.

This is not an unusual event. It is India’s reality.

Every year, millions of young Indians prepare for examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railways, State Public Service Commissions, Defence Services, and many others. India probably has one of the largest competitive examination systems in the world. Entire cities have grown around this dream. Coaching centres, hostels, libraries, and study groups have become a way of life for countless students who spend years preparing for a single examination.

But here is an interesting question. Government jobs do not always offer the highest salaries. Many private companies pay much more. Technology companies, multinational corporations, investment firms, and successful startups often provide salaries that government departments cannot match.

If money is not always the biggest attraction, then what is?

Why does a government job continue to be the biggest dream in millions of Indian homes? Is it job security? Is it social status? Is it family pressure? Or is the answer hidden much deeper in India’s history?

The truth is that this obsession did not begin yesterday. It did not even begin after Independence. Its roots go back almost two hundred years.

To understand why government jobs hold such a special place in Indian society, we must travel back to British India.

Before we do that, let us clear one common misunderstanding. This discussion is not about proving that government jobs are better than private jobs. It is also not about making fun of people who spend years preparing for competitive examinations. Government officers, teachers, soldiers, railway employees, scientists, judges, police officers, and civil servants perform duties that are essential for the functioning of the nation. Every country needs capable and honest public servants.

The real question is much bigger than whether government jobs are important. They certainly are.

The real question is why Indian society has placed government jobs on such a high pedestal that very few other careers receive the same respect. When millions of talented young people begin chasing the same dream, it stops being just an employment story. It becomes a story about a country’s history, economy, culture, families, and even its psychology.

The answer begins in an empire that no longer exists but whose influence continues to shape the dreams of millions of Indians.

Imagine India in the year 1880.

A young Indian clears one of the toughest examinations in the world. Overnight, his life changes completely. He is no longer seen as just another educated young man. He has entered the Indian Civil Service, or the ICS.

The British proudly called the ICS the steel frame of the Empire. They believed that this small group of officers kept their vast empire running. These officers collected taxes, maintained law and order, implemented government policies, supervised administration, and reported directly to the British rulers. In many districts, a single ICS officer held more influence than the richest businessman or the largest landlord.

For ordinary Indians, government service was never just another profession. It represented authority, prestige, and power.

The famous German sociologist Max Weber explained that modern states function through professional civil servants. Unlike kings or feudal rulers, bureaucrats derive their authority not from birth but from institutions, rules, and the offices they hold. Their power comes from the position itself.

In British India, this authority became almost legendary. An ICS officer represented the government, and in many ways, the government itself.

What makes this story even more interesting is that the British never created the ICS to fulfil Indian dreams. They created it to strengthen and protect the British Empire.

For many years, the examination was conducted only in London. Most Indians could not even dream of appearing for it because travelling to England was beyond their financial reach. The examination itself was extremely difficult, and only a handful of Indians managed to succeed.

Those who did became symbols of extraordinary achievement.

One of them was Satyendranath Tagore, the first Indian to enter the Indian Civil Service. His success inspired an entire generation of educated Indians. People admired him not simply because of the salary he earned but because of the respect attached to the position.

This is how societies work. Once a profession begins to command great respect, that respect often survives long after the original system disappears.

Then came the year 1947.

The British left India. The Empire ended. But the newly independent nation faced an enormous challenge.

Who would run a country of hundreds of millions of people?

The answer was clear. India would retain the administrative system but transform its purpose. Instead of serving the British Crown, it would now serve the people of India.

The Indian Civil Service gradually became the Indian Administrative Service, or IAS. Other services such as the Indian Police Service and the Indian Forest Service also became important pillars of independent India.

India’s first Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, famously described the civil services as the steel frame of India. He believed that without an honest and capable civil service, the newly independent nation could struggle to remain united.

His concern was understandable.

The country was dealing with Partition, one of the largest refugee crises in human history, the integration of hundreds of princely states, food shortages, administrative challenges, and the enormous task of building democratic institutions from the ground up.

Government officers were no longer working for an empire. They were helping to build a nation.

For millions of Indians, civil servants became nation builders. They represented stability at a time when the country was going through uncertainty and change.

This historical legacy matters because ideas often survive much longer than the systems that created them. The British Empire disappeared, but the prestige attached to government service remained. Independent India gave these institutions a new purpose, but the respect that society had developed for government officers continued to grow.

Yet history alone cannot explain why millions of young Indians still dream of government jobs today.

After all, today’s India is very different from the India of 1947. The economy has changed dramatically. Private companies offer opportunities that earlier generations could never imagine. Technology, finance, artificial intelligence, healthcare, research, media, entrepreneurship, and many other fields have opened doors that did not exist a few decades ago.

Many professionals in these industries earn salaries that the colonial administration could never have imagined.

If history were the only reason, the obsession should have slowly faded.But it did not. Instead, it became even stronger.

That is because history planted the seed, but Indian society nurtured it. The dream of a government job is not kept alive only by history books. It is passed from one generation to another at the dining table, during family gatherings, in conversations between parents and children, and in the silent hopes that every family carries for a better future.

To understand why this dream continues to dominate the imagination of millions of Indians, we must now move beyond history and step inside the Indian home, where the idea of a government job becomes much more than employment. It becomes a symbol of security, respect, dignity, and success.

Long before children understand the job market, many of them already know what their families expect from them. In countless homes across India, success is often linked to one goal, getting a government job. This expectation is not created overnight. It grows through years of conversations, family experiences, and social values.

If government jobs were only about money, this dream would have faded long ago. Today, a software engineer working at Microsoft or Google, an investment banker at Citibank, or a successful entrepreneur can earn much more than many government employees. Yet every year, millions of young Indians continue preparing for the same competitive examinations. Clearly, the attraction is about much more than salary.

Think about a common situation in many Indian families. Imagine two marriage proposals. One person works in a fast growing multinational company. The other is a government officer. Ask many parents or grandparents which one they would prefer. In many cases, the answer is obvious.

The reason is simple. A government job represents certainty. It promises a stable income, regular benefits, and long term security. In a country where many families have experienced financial uncertainty, this sense of stability is extremely valuable.

The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu introduced the idea of symbolic capital. According to him, some professions offer much more than income. They also provide respect, recognition, influence, and social status. In India, government jobs gradually became a form of symbolic capital. People often admire government officers not because they earn the highest salaries, but because they represent stability and trust.

Sometimes the first question people ask is not, “How much do you earn?” Instead they ask, “Is the job permanent?” That single word, permanent, often carries greater emotional value than the salary itself.

The British sociologist Andre Beteille also observed that education and government employment became one of the most reliable paths for social mobility in India’s growing middle class. For many families, a government job meant rising above poverty and creating a better future.

Think about what this means.

You do not need inherited wealth. You do not need a famous family name. You do not need political influence. If you clear one highly competitive examination, your family’s future can change completely. For millions of young Indians, competitive examinations became the great equaliser. They offered an opportunity to improve life through hard work and merit.

This remains one of the greatest strengths of India’s public examination system.

There is another reason behind this obsession, and it is deeply psychological.

The Nobel Prize winning economist Amartya Sen has often argued that real freedom comes from having meaningful opportunities in life. Now imagine a young person who is the first graduate in the family. The parents have spent their savings on education. Younger brothers and sisters are looking up to them. The family’s future depends on their success.

In such a situation, failure is not just emotionally painful. It can affect the financial future of the entire family.

Now ask yourself a simple question.

Would that person choose a risky startup or a secure government job?

For many families, the answer becomes obvious. The decision is not based on fear alone. It is based on responsibility.

Perhaps this is why many Indian parents do not first ask their children, “What are you passionate about?” Instead, they ask, “Will the job be secure?”

The political scientist Partha Chatterjee has argued that in countries like India, the state represents much more than government. For millions of citizens, it represents opportunity, dignity, and security. Becoming part of the government therefore feels like more than finding employment. It becomes a source of identity and pride.

But every story has another side.

Every year, millions of talented young people compete for a very limited number of government vacancies. Behind every successful candidate, there are thousands who do not make it.

Many spend years preparing for examinations. Some postpone their careers. Some delay marriage. Others continue studying while watching their friends move ahead in different professions. Many quietly carry the emotional burden of repeated failures.

India’s famous coaching centres such as Old Rajinder Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar, Prayagraj, Kota, and many other cities are not only places of learning. They are also places filled with hope, determination, sacrifice, and sometimes heartbreak.

This raises an important question.

Is India’s obsession with government jobs helping the country, or is it also creating new challenges?

Government jobs promise stability, respect, dignity, and a secure future. There is absolutely nothing wrong with aspiring to become a civil servant, teacher, scientist, police officer, judge, railway employee, or defence officer. Every successful nation depends on honest and dedicated public servants.

The real concern is something different.

When millions of talented young people dream of only a small number of careers, it tells us something important about the society they live in.

Now think about different countries around the world.

In the United States, many young people dream of starting companies and building successful businesses.

In South Korea, working in leading technology companies has become a major symbol of success.

In Israel, startups and innovation have become an important part of national identity. Of course, people there also join government service, but success is equally associated with creating new ideas, solving problems, and building new businesses.

India is different.

Here, success is often defined by clearing one competitive examination.

This does not mean Indians lack talent. The opposite is true.

Indian engineers lead some of the world’s biggest technology companies. Sundar Pichai is one well known example.

Indian doctors serve in some of the finest hospitals around the world.Indian entrepreneurs are creating globally successful businesses.Indian scientists, researchers, artists, sportspersons, and professionals continue to earn international recognition.

The problem is not a lack of ability.The problem is that society often defines success in only one way.

There is a joke that many Indians can immediately understand.Parents sometimes tell their children, “Take risks.”

But what they often mean is, “Take risks after getting a secure government job.”

It sounds humorous because it reflects a deeper truth.

Even today, in many families, a successful entrepreneur may still be compared with a distant relative who became a Deputy Collector or an IAS officer.

MAHABAHU MIRROR

India has changed enormously since the economic reforms of 1991. Liberalisation opened doors that earlier generations never had. Careers in technology, artificial intelligence, finance, research, sports, design, filmmaking, content creation, environmental science, entrepreneurship, and many other fields have expanded rapidly.

Many of these professions did not even exist a generation ago.

Yet our mindset often belongs to an earlier India, an India where stable employment was rare, one secure salary supported an entire family, and losing a job could push a household into financial crisis.

Perhaps India’s economy has changed faster than its psychology.

Economists often describe India’s young population as one of the country’s greatest strengths. This demographic dividend has the potential to transform India’s future.

But a demographic dividend becomes meaningful only when young people have diverse opportunities to use their talents.

If millions of bright young minds spend years competing for a limited number of government vacancies, the challenge is not only unemployment. It is also the underuse of human potential.

The future of India will not be built only inside government offices. It will also be built inside laboratories where scientists make new discoveries, inside universities where teachers inspire future generations, inside hospitals where doctors save lives, on farms where innovation improves agriculture, inside courtrooms where justice is defended, and in factories, startups, research centres, and small businesses that create jobs for thousands of others.

A developed India cannot depend only on job seekers.It also needs job creators.

So let us return to the question with which we began.Why are Indians so obsessed with government jobs?

The answer is clear.Government jobs offer security in an uncertain world.They offer respect in a society that values status.They offer stability for families that have experienced financial struggle.They offer dignity and the belief that one examination can change the future of an entire generation.

There is nothing wrong with dreaming of becoming a government officer. There never was.

But perhaps the true measure of India’s success will not be the number of young people who become civil servants.

It will be whether every young Indian feels confident enough to choose any honest profession without fear, without social pressure, and without believing that only one career can guarantee a meaningful life.

Perhaps the dream should not simply be to get a government job.The dream should be to build an India where every honest profession receives equal respect.

An India where a student preparing for the UPSC examination, a scientist searching for the next breakthrough, a teacher shaping young minds, an entrepreneur creating employment, an engineer building new technology, a doctor treating patients, and a farmer feeding the nation are all recognised as serving the country in their own way.

Perhaps that is the India we should aspire to build.

Not an India where everyone follows the same dream, but an India where every dream has an equal opportunity to succeed.

Mahabahu.com is an Online Magazine with collection of premium Assamese and English articles and posts with cultural base and modern thinking.  You can send your articles to editor@mahabahu.com / editor@mahabahoo.com (For Assamese article, Unicode font is necessary) Images from different sources.