Trigger warning: Discussion of suicide
Mumbai: On November 28, 2020, the Lanja police station in Ratnagiri received a call informing them that a 26- year-old man, Mahesh Zore, had killed himself. A note found next to his body stated that he was tired of “waiting endlessly” for the state government to declare the dates for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exam he had been preparing for a few years.
Zore, a Mumbai resident, had moved to Ratnagiri to prepare for the competitive state exams through which recruitment for 2,500 gazetted and non-gazetted government posts occurs every year. The investigating officer says Zore had missed the cut-off by a meagre two marks in 2019, and had hoped to make it in 2020. But as the Maharashtra government kept cancelling the dates – five times in 2020 – he killed himself “in desperation”, the police officer said.
Zore’s is not an isolated incident. In just November and December of 2020 alone, at least six separate incidents of MPSC aspirants dying by suicide have come to light. In some cases, the aspirants have left a note, clearly stating the delay in holding the MPSC exams as the reason behind their suicide. In other cases, where a note was not found, the police’s investigations found that those who died were preparing for the competitive exams for years and their postponement for an entire year took a toll on their mental health.
In Amravati’s Frezerpura area, 33-year-old Bhavesh Tayde died by suicide in mid-December. Though he did not leave a note behind, police say his family and friends narrated his struggle to them. “With just a few more attempts left (several competitive exams have 35 as the cut-off age), Bhavesh felt dejected,” the investigating officer in the case told The Wire.
A few lanes away from Tayde’s residence, another MPSC aspirant ended his life for an identical reason, the Frezerpura police have confirmed. Similarly, another case of suicide was reported in Buldhana district.
Students’ organisation like ‘MPSC Samanvay Samiti’ – which has been at the forefront of advocating timely and adequate measures from the state government to hold the exam – say the numbers could be higher. “We have been getting reports of several attempted suicides, people suffering from depression and even deaths from our students’ collective. But unless the state intervenes and investigates these incidents, one wouldn’t know the real story behind these cases,” says Nilesh Gaikwad, a BTech graduate from Buldhana district, also a member of MPSC Samanvay Samiti.
Maratha reservation: The real reason for postponement?
In 2020, each time the Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray pushed the exam dates ahead, he attributed it to the raging spread of COVID-19 in the state. The real reason for this inordinate delay, however, is the pending decision over reservations for the Maratha caste, and the mounting pressure from Maratha leaders, particularly those belonging to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Several Maratha leaders, including BJP Rajya Sabha MP Sambhajiraje Bhosale, have openly warned the state government against going ahead with the exams until the Maratha community is included in the reservation policy. In the absence of any clarity from the apex court – which stayed the reservation, Thackeray gave in to the pressure.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Photo: OfficeofUT/Twitter
The previous BJP-Shiv Sena state government’s decision to provide reservation to the Marathas under the ‘Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC)’ category was stayed by the Supreme Court in September 2020. Even as the case is being referred to a larger bench and the hearing is scheduled next on January 23, 2021, the state government on January 4 opened a new window for Maratha students to apply for the exam. Maratha students have been given an option to apply under the “open” or “Economically Weaker Section (EWS)” category. The notification also doesn’t provide an option for changes to be made once the apex court delivers its verdict.
“It is almost as if the MPSC has passed its verdict even before the Supreme Court could come to any conclusion,” says Vishwambhar Bhopale of the Maratha Vidyarthi Parishad, an organisation agitating for the rights of Maratha students in the state.
Bhopale says the notification has added to the community’s woes and most aspirants are unsure of their future. “I have been answering over 100 calls every day trying to calm students down. It is utter chaos,” he adds.
Every year, for approximated 2500 posts – both gazetted and non-gazetted – over 12 lakh candidates appear for these exams. The MPSC conducts exams only for Group A (gazetted posts) and Group B and C (non-gazetted posts). The remaining exams are conducted by different departments like the MahaPariksha Portal, handled by the MahaIT department.
Most aspirants spend years preparing for these exams. Group B and C posts are particularly looked at as an opportunity to alleviate poverty. Sagar Bhamse, who runs the coaching institute Vidarbha IAS Academy, says most aspirants spend their entire 20s preparing for and taking these exams. “These exams are their only opportunity to improve their social and economic status. Almost all of them belong to poor families and a government job is their only chance to improve their living condition,” Bhamse observes. And in the past year, Bhamse says, several students who only have a couple of attempts left have become restless—both due to COVID- 19 and the delay in holding the exams.
For women, the struggle is worse. As social pressure builds on them to get married, many give up their dreams much sooner than men.
Shama Shaikh, a 27-year-old MPSC aspirant from Pune says very few women find a supportive environment at home to stay focussed and continue with their preparation. Women, she says, drop out sooner than men. “After a few attempts, women are forced to get married and there end their dreams,” Shaikh says.
She has been preparing for the past six years and says a delay of even a year in getting recruited has a heavy cost for several women. “Unlike men, women end up studying by themselves without being enrolled at any coaching class. Families don’t want to invest in a woman’s career, they don’t this it is a reasonable ask. And in 2020, as the exams were postponed, several women were pushed to give up on their aspirations,” Shaikh adds.
Controversies in other recruitment exams
Apart from MPSC, several other exams conducted by other state departments have also been mired in serious controversies. In October, The Wire published a detailed investigative piece about a well-oiled scam in the recruitment process for Class ‘C’ and Class ‘D’ posts in various departments in 2019. Several glaring discrepancies, including propping dummy candidates to manipulation at exam centres, were exposed in the report.
Also Read: Under Fadnavis’s Watch, a Vyapam-Like Scam Flourished in Maharashtra
Similar findings, by the then Ahmednagar district collector Rahul Dwivedi, were submitted to the revenue department. In the damning report, Dwivedi had exposed several misdeeds by the department and had scrapped the appointment of selected candidates in his district. He was eventually transferred and despite an assurance given by the revenue minister, the department has decided to proceed with the recruitment process in the district.
As soon as The Wire’s report was published, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat had said the government will carry out a preliminary inquiry into the allegation. Eventually, no such committee was set up. The report had directly established links between the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and MahaIT officials, including Kaustubh Dhavse, Fadnavis’s officer on special duty (OSD). For the 25,000 posts that were up for grabs, over 35 lakh applications had been received. The Wire‘s suggests there is a high chance of multi-crore scam – similar to the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh – having taken place during these exams. But the current government has remained non-committal on investigating the issue so far.
Several candidates have levelled allegations of rampant exam fraud in Maharashtra. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
In March last year, MahaIT had scrapped the contract signed with the erring company – UST Global – and a new bidding process was rolled out with 18 new companies participating in it. Finally, four companies – Aptech Limited, GA Software Technologies Private Limited, Ginger Wed Private Limited, and META-i Technologies Private Limited – were shortlisted. At least two of these firms – Aptech Limited and GA Software Technologies Private Limited – also have a questionable track record. While Aptech Limited was embroiled in court cases in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, GA Software Technologies had been blacklisted in Maharashtra, only to be taken off the list suddenly.
Students who have agitated in the past against UST Global and have raised serious objections over the MahaIT’s functioning have opposed the selection of these companies too. “When we brought to light the discrepancies in UST Global’s functioning, we expected the government to look into the matter with some seriousness and correct the earlier government’s mistake. Instead, the MahaVikas Aghadi government has handed over the exam process to other companies with equally questionable credentials. This is disheartening,” Gaikwad says.
Gaikwad had appeared for a revenue officer’s post in Ratnagiri district in 2019 and scored 172 marks, falling just two short of the cutoff. He claims that one answer of his, which was correct, was marked wrong, snatching away his chance. Gaikwad has moved the state administrative tribunal and meanwhile, has been at the forefront of investigating and unearthing myriad incongruities in the exam and selection processes.
Students’ organisations have been making unsuccessful attempts to meet ministers and political leaders of the ruling NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena. “All that we have asked for is an inquiry into our allegations and the setting up of a more transparent recruitment process. The government has disappointed us so far,” adds Bhopale.
If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation maintains a list of telephone numbers (www.spif.in/seek-help/) they can call to speak in confidence. You could also refer them to the nearest hospital.