ashok mitra, the veteran on the Left’s decline “Don’t blame the Communist party. The failure is on global socialism’s part to develop the true socialist individual.” current af fai r s 12 Neither Civil Nor Serving In the entire controversy over the civil services aptitude test—CSAT—the debate is not about English or Hindi, mediocrity or merit but about the deliberate bias in the system about recruiting from a narrow talent pool of those who are fluent in English and come from a certain social background. Outlook talks to serving and retired civil servants as well as aspiring students.