'He /she will be tested for some essential qualities like power of retention, clarity of concepts, ability to identify the correct alternatives with efficiency and accuracy.'

Shri. V.R Rajiven

Shri. V.R Rajiven is a 1977 Batch Kerala Cadre Indian Police Service Officer who retired in 2010 as Director General of Police. As an I.P.S officer, he worked in various capacities throughout the state. Awarded the President's medal for Meritorious Service during the year 1998, and Highest Police Honor of President's Medal for Distinguished Service in 2006.

Prior to his law enforcement career, practiced as a lawyer at High Court of Kerala with Senior Counsel and later Judge Shri. Bhaskaran Nambiar.

Given below is the transcript of his interview with Nebil Nizar.

1. How Law Students can positively engage in nation building  and make a difference ?

V.R Rajiven: The work of Nation-building has to be undertaken by each and every member of the society - especially youngsters from all walks of life. There is no special role for law students compared with others in this matter.  However, I feel that there are certain areas which can be better served by Law students who get opportunities to study concepts of International Human Rights, Democracy, Rule of law, Constitutionalism, Self-determination, civil society, gender justice and minority rights, and the role these factors play, individually and in combination, in creating and maintaining an emergent society that respects international human rights. Law students can also act as catalytic agents in anti corruption and civil rights movements, and in the emancipation of the oppressed which will definitely make a difference in the society. But I feel that these things can be done after the completion of studies and it is better for students to concentrate on their studies rather than think and worry about concepts like nation building and get confused during their college days.

2. When did you start preparations for Civil Services Exam ?

V.R Rajiven: Once you have decided to appear in the Civil Services Exam, preparations should start early. No time frame can be fixed for starting the preparations. Preferably your preparations should start from your school days once you have decided about your final destination.  Read news papers and periodicals daily to increase your general knowledge and be updated about current affairs and happenings around you. You have to develop the habit of reading news papers and periodicals from your school days and subject wise preparations can start preferably after graduation or may be from the 3rd year of LL. B course. As far as I am concerned, my serious preparations for the Civil Services Main Exam started after I joined the 3 year LL.B course.   One common misconception about the preliminary is that it is a test of facts and figures.  A candidate should have the right frame of mind and the will power to succeed in the exam. A proper action plan is needed for the preparation itself since he /she will be tested for some essential qualities like power of retention, clarity of concepts, ability to identify the correct alternatives with efficiency and accuracy. All this requires a quick decision making power. There is stress on language skills and analysis and decision making capacities.   These are skills that are developed over years and not just in a few months. It would be advisable to start focusing on your problem solving and language skills as soon as you complete your +2 course. Your aim should be to develop an analytical mind and should have basic knowledge of the world around you . Try to sharpen your skills by participating in Debates, Elocution competitions, moot courts etc.

3. How should a student of Law study if he is aiming for Civil Service Exam?

V.R Rajiven: One should choose the subjects he intends to take for the Civil Services Main Exam and concentrate more on those subjects. Where ever possible, give preference to Law subjects as you can study them along with your LL.B subjects’. Considering the fact that the time between the Main Exam and the declaration of result of the Preliminary Exam is very less, it is advisable to begin preparations of the Main Exam along with the Preliminary Exam. The choice of optional subject for Paper-II has to be done very carefully. The optional subject for Paper-II should usually be the subject in which the candidate has either attained proficiency/higher academic qualification or in which the candidate feels at home. Even if your branch of study is different, it is advisable to keep in touch with one of these subjects which will help you when you start preparations. Start collecting books and readings once you have made your choice. While studying for the optional subjects, remember that there is no scope for selective studies in the Civil Services Examination. The whole syllabus must be completely and thoroughly covered.  If you choose subjects in which you do not have a basic grounding, start from simple books. After getting the grasp of the basic concepts, start with higher level study material.

4. It is a frequently asked question by Law students whether LL.M or Civil Service  preparation must be undertaken first. What do you think?

V.R Rajiven: There is no need to give preference to one exam over the other. In any case, don’t presume that LL.B degree will not give you the required proficiency to tackle the Civil Services Exam. I pursued my LL.M course along with my Civil Services Exam preparations. I found it quite useful since I had taken mainly Law subjects for my Civil Services Main Examination and was also able to make maximum use of the college library, and I appeared for the Civil Services Exam before completing the LL.M course.  If you start your preparations for the Civil Services Examination after you finish LL.M, you will waste another 2 or 3 years and will join the Service rather very late and joining the Service at an early date has its advantages.

5. Do you think that serving the Corporate Sector would instill professionalism in a young man ?

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V.R Rajiven: The requirement and specialization will differ from corporate to corporate. With increase in the corporate sector, the demands for the related services have increased and this has led to tremendous change in the techniques of the respective services. So serving in corporate sector alone may not guarantee instillation of professionalism in a young man. If you look around you can find any number of MBA graduates just performing clerical jobs in the Corporate Sector. What is important is the level at which you enter the Corporate Sector and the type of work assigned to you. Whether you are working in Govt: Sector or Corporate Sector, developing professionalism will depend on your attitude and your business ethos. It may also be noted that there is great demand for retired Bureaucrats in the corporate sector and this is mainly because of the professionalism they have achieved while working in the Govt: Sector. While working as a civil servant you deal with complex issues on a day to day basis and the professional skills you earn can easily match or even excel the professional skills of a corporate executive.

6. It is seen that persons learned in law engage in many jobs  without any professional training and succeeds in that, may be journalism, politics etc. Do you think LL.B moulds a teen into a man?

V.R Rajiven: Probably, knowledge of Law will come to the help of Law graduates in many fields and they may do better than others in a god no: of jobs. But at the same time we have to admit the fact that proper professional training is required to sharpen the skills, techniques and knowledge acquired by a law graduates to deal with specialised jobs since basically LL.B degree aims to mould the students as   good lawyers. It cannot be said that you will perform better than others as a member of the Civil Service, a corporate executive ,a journalist or a politician simply because you possess a law degree. May be, you can avoid pitfalls in the particular profession as you know the rules and regulations better than others once you acquire a law degree. At same time we have to remember that so many other vital factors other than knowledge of law are essential to excel in the professional arena.

7. Did your study of law help you in any way when you successfully discharged your duties as a law enforcement officer?

V.R Rajiven: From your question itself the answer is quite obvious. As a police officer I had to enforce Law, and knowledge of law was of great help. Among the various Services, I feel that IPS is the one where your knowledge of law will come to your aid throughout your career. Once you enter the IPS, from day one you start dealing with IPC, CrPC, Evidence Act, etc and a plethora of other Central and state Acts and Rules. On a day to day basis you will have to deal with prosecutors and court cases and your law back ground will be of great help.

8. What is your advice to Law students?

V.R Rajiven: The tenet of legal profession can never be considered financial gains alone. From the student days, a law student has to develop certain basic qualities like self esteem, humility, compassion, respect for law etc and should have definite ideas about his final destination - legal profession or elsewhere. Once the destination is finalised, he has to choose the right path to reach the place. As the   study time available to him remains the same, he has to make proper adjustments and find time slots for additional items if he wants to pursue a Civil Services Career after LL.B. He should understand that to get into the Civil Services he has to compete with students from different disciplines and LL.B   has no special edge over other courses. Keeping the above aspect in mind, you have to organise your studies.  Rather than mugging up from guides, depend on standard text books and reference books and always be willing and eager to learn from others and your own experience.  

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LL.B is all about law, the rules of the game called life in this country. Knowing the rules of the game naturally makes him a better player, no matter where the game is played.

Shri. Prasanth Nair, is a 2007 batch Kerala Cadre Indian Administrative Service officer, who is presently serving as Managing Director of Government owned K.T.D.C. Hotels and Resorts. He is an alumnus of Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram (2000-2005).
Given below is the transcript of his interview with Nebil Nizar.

1.  How law students can positively engage in nation building and make a difference?

Prasanth Nair: In a single sentence, get educated and stop wasting time on frivolous things! Unless you value your time and value yourselves, leave nation building, even body building is a difficult task. What is lacking in most law students is primarily, humility and the ability to acknowledge others' knowledge. Arrogance and a closed mind cripples even the best minds. A modern India requires legal experts and practitioners who are open to ideas and changes, not those who are fossilized in time.

2. When did you start your preparations for Civil Services?

Prasanth Nair: I wanted to join the IAS when I was probably in the 10th or so. I must have started mentally preparing for it.  Conscious syllabus based preparations were made after I joined GLC as 1st year student in the 5yr course. 

       

3. How should a student of Law study if he is aiming for Civil Service Exam?

Prasanth Nair: Study the syllabus and the exam first. After he studies the exam, he can easily study for the exam. Take part in Moot Court competitions as that will help you sharpen your presentation skills, besides getting you attendance! In Government Law College Thiruvananthapuram, there are lots of things that are in your advantage while preparing for such an exam. Make most of it.

4. It is frequently asked question by law students whether LL.M or civil service preparation must be undertaken first. What do you think?

Prasanth Nair:I wonder why law students have such questions! 

I prepared for Civil Service when I was doing my 4th year B.A.L, LL.B and I appeared for the IAS interview based on my B.A.L degree, an year before I completed my course. Let us not complicate things by thinking too much on what to do first. It is all about priority. If you want to prepare you can do it even while doing your graduation. If you are a doubting Thomas, even after your PhD, you'll think what next.

5. Do you think that serving the corporate sector would instill professionalism in a young man?

 Prasanth Nair:Not necessarily. Many people without exposure to both government and private sector fall for this fad. Professionalism is a function of your mind and attitude, apart from sound training. The numerous reported instances of corporate corruption, mis-governance, insider trading, lobbying and even high profile cases of corruption related to  purposeful skewing of Government policies show the dark side of corporate administration.

6. It is seen that persons learned in law engage in many jobs without any other professional training and succeeds in that, be it Business, Journalism, Politics etc. Do you think that a law degree moulds a teen into a man?

Prasanth Nair: LL.B is all about law, the rules of the game called life in this country. Knowing the rules of the game naturally makes him a better player, no matter where the game is played. The years spent in the Law College indeed gives a man or a woman the exposure of a life time to a wide cross section of the society.

7. Did your study of law helped you in any ways when you successfully discharged your duties as an officer of IAS?

Prasanth Nair: Of course. Administration is implementation of law and clear knowledge of law and the procedures is a great help. The initial appointment as Sub Divisional Magistrate was a chance for direct application of law and the legal process which I thoroughly enjoyed. Knowledge of law also empowers you. I honestly felt that it made me the most powerful SDM in Kerala at that time! Knowing law also helps one manouvre through the complex labyrinth of administration.

8. Do you think that legal education needs a change in India?

Prasanth Nair: Legal education and the profession needs to get a thorough shakeup in India. Coteries and families alone cannot dictate the terms of the profession any longer. Genuine talent and hard work should be rewarded promptly as is the case in western countries. Efficiency and delivery of results should become the goal of the justice machinery and education should also be attuned to that effect, instead of teaching tactics to delay cases. Often it is said that what is taught in the college has hardly any relevance in the Court of practice. More avenues for corporate lawyers is slowly weaning away the brighter elements amongst the law students from court practice. This is more so because the initial years are difficult. Probably ensuing competition from opening up of legal services under international obligations would bring justice to ordinary but talented legal practitioners. Both corporate as well as court practitioners. It could gradually change the focus of legal education to a more utilitarian and practical method.

9. What is your advice to law students?

Prasanth Nair: Though we study a lot on justice and fairness, nothing is more unfair as is the life of a law student after graduation- that is unless we make a definitive move. If one chooses to flow with the tide, you are not going to be taken anywhere in this profession. There are a whole lot of avenues waiting just for a capable law graduate. Whether one ends up as a Supreme Court Judge or as a small time practitioner in a lower Court or a clerical staff or a file pushing bureaucrat, let us remember that we take pride in saying that 'I studied law', as if we know all the law in this world. Not as an advice, but as a suggestion to my brethren in this field, may I reiterate the need for humility and inquisitiveness which alone can make one successful. For we always remain students of law and we can never rightfully claim that we studied law!


(Shri. Prasanth Nair may be contacted at prasanthnair.ias@gmail.com. His articles can be read at http://prasanthias.wordpress.com)