38 HIS MAJESTY’S OPPONENT
Sudras or the untouchable caste of India,” he wrote, “constitute the La-
bour Party. So long these people have only suf fered. Their strength and
their sac ri fice will bring about India’s prog ress.”^53
These ruminations about India’s future were written while Subhas
was studying hard to qualify for the ICS—what many called the
“heaven- born ser vice.” The examinations began in mid- July 1920 and
the “agony” dragged on for a month. Subhas was convinced that he had
not done well. He had thrown away “150 sure marks” by neglecting to
transcribe his rough translation of a Sanskrit text into the proper an-
swer book. So he was surprised, one night in mid- September, to receive
a cable from a friend that read: “Congratulations See Morning Post.”
The Morning Post revealed that Subhas had quali fied for the ICS, rank-
ing fourth in the order of merit.^54 He had got the highest marks for
En glish Composition, along with another Indian student. While the
three ranked above him had done well in Latin, Greek, and mathemat-
ics, Subhas had excelled in his tory, moral and metaphysical philosophy,
po lit i cal economy and economic his tory, and psychology and logic.^55
He had achieved a stunning success by the standards set by the colonial
masters, and was now faced with “a serious crisis of conscience.”^56 We r e
his ideals of ser vice to humanity compatible with entering the Indian
Civil Service and serving the British raj?
For the next seven months, Subhas struggled to resolve this crisis,
seeking counsel and support in long letters he wrote to Sarat, his elder
brother and confidant. He was careful to distinguish between the Brit-
ish people and British rule in India. In September 1920, Subhas was
staying as a paying guest of one Mr. Bates at Leigh- on- Sea in Essex.
Even as he debated with himself whether or not to serve the British raj,
he wrote to his brother with great warmth about his British host. Mr.
Bates “represents En glish character at its very best,” he told Sarat, as he
was “cultured and liberal in his views and cosmopolitan in his senti-
ments.” He admired Mr. Bates for having friends drawn from many
different nationalities and for his familiarity with Russian, Irish, and
Indian literature. He asked his brother if he could arrange to send a
miniature model of the Taj Mahal from Calcutta, as a present for this
broad- minded En glishman. Respect for the best in En glish character,
however, did not translate into a positive assessment of the British raj.