'Didn't told anyone': IAS officer's post on cracking UPSC goes viral for incorrect English
An IAS officer’s post celebrating his success in the UPSC exam goes viral due to a grammatical error, sparking a debate.
An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer’s recent post about his UPSC journey has gone viral for an unexpected reason: incorrect English. Ram Prakash, an IAS officer, took to X (formerly Twitter) to reflect on his success in cracking the UPSC exam, which he did on April 27, 2018, marking seven years since his achievement. However, the post, intended to share a personal milestone, quickly caught attention for its grammatical inaccuracy, sparking both criticism and defence from social media users.
Prakash’s post read, “I made it to IAS at around 8:00 pm on 27th April, 2018. Exactly 7 years back. I didn’t told anyone in my family about the result for an hour at least. That was some feeling.”
However, the sentence “I didn’t told anyone” stood out to many readers, who quickly pointed out the grammatical error. A user commented, “I didn’t tell,” correcting the mistake, to which Ram Prakash replied, “OK, my mistake.”
Despite this acknowledgement, the post soon attracted more attention when another user shared a screenshot of Prakash’s post with the caption, “I know that English isn’t our primary language, but if this is the level of IAS officers of our country, then I’ve zero hopes.”
Take a look at the post:
The comment led to a wave of reactions, with some defending the officer while others criticised his use of English. One user swiftly defended Prakash, writing, “He is an IAS officer, not an English teacher? Even the Prime Minister of our country isn't good in English. Every native of countries not colonized by the British isn't. Why make fun of it like brown coolies?”
The debate escalated when another user chimed in, saying, “Even the concept of Civil Services is colonial. They’re glorified Project Managers. It’s high time we get rid of this process.” This comment brought attention to the colonial history of India’s civil services, with critics arguing that the British-influenced system is outdated and no longer serves the needs of modern India.
The incident sparked a wider discussion about the role of English in India’s educational and bureaucratic system. A user noted, “it's ok as long as we can understand. many IAS officers studied their mother tongue throughout even the exam itself.”
In defence of the officer, some pointed out that the focus should remain on his qualifications and abilities rather than a minor language error.
A user added, "More than grammar, i am not able to understand-" missed by 0 marks" what does this even mean"
