New Delhi, September 22: A question asked by the UPSC or Union Public Service Commission in one of the exams on Saturday, September 21, triggered a new controversy. The top recruitment body of the government asked "What are the challenges to our cultural practices in the name of secularism?" in its UPSC Main examination. This exam is the second stage of the requirement to services like Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Administrative Services (IAS).

The question has been receiving flak. The UPSC this year is conducting the mains exam from September 20 to 29. In the General Studies Paper 1 given on Saturday, the candidates were asked to answer a controversial question about "challenges" to the Indian "cultural practices in the name of secularism." 'If a Muslim Kills Cow, Has He Committed Crime?’ Law Paper of GGSIPU Asks Students.

UPSC Question:

Reacting to the question, Kannan Gopinathan- an IAS officer who quit the services in August, said, "Indian secularism is a positive concept, taking along and encouraging all the cultural practices while instilling a scientific temper against superstitions and harmful practices', would have been the first sentence of my answer!"

Tweet by Kannan Gopinathan:

Meanwhile, this year 11,845 candidates have been shortlisted for the UPSC main exam based on their preliminary exam performance. The main exam consists of written test and interview. Candidates who obtain minimum qualifying marks are eligible for an interview.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 22, 2019 08:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).