ABSTRACT
The content of the Indian Civil Service syllabus changed more drastically than the law courses from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. In the first part of the period greater weight was given to arts subjects : �ost two-thirds of the total possible marks were allocated to papers in languages, literature and history . . . Natural and moral sciences were included only as supplementary subjects.'9 How ever, by 1900 science had moved from the margins of the curriculum to virtually equal status with the arts. Clive Dewey has noted that universal truths were less entrenched in examination papers and there was a progressive movement towards greater debate. As a result, Indian students who sat the Indian Civil Service examination were presented with alternative propositions; they were encouraged to question, analyse, compare and contrast issues which had previously been taken for granted.
