In January 1948, Burma was granted independence by the British Government and it got separated from India on that date. Soon after independence, Burma Government issued an order curtailing all remittances out of Burma to only Rs. 100/- per month. This came as a shock to me as this amount would not be sufficient for supporting my mother and 4 sisters who were entirely dependent upon me.

I therefore started looking out for a job in India and as if God-sent, I saw  an advertisement in the papers calling for applications for the competitive examinations to be conducted by the Federal Public Service Commission, New Delhi  for filling posts in the Class I Central Engineering Services of the Government of  India.

An exam and a long wait... 

I came over to Delhi and wrote the examination and the results were announced in November 1948 and I found that I had obtained second ranking among all the candidates who wrote the examination. As I had opted for Railway Service, they issued me orders appointing me to the Indian Railway Service of Engineers. For almost 8 months after this, I was still waiting for the posting orders. I was informed that the Temporary Engineers in the Railways who had worked during the war but had failed to pass the examination were agitating for the creation of a Class II service for them. 

I could not tolerate this delay, with my mother  having a tough time managing the family with the small amount that I was sending to her. I went over to Delhi once again and found that there was going to be further delay in getting posting orders in the Railways. I was told that if I could not wait for the posting orders in the Railways, I had the option of getting any other Class I post in  other Departments of the Government of India. I then opted for Class I service in the Central Public Works Department and left for Rangoon.