For a long time, only British officers were appointed to all covenanted posts. In 1832, the posts of "munsif" and "sadar amin" were created and opened to Indians. In 1833, the posts of deputy magistrate and deputy collector were created and opened to Indians. The ICS Act of 1861 established the Indian Civil Service. The Act of 1853 had already established the practice of recruiting covenanted civilians through competitive examinations.

It was a daunting task to go to England and compete with the British for a position. However, his friend Monomohun Ghose offered encouragement and support, and both of them set sail for England in 1862 to prepare for and compete in the civil service examinations.

Satyendranath was selected for the Indian Civil Service in June, 1863. He completed his probationary training and returned to India in November 1864. Monomohun Ghose did not succeed in the examination for the ICS but was called to the bar. Satyendranath was posted to Bombay presidency, which then covered western parts of present-day Maharashtra, Gujarat and Sindh. After initial posting of four months in Bombay (now Mumbai), he had his first active posting at Ahmedabad.

With postings at numerous towns he travelled across the country. Because of his long stay away from home many in his family visited him and stayed with him for long periods. Amongst his regular visitors were his younger brothers Jyotirindranath Tagore (1849–1925) and Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), the Nobel Prize–winning poet, and his sister Swarnakumari Devi.

His posting outside Bengal helped him to learn several Indian languages. He translated Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s "Geetarahasya" and Tukaram’s Abhang poems into Bengali. Rabindranath Tagore had also translated some poems of Tukaram. Satyendranath took an active interest in the activities of the Brahmo Samaj wherever he was posted, as for example at Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, Sindh.

While in the Maharashtra region he had close contacts with many of the leading reformers and Prarthana Samaj figures — Mahadev Govind Ranade, Kashinath Trimbak Telang, Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar and Narayan Ganesh Chandavarkar.

Satyendranath Tagore, was a district judge in Karwar , Karnataka In 1882. He served in the ICS for about thirty years and retired as Judge of Satara in Maharashtra in 1897.

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