Being in the 70th decade of independent India, have we yet been able to be Independent? Of course everybody’s definition of independency wouldn’t be the same. However if we see the independency of Bureaucracy, no signs of the eleven letter word could be traced. Every year there are lakhs of students aspiring to become the so called Bureaucrats of the country, but hardly around thousand make up to their final selections and their appointments. Ironically the best field which students of today’s India wish to be a part of has the toughest future ahead. Getting into a red baton car has undoubtedly become the most proud wish of every home.
Independency of bureaucracy is however questioned because of the condition in which it currently hails. Be it the most developed state Gujarat, or the any of the Indian state like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, West Bengal etc. everywhere these bureaucrats have always struggled for their independency and pride. The pathetic condition of the most educated bunch of individuals is a hindrance for the development of the nation. Doesn’t the country where we talk so much of peace and happiness owe respect to the people helping to manage the same for them? Does it not become the duty of the political elected netas not to intervene the matters of the qualified babus? Of course these political men must understand the scope of work they have been assigned to. A country where government and its heads are elected by the PEOPLE, every decision becomes the ‘decision of people’ (though not). A clear distinction has been made in the Constitution of India, regarding the scope of the work and authority of elected politicians and bureaucrats, but the question is how many people abide by the same.
The institution of Bureaucracy/civil services in India is the oldest and most wonderful institution the British Government had bequeathed to India. It was popularly known as ‘the Steel Frame’ of British administrative structure, Fortunately India, along with Pakistan, has inherited from the past, a unique administrative system, which knows, what these strategic posts are and who are the persons to hold them. British rule evolved the civil service as an efficient, professional and to a great degree incorruptible organization.
One wonders why the steel‑frame of yesteryears has failed to do its job effectively and judiciously, despite having a constitutional status with enough powers to perform their duties freely and frankly. Inefficient and ineffective performance of Bureaucracy/civil services by and large has affected the lives of millions of people. Now sarcastically, people call bureaucracy as ‘babudom’ and bureaucrats as ‘Glorified clerks/Babus.1
One major question that arises is, why does not bureaucracy take a stand against the unjust dictates of political leaders or corrupt senior officers, who stops them from doing their jobs judiciously? Why and how civil services in India got derailed is a point to ponder. What were the reasons behind ineffective and inefficient performance needs to be analyzed.
Government has always failed to identify the role of bureaucrats. Why does the government not understand that, what may good for their political icons may be very bad for the nation that holds a large number of innocent individuals. Of course the politicians of today’s India have completely changed the definition of ‘politics’. Though India is the largest democracy in the world, it has ironically the worst bunch of politicians.
The present condition of bureaucracy in India clearly points out the interference of political netas in their functioning. Transfers of officers and threat to the lives of the loyal individuals have become a common scene in India. Every time an officer does something that is unjust for the politicians they face catastrophic situations. According to senior IAS officer Sanjar R. Bhoosreddy, “It is the people who are the ultimate losers when officers are transferred in quick succession”.
It is very sad to know that in a survey conducted in 2010, every year there were 34 per cent of the officers who considered resignation from their posts due to obvious reasons of political interferences. Take the case of M. N. Vijaykumar, who was transferred 27 times in 32 years of service. Currently he is an officer on special duty and principal secretary in the department of personnel and administrative reforms in the Karnataka government. Vijaykuamr, 59 believes that the highest price for his uprightness was paid by the government of Karnataka when he was transferred six times in nine months from September 2006 to June 2007.
The 1991 batch Indian Administrative Officer (IAS), Ashok Khemka has been transferred 48 times during his 24 year career. Isn’t it surprising, that on an average the officer was transferred twice yearly. Of course not, if you question the political netas. Sure, he admits bureaucrats are not the cows that cannot be transferred, but the reason behind their transfers. He further says, “I unearth scam or am in the middle of something, I get transferred.”
It was however a shame for the government that the CBI chief, Ranjit Sinha also once stated that there are political interventions in their probe into the matters they are assigned to. The recent case of D. K. Ravi, the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in Tamil Nadu, has been a shame for the said government. The innocent officer was brutally murdered amidst the probe he headed. “Taking on the corrupt means, you are inviting trouble. You can win the hearts of the people, but you’re alone out there and the system gangs up against you”, says an upright officer who had more than ten postings in the last seven years in Andhra Pradesh. The list is long; there are many more officers who have faced similar conditions in the country. U. Sagayam of Tamil Nadu had 20 transfers in 20 years of service, and many more.
After Nehru’s midnight hour speech between 14th and 15th August 1947, Dr. Radhakrishnan warned the nation, “Our opportunities are great, but let me warn you that when power outstrips ability, we will fall on evil days. We should develop competence and ability, which would help us to utilize the opportunities, which are now open to us. A free India will be judged by the way, in which it will serve the interests of the common man in the matter of food, clothing, shelter and social services.”
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that those belonging to the IAS, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service should spend at least two years in one post. The court also recommended that a transfer could only take place before two years only if the Civil Services Board (CSB) in the state recommended it or the government had strong reasons for it.
It has been one year since then, the states have set their CSB’s, but even now after 350 committee reports on administrative reforms, India is yet to evolve a system to protect honest officials and punish the dishonest.
“We are caught in a vicious cycle”, says former Union Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanium, who averaged one transfer a year when he was in service at Uttar Pradesh. Bureaucracy undoubtedly has been a gift to India but the gift has pathetically maintained. Somewhere between netas and babus the nation has lost the system of good governance.
By: Himanshu Singh
