The Indian Civil Service (ICS) came into being after the passage the Government of India Act, 1858. The immediate trigger for passing the Act was the Indian rebellion of 1857, what the British called the Sepoy Mutiny. This new administrative structure, in turn, helped annex new territories.
Youngsters in the first five decades of independent India got enticed by the residual goodwill of ICS, which catapulted them into the higher echelons of society. The “social prestige” associated with the service became a fatal attraction and enrolment in the civil service a tour de force.
Initially, the entrants were drawn from the presidency towns; then from other State capitals. Subsequently, students who had education in vernacular medium also joined the service in droves, enriching it, with their sound commonsense.
There is a felt need to stand out in a crowd of 121 crore Indians. Selection into civil service instantly satiates this need. To an insecure mind it provides eternal solace. Shakespeare said that “Security is mortals’ chiefest enemy” and entry into the civil service helps obliterates insecurity.
Jawaharlal Nehru often ridiculed the ICS for its support of British policies. He noted that someone had once defined the ICS, “with which we are unfortunately still afflicted in this country, as neither Indian, nor civil, nor a service.”
As Prime Minister, he retained the structure and its top people, albeit with a change of title to the “Indian Administrative Service.”
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Changing landscape
In post-liberalised India, the All-India Services (AIS) are ordained the role of a facilitator, and not necessarily one of a regulator. This took the sheen off AIS and its pre-eminence in economic decision-making is being encumbered.
Besides, in the past three decades regional parties have taken over the reins at the State level and the immediacy of the next election drove the agendas of these parties in power.
The AIS officers are made to toe the line of the political bosses. The concept of a “committed bureaucracy” is being encouraged subtly.
Furthermore, the ethos of society itself is getting metamorphosed. Ill-gotten wealth now bestows instant respectability.
The AIS officers, who always had a ringside view of this process of ill-gotten wealth in the Licence-Quota-Permit Raj, started collaborating with political masters. The percentage of officers who are in this collusive collaboration is increasing by the day.
The parties in power bestow favouritism on civil servants loyal to them. As is evident, from the recent incidents even “Lady Officers” have joined the party. It is no more true that women officers are more honest, they have made news for the wrong reasons.
The cardinal principles of civil service, viz. professionalism, anonymity, integrity and neutrality, are slowly withering.
The chains with which the AIS binds itself are self-acquired, the links were non-existent at the entry, the links are slowly forged and the chains formed. The process is full of compromises, both intellectual and fiscal.
Civil servants taking to politics is a detestable phenomenon. One even rose to become a Chief Minister. This trend severally compromises neutrality during their tenure in service. Traditionally, civil servants were sent as Governors, post-retirement. Now even for this honour civil servants are cultivating politicians unabashedly. Most of the evils perpetuated by ‘to-retire’ civil servants are their craving for post-retirement sinecures.
Ronald Reagan once said “politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession; I have come to realise that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.” Perhaps had he worked with the AIS in close quarters, he would have extended the courtesy of comparison to civil servants also.
Vinod Mehta, in his book The Lucknow Boy, pays tribute to E.A.S. Sarma, who fought the PMO to uphold steadfastly what, he thought, was in the larger interest of the nation.
Recently, in Andhra Pradesh, some officers who withstood the onslaught of a former CM are breathing easy, and their successors who obeyed the ‘diktats’ of the former CM are under the CBI scanner.
Noam Chomsky in Deterring Democracy predicted that the unholy businessman-politician nexus will undermine democracy. No party is wholesome, now, without the media. The politician-business-media house nexus, with the tentacles in the bureaucratic network, is a heady mix. Now, well heeled, highly-networked women in the media coalesced into business groups and when caught, vociferously pleaded an “error of judgment” and got away with the egregious. Where does this leave the civil services — in the fox holes?
Judicial activism is yet another new dimension. Now, a few high profile cases against the AIS get so much adverse publicity that it becomes a feed forward mechanism for the judiciary to indulge in more activism.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said “the only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” The destiny of civil servants is in the conduct of its own brethren. Unless we steadfastly return to the old edicts of professionalism, anonymity, integrity and neutrality, the evanescent goodwill will be completely eroded.
The need of the hour is silent hard work. One should leave the system unheard, unsung and unwept and while in the system one should sbe free, fair and frank.
Off with the fetters
That chafe and restrain
Off with the chains…(anonymous)
It is worth recalling the most famous ‘Pogo’ quotation: “we have met the enemy and he is us.” The civil servants we wish ‘to be or not to be’ are within us.
(The writer is an IAS officer of Bihar cadre)
Keywords: Indian Civil Service, Government of India Act, 1858
The author is disappointed over the fact that a civil servant who is
honest, professionally competent, and who maintains anonymity and
neutrality is not called upon to assignments which are politically
important. The question is why should he aspire to do politically
important jobs? Why can't he be satisfied with doing humbler jobs in a
competent manner to help the nation? Even the 'unimportant jobs' that
an inconvenient civil servant is asked to do are significant from the
point of view of the common people. Do any work given to you by the
politicians who do not like your neutrality with sincere enthusiasm
because so many well-intentioned and public spirited common citizens
do not get an opportunity to do even such assignments. Thank your
stars for such opportunities and stop getting jealous about the
spineless crooks who make money or peddle servility to politicians.
This is the only way you can contribute to building a better nation.
Today's India is 'By the bureaucrats, of the bureaucrats and for the
bureaucrats!!!
It is true that the bureaucrats want all the posts to themselves
without any accountability. Governments come and go but bureaucrats
never.
I agree with one of the comments that bureaucrats never ever retire.
They shouldn't be allowed to work after the retirement in PSUs, BODs
or Govt. sectors. Its high time we change the rules to ring in some
transparency and honesty in AIS.
The article is relevant mainly to IAS officers considered to be the
cream of bureaucracy who only manage the other AIS cadres and
professionals. In India, the “elected” politicians and the “selected”
IAS officers are at the helm of our destiny. The tenure of
politicians depends on their capability to convince the citizens
further. But the IAS officers provided with esteem status and
lifetime privileges for facilitating the politicians in the right
direction and proper governance in every respect cannot shirk their
responsibilities by shifting the onus to the politicians. Had the IAS
officers, realizing the importance of their roles, agreed jointly not
to support the hidden political agenda, the political bosses could
not have gone beyond their stated objectives committed to the people.
Without judicial activism, the results would have been more than
worse. For instance, judicial directions only made the Collectors of
Madurai to do their duties in bringing out the granite scandal.
`Ill-gotten wealth now bestows instant respectability`-How beauti-
-fully and poignantly the author has phrased his thoughts,anguish
over the sharp decline in the morale of civil servants and truth of
a fact!In this unconventional world,almost every one has become
avaricious for temporals and to achieve power and cachet by crooked
means,regardless of social ranks.Honesty and morality have been
reduced to nothingness.The spirit of culture has evanesced and
virtues are ditched with no regrets.The undue political influences
have defiled the bureaucratic system,turning the nonelective offi-
-cials to become slavish stooges to the demagogues,passing off the
dictates of reasons.They are not blate about letting anybody know it and they are prepared to do anything for money.This unwholesome
trend has led to the lowest point of governance.The halcyon days are bygone where civil servants used to convey an aura of elegance
dignity,good breeding and refinement.We live in such a hegemonic
India!
I think the author missed a small yet significant point, that those who are breathing easy for withstanding former CM’s onslaught may be the ones who might be held responsible for other deals or auctions under a different authority or the same CM at a different capacity, so corruption is no longer confined to a section of IAS and IPS but the majority of similar ranks, on adhoc basis for avoiding a transfer to a remote or uninteresting position, or on permanent administrator-politician nexus basis.
Yes, the writer is rightly pointed the weaknesses of the present
situations, but the little efforts of a few officers should be
taken positively because in a democracy and with full of
diversities on many grounds, it is IAS cadre officers, who are
taking the prevailing situations as a challenge and deducting
fruitful results even in varied atmosphere and with meagre
resources. They are not only backbone of our fragile organization
/affairs of state but also after everything else breathe of common
individuals.
High time the pattern of recruitment is changed. Whether it was Alagh Committee or Sarkaria Commission, the chief remedy suggested for betterment of bureaucracy was reform. Though much hinges on kind and quantum of reforms to be implemented, and how much space that needs to be accommodated for "sincerity" at recruiting stage,if at all introduction of Group Discussion is feasible, it remains to be seen with what personal bias the Government of India, and DoPT in particular, can see things as they are, as bureaucrat-turned politician Yashwant Sinha himself clarified that it is actually the "IAS" that dictates terms and that they wanted supreme command over other services for which the recruitment was made through same exam. If things like these are actually the talking point even today at North and South blocks, I believe we are not going to see rapid makeover even after three decades, the time next generation takes the road.
The best thing that one can do to improve governance and make the so
called civil servants accountable is to abolish the IAS as called for
by Narayanamurthy during the CWG delays. The members of the IAS lack
total accountability and 120% security of service. The whole service
is so structured that the members move to invisible corridors of power
within eight or ten years of service and after that one hoop-la ride
as a back seat driver. They form solid ties helping each other on the
basis of service affinity to ensure 90% of them retire as the
Secretaries of the Govt. and 60% of them securing post retirement
jobs. Actually the IAS officers do not fade away, they appear in
various avatars like regulator, independent director and so on. I have
not seen a truly retired IAS officer so far, I mean without receiving
some remuneration other than pension from government/public sector
coffers or as Independent Directors of listed companies.
The summerization of the evils of the AIS by Shri Ramakrishna Rao is
superb. It is not that these facts are not known till the publication
of this article. The entire AIS fraternity and the people at large are
well aware of these evils for decades. But who will bell the cat?
Cooperation between the political class, whose power is only next to
that of God, and the Service, benefits both. Politicians know that
threats from honest people like EAS Sarma and Roy (CAG) can be easily
warded off and they are no threat against their power. We can only
faintly hope people like khejariwal and Jayaprakashnarayan (of AP) come
to power and bring a change, unless they also fall a pray ultimately
to power politics.
With all due respect to the writer, I would suggest doing away with the Civil Services. This is a legacy of our past & times have changed. We need to move on to local governance like how it is in the US. The local government elected by the townspeople decides who becomes the sheriff & others who serve the local people. The money comes from local economy & the locally elected/selected officials are held accountable. They can be hired & fired at will of the local government. Civil Services today has become a lifetime appointment with zero accountability. Time to go. Less government. Less spending on bloated government staff. Less government is the future
Well written and a balanced article. The author is to be commended for saying it as it is
without indulging in any unparliamentary language and also not pulling any punches. He is
so right when he says that the "percentage of officers ..... Is increasing by the day". Well
said, Mr. Rao!
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