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Abrogation of Indian civil service

Published: Dec 11, 2014 13:16 PM
Last Updated: Dec 11, 2014 13:16 PM
Author: Mukul Kanitkar
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We Bharteeyas are known to be experts in maintaining status quo. We endure extreme

inconveniences, adapt ourselves to alien concepts and atmospheres, keep on complaining, debating
and discussing issues but do not change easily. This has been one of the most important factors in
the millennial long saga of constant struggle and resilience while combating the continuous struggle
of the brutal invaders. Many western thinkers and even some Islamic researchers are intrigued by the
fact that the long march of Islam was stopped and resisted for more than 7 centuries in this ancient
land of Bharat. It took just a couple of decades for Islam to wipe out the traces of Egyptian culture,
slightly more to conquer Turkey. Even in the African continent, Islam had a successful run, wherever
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it entered. Many of the African countries like Morocco, Somalia are today completely Islamic
countries. The whole population was converted. All signs of earlier civilizations, faiths, even the
architecture was wiped out completely. A similar scenario can be noticed in parts of Asia and Europe,
where Islam invaded. The first recorded invasion of India by an Islamic barbarian in the 7th century
A.D. , Mohammad Bin Quasim was defeated by the valiant king of Sind , Dahir and his daughters.
[Though we have read history to the contrary, it does not make any sense that a conquering invader
would tamely return. History needs to be read and interpreted in a comprehensive context. Dahir and
his daughters might have attained martyrdom but they must have damaged the invading army
sufficiently to force them to stop their march. Mohammad Bin Quasim must have been completely
destroyed at the psychological level as we do not even find him establishing his rule in Sindh.] Even
after 1300 years, we still have more than a billion Hindus, residing in a thriving country, silently
preparing for a glorious future. The secret of this victorious survival of the most ancient civilization is
in its adaptability. Even in the most trying circumstances, the Hindus adjusted themselves to the
situation, reoriented their traditions and continued their eternal pilgrimage.
This attribute of adaptability which proved to be a virtue in times of struggle, is now the greatest
hurdle in the process of rebuilding on its own cultural foundations. The Bharateeya mind which
adapted itself to the colonial rule, has yet to assert back its own identity, even after 7 decades of
political independence. Even the discussion of any revolutionary, surgical change, is resisted by the
shackled mentality of Macaluay trained intellectuals. A few years ago, the discussion of abolishing
planning commission was started. The same intellectuals cried that it was impossible. They accepted
the necessity of the change but resisted it out of habit. Credit goes to the courage of the new
administration in Bharat to have taken this bold decision as one of its first reform measures. The exit
of the planning commission which complicated the path of India's progress in the last 6 decades as a
result of the blind emulation of the experiments of the five year plans in the former Soviet Union, is a
commendable step in the appropriate direction. All the sections of the society enthusiastically
welcomed that revolutionary decision. It is quite surprising that politicians as well as newspapers and
magazines thriving on the name of socialism did not give vent to any regret or rancour while paying
their homage to the perished planning commission. It can be perceived as a natural, facile decline of
an erstwhile icon. A second exemplary effort from the colonial governance was directed towards the
termination of unnecessary, laws. More than 60 irrelevant regulations were nullified in the first
session of the new parliament. A notification has been made of another more than 600 laws and they
will be annulled in the next session. According to an estimate, more than 4000 regulations made by
the British to exploit the Indian masses are still in existence. These laws were not used for the last 50
years, but no one bothered to abrogate them. We know that no substantial changes will become
tangible in the society due to the annulment of these laws, but they can be discerned as a
conscientious effort to attain independence in a true sense.

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The 67th independence speech by the Prime Minister of Bharat, was profoundly touching, fearless
and imbued with self confidence. Even after half a century, since emancipation from the yoke of
colonialism, we often felt that we are still awaiting our independence. The rulers have become
Swadeshi. Decisive privileges have been granted to the ordinary masses by the democratic system.
The valiant, indomitable heroes of Bharat have established world records in various fields such as
science, technology and economics. The world scenario is such that everyone is expecting a noble
performance from Bharat in all the avenues of human activity. But even then an ordinary Indian is
not experiencing a feeling of independence. An important reason for this is the adoption of the
administrative systems of our former colonial masters even after driving them away from here. How
can we become truly independent, without adopting our own indigenous systems. The independence
speech which emanated from the heart of the Prime Minister tangibly exudes this profound pathos.
The Prime Minister having exhibited such a high degree of efficiency in such a short duration of time,
so as to almost become legendary, had to show his peevishness for around 15 minutes about the
high handed attitude of the Administrative Officials. The Prime Minister had to prepare a 19 point,
code of conduct for the IAS officers. The intensity of the strenuous efforts to inculcate ordinary
qualities like punctuality, sense of responsibility and diligence in the bureaucrats, is an eye-opener
towards the degree of decay that has set in the administrative system. Debates and discussions
about the rights, duties and the discipline of the administrative class are already rife, but detailed
nationwide deliberations about even the existence and format of the complete structure is badly
needed. Rather than assiduously trying to redeem this system adopted during the era of
subservience, an original thinking about an entirely novel and indigenous administrative structure
seems imperative.
The entire world is witnessing deep discussions and even vehement controversies in some places,
regarding this subject. People have started protesting against the atrocious, centralized and the
authoritarian system, which was established by the European imperial regimes in their colonies. Even
in democratic nations like U.S.A, France and Germany, experts are advocating for a more efficient,
hassle free bureaucratic system. The bureaucratic system in these developed nations is already
confined to the paperwork at the lower and the middle levels. While formulating policies and taking
important decisions at the highest level, preference is given to the subject experts and people's
representatives over the bureaucratic clerks selected through a common exam. In the US, the
President in the federal administration and the Governors of the states, select experts, according to
the requirement and the expertise necessary for the formulation and the implementation of the
policies. The bureaucrats are utilized only for carrying out the clerical work associated with the
effective execution of these policies. The British, borrowed empirical services from China and
modelled the Indian Civil Services[ICS ], now known as the Indian Administrative Services[IAS], have
the Royal British Service limited to the bureaucracy at the lower and the middle levels. The public
representatives selected by the democratic machinery and the experts appointed by them carry out
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the work of the formulation and implementation of the policies at the higher levels. The civic
administration in European countries like France and Germany, managed by officials selected
through a competitive exam , finds a subordinate place in the administrative machinery. An
extremely rigid, fully centralized and arrogantly authoritative bureaucracy at the highest levels, is
found only in the formerly enslaved Commonwealth countries.
The entire world is witnessing serious deliberations about changing this rigid system. We, in Bharat,
need to give the highest priority to it. The whole system is dominated by the officials appointed by the
administrative services. These officials after getting selected by the Service Commission become the
omnipotent heads of the administrative system. It was natural for the British to develop such a
tyrannical system for making the indigenous people subservient to them. But after independence,
this atrocious system should have been immediately changed. Although the body which conducts
exams for the selection of the officials is named ' Public Service Commission', the system for the
selection, training and appointment does not indicate even a vestige of modesty or dedication
towards their service. The consciousness of the huge gulfs in the hierarchy, in the different
constituents of the public services such as administrative services, police service, revenue service,
foreign services, postal services, forest services, has created modern feudal system among the
officials. The whole process engenders a huge feeling of conceit. The society also gives unnecessary
importance to those officials and becomes obsequious towards them, fortifying an ambience of
servility. As the officials used to collect the revenue on behalf of the British, the highest official in the
district administration was called the ' collector' - the one who hoards. He was the main pillar of the
financial plunder of Bharat, at the hands of the British. The district administrator is even now, after so
many decades of independence, called the 'District Collector' in some states. Its translation into
Indian languages will not create the feeling of service. The words like 'Zilladeesh' stinks of fiefdom
[zamindari]. This has resulted in the continuity of tyranny of the colonial administrative machinery
even after independence. Hence an ordinary person does not have access to these officials. In fact in
a democracy, it is the responsibility of the administration to connect to the masses and ensure their
cooperation in the process of collective development. The officials of the Indian administrative service
do not even develop a trace of this consciousness during their selection, training or in the
responsibilities handled by them. This has resulted in most of the officials giving priority to their
vested interests and neglecting their duties. Corruption, procrastination, unnecessary meddling and
passing the buck have become the peculiarities of the government administration. We find a national
unity in this matter everywhere, right from the offices in Delhi, to the tehsil offices in the obscure
regions of the nation.
Numerous efforts were made to rectify the problem, but there is no possibility of attaining
permanent results just by imposing a few restrictions or injecting efficiency in an effete system. A
transparent system can be created by using modern technology but as long as the administrative
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service which is power-oriented, shielded by the constitution and enjoying impunity, continues to
exist, human beings who are the most significant constituents of the system, will continue to
languish in their misery. When the entire world is deliberating on this subject of administrative
reforms, we in Bharat, also need to have radical transformation in our intellectual discourse. Just as
the planning commission will get replaced by a completely new paradigm, it has become imperative
to honestly reconsider bureaucratic restructuring from a new perspective.
There has been a profound contemplation regarding the subject of the behaviour and conduct of the
administrative officials from times immemorial in Bharat. The first part of the complaints expressed
by Vishwamitra in the court of Dashratha in Ramayana, was related to the insensitive attitude and
the corrupt behaviour of the administrative officials. Chanakya in the Arthashastra has warned about
the detrimental effect of the behavior of the uncontrolled officials on the governing machinery. The
Manusmriti even furnishes solemn advice about the selection, training and appointment of the
administrative officials.
To evolve an indigenous system of administration, we need to adopt a 2 pronged approach. While
deriving from the eternal principles of Bharteeya wisdom, we need to impartially analyze the
drawbacks of the present day machinery and then arrive at an appropriate model of governance. The
common lacunae witnessed in the colonial system are lack of work culture, lack of sense of
responsibility. social insensitivity and authoritarian approach. This has prevented the administration
from functioning as a public service. As a result of selfish attitude of giving preference to personal
interests over the public good, corruption, groupism, dissidence and many other such ailments have
plagued the whole system. The selection of the public servants has become more and more complex
over the years. Those selected through this complex procedure naturally develop an extreme
superiority complex. Once selected, there is no fear of losing the job due to the constitutional
provision. The government of India 1935 provided immunity to the administrative officers to isolate
them from the elected people's representatives. Unfortunately these provisions were carried out in
Toto in our constitution. There is a prerequisite of departmental permission before starting criminal
investigation against any bureaucrat accused of corruption or even more heinous crime.
Many cases of colossal corruption have not seen the light of the day because of this protection. In
September 2014, the honorable supreme court has allowed primary investigation without prior
permission, but for filing the charge sheet, the investigating agencies will have to comply with the
provisions of the departmental permission. These procedures and administrative practices have
developed a condescending attitude in the administrative officers - ''once I join the government
service, no harm can be done to me, whether I work or not, whether I do it right or wrong, whether I
behave properly with the civil society, people's representatives and the subordinate staff or not.
Politicians are temporarily, they have to be re-elected after their tenure but the officers of the
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administrative services are the permanent managers of the government. This arrogance is one of the
most important factors behind the insensitive functioning of the government machinery. Over
generalization is another important weakness of present administrative set up. The IAS officer
irrespective of his education is considered expert of all the branches of knowledge. One who was the
Principal Secretary of animal husbandry till the other day is posted as Principal Secretary of
education, the next day and then he starts dictating policies to the Vice-Chancellors who have
academic experience of more than 3 to 4 decades. This is one of the most important reasons for the
chaos we find in the education system today. The same is to be witnessed in the suicidal
communication gap between the military forces and the defence ministry. Original thought needs to
be given to all those factors while discussing the administrative restructuring. One plausible solution
can be tenure appointments of subject experts at the critical posts of policy forming and control in
the ministries of states and Union Government.
A minimum number of executive officers can be posted on a permanent basis, only at the managerial
and the administrative levels. Major ministerial work can be taken care of by experienced clerks in the
ministry. Highest policy regulators, called 'Secretaries' in modern democracies and were referred to
as 'Amityas' [advisors], traditionally in Bharat and they should be experts in the respective fields. The
tenure of such officials can be coterminous with the period of the democratically elected public
representatives.Even in the present setup government undertakings administered by subject experts
are performing exceptionally. Indian Space Research Organization[ISRO] and Defence Research
Development Organization [DRDO] are the leading examples. Had there been a single bureaucrat
instead of a scientist at any level of hierarchy, the success of Mars mission would have been
doubtful. Even if it would have been successful, there is a doubt whether it would have been timely
and cost- effective. Positive impact on efficiency in the working of the organization governed by
subject experts, is evident from these two glorious success stories of independent Bharat.
At the district and local administration also, giving precedence to the democratic system of election
over centralized administrative setup will be more beneficial in having control of the society over
government. In the longer run, this will be useful in evolving the ideal of self- reliant society and
societal governance. We have elected mayors and chairmen in many cities and towns but their
administrative powers are much lower than those of appointed civil administrators. Even in the
Muncipal Corporations, the dependence of the elected representatives on the Muncipal
Commissioner for development activity is the main hindrance. There is no doubt that the politicians
have been discredited in the recent past, but no one can deny that they have to face the public after
definite periodicity of 5 years. If they are found inefficient or corrupt, the people have the option of
changing the mayor, chairman or sarpanch. But dismissing a civil servant is too difficult, if not
impossible in the present scenario. In many countries, there is a system of elected executive and
judiciary along with legislative machinery. In many states of the USA, the local police chief[Sheriff] ,
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judges, Public Prosecutors etc are elected by the public. People can elect suitable candidates among
the choices of those having minimum qualifications for the post. After fixed tenure there is a
provision for reevaluation. This can also be one of the solutions by which society can have certain
control over the administration. If the district superintendent of police has to be elected, by the
people periodically, then he/she will have to be sensitive towards the members of his constituency. It
can be certainly said that without abolishing the present, centralized, authoritative ', real
independence is a mirage. It is most imperative that a debate on this most basic reform must gain
momentum urgently in the whole country. For real Swatantra-' Self Governance', the Indian
Administrative Services' should be dismantled as soon as possible

Mukul Kanitkar
Author is Joint Organizing Secretary, Bhartiya Shiksha
Mandal

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