The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Editorial

Crumbling pillars of governance
Dangers of a system where jobs are "sold"
Hari Jaisingh

THE quality of governance, among other ingredients, largely depends on the quality of the civil service as well as education. The all-round deterioration that we see today is mainly because of a sharp decline in the standards in these critical areas. The civil service no longer inspires the confidence of civilians.

Some critics go to the extent of debunking it as "uncivil". This is not a fair criticism, though it does often act as an obstructionist force instead of being an instrument of forward-looking moves and socio-economic changes.

The main problem with a large army of Indian Administrative Service personnel is their statusquoism on the negative side. Rightly or wrongly, they also seem to have acquired the label of being spineless. Exceptions are surely there, but exceptions do not make rules.

Of course, those at the helm know where the shoe pinches. Still, the correctives initiated to overhaul the system are either half-hearted or misplaced. Things have come to such a pass that the administrative services, which are supposed to be impartial, fair and just in the discharge of public duties, more often than not, act at the whims and fancies of political masters or their patrons. Where are the elements of fearlessness and fairplay which were the strong points of civil service officers till the sixties?

The officers belonging to the ICS and the early batches of the IAS had the reputation of giving opinions honestly. Their value judgement was fair and objective. Even Sardar Patel talked about these traits.

Underlying the need for an independent civil service, he observed, "Today my secretary can write a note opposed to my views. I have given that freedom to all my secretaries. I have told them, "if you do not give your honest opinion, then you had better go. I will bring another secretary.... I will never be displeased over a frank expression of opinion."

Do we have leaders of the Sardar Patel class? In fact, this is the primary reason why, in place of frankness, sycophancy is the order of the day. Most IAS officers hardly protest or express their dissent on crucial matters for fear of punishment.

Safety first! This is the golden rule. That is the reason why most administrative officers these days endorse whatever their masters want. Rules are broken to serve vested interests. Clauses and sub-clauses are wrongly interpreted and reinterpreted to suit the convenience of the powers that be.

How can we serve the public cause in these circumstances? How can we retain the value system when operators and manipulators set the pace for events and non-events? How can we maintain the thrust of development if 87 paise of a rupee are eaten away by administrative overhead costs?

This harsh fact has been known to political leaders, but, then, who cares to improve matters? As a former DGP from Tamil Nadu put it, "The uncertainty that hangs over well-meaning civil servants and the lack of sympathy on the part of the political bosses go to show the extent of moral degradation that has set in the institutional values in the politics of administration"

Indeed, what we see on the politico-administrative front is distressing. Equally disturbing is the state of education and related institutional arrangements that are meant to serve society. Two areas of major concern are: the office of Vice-Chancellor and Public Service Commissions.

In Punjab, two major scandals have shaken the people's confidence in the system. One is related to the conduct of Mr Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia as the Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala, who was, mercifully, removed on the charge of molestation. What happened on the campus at Patiala is shockingly shameful.

Then we have scintillating stories of corrupt practices in the Punjab Public Service Commission directly involving its chairman, Mr Ravi Sidhu. If jobs are "sold" for huge amounts then, pray, what future holds out to bright youngsters? They are denied jobs simply because they cannot afford to bribe their way.

When we published a letter from a highly educated youngster, Ms Nisha Kaura of Raikot in Ludhiana district, before the elections in Punjab, I was accused by some critics of playing a partisan role. This was far from my wildest thought. I was purely prompted by the desire to give the people a picture of harsh social realities. Informed sections, of course, know how jobs are auctioned by the powers that be and how the booty is pocketed individually or shared selectively.

We at The Tribune are not in the business of playing games in favour of one party or the other. Our interest lies in promoting public good through the dissemination of authentic information and taking a principled stand.

The questions raised by Ms Kaura definitely stirred the conscience of a very large number of The Tribune readers. Full marks to the girl who showed rare courage and guts to state facts. Privately, many persons talk about the rates "fixed" for every category of jobs offered by the PPSC or other agencies. What is true of Punjab is equally true of Haryana and most other public service commissions as well.

The dimension of Mr Ravi Sidhu's operations should be an eye-opener. Nothing can be more shameful than such acts of public betrayal. How can we expect the police and the general administration to be just and fair in a corruption-ridden atmosphere?

If jobs could be bought by paying lakhs of rupees, then the first priority of these "successful persons" would, understandably, be to fleece the public and suck the system. Who cares for merit and public interests? Perhaps, not even most of our honourable parliamentarians. We cannot solve problems by shouting and stalling parliamentary proceedings. Does the conscience of our MPs prick at the fact that it costs the public exchequer over Rs 17,000 per minute to keep Parliament going?

Amidst the sickening state of affairs public disenchantment with the failure of the system is but natural. There is no accountability. Merit is hardly rewarded. Mediocrity and safety rule the roost.

No wonder, all forms of corruption, racketeering and "fixing" have assumed alarming proportions. Instead of a civil order, we now see a powerful parallel economy and a virtual parallel government run or supervised by unscrupulous persons.

Any reasonable hope? Can't we discard structures that block social justice and good governance? Can't we do away with hackneyed attitudes directly flowing from distorted education and related institutions and the deformed bureaucratic structure that rest on false values and are unrelated to the realities of life?

Bringing about a change will, of course, involve transitional pains and adjustments. The ruling elite is probably not yet willing to set the right pace for social and economic justice on secular and egalitarian principles. Everything seems to be divided and subdivided on crude vote-bank calculations. This needs to be challenged vigorously.

In his book, “Revolution in the Revolution”, Regis Debray wrote: "History advances in disguise; it appears on the stage wearing the mask of the preceding scene, and we tend to lose the meaning of the play. Each time the curtain rises, continuity has to be reestablished. The blame, of course, is not history's, but lies in our vision, encumbered with memory and images learned in the past. We see the past superimposed on the present, even when the present is a revolution."

We are probably not cut out for a revolution. Of course, there are serious signs of unrest. But what is to be done if vision happens to be terribly blurred. For that matter, even the mask has lost the shine of the "preceding scene". What is more, the twin pillars of governance — the civil service and educational institutions — are showing signs of crack.

The road ahead is littered with the remains of the frenzy, fanaticism and all forms of distortions. Even the concept of secularism and liberal democratic values are being twisted and tattered by opportunist politicians, spineless bureaucrats and their collaborators.

Should we give in? Certainly not. We must keep our head high and not lose sight of principles and values while pursuing the desired changes in a determined manner. Why not make a fresh beginning with a reoriented civil service and the police force with revamped and thoroughly reformed education system and public service commissions? They can set the right pace for good governance.