A Tribute to Tripathi Ji

                               A Tribute to Tripathi Ji

             Long time back,in class 5th my Hindi teacher Mr. Chandika Prasad Vallabh Narayan Tripathi asked me to write an essay on,' Railway station Ka Drashya'.I bunked the lecture.Next year, in class 6th he again asked me to write that essay.I wrote some rubbish which fetch me a good lashing. After 2 years he died of stroke,on a rusted bench of 1930 at a local railway station.We did not bother much.

        

              But, today after about 17 years I feel like paying a tribute to him.I am writing that essay,with interest and the information based on experience and insight(if at all it remains after doing linguistic philosophy).On 8th June, 2012  I visited Mathura with a friend and junior from St.Stephen's, Siddharth.Both of us are generally happy with Economist,good marwari food and revolutions and sincerely depressed with stench, Delhi heat and middle-path type balanced opinions.So with lot of unease we boarded the train.The first noteworthy thing was stench, yes without any euphemisms the stench of shit, mal or vishtha.It began with Nizamuddin and travaled as a silent but most phenomenal and noxious passenger till Mathura.By the time we reached Mathura we no more wanted to discuss political theories but wanted only an air conditioned room.

             After doing the darshan we were back at the station at 5:30.Now the description is nothing but the picture of the station in language.There were 5 to 6 counters for buying tickets and all had big queues of at least sixty to seventy people each.But only 2 windows had a railway person selling tickets.He was working with a computer which was either directly purchased from Blaise Pascal or was found in Mohan-jo-Daro by Rakhal Dass Bannerjee.Anyways it's buttons were coming off and key board was strewn with bits of heavily oiled pooris and curd. It's sides looked as if a big treasure of lignite was waiting to be drilled.It took full 5 minutes in printing one ticket.In that duration the ticket man(he was a local jat or gujjar) asked many metaphysical questions to the people standing in queue.He gave many pieces of rustic wisdom like one should not travel much and stay in one's village only.Then he gave a complete lecture on the miraculous powers of Col. Kirori Singh Baisla and assured me that he will definitely get the reservation for gujjar bhais.

             After buying the tickets I was taking a stroll.I met three bulls who were 5 to 6 feet in height.They were roaming in the station campus with full authority, arrogance and wild grunts.The confidence and terrorising instincts exuded by them left no doubt in my mind that they were surely the re-incarnates of former D.R.M s of that railway zone.One of them was proudly sitting in the A.C waiting lounge with a good number of railway cops and clerks standing in service.

       

            Then I saw a couple of sadhus seeking moksha with their lewd gestures, bare feet, dirty hair, stinking clothes, unidentified skin diseases and the hidden histories.Some of them were Vamacharis with their female partners, practising sexual tantrik cults.Only neurotic foreigners could find thrill and mysticism in them but I could only see melancholy, suppressed wild sexual desires erupting in kinkiest and weirdest of the ways and a total death.

            I also met some mangy and diseased dogs distributing rabies and other infections with full generosity.With them,were sleeping some disabled man with their artificial limbs parked alongside,on the floor smeared with cowdung, dried urine and crushed rotten tomatoes.There was one rather interesting sight.She was a coolie carrying 2 bags of 50 kgs each,owned by two Delhi university dudes.The last and the most interesting sight was the tribute paid by a beggar child to the government of India.

          It was the office of the station master,some Meena Ji.It was locked for days.I saw a beggar child pissing on the doors of his office.It was a transcendental release addressed to big railway babus and other bada Sarcars sitting in Rail Bhawan, North Block and South Block.

          After all this, I just feel that there is not much substance in our double-digit growth rates, BRICS diplomacy and notions like shining India.The real problem is mental.We are a schizophrenic nation and now the disease has become irreversible.

         But, still I do not wish to end with out a solution and that is immediate privatisation of railways and firing off the corrupt and inefficient railway bureaucracy.

         Lastly, I believe that I have done my duties to make Mr Tripathi's soul happy.

          

           

Letter to Prime Minister - 2

Honourable Prime Minister Sir,                                                                       Date:28/05/2012

                                                 In my previous letter, I mentioned the critical state of bureaucracy.In this letter I am going to discuss at length the innovative measures which we need to adopt to infuse vitality in bureaucratic system .The reforms need to be all-encompassing.They must change everything right from recruitment procedure,interviews,service conditions,promotions,performance appraisal.I am going to discuss the important and urgent ones.This exercise needs an intense research.One letter is not enough.

                                   

                    1)The civil service recruits for any particular year must be a diverse group.Candidates can also be taken from other systems of education.In the present system almost all the recruits come from UPSC examination system.The government needs to bring in lateral entry system.There are many Indian students who after doing their undergraduate studies go to places like Harvard, Cornell, Fletcher school etc to do their Graduate courses(Masters).They do their graduate courses in public policy(M.P.A and M.P.P,(Masters in public affairs and public policy).They can be brought in civil services.There is no need to make  them write civil service exams as they are already specialised in public affairs.I have seen their profiles and course structures.Their courses include latest things like conflict resolition,international development,international trade policy,food,public health, nutrition and agricultral studies,middle east studies, NGO management etc.These students have a good work experience with civil society,global NGOs like Oxfam, international organisations like U.N, IFC, African Union, ASEAN.They are equipped with latest trends in technology, public policy and have the potential to work with a progressive mindset which does not get influenced with factors like caste,communal attitudes etc in decision-making.They have a good exposure to different cultures and countries which gives them a broad and liberal mindset.Apart from this they are highly motivated and passionate for their work.They have the potential to become leaders in their fields.They have a democratic and modern style of functioning which makes them more suitable to work with a productive and healthy co-operation with private sector and civil society.These students are very sensetive towards issues like human rights,gender equality so they will effectively implement new government legislations like those on domestic violence,human rights issues,female feoticide etc.They will be more comfortable with globalising trends and their style of functioning will be very smooth for private sector.

               

                 They can be made to write simple Statement of Purpose in which they can be asked to mention the reasons for joining civil services or diplomatic services or revenue services etc and then candidates can be shortlisted who, be subjected to a rigourous interview.The finally selected candidates can be given an orientation course and sent to their field postings.In revenue services most of the people are those who do not get IAS,IPS or IFS.It is not out of choice.Sometimes the scene becomes quite funny.A person passing UPSC exam with Hindi literature and sociology is made a tax official or a candidate scoring 400(out of 600) in Pali literature and performing poor in other papers get IFS just because of his rank.I have personally known seniors from my college who had a strong bent of mind for foreign services.Many of them had international exposure and some of them were Rhodes finalists but they got I.P.S just because they had one or two marks less than than the required.They are hardly intrested but they join because the perks ,power and monetary charms are terrific.One can not resist them.We can do one simple thing.UPSC can invite applications from people who have some background in finance,taxation(like CAs),management,law etc for the following services:

a)Indian Revenue Services(IT)

b)Indian Revenue services (customs and central exice and service tax)

c)Indian Audit and Accounts Services

d)Indian Trade Service

e)Indian Corporate Law Service

     Then the officers can be selected on the basis of SOP and interview.

               Similarly, in railways government can hire best management graduates from Stanford,Yale,Wharton etc.This can also be done on the basis of SOP and interview.

                The recent measure of introducing a seperate exam for entry into IPS ,for state police officers,CPOs,Military officers is a welcome step.

               One more thing which government can do is that those Indian students who get admissions in MPA and foreign policy courses in Harvard,Cornell,Georgetown etc can be made to sign a bond to join IAS,IFS in lieu of government sponsoring their studies.It will be a great attraction and they will be back to india with their talent.Most of them get placement in think tanks like Brookings Institution or with international organisations like world bank,U.N,IFC or with multinational organisations.So we need to bring in something to lure them.This will also solve the problem of brain drain.Most of these students work abroad because they have no work here.Some of them do work with NGOs but they are like internships or volunteerships for work experience.The are an ambitious lot so things like opportunites of learning,financial rewards chances of progress are also an important criteria for them.Some of my friends who wanted to work in public services dropped the idea when they found that after doing public policy they will have to go through a rigorous and tedious  2 years-long examination process.So they preferred lucrative jobs abroad which were easily gettable.Recently Fareed Zakaria wrote that a small nation like New zealand has 11000 diplomats and India has little more than 600 diplomats.This is India's age in IR.If we wish to play a leader's role, a game changer's role then we need to improve the quality of our diplomats and raise their numbers too.Similarly in IAS also there is a shortage of 1700 officers so I believe that this is the right time and we just need to think beyond customs,conventions and history.

              

         

               In Rajasthan, I saw a Tribal Research Institute is headed by an IAS.It is almost a defunct body, where no research takes place.We can get some good academician to head the body.It can have it's fellows,invite scholars from foreign universities and come out as a great think tank in our policy making but for that the bureaucrats need to say good bye to it.NRHM Rajasthan is headed by an IAS,who is just a graduate,with hardly 10 yrs of experience with no background in public health.NRHM has become just one of the laid back government departments stuffed by lazy and unscruplous clerks, and a boss who is hardly intrested.Should'nt we get someone who is an expert in public health,sociology,management and public policy and has a good record of working with global non-profit organizations or with U.N relief works or with local civil society..He could either be a local official with  good experience in public health or some public health professional from some place like LSHTM or John Hopkins university(which has an outstanding public health department).In tourism also we can hire professionals as secretary tourism or directors.We can get people from management ,advertisement world.Infact a policy making body including leading hoteliers,professionals from the field of culture and tourism and government officers can be created.

               When United States can appoint its professors as policy advisors like Vali Nasr, Francis Fukuyama,Madliene Albright etc then why can't we do it.Recently USA appointed Brett Mcgurk as envoy to Iraq just because he is on friendly  terms with Noori-Al-Maliki .He is an attorney and is not from the diplomatic service.Why can't we do the same thing?We can appoint Mr Ved Pratap Vedic as envoy to Afghanistan.We can send Brahma chellaneys,Narayan Murthys and other eminent and able luminaries as our ambassadors and consul-generals.When private institutions like ORF and Reliance Foundations can get best professionals from Harvard and Cambridge then our government also can and must do it.Just a good leader who can think beyond set procedures and protocols is needed.

               A very important benifit of this exercise will be that it will put an end to cadre based loyalties which is a major cause of present infighting among the bureaucracy.It will also deal a major blow to mindset which prevails now in the babuworld i.e the mindset based on strict heirarchy.We can get CEOs of Indian MNCs and development sector executives on deputation in government and send government officers on deputation in private sector and non-profit organisations.It will help in cross-fertilisation of ideas.If these dynamic professionals from lateral entry are brought in civil services then the candidates who come through UPSC exam will get a chance to interact and share ideas,wisdom and experiences with people with diverse skills and diverse backgrounds.It will make bureaucracy vibrant and dynamic.

          

             2) The 2nd domain of change should  be the examination system.The CSAT is a great respite but still a lot needs to be done in General Studies paper.The idea should not be to make the paper tough and inconvinient for candidates but the paper should make sure that whoever comes has a good understanding of Indian history,geography,culture,ethnic groups,environment,international relations etc.Regarding the mains exam I will not comment because UPSC is already changing the pattern.But still I personally feel that the duration of the whole examination process is bit too long(about 2 years)The process is such that the candidate can not even seek other employment in this duration.And at the end of it if the candidate passes two stages i.e prelims and mains and does not succeed in the interview he has to repeat the whole process again.If after giving 2 or 3 interviews the candidate fails to make it in the list of successful ones than at 26 or 28 years of age he has nothing in his hand.So, a)The duration of the whole process should be reduced.

               b)If a person appears for the interview then atleast he should be exempted from the prelims in his remaining attempts.He should be exempted from prelims and mains exam for his state civil services and allowed to appear directly for interview in his state civil services.

               c)If an aspirant who appears for the interview even once then he should be awarded a Masters degree in Government,administration and public policy so that he can fetch a good employment elsewhere in private sector,media or non profit sector on the basis of this degree.He will have some satisfaction.

                d)There is no point in continuing languages as optional.It creates a lot of disparities and even otherwise it does not make much sense to carve diplomats,admistrators and police officials from language experts.

                 e) Infact the idea of separate optionals in this age of multi-disciplinary courses is redundant.There must be a set of commen papers like public administration,economics,portions of law,history,geography and culture,political theory,philosophy,science and technology and situational analysis etc.In mains papers the intention should be to know the conceptual understanding and practical applications of knowledge.If this is the idea while setting question papers then candidates with coaching notes and rote learning will never be able to qualify.

                  f)The interview should carry a higher weightage in final selections.It should be much more detailed and rigourous process lasting for month(subjecting candidates to different kinds of tests and exercises and keeping them under observation.The idea is to find out the real intention for joining the civil services and test the candidate’s abilities like his reaction and behaviour in crisis situations,his skills in public relations,his ability to work in a team and his temperament etc)Finally the interview board should recommend candidates for different services in accordance with their calibre.

                 g)UPSC should include members from the private sector and civil society also apart from academicians and civil servants

                 h)The maximum age limit for writing this exam should be made equal for all categories i.e SC,ST,OBC and General.The upper limit for writing the exam should not be more than 30.

                Another factor which produces worst kind uncertainities and disasters is the scaling system.I have come across people scoring 70% in paper 1 and 20% in paper too after performing brilliantly.If we have a common paper system this ill can can be cured.

            Something more radical:

                                               Sir,few years back you  sujjested that civil service exam should be conducted after class 12th.I fully agree with you on this.Then they should be made to go through 5 yr training.I am going to add one more thing to this.With this post 12th class exam, the exam should also be allowed to be taken after graduation,Just like we have NDA and CDS for army.Those who write after graduation should be made to undergo 2 year training(one year foundation course and one year specialised concentration coursework)The training modules should be designed keeping in mind international developments and domestic requirements.The training must have some compulsory internships with N.G.Os working at grassroot level,private sector,media groups,international organizations and think tanks.The services should be alloted after the foundation course(1st year)on the basis of candidate's performance in 1st year,his intrests and recommendation made by the interview board at the time of the interview.(Interview board should be asked to recommend candidates for different services).At the end of the training the recruits should be made to write an exam.It should be made compulsory to get certain basic level in those exams.

               Age limit for writing the civil services exam should not be more than 30 for all the categories and number of attempts should be not more than 4 for all categories so that students don't waste their life in shacks of mukarjee nagar(Delhi) writing 15 attempts till 40 years, fattening the purses of coaching czars.

     

              3) The 3rd domain of change should be service conditions and organisational structure.The idea of life long security of tenure should be put to an end immediately.There must be 7 yearly review of performance of the bureaucrats and status quoism should be punished by throwing the no-workers and other black sheep out.The creativity,dedication,honesty and innovation should be rewarded by promotions,fellowships and awards.Merit should replace the system of time bound promotions.

               Something more radical:

                                                  In states, I have seen that IAS/IPS officers after spending 2 years of probation get posted as collectors and S.P or DCPs These days i come across 23- 25 years old district heads who behave like teenagers from bollywood movies.They work as bosses of officers from state services(police and administrative) who are 50 plus in age and have vast experience,wisdom and ability. They are totally dependent on subordinates.In such a state how can we expect them to provide good leadership.Leadership requires both knowledge with some amount of expertise and experience.These new recruits have none.These new recruits come out as failures in field postings.Recent communal killings in Gopalgarh(Rajasthan) are an example of this.The SP who mismanaged the situation has a record of failure in every district,even facing departmental inquiries for corrouption within 5 yrs of service.These young officers when posted as bosses of experienced state service officials feel that they are devinely chosen autocrats and power is what they are meant to enjoy and they have nothing to learn.They carry this arrogance and ignorance up the ladder when they are appointed as secretaries.The nation will benifit if these young officers work in the field as subordinates of state service officials as they will gain from their experience.The must be made to work in mofussil areas for atleast 7 years and then only appointed as collectors and SPs

             Something revolutionary:

                                                In fact, we should just put an end to this ridiculous system of recruitment at two levels i.e in state civil services and Indian civil services.In the long run this system needs to be out as it breeds hierarchy,inefficiency and frustration.UPSC can be transformed into Federal Civil Service Commission(FCSC) and we can name the services as Federal civil service,Federal Police service etc.In administration all officers should be recruited as SDMs and in police services they should be appointed as Deputy Suprintendent of police.(It includes their probation as Tehsildars,BDOs and Sub inspectors and Inspectors in Police)Below these posts all recruitments should be done by state public service commissions.In the promotions the merit should be given it's due importance so that if one gets recruited as S.I can rise to S.P.We should do away with the system of time bound promotions .In secretary level appointments in administrative services,revenue and diplomatic services the lateral entry system should be adopted with a generous heart.                        

                                 Our nation can afford coalition tremors,lack of consensus over lokpal,black money, but the poor people of this country can not afford a bad ground level governance.If we get people who are bright ,honest and passionate in civil services then atleast we assure good governance to people.While putting a final fullstop to my ranting two names come to my mind :.Mr V.P Menon who began his career as stenographer and went on to become home secretary of India and Mr K.R Narayanan, who,recommended by Harold Laski was appointed in Indian Foreign Service.Can we see this happening in India in near future? I hope we will have more Menons and Narayanans in future.                  

                 

                     With a request to take a big leap forward, I end this letter.
   

   

 Yours sincerely

Abhinav Pandya

MPA,Cornell University

St.Stephens’ college

Please respond to me at skandhagupta55@gmail.com

Letter to Prime Minister - 1

 Honorable Prime Minister Sir,

                                                   I am Abhinav Pandya from St.Stephens college,Delhi.I read your speech on civil services day in which you urged the babus of India to take bold decisions and stay away from status quoism.I was moved and I felt the urge to write a letter to you explaining my observations of Indian bureaucracy and the reforms needed to correct these ills.

           

               I have closely observed bureaucracy right from my child hood.Infact I myself wanted to become an I.F.S officer at one point of time.I cleared prelims,mains (UPSC exam) and appeared for the interview where I missed it by a whisker (luck was not on my side!!)I read a lot about international affairs and public policy matters in various foreign as well as domestic magazines and then when I look at our babu world then I realize that the whole chapter has to be done and we have not yet made a beginning.On top of it ,it is we who are going to face the most difficult exams of governance and diplomacy.I worked with civil society in the tribal districts of southern Rajasthan and estimated the cost (I wish some mughal prince had made a measurement stick for this too) which nation bears for  inefficient,arrogant,dishonest and status quoist officials.I saw a society and tribal world which has all conditions ready for naxal advent just due to poor governance.

        

              Here I am not raising a finger on politicians because they have limitations of working in an electoral democracy.Still they have to face people after every 5 years but or babus enjoy a 40 yr tenure without any assessment of the performance.Our babus enjoy a huge sphere of autonomy where they have the authority and freedom to take decisions but, they do not, which happens  majorly due to their inefficiency,feudal mindset,technological backwardness, selfish motives,lack of confidance, outdated skills,ignorance of what is happening around them in international world,civil society, academic world and partly due to political interference,democratic compulsions etc.

        

              Ministers come and go but the nitty-grittys of the governance are controlled and managed by collectors,S.D.Ms S.Ps ,Chief secretaries and secretaries so if we want to bring a real change in India (in every field,esp. in grassroot progress and happiness) then it is bureaucratic set-up and system we need to reform.This needs to be the most urgent and important priority.

        

              In this letter of mine I am going to discuss the ills of the administrative system,substantiated with a lot of personal experiences and larger causes of the malaise and in my next letter I  will discuss the reform measures which ,in my opinion, need to be taken to fix the problem.

           

             Sir ,a lot has changed since 1960s and 1970s .In those days babus were educated from Cambridge and Oxford like Mr Manishankar aiyar,TSR subrahmaniam,Rahul Khullar,J.N Dixit,Jagat Mehta etc.They were called the steel frame and they had no parallels in terms of integrity,efficiency and honesty.But now things are very different.The changes began in 1990.With globalisation came the private sector and with them came big salaries,diverse jobs,new avenues in media.And yes, 90s brought populism and cheap politics(which became worse with the passage of time) and OBC reservations.As a result the cream of indian students ventured into the other lucrative fields.The myth of steel frame was broken and civil services no more remained the most sought after career.With this, also began the invasion of people into civil services whose only charm was authority which comes with that and the opportunities of earning illicit wealth.The ideals of public service and figures like Harold laski,Bismarck,Count Cavour,Woodrow wilson,Sardar patel no longer inspired them.What kicked them was the good dowry( it is almost in crores)which comes with IAS and the crude power which gives them the right and authority to insult commen people,accept bribes and get things done "anyhow" for their kith and kin.

         

            The quality of our officers recruited through civil services examination has gone down.I do not intend to raise doubts on efficiency and integrity of UPSC.It is a great institutuion and has given great public servants but now certain things in it’s style of functioning and recruitment have become redundant.The entrants in civil services after 90s are those people whose parents spent their life in awe of the power and prestige which IAS/IFS/IPS enjoyed.The entrants from all communities,be it newly empowered OBC communities,SC,general and  ST communities see it as an advancement of their caste and community interests.The candidates steeped in feudal values and beliefs,were reared in strong patriarchal and feudal environment as a result of which they worship the power most.A big section comes from rural backgrounds and urban middle class background but even then they are insensitive to commen man’s problem.They value civil services as a medium for aggressive assertion of  their political and communal identity.This is the reason why Gujjars in Rajasthan ,Jats in Haryana demand more and more reservation.Infact now even Rajputs and Brahmins ask for reservation, as the only way to secure communal interests and acquire control over the affairs and resources of the state is entry into civil services.So the motive is a good career which can provide power,status and money.The esteemed ideals of Public service,nation-building and honesty are nowhere in the scenario.

        

             Off late,I have come across foreign service officials who,after 7 years of service have no idea of diplomats like Mr Jagat Mehta,public policy experts like Pratap Bhanu Mehta,Francis Fukuyama,Samuel Huntington,Joseph Nye etc.In a chance meeting with some foreign service officials I found them ignorant of think tanks like Brookings Institution,concepts like soft power diplomacy.They have never read an article from Economist or Washington Post or Newyork Times.I found that they do not have any interest in foreign policy matters like China’s rise,middle east-problem.Many new entrants do not know the basic things like difference between the origins of Shias and Sunnis.Their standards of English are atrociously bad.Their aim is  to gain the leadership position in their communities and caste groups and enter into politics.

        

            Similarly in I.A.S , I met an officer who believed that people with mental problems like depression,schizophrenia bipolar disorders are just fake people.They are losers according to him.Imagine if he holds some post in National Mental Health Programme!! I was sitting in his office  and he had time to chat on nonsense for hours with me but he had not even a minute to speak with a poor farmer  clad in a dhoti.He made him wait for an hour.When I asked him he said,” after all I am a collector yar”.When that poor fellow came inside he was not even offered  a seat and he was treated as if he was some subject from old colonial mai-baap days.Then he told me,’dekho collector yahan par bhagwan hota hai”.I said fine, but still, I prefer transcendental gods.That officer had never heard of the term ‘Ivy-league’ and he did not know the famous names like Princeton,Yale, Cornell etc.He did’nt even know anything about Non profit organizations like Oxfam,Pathfinder etc.In the world of technology he could only send an e-mail and had no idea of the importance and use of social media.For him Twitter was something like anti-india because of Mr Tharoor’s cattle class episode.

         

            My sister who has done Masters in Public Health from LSTHM is working with NGO.They work in the implementation of NRHM.She was almost hopeless about the success when she found that state NRHM is headed by an IAS officer who is just a B.A ,with 10 yrs in IAS and no intrest in public health matters leave aside experience in public health.For her NRHM is just like one department  where she will stay for 1 or 2 years.To top it all, the best Public health expert  ( with more than 30 years of experience in Public heath) has to follow decisions taken by her(which she is hardly capable of taking)

        

           One of my friend just finished his probation in Maharshtra.I had a discussion with him about the state’s culture.He did not know communities like Konkanastha and Chitpawan Brahmins.Neither was he interested in knowing anything about the state.He suffers from typical elitist values, prevalent in the premier colleges of the country,which inform him that all politicians are corroupt.If the locals like sarpanches,corporaters business people and religious heads want to meet him then they are seen as trying to influence him for unethical ends.In his ideology all people with a skull cap and saffron are fundamentalists.This is nothing but an outdated attitude steeped in ideology.If the attitude towards politicians is such that they are a rustic lot and corroupt then such officicials are not fit for democracy.Democratic administration is based on a dialogue between various sections of society.

            

           There are many examples but I will just move on to the causes of this quality decline.

The root cause of the issue is the motive for becoming a civil servant or a diplomat.In UPSC interviews almost all the candidates say that the want to serve the society but no one wants to serve the society in the capacity of a docter,engineer,teacher,NGO volunteer,army officer,social activist,scientist etc.Every one wants to serve the nation in the capacity of bureaucrat.Why? Is it only the channel to serve the humanity.This year when I read that a docter from AIIMS has topped UPSC exam I was quite disturbed.Why will a docter from AIIMS want to be an IAS?.We are already a docter starved nation.Even otherwise she could have become a great scientist.Students crack IIT and when they are asked their future plans they say either IAS or some MNC.No one wants to be good dam-builder,city planner or a railway engineer.This is so because the motive for joining civil services is just power and pecuniary gains.These days when I visit PHCs and CHCs I hear that doctor sahib to IAS ki padhai kar rahe hai.Similarly in humanities no one wants to be a historian,geographer,sociologist or an economics.Everyone wants to become collector sahib.They are not interested in public service or anything related to the world of public service like good public relations,desire to know about the area and people they serve.But we have to realize that a nation is not made by it’s bureaucrats but by it’s scientists,engineers and teachers.

        

           Second reason for this quality decline is the recruitment procedure itself.The exam conducted by UPSC though tests( previous pattern,before CSAT) the knowledge of the candidate but it is way too traditional.Anyone good at rote learning can crack and with the ability to sit for 10-12 hours can crack it.It does not test one’s analytical skills.Coaching schools spoon feed the information and manufacture public servants.This pattern tests the candidate’s ability to stay in the hovels of mukharjee nagar(Delhi) in sub-human conditions but not his dedication for public service and his passion for innovation.People write UPSC exam till 35-38 years and quite often land up nowhere.There is a huge uncertainty in this exam.Not everything depends on performance,luck plays an immensely important role.Interview is the most unpredictable section.How can the same exam be the basis of selection for diplomacy,civil services,police services,income tax services and accounts services.All these are different kind of jobs which require a different set of skills.People clear IAS with Pali or Punjabi literature and get to serve in foreign service or revenue service.Where lies the connection?This exam pattern ,where people keep writing with countless number of attempts,drains a candidate of all his energy and motivation.At the end of it, he is left with depression and unfulfilled desire.Even if they join academics or medical field they carry this frustration.So not only civil service but the whole system i.e health sector ,eduction sector gets effected and it is actually in the state of disfunctionality barring few places like D.U and J.N.U.Finally if a person becomes a civil servant after facing this amount of heavy pressure,uncertainity and years of toil then he can not be expected to take bold decisions.Timidity and escapism become an inalienable part of his sub-conscious mind.I have seen almost every IAS aspirant ,after one or two attempts seeking the help of astrologers and babas.In the service his only goal is to preserve the esteemed job as he finds it a priceless treasure.It is like nirwana for him after which he has no desire to achieve anything higher.

     

          Third reason for this quality decline is insufficient training.Merely passing one exam is not sufficient.Most of the babus today have no advance knowledge of things like public relations, conflict resolution,media management,working with civil society,use of social media,environmental issues,gender activism,negotiation skills etc.Recently a lot was written about IPS officer’s death in M.P.But in that entire episode the most sidelined issue was an inefficient and bad policing on the part of  that officer.After passing the exam these recruits hardly feel the need to brush up their knowledge and skills as they are not going to be fired at any cost.

   

          Fourthly the administrative set-up is also responsible for this.New recruits come to their state cadres after having the doses of arrogance.In states they serve a probation period for 2 to 3 years where they are treated like future gods and then they are posted as districts heads.They with their 2,3 years of experience have the authority to command state service officials  with 30 years of experience.Nothing could be more ridiculous.In Rajasthan a female officer,whose style of functioning was pathetic and personality, outrageously uncultured was found unawares during gujjar reservation movement.Senior officers from the state police service had to obey her commands.She fainted and started crying when the situation became uncontrollable.

    

          One exam does not make a difference.It can not be the ground used for claiming the life long superiority of those who clear it over those who have experience of 30 years.If the new recruits get a chance to learn form these officers, then only they can learn something good for governance and all logic tells that this can happen only if they function as subordinates of these experienced officers,not as their bosses.This way they will get rid of the arrogance and realize the importance of being humble in public services.

          With this I end this letter.In my next letter I will discuss in detail the changes and innovations we need to make to correct these ills.

Yours sincerely

Abhinav Pandya

M.P.A, Cornell University

St.Stephens College

Please respond to me at skandhagupta55@gmail.com

Masala Chay With A Babu

                                                     Masala Chay With A Babu

                Udaipur,the city of lakes is well known for it’s maharajas,world class hotels, high-profile weddings, firang interns but I ,as a commen man with very commen thinking and commen issues to handle with like RPSC exams , their last dates, reservations ,electricity bills, Mewar cable etc, has not much to do with that glitzy world. I have known the city as one another sleepy Mofussil town with it’s sharma jis ,guptas jis and mediocre babus with no energy and passion.

  

               In this piece, I am going to tell the story of one such Babu who I had a chance to meet last week. He struck me as a very different personality, for his milieu and his occupation.The person who I am talking about is Mr S.L Bohra. He is serving as Additional commissioner of Udaipur range. He is from the Rajasthan Adminitrative Services.Though he happens to be my father’s friend but I speak with him quite often because of our commen interests in reading.But last week I got a chance to see him work in his office and explore the nuances of his personality as an administrator.

          

              Mr Bohra is 57 years old and he joined state administrative cadre at a very early age.While sitting there I discussed a range of issues with him.It included topics as diverse as Bhil tribals of southern Rajasthan to Fareed Zakaria’s latest article on shortage of diplomats in India.He spoke with finesse and an astute clarity and vision of an administrator.Not once I found him politically too correct or extremely incorrect (politically)He discussed at length the all the projects that are being run among the tribals of Dungarpur,Banswara,He displayed an excellent understanding of the religion,culture and traditions of the tribals.I thought he could be a great asset in policy formulation on tribal affairs.He was impeccably well behaved,well dressed(rarity among th babus these days) with a smiling face with everyone be it a small farmer, nastiest of the MP or bossiest of an IAS boss.

           To my utter surprise, after his chat with a subordinate magistrate I found him engrossed in Francis Fukuyama’s latest stroke,”Origins of Power”(it is not very commen to find some one read Fukuyama even among Delhi University professors and North block bureaucrats) He  listens to TED talks,reads Ashok Vajpayee and international magazines like Economist.

           I was offered a masala chay which I enjoyed sip by sip.We called it a day with two extra sugar cubes in masala chay.

   

          Next  day I got a chance to meet another babu.(for mysterious and emotional reasons I find the Babus an intresting lot,so I keep meeting them drawing a lot of flak from my stephanian batchmates !) A brief description of this babu: She is a female.she has 3 to 4 years of experience in IAS including training.She heads a district.She has apathetic dressing sense and she is extremely arrogant.In English Rakhi sawant can outsmart her and knowledge and wisdom are not entertained by her neurons.She looks down upon commen people and in her 3 years of service she has history of abusing her power to grab lands for her worthless brothers.

        Hello..............!!!!, I am sure you find this girl a boring character and a typical  babu.That she definitely is.But why the society and nation should bear with this liability? She answers that the nation should bear with her pea-sized brains because by some stroke of divine grace she has cleared an exam which she calls the greatest in her world.I was quite annoyed by her demeanour and immediately got out leaving her in her feudal dungeon.

         While coming back Mr Bohra kept coming to my mind with his wisdom,intellect,knowledge ,experience,polished and little accented English and yes the masala chay also.I was just thinking that if the female I met gets a chance to work under Mr Bohra she could find a great mentor and she could learn the humanitarian nuances of administration.But unfortunately this is not possible because in the present set-up IAS with 2 to 3 years of experience work as bosses of Mr Bohra(with 30 years experience) not to learn from their experience but to harass and humiliate them with their Mussorie injected arrogance. Not only Mr Bohra but  hundreds like him in state police services and state administrative services can be found, obeying the orders of these new kids on the blocks.These state officers have immense experience and knowledge and a good level of humility so they can be great mentors for the new IAS recruits.They can make them excellent administrators but present set-up puts them in a situation where experience and knowledge obeys ignorance and arrogance.This makes them insane, demoralizes them and provides a good incentive for corrouption as they have in-depth  knowledge of the area and it’s communities vis-à-vis their bosses(kids) and no reward for good work.The new kids are totally dependent on the subordinates like Mr Bohra.So  how can these new kids provide leadership.

         I think it’s time we thought about putting an end to this insanity and irrationality.People of India are not sitting here to be regaled with fair and lovely cops who fashion themselves after 'Singhams' and 'Dabangs, misadventures(just think of the one who died in Morena while catching a tractor) and skimpy outfits of D.U hotties in civil services.It is taxpayer’s money so make good administrators.New recruits must work in the field for atleast 7 to 8 years as SDM and ADM before being posted as collectors and SPs.They must be posted under these state officers so that they can learn something sensible and do something worthwhile.

        Infact I feel that this system of recruitment at two levels should be abolished.All administrative service officers should be recruited as SDMs and all cops should be recruited as Deputy superintendent Police(which obviously includes their probation as tehsildars and Sub inspectors)This will create a system in which there will not be any inequality and people will rise with merit.We will not have state service officers who have knowledge and wisdom but no vitality, passion, courage and confidence(their personality and ability to take initiatives get crushed by life long subjugation under 25 yrs  old kids)

        By the way Mr Bohra still sits in his office with his books,masala chay, always helping people with a cheerful smile on his face.One can see years of public service in the wrinkles of his face.But he is not happy with the system.He is worried about these new kids who are going to be the future administrators of this nation.He waits for his retirement and lives with his granddaughter and books.

      

       But I believe that the masala chay is not yet over.The chay is still hot and there can be a storm in the tea-cup anytime.Small things like salt,opium and tea have the history of staging revolutions.So beware,either change or some thing else is waiting in the wings.

       

Sands and Diplomacy

                                                               Sands and Diplomacy

                   It was in Jalore, a remote district in South-western Rajasthan where this fine idea invaded my neurons.The idea which will be developed and revealed gradually like a muddy stream flowing in it’s deltaic stage, has a bearing on the future of the political commen-sense (if anything of this sort should at all be thought about ). Jalore falls in geographical region which is historically known as Marwar.Infact it is one of the sub-region of Marwar called Godwad.The region is uniquely adorable for it’s Raikas with 50 meter long pagdis and thousands of sheeps,it’s jungle temples frequented my merchant like milk loving bears,jain sadhus and sleepy babus in their vintage lal battis.The marriage which I was attending was one of the typical feudal marriage of Rajasthan with it’s Langa performances,got (meat eating feast with buckets of whisky), rajput thikanedars with their big mustaches poorly hiding the vanishing finances and old glories.

                

                   There, I came across many people.Some of them were quite intresting like the hawala seth(much like mirchi seth from sarfarosh), local MLA(who wanted U.S to put a bounty on Anna Hazare’s head). I am not going to write anything about these intresting ones but I am going to discuss the one who was the most unpleasing or rather irritating one but who planted a great idea in my mind.I begin with a great thanks to him.

                 

                   He was an IFS officer with 7 years of diplomatic experience. For obvious reasons I am not going to divulge his name but he was an Indian diplomat who began his conversation with a complain that since he was IFS he won’t get a good dowry vis-à-vis. IAS officers of his community.That really kicked me.I wanted to hear more and talk more.

                 

                  I initiated a discussion on public policy and public diplomacy.He replied that “public is always a public. It can not have a policy and it is not just capable of doing diplomacy.”Initially I thought that it was some piece of diplomatic wit but soon it turned out that it was a piece of scattered wit.He meant it literally. He had no idea of public diplomacy.Then I told him that since he was living in global world he should have an account on twitter. He replied that last time he wrote any sensible thing was 7 years back when he wrote an essay on women empowerment in his IAS exam. I said well that is so cool. Even 7 years back you were thinking about women empowerment, in those days no one thought about gender issues.He was on 7^th heaven to learn that. He asked me,”Does that make him a suitable candidate for MP election ?” I shot back,”when are you standing for that ?”He said with a natural ease,”after retirement”.I said ,but that is like some 30 years from now and till then it must be diplomacy,not politics.He says well diplomacy began with his coaching classes in Mukarjee nagar and ended the day he got his appointment letter.

            

               Later,when I mentioned names like Jagat Mehta,Samuel Huntington, Francis Fukuyama, Pratap Bhanu Mehta,they were like physics and chemistry formulas for him. He said I don’t know calculus.I said ,they are great public policy experts. Jagat Mehta is from your state .You must know him.He only said one sentence,”In sab bekar ki baton me kya rakha hai.jab upsc ke exam me inke bare me nahi padha to ab kya zarurat hai. Exam ke baad to maine newspaper bhi padhna band kar diya.”He was least interested in knowing anything about Amitav Ghosh,Gabriel Garcia Marquez.He could not speak for 2 minites fluently in English. But yes he was making a good reading out of Playboy which he brought in loads for his cousins from his foreign postings and was regaling his friends and cousins with his escapades with blonde girls.The only virtue which he had was that he was not arrogant and bossy like other babus.He could drink the lowliest of wine and call it Johnny walker.

   

              Today morning a batchmate for St.Stephens’s called me up from U.S.He did  MSFS(Masters of Science in Foreign Service) from Georgetown and was thinking of joining Indian Foreign Service.He asked me about the UPSC exam.I told him that it is something which goes on for two-three years and it is capable of failing Henry Kissinger in International Relations as optional. He asked me that is there any system of recruitment based on interview,SOP or lateral entry in civil services .Infact he found it quite funny .He said he is already a graduate in foreign service and his degree is the best one.He said,” I am not interested in taking this exam as I already have an offer from Brookings Institution.I just want to serve my country but not at this big a cost.”I said good bye and hungup the phone.

        

          Today evening, he rang me up once again and announced his decision that he is joining Brookings institution. I am not very happy to learn about this.He could have been an asset to this nation if he had joined our diplomatic services. But we do not have anything for these people and this makes them land up in U.N and Brookings because the later two know their worth.Our system just does not go beyond conventions,customs ,rigid exams (which makes diplomats and administrators out of engineers,docters,linguists and historians)

    

         Why can’t we begin with some change? When U.S can appoint Vali nasr,Francis Fukuyama ,Brett Mcgerc as policy advisors and ambassadors than why can’t we send our Ved Pratap Vedics,Brahma Chellanys,Achin Vinayaks,Narayan murthys etc as our envoys and high commissioners.We can give a chance to Indian students (interested ones) who go and study public policy and diplomacy cources at places like Cornell, Princeton, Fletcher, Harvard etc to join our civil services and foreign services.There is no need to subject them to UPSC exam (as most of them already have good job. offers from MNCs,think tanks etc so we have to somehow get this talent)They can simply write an SOP and then shortlisted candidate should be called for an interview.Finally selected candidates can start with a 6 month orientation course and then parcelled to their foreign postings or field postings in India (if they are in administrative services).Thes students are professionals with a good exposure, knowledge,and dynamic personality.They can do a great service to our country.

   

        Recently Farid Zakaria raised a big question mark on our foreign policy  and our whole foreign service set up. He wrote that a nation as small as New Zealand has 11,000 diplomats and on the other hand India ,who dreams of game changer role has only 600 diplomats.So ,I believe it is the right time to think out of the box and get Kissingers and Bismarcks for India.

         

          Finally it is our choice,who do we want to represent us ?

a)The fellow who cremated the diplomacy the day he was appointed (after passing a great,great and greatest exam!)
                                                                         OR
b) the fellow from Georgetown for whom diplomacy is a passion,mission of his life ,not just receipt for good dowry.