A compromised system will harm young civil service entrants. Fix it

Does a diverse composition in public service assure us of an objective and hardworking administration, compassionate towards the poorest of poor?

On May 24, the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) released the list of 900 successful candidates in the annual civil services examination. As in the past few years, women bagged top ranks in the merit list. This is a truly heartening development. As is the fact that a substantial number of candidates are from rural areas and modest economic backgrounds. Without doubt, more than before, the civil services now reflect the nation’s diversity. This is a positive phenomenon. There is, however, one nagging question. Does a markedly diverse composition of the higher echelons of public service assure us of an objective and hardworking administration, which is result-oriented, people-focused and compassionate towards the poorest of poor? Unfortunately, while diversity has its merits and positive effects, it can only go so far in creating a healthy and honest bureaucracy.

While a majority of officers fall in line with the dictates of the political party in power, there are a few who don’t, and pay a heavy price(Representational Photo)

There are two features in the current scenario that are of concern.

First, the politicised ambience in which a civil servant operates. This is especially true of the administration at the grassroots. Neither of the two pillars of district administration – the collector and superintendent of police – enjoys the measure of autonomy that would ensure swift, objective, and apolitical decisions.

Approval of the ruling party informally and without putting down anything in writing -- is the order of the day even in routine business, and this dampens idealistic Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers even in their early years. If the frustrated officers do not leave the service, it is because of an attractive salary structure and the prospect of promotion to the highest rank without much hassle.

While a majority of officers fall in line with the dictates of the political party in power, there are a few who don’t, and pay a heavy price.

My graver worry is the quantum of unabashed corruption. There is a belief, albeit unsubstantiated, that some young officers fall prey to this evil in the early years of their careers. Not for a moment am I saying that this evil was not there earlier. The situation that prevailed until a few decades ago was that a majority of officers was clean, and only a few were dishonest. But officers now have to deal with stiffer challenges — and in the process, the opportunities for corruption have increased.

There are ostensibly two aspects to this.

The first is the enormous political corruption that leaves no option for honest officers. If they refuse to be a conduit and also share the booty, they face ostracism and harassment from some colleagues, and political bosses. Expectations and the lure of a high standard of living is one reason why young officers succumb to illegal opportunities available to them.

The second issue lies in the behaviour of some senior officers who are uninhibited about their lavish living, and who grossly neglect their sacred duty of imparting correct values to young officers, enabling bad actors to bend the system.

Training institutions such as the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, and the National Police Academy, Hyderabad, have their jobs cut out. They do have value-based programmes, but the impact of such instruction wears off once officers go to the states and mingle with those who have a high stake in polluting the administration.

This stance may sound cynical but that is not my intention. Reality hurts and is often dismaying. If there is to be any transformation in the scenario, a lot will depend on the zeal of the political hierarchy and the strength of their belief in integrity.

In sum, we have an outstanding and rigorous system of recruitment, one that is only getting bolstered with a more diverse and aspirational young class — but the system is failing in mentoring these bright young minds, thereby slowly eroding the edifice of Indian bureaucracy.

RK Raghavan is a former CBI director, and a former high commissioner of India to Cyprus. He currently teaches Criminal Justice at the Jindal Global University, Sonepat, Haryana. The views expressed are personal