Checking political interference : Public servants, not private servants
- Sangai Express Editorial :: November 01 , 2013 -

Do not take oral orders from political bosses.

This is the Supreme Court of India to the Bureaucrats.

A one line statement which sums up the level of political interference in the working of the bureaucracy, reducing the understanding of public servants to private servants.

It would have sounded that much more pleasant if the same one line statement had extended to the police set up too.

In one sweeping statement, the Supreme Court has driven home the point that increasingly the bureaucracy and Government employees are there to serve the interest of the politicians and the political party or parties in power rather than the interest of the public or the place.

Such a trend may work in a dictatorship, where the loyalty of the people and Government functionaries are expected to lie with the dictator and not with the rule of law or what is enshrined in the Constitution, but not in a democracy, that too in the largest democracy in the world.

Manipur will surely rank right up there, when it comes to public servants or high ranking officers expected to serve the interest of not only their political bosses but also their hangers on.

This is a point which The Sangai Express has already alluded to in an earlier editorial, where political stability in the last ten years has given rise to a culture of sycophancy, an entrenched coterie, where only those who are deemed to be close to the political bosses are awarded with plum postings at the cost of merit.

A clear case of Government employees expected to kow tow to the fancy and whims of the political class and where efficiency and merit are measured in terms of their affinity to the political babus.

Merit, efficiency, integrity and honesty be damned. Extend this point or observation a little more and the trickle down effect cannot be missed with the officers who come higher up in the pecking order, sidelining and victimising the junior officers who dare to think and act differently.

Yes men syndrome, it is. And it serves the interest of the political leaders, which may not necessarily mean serving the interest of the public or the land.

It is this trend which has been the bane of public administration in Manipur for long and while it remains to be seen how far the order of the Supreme Court will give the needed muscle to the officials to stand up to their political bosses, an extremely important statement has been delivered.

The Judiciary has had its say and to be sure, the political bosses are most likely to skirt this as much as possible.

And in all probability majority of the high ranking officials in the bureaucracy may just swim with the tide and march in tune with the vocal orders or instructions from their political bosses, thereby making a mockery of the understanding of ‘public servants.’

A reminder may be in line here. As mentioned above, if political interference in the bureaucracy is to be kept at its minimal level, then it also stands true that the mindset of the senior bureaucrats too needs to undergo a radical change.

As long as their understanding of climbing their career graph is interpreted along cosying up to the political leaders, then no change can be expected.

Likewise as long as they play the game of favouritism amongst their juniors, then the status quo will continue.

In other words, just as it takes two hands to clap, political interference in the working of the bureaucrats cannot be seen in isolation of the bureaucrats currying favours from their political bosses.

Scratch my back and I will scratch yours, is the case.