Opinion: Time to disband IAS

By Rajiv Tuli: The two ways through which the British ruled India were: education and the Indian Civil Service (ICS). It was through the steel-frame of the all-pervasive, all penetrative and all intrusive ICS that the English were able to not only establish their rule but were able to maintain law and order over Indians.

ICS was the major vehicle of making India a colony where the rules and regulations were so unfair, unjust and arbitrary that the whole of India was made subservient to the interests of Britain. The British Empire was made ‘great’ through the exploitation of Indian economic, social and political life through the instrumentality of ICS.

As per Bipin Chandra, the Leftist historian, it was not through military force but through the force and power of ICS, the British were able to exploit and perpetuate their exploitation of India. Sadly, when India attained independence, we preferred this steel-frame on the logic of regularity and continuity with a hope that it would be a vehicle of Indian-oriented development. We simply replaced ICS with IAS (Indian Administrative Service).

In the early idealistic decades after freedom, there was deep public faith in the uprightness and service orientation of the higher civil services. Though considered elite, it was sympathetic to minorities and the poor. But, it is a time to take stock of what IAS has delivered in India. We have completed 75 years of freedom, but the level of development in absolute terms as well as in comparison to other countries has been far from qualitative, encouraging or satisfactory.

Anybody familiar with the body-politik of India would know that the ruling political power is like a brain which sets the broader outline of the direction in which the government of the day will head. Policy making as well as execution from the smallest level of sanitation to the most significant and vital field of defence is manned, controlled and regulated by the IAS.

The all invasive and pervasive IAS have not been able to deliver what is expected from them. It has emerged as a ruling elite in itself which functions as an autonomous centre of power. Over the years, a narrative has been woven that it is the political power - be it leaders, politicians and ministers who have been corrupt and have ditched people in the deliverance of the public good.

A district magistrate of any district is the de-facto and de-jure ruler of that district. From cradle to grave, all powers vest in him. Even the state-run enterprises like the PSUs and others are manned by the IAS. Policy formulation and coordination is done at the secretary level. So, virtually, how and why a policy is made and implemented is the sole prerogative of the IAS.

Because of the concept of anonymity, they get scot-free from the responsibility of blame for either failure or non-execution, or even lopsided execution. Is it possible that there can be any case or cases of corruption without the involvement or connivance of IAS? It is practically impossible for a politician to have his way of corrupt practices without the tacit or articulate role of an IAS. But, we have been told that India is corrupt because it is the politicians who have been corrupt. There are many instances of the political head being above corruption but the bureaucrat who is to implement is corrupt unknowing of the minister.

Recently, an IAS officer from Jharkhand was caught with estimated illicit earnings of more than Rs 190 crore. Imagine that this was just 3 to 4 per cent of the total public expenditure under her. It maddens your mind if you quantify the total loss to the public fund she has done.

These ‘Babus’ work in their ego-saloons where self-aggrandizement, self-interest and personal perks are priorities over national interests. These IAS officers are so powerful that they can shut down the stadium where the players are preparing for their games just for their evening walk.

India is not poor because it is a poor country, but civil services in the form of IAS which is poor. Till date, the young probationers are groomed to maintain and regulate the populace instead of working for the nation. They have the highest of the privileges, which make their counterparts envious of them. Here, we have a golden opportunity where we have a great visionary leader who is on a mission to take India to the pinnacle of its glory. Even he is trying to bring in the lateral entry so as to involve experts and nourish creativity.

This band of IAS has become non-adoptive, rusty and outdated. For the vision of our PM Modi to take India to the league of developed nations, we must disband the IAS and put in place a system of public servants who are Indianised, compassionate and can think out of the box, so as to synchronise well with the vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas.

(Views expressed in this opinion piece are that of the author.)