Civil servants not politicians’ handmaidens

The controversy on the posting of a civil servant, the Chief Secretary of a state, no less, and the circumstances that surround it, must evoke serious reflection. The eponymous ‘Babus’ that some berate with glee, or the anonymous civil servants and their tireless work that many never see, have as the result of the unseemly wrangle between the Centre and West Bengal, been propelled to the limelight.

It should in the years to come serve as a modern-day parable of how not to govern. But first, back to the future, if only to tell us of the prescience of the founding fathers on how independent India’s future polity might evolve.

The fact that the independence of the civil service was enshrined in the Constitution rather than any statute was by intent and design, whatever the protestations of privilege that the detractors of the civil service advance. Its intent and purpose were clear – compromising the independence of the civil service was rendered more difficult. Perhaps more important, the debate in the Constituent Assembly on the civil service was accompanied by no small sense of trepidation about its future, an open acknowledgement of the distrust of future politics in the country.

Therefore, what has emerged from the recent action of the Government of India and the response of the state is not a mere quotidian issue; nor a silly, meaningless argument between a couple, in this instance, the central and the state governments. It should serve as the basis for a much-needed, meaningful, and non-partisan dialogue that can change the quality of everyday administration, ridding it of politics while strengthening federalism. Even more important, it should serve as an opportunity for the politician and the civil servant alike to revisit the imperatives of the purpose, integrity, and the standards of service of public administration that need to be upheld.

To revisit the need for and the importance of an independent, impartial, civil service, we would do well to learn lessons from its history, context and the conditions that have circumscribed its development, or as some might say, its decline.

Two exhortations by one of the great statesman-administrators of independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, best serve as the touchstone for the civil servant and the elected political representative alike, especially in the present day: his address to the first batch of the officer trainees of the Indian Administrative Service at Metcalf House in April 1946, a few months before independence; and his speech in the Constituent Assembly on the need for the protection and independence of the civil service in independent India, delivered in October 1949.

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Seen from the perspective of the civil service, there can be little doubt that the successes we have achieved and the progress we have made since independence is in considerable measure the result of the passion, competence and commitment of our civil servants. The civil service remains the favourite whipping boy for some people that always remain cynical, but that does not detract from the fact that over the last 74 years, scores of civil servants have contributed their mite to the task of social and economic progress in the country. There are some guiding principles that form the bedrock of the higher civil services in the country, and it is critical to ensure that these essential wellsprings are not allowed to dry up.

To paraphrase from Sardar Patel’s 1946 address, above all, the civil service must maintain the utmost impartiality and incorruptibility of administration. A civil servant cannot afford to, and must not, take part in politics. Nor must he involve himself in communal wrangles. To depart from the path of rectitude in either of these respects is to debase public service and to lower its dignity. Patel urged the civil servant to render service without fear or favour and without any expectation of extraneous rewards. It would be fair to say, while there may be some black sheep, as in other walks of life, most civil servants strive to and have succeeded in meeting this standard.

If the civil servants are to continue to serve without fear or favour, what standard should the elected representatives uphold? Again, we must turn to Sardar Patel exhorting the members of the Constituent Assembly, and I quote:

“…If you want an efficient All-India Service, I advise you to allow the Services to open their mouths freely. If you are a Premier, it would be your duty to allow your secretary, or Chief Secretary, or other Services working under you, to express their opinion without fear or favour. But I see a tendency today that in several provinces, the services are set upon and told – ‘No, you are servicemen; you must carry out our orders.’ The Union will go — you will not have a united India— if you have not a good All-India Service which has the independence to speak out its mind, which has a sense of security that you will stand by your word…’’

For some time now, the civil service has faced the ominous prospect of its independence being subordinated to narrow political interests; civil servants are not the handmaidens of politics or politicians. It is time the political class heeds the sage advice of the Sardar: Do not quarrel with the instruments with which you want to work. It is a bad workman who quarrels with his instruments. Everyone thrives with encouragement. Nobody will want to work if criticised and ridiculed in public.

It is not without reason that the civil service attracts the best and the brightest of India’s youth. The result is that the higher civil service in India is peopled by as educated, committed and talented a group of people one might find that strives to administer this complex and diverse country. The intellectual integrity of the civil servants and their unequalled sharing of responsibility must be preserved sans politics for the greater cause of India’s future.

(The writer is Director, Public Affairs Centre, Bengaluru)