I've been watching the news related to all the scams very avidly. It is interesting to note that for the first time (2G scam), there seems to be a clear acknowledgment publicly to the bureaucrat / politician and business (money) nexus.
While, I agree that the focus on Mr. Raja and his political party is newsworthy, I'm surprised that there has been very little noise on the culpability of the 'executive' arm of the government ie. the Bureaucrats.
I've long held the opinion that these non-elected (or rather selected !) elite of the country have done more harm that the politicians in propagating the servitude and feudal / colonial heritage. They clearly see themselves as "ruler" class and the citizen of the country (esp. the poor villager / aam aadmi) as the "ruled".
It pains me to see these individual farmers / villagers queue up to a local government office and stand with their hands folded in submission asking for information related to some file. Only to be told in most cases to come the next day as the individual officer does not have the time ?
Last week, I was surprised to listen to a retired bureaucrat flay his elk in public. His statement that these individuals seemed to have struggled only once in their lives ie when they took the appropriate examination - IAS, IPS etc and post the passing of the examination, most never seemed to have the need to apply their brains / intellect again. Implying that "servitude" to senior officers would be enough for growth !
Another observation was that the politicians have to be more responsive to common problems and issues and are generally so as compared to the executive. Infact, in most villages today, the politician's value is all the more where he/she moves the executive to RESPOND. Atleast, the politicians' agenda in keeping this role very clear. What about the unknown / hidden agenda of the bureaucrat ?
How do we make our bureaucracy more responsive / how do we reform them ?
While, I agree that the focus on Mr. Raja and his political party is newsworthy, I'm surprised that there has been very little noise on the culpability of the 'executive' arm of the government ie. the Bureaucrats.
I've long held the opinion that these non-elected (or rather selected !) elite of the country have done more harm that the politicians in propagating the servitude and feudal / colonial heritage. They clearly see themselves as "ruler" class and the citizen of the country (esp. the poor villager / aam aadmi) as the "ruled".
It pains me to see these individual farmers / villagers queue up to a local government office and stand with their hands folded in submission asking for information related to some file. Only to be told in most cases to come the next day as the individual officer does not have the time ?
Last week, I was surprised to listen to a retired bureaucrat flay his elk in public. His statement that these individuals seemed to have struggled only once in their lives ie when they took the appropriate examination - IAS, IPS etc and post the passing of the examination, most never seemed to have the need to apply their brains / intellect again. Implying that "servitude" to senior officers would be enough for growth !
Another observation was that the politicians have to be more responsive to common problems and issues and are generally so as compared to the executive. Infact, in most villages today, the politician's value is all the more where he/she moves the executive to RESPOND. Atleast, the politicians' agenda in keeping this role very clear. What about the unknown / hidden agenda of the bureaucrat ?
How do we make our bureaucracy more responsive / how do we reform them ?
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