NOTE
This article was written at a time when our LICENCE PERMIT RAJ was at its peak.It reveals the mind set of our buearaucrats (BOOR O CRATS ?). Despite 35 years of passage of time since this was written, there has not been much change. A biradari that treats its own so badly, how can you expect it to treat the public well?
A file once came to me with the following notings:-
It is seen that many people die in service without prior intimation to and approval of the competent authorities. Such a situation throws the administrative machinery out of gear as a new man has to be recruited to replace the dead man. Till such time as the proper procedures are gone through for recruitment which sometimes take two years. In the meantime, the work suffers. Apart from this, on humanitarian grounds, we have to sanction ex-gratia payments to the family of the deceased. This is an avoidable expenditure. If approved,I may put up draft rules for the purpose.
Sd/-
Mrityunjay Roy
Senior Assistant
O.S.
The idea is indeed laudable and I must congratulate Mr. Roy for his initiative in bringing to light, a handicap from which we have often suffered in the past.
You have my wholehearted approval to go ahead with the drafting of the rules.
Sd/-
Amar Deshmukh
Office Superintendent
Sr. Asst.( M.R. )
As desired the draft rules are placed below for scrutiny and approval of the competent authorities.
DRAFT RULES FOR PERMISSION TO DIE IN SERVICE
Short title and extent of application.
1. (i) These rules may be called the rules for permission to die while in service.
Note:- These rules supersede any other rules on the subject that may be in existence.
(ii) These rules shall be applicable to all government and semi-government servants.
DEFINITIONS:-
In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant to the subject or context,
(a) " COMPETENT AUTHORITY " shall mean the headof the department in which the employee is working.
RULES
1) No government servant shall die without obtaining prior approval of the competent authority.
2) When an employee wants to die, he must apply through proper channel well in advance to the competent authority.
3) The criteria for the granting of the said permission shall be as follows :-
a) The employee must have obtained clearance from all the concerned departments. A " No Objection " must be obtained from all the departments. This certificate must be attached to the application.
b) Proper reasons must be given in the space provided for in the proforma of application at annexure " A ". Simply writing that the employee is tired of life shall not be accepted.
c) The employee must repay all outstanding amounts against loans such as Car/Scooter/Cycle advance, loan against Provident Fund, loan for construction of a house etc. before applying for permission to die. " No claim " certificate specifically from the Accounts department in addition to the " No Objection " certificate mentioned in a) above must be attached with the application.
d) Permission to die will be granted by the departmental head after taking into account age, seniority in service, the likely dislocation to be caused by the death of the applicant etc...etc.
e) In case the employee's death application does not fit into the criteria listed above, death will have to be postponed till a suitable amendment to the rules is made.
Sd/-
Mrityunjay Roy
Sr. Asst.
O.S.
Thanks. I donot see the necessity of the note under 1i)since permission to die has never been necessary before. This is a new idea. Hence the note in question may be deleted.
As for applicability, what about members of the armed forces ? Should they apply for and await permission before going to the battlefront ? What about accidental death ? i think you should add some exceptions.
Annexure ' A ' has not been attached.
Sd/-
Amar Deshmukh
Office Supdt.
Sr. Asst. ( M.R. )
The note under 1i) has been deleted. The following is added under 1i) after the words 'to all government servants'
"except members of the armed forces who will automatically be deemed to have been granted permission to die.
Employees dying as a result of unforeseen accidents and murders shall also be exempted"
I trust that this is now in order. annexure ' A " has since been attached.
Sd/-
Mrityunjay Roy
Sr. Asst.
O.S.
Submitted for kind approval.
Sd/-
Amar Deshmukh
Office Superintendent
Under Secretary
What is all this nonsense ? I do not understand why such a permission is necessary and why are we wasting time like this ?
Let us stop bothering about death and get on with life. There is plenty of work to be done of a lot more importance. Returned. May be filed.
Sd/-
Buddhi Heen Singh
Under Secretary
Resubmitted as desired on phone.
Sd/-
Amar Deshmukh
Office Supdt.
Under Secretary
Submitted as ordered. My earlier noting however stands.
Sd/-
Buddhi Heen Singh
Under Secretary
Deputy Secretary
( What transpired between the Deputy Secretary and the Office Superintendent and the Office Superintendent after the Under Secretary's first noting can be imagined. Such matters are usually off the record. )
I have made a few minor alterations/additions. Joint Secretary may kindly get the approval of the secretary. As for the few people who are still not in government service and who therefore evade the provisions of these rules, a bill for parliament is under preparation.
Sd/-
Amarendra Rai
Deputy Secretary
Secretary may kindly approve the draft rules for issue.
Sd/-
T. Trishanku
Joint Secretary
On going through the above notings, I had a hearty laugh; but then, by and by I too started getting worried. Why do all these people ( but one ) consider death to be such a priviledge that they want it to be included in the list of permits and licences being granted by the government ? Surely they must have a feeling that they have themselves become immortal. Was I also immortal ? I had heard that power gives one a delusion of omnipotence. But immortality ?
Anyway, I dis not care if I had indeed become immortal. My worry is how to cure such people of their silly apprehensions. Send them to a Psychiartrist ? But then would the Psychiatrist himself not need admission to a mental asylum after interactions with these people ?
I took the file home and locked it up in a safe deposit vault. then I took a month's leave. I needed the rest. On return, all the frogs in the well, I mean all the officials figuring in the file except Buddhi Heen Singh were dispersed to different departments. B.H. Singh has now been promoted. He had the sense to keep me apprised of the situation when his superior had foolishly ordered him to process the file.
Some day I hope to sit down and analyse the causes of the feeling of immortality. I shall then be able to explain to these children in their own language as to what makes them feel like this. why such fears are groundless and what are the remedies. till then, all that i can say is that they should leave thinking to those who do not get morbid thoughts. If they fear absence of death, it only means that they have not lived life fully. after all, a man who has not even lived, die ? Is not marriage the first prerequisite for getting a divorce ?
Showing posts with label Pro-people Anti-governmentalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pro-people Anti-governmentalism. Show all posts
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
IS THE INDIAN SOCIETY ANTI - PRODUCTIVITY ?
NOTE :- This article was originally written about 4-5 years before the so called Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation in 1991. India is the only country here public servants proudly declared that they had become liberal to their masters - the people and that too in an ingratiating manner ! Two decades after the event - now demurely called Economic reforms - and GDP growth rate increasing from around 3 % to over 8% it is time whether we continue to be anti-productivity in another guise. The footnote to this article will do that.
Is the Indian Society Anti - Productivity ?
Persons engaged in economic pursuits can be divided into two broad categories viz, :
1) Those engaged in production of goods and
2) Those engaged in providing services.
The second category can be further sub-divided into :
2a) Those engaged in services contributing to production and
2b) Those engaged in providing regulatory services such as i ) the government, be it in the bureaucracy or in the political wing or ii ) religious bodies which tend to regulate the social norms by which people ought to live.
We have one category in addition to the above two which is not pursuing any economic activity except for consumption. They are the aged, the children and the beggars. The aged are being compensated for their past contribution. The children's consumption is our investment in expectation of their contribution to production at a later date. The beggars, especially the able-bodied ones are socially criminals. Even among beggars, there are the honest ones and the dishonest ones who collect donations for various stated purposes but use the money for their personal use. In India this category has a larger population than in other countries.
Any society which is pro-productivity and therefore flourishing, gives far better rewards to persons engaged in category 1) as compared to to those in category 2). Even among category 2) those in category 2a) have better rewards than those in category 2b).
The Indian society has traditionally rewarded the producers badly. In the old days when agriculture was the main productive venture, rewards to the agriculturists were much lower whether in economic terms or in terms of social status than to persons of the regulatory classes such as landlords, religious priests, government servants and so on.
The copndition after independence and industrialization has not changed. We tend to give too much importance to the regulatory personnel whose contribution to productivity is at best marginal if not on the negative side. Look at our political and social set up. The party, the prganization or the individual who can put the wheels of production to a more complete stop by means of strikes and bandhs is considered to have a bigger sway on the masses. Terrorism is only an accentuation of this coercive method by a section of the people to get their demands accepted by the people as a whole. The days of constructive work as a means of reaching out to the masses and influencing them by rendering actual help, empowering them to become self reliant, are over. In the same way, the bureaucrat who can put more spokes in the wheels of production is more fawned upon if not also more empowered. People who can incite violence and let loose terror, are wooed by the ruling establishment. Like the givernment, religion too has a regulatory role in a society. Religious leaders are also given too much importance as compared to their contribution to productivity. Even the media give too much coverage of non - productive activities of politics and religion. Both are luxuries which only a productive society can afford. We, Indians, tend to behave like a post - wealth generation society while still being in a pre - wealth generation phase. We forget that everything has a time and place.
In fact, in our country, rewards to persons in category 2b) are the highest, followed by persons in category 2a) and the least beneficiaries are persons in category 1). - exactly opposite to the desirable situation. It has resulted in the dignity of labour being forgotten and making blue collar infra dig. This is the main reason for our continued backwardness.
In view of the fact that a reduction in prices or at least stability in prices despite increasing demand is mainly dependent on an improvement in productivity, it is imperative that Indian society as a whole, nhould sit up and change its attitude and perspective. It is useless to expect only one section of the society viz. the regulatory personnel ( i.e. the bureaucratic and the political classes ) to do anything in this regard since any change for the better hurts their own self interests in terms of reduction of power and control not to speak of the rent collection.
A case in point is the procrastination, prevarication and finally outright rejection by these classes to concede a higher or even an equal dearness allowance to productive personnel of the public sector as compared to what is given to the government's own regulatory personnel. The government can merrily go on taking anti - productivity steps. Its personnel especially those in the lower rungs with whom the common man deals the most, are compensated fully for any consequent price rise. They care, therefore, the least for any price rise that takes place. Even its personnel in the higher rungs are compensated to the extent of 70 % of any price rise that takes place, the balance 30 % being taken care of by the power that they wield over the destiny of any productive personnel who dare to improve productivity and profitability. The regulatory personnel have thus no stake in improving productivity. The political class depends on donations and other similar sources of income which increase with price rises. The brunt of the burden of the price rises has therefore to be borne by the productive personnel while others who outnumber them in terms of numbers, income or influence can merrily take anti - productivity steps. Even the service personnel like doctors, lawyers, the trading classes can hike up their prices at their own will.
It may be argued that I have painted a picture that is gloomier than reality. However the fact remains that given the attitudes and perspective of the Indian society and our experience of the last 40 years and the results emanating therefrom, there appear to be only black clouds looming on the horizon on the productivity front.
Whenever any industry in the private sector is able to increase its profitability by an improvement in productivity, it is immediately more heavily taxed in the name of mopping up surpluses for " public good " . A case in point is the capital gains tax. Industries therefore find it easier to improve their profitability by oiling the appropriate regulatory wheels which can, by suitable variation in taxation and osuch other measures, do the trick. The world bank have also commented on these lines in a recent report published in the newspapers.
Mahatma Gandhi's idea of Swaraj was for a minimum of dependence on the government whether it was an alien one or an indigenous one. Since indepedence, we have gone in the opposite direction. We have become such slaves that perhaps very few activities such as death are not in government's control. Is it therefore any wonder that the common man expects the government - the so called Sarkar Mai-Baap to do everything for him without any contribution on his part. The addiction of the government is so strong that even while cursing it, he is unable to kick it off. In Transactional Analysis terms, the government has become the controlling parent and the common man , an adapted child. Surely not the freedom we fought for !
We can even say that we have by now imprisoned the Swaraj along with any possible improvement in productivity. The two go hand in hand. Creativity flourishes only in in an atmosphere free of throttling controls that regulate every activity. We have firmly locked up Swaraj and Creativity. Opinion leaders in all walks of lifemay like to ponder over the issues raised here and create the necessary climate for producing a "Shatalin Plan" of our own for regaining Swaraj. Or shall we wait to be fully imprisoned a la Eastern Europe or a la Pakistan before we break free ?
Improvement of productivity in all spheres of life, busting of the " Protection Racket " for our Private Sector are the crying need of the hour. the protected atmosphere in which the private sector operates has become an addiction. Unless we take all steps to improve productivity, we as a society, are heading for a runaway inflation of the type faced by the Germans in the 1930s and by the Chinese in the 1940s and what is staring the Eastern Europe at present. A change in the attitudes and perspective of the Indian elite as well as the masses is urgently called for.
FOOTNOTE:-
Within 4-5 years of writing the above article, the economic reforms came. As is normal with us Indians, they were forced on us by force of circumstances. Remember the pledging of our gold when only 15 days' worth of foreign exchange was left with us and cosequent launching of economic reforms? What are the pluses and the minuses of the economic reforms twenty years down the line ?
The pluses according to me are:-
1. Foreign exchange position is comfortable, perhaps far too comfortable. We are in fact contributing to the financial bail out of some European countries - a reversal of the situation pre reforms.
2.Our exports have increased manifold.
3. Our GDP growth rate has gone up from the " Hindu growth rate " of around 3 % to over 8 %.
4. Salaries have gone up, whether in the private or the public sector.
5.Disposable income has gone up, resulting in higher savings rate.
6. Waiting period for cars, scooters, telephones and other such largesse wheedled out of government functionaries at great cost of time, money and effort has been reduced to the time required for a telephone call. The spread of vehicles and telephones has perceptibly gone upto the lower strata of the society in this 'capitalist' era than in the earlier 'socialist' era. It is not uncmmon in cities now for a domestic servant to ring up on his mobile if he is going to be late for work as he is attending to a puncture on his moped wheel.
7. The rationing mentality caused by scarcity of goods of all descriptions has now been turned into a problem of which brand to choose due to a glut in the market. The quantity of old goods and variety of newer goods has gone up. The craze for 'phoren' goods has gone down.
The minuses according to me are :-
1.Corruption has gone up in intensity even as areas with scope for corruption have gone down judging by the scams coming out serially.
2. The salaries of regulatory personnel have gone up. Even the MPs have voted their own pay hike.
3. The expected reduction in government employees' strength has not taken place.
4.Inflation has reared its head as in the field of agriculture, no improvement has taken place.
5. The control and power mind set has not changed. This is a big hurdle in the path of eradication of corruption.
6. An attitude of service on the part of the public servants is not yet visible. They still behave as the masters of their " Ryots ".
7. The government's control on the life of the common man has not gone down. Least government is the best government. We must have more and more of self-regulation than a rigid but subject to correction by corruption governmental regulation. We must reduce the size and scope of government.
Is the Indian Society Anti - Productivity ?
Persons engaged in economic pursuits can be divided into two broad categories viz, :
1) Those engaged in production of goods and
2) Those engaged in providing services.
The second category can be further sub-divided into :
2a) Those engaged in services contributing to production and
2b) Those engaged in providing regulatory services such as i ) the government, be it in the bureaucracy or in the political wing or ii ) religious bodies which tend to regulate the social norms by which people ought to live.
We have one category in addition to the above two which is not pursuing any economic activity except for consumption. They are the aged, the children and the beggars. The aged are being compensated for their past contribution. The children's consumption is our investment in expectation of their contribution to production at a later date. The beggars, especially the able-bodied ones are socially criminals. Even among beggars, there are the honest ones and the dishonest ones who collect donations for various stated purposes but use the money for their personal use. In India this category has a larger population than in other countries.
Any society which is pro-productivity and therefore flourishing, gives far better rewards to persons engaged in category 1) as compared to to those in category 2). Even among category 2) those in category 2a) have better rewards than those in category 2b).
The Indian society has traditionally rewarded the producers badly. In the old days when agriculture was the main productive venture, rewards to the agriculturists were much lower whether in economic terms or in terms of social status than to persons of the regulatory classes such as landlords, religious priests, government servants and so on.
The copndition after independence and industrialization has not changed. We tend to give too much importance to the regulatory personnel whose contribution to productivity is at best marginal if not on the negative side. Look at our political and social set up. The party, the prganization or the individual who can put the wheels of production to a more complete stop by means of strikes and bandhs is considered to have a bigger sway on the masses. Terrorism is only an accentuation of this coercive method by a section of the people to get their demands accepted by the people as a whole. The days of constructive work as a means of reaching out to the masses and influencing them by rendering actual help, empowering them to become self reliant, are over. In the same way, the bureaucrat who can put more spokes in the wheels of production is more fawned upon if not also more empowered. People who can incite violence and let loose terror, are wooed by the ruling establishment. Like the givernment, religion too has a regulatory role in a society. Religious leaders are also given too much importance as compared to their contribution to productivity. Even the media give too much coverage of non - productive activities of politics and religion. Both are luxuries which only a productive society can afford. We, Indians, tend to behave like a post - wealth generation society while still being in a pre - wealth generation phase. We forget that everything has a time and place.
In fact, in our country, rewards to persons in category 2b) are the highest, followed by persons in category 2a) and the least beneficiaries are persons in category 1). - exactly opposite to the desirable situation. It has resulted in the dignity of labour being forgotten and making blue collar infra dig. This is the main reason for our continued backwardness.
In view of the fact that a reduction in prices or at least stability in prices despite increasing demand is mainly dependent on an improvement in productivity, it is imperative that Indian society as a whole, nhould sit up and change its attitude and perspective. It is useless to expect only one section of the society viz. the regulatory personnel ( i.e. the bureaucratic and the political classes ) to do anything in this regard since any change for the better hurts their own self interests in terms of reduction of power and control not to speak of the rent collection.
A case in point is the procrastination, prevarication and finally outright rejection by these classes to concede a higher or even an equal dearness allowance to productive personnel of the public sector as compared to what is given to the government's own regulatory personnel. The government can merrily go on taking anti - productivity steps. Its personnel especially those in the lower rungs with whom the common man deals the most, are compensated fully for any consequent price rise. They care, therefore, the least for any price rise that takes place. Even its personnel in the higher rungs are compensated to the extent of 70 % of any price rise that takes place, the balance 30 % being taken care of by the power that they wield over the destiny of any productive personnel who dare to improve productivity and profitability. The regulatory personnel have thus no stake in improving productivity. The political class depends on donations and other similar sources of income which increase with price rises. The brunt of the burden of the price rises has therefore to be borne by the productive personnel while others who outnumber them in terms of numbers, income or influence can merrily take anti - productivity steps. Even the service personnel like doctors, lawyers, the trading classes can hike up their prices at their own will.
It may be argued that I have painted a picture that is gloomier than reality. However the fact remains that given the attitudes and perspective of the Indian society and our experience of the last 40 years and the results emanating therefrom, there appear to be only black clouds looming on the horizon on the productivity front.
Whenever any industry in the private sector is able to increase its profitability by an improvement in productivity, it is immediately more heavily taxed in the name of mopping up surpluses for " public good " . A case in point is the capital gains tax. Industries therefore find it easier to improve their profitability by oiling the appropriate regulatory wheels which can, by suitable variation in taxation and osuch other measures, do the trick. The world bank have also commented on these lines in a recent report published in the newspapers.
Mahatma Gandhi's idea of Swaraj was for a minimum of dependence on the government whether it was an alien one or an indigenous one. Since indepedence, we have gone in the opposite direction. We have become such slaves that perhaps very few activities such as death are not in government's control. Is it therefore any wonder that the common man expects the government - the so called Sarkar Mai-Baap to do everything for him without any contribution on his part. The addiction of the government is so strong that even while cursing it, he is unable to kick it off. In Transactional Analysis terms, the government has become the controlling parent and the common man , an adapted child. Surely not the freedom we fought for !
We can even say that we have by now imprisoned the Swaraj along with any possible improvement in productivity. The two go hand in hand. Creativity flourishes only in in an atmosphere free of throttling controls that regulate every activity. We have firmly locked up Swaraj and Creativity. Opinion leaders in all walks of lifemay like to ponder over the issues raised here and create the necessary climate for producing a "Shatalin Plan" of our own for regaining Swaraj. Or shall we wait to be fully imprisoned a la Eastern Europe or a la Pakistan before we break free ?
Improvement of productivity in all spheres of life, busting of the " Protection Racket " for our Private Sector are the crying need of the hour. the protected atmosphere in which the private sector operates has become an addiction. Unless we take all steps to improve productivity, we as a society, are heading for a runaway inflation of the type faced by the Germans in the 1930s and by the Chinese in the 1940s and what is staring the Eastern Europe at present. A change in the attitudes and perspective of the Indian elite as well as the masses is urgently called for.
FOOTNOTE:-
Within 4-5 years of writing the above article, the economic reforms came. As is normal with us Indians, they were forced on us by force of circumstances. Remember the pledging of our gold when only 15 days' worth of foreign exchange was left with us and cosequent launching of economic reforms? What are the pluses and the minuses of the economic reforms twenty years down the line ?
The pluses according to me are:-
1. Foreign exchange position is comfortable, perhaps far too comfortable. We are in fact contributing to the financial bail out of some European countries - a reversal of the situation pre reforms.
2.Our exports have increased manifold.
3. Our GDP growth rate has gone up from the " Hindu growth rate " of around 3 % to over 8 %.
4. Salaries have gone up, whether in the private or the public sector.
5.Disposable income has gone up, resulting in higher savings rate.
6. Waiting period for cars, scooters, telephones and other such largesse wheedled out of government functionaries at great cost of time, money and effort has been reduced to the time required for a telephone call. The spread of vehicles and telephones has perceptibly gone upto the lower strata of the society in this 'capitalist' era than in the earlier 'socialist' era. It is not uncmmon in cities now for a domestic servant to ring up on his mobile if he is going to be late for work as he is attending to a puncture on his moped wheel.
7. The rationing mentality caused by scarcity of goods of all descriptions has now been turned into a problem of which brand to choose due to a glut in the market. The quantity of old goods and variety of newer goods has gone up. The craze for 'phoren' goods has gone down.
The minuses according to me are :-
1.Corruption has gone up in intensity even as areas with scope for corruption have gone down judging by the scams coming out serially.
2. The salaries of regulatory personnel have gone up. Even the MPs have voted their own pay hike.
3. The expected reduction in government employees' strength has not taken place.
4.Inflation has reared its head as in the field of agriculture, no improvement has taken place.
5. The control and power mind set has not changed. This is a big hurdle in the path of eradication of corruption.
6. An attitude of service on the part of the public servants is not yet visible. They still behave as the masters of their " Ryots ".
7. The government's control on the life of the common man has not gone down. Least government is the best government. We must have more and more of self-regulation than a rigid but subject to correction by corruption governmental regulation. We must reduce the size and scope of government.
Friday, August 27, 2010
HOW TO COPE WITH INDIA’S ANTI-VIAGRA?
A few years back, an old couple was murdered in Saket area of New Delhi. There was a furore and the Governor and the Police Commissioner visited the area. Police patrolling started. A few days and a couple of murders later, the police said that they did not have enough men for the job. The private security guards ( who would not have been employed by the citizens if they had faith in the police ) were to blame. The public is also perhaps to blame. What business do they have to get murdered? Do the police not have enough on their hands to protect the VVIPs and the lesser VIPs?
Who is more important? The public or the public servants? The Masters or the Servants? Of course the servants! We are Indians. We deify even our servants! We build palaces or swanky furnished apartments for them and they can decide to raise their own monetary and other compensation three to four times whenever they wish. The state has no money or men left after protecting such worthies for doing the primary job viz. that of protecting the society that created a structure called the state for the purpose. A naughty question sometimes arises in my mind. How many of these worthies would actually get killed if their security were withdrawn? Would the loss be irreparable except, of course to the sycophants and the beneficiaries of the slain VIP / VVIP? In any case, security itself was the cause of the assassination of one Prime Minister and lack of adequate security was the cause of a former Prime Minister’s murder. Security or no security, VIPs or VVIPs get killed if they are fated or targeted to be killed. Then, why oh! Why, are we made to shell out so much money? Money perhaps would not matter much but what hurts is that it is at the cost of the security of the very people who foot the bill.
The security chaps are helpless. Impotent is a strong word, but to a limited extent, it is not very wrong either. The Chief Minister of Delhi is helpless since like her two predecessors of a different party, she has no control over the police. Inwardly perhaps all the three are happy that they do not have to find a more difficult excuse. All of them are helpless, impotent, if you please.
The population of India has grown. So have the number and severity of the Railway accidents. Railway ministers, irrespective of party labels, are helpless. Either there is not enough money or the staff is careless or there is a systemic failure or if nothing else, there is of course the sabotage by the political opponents. Neither the political classes nor the bureaucratic classes are to blame. The blame always lies elsewhere. Those supposedly responsible are invariably helpless or impotent.
The local police in the states, when free of the onerous duty of collecting their earnings, both due and undue and harassing the by and large law abiding public, are helpless. How to cope with AK 47 wielding smugglers, extortionists or terrorists? How could they cope with militants of various hues? Central forces or the army are required. Each organization pleads its helplessness in tackling law and order problems. Somebody else is to blame. Everybody sagely nods to this, so long as they are themselves not held up for blame. The media make noise, taking care not to hurt anyone in a permanent sort of way. Law and order is the primary duty of any government – a structure created by the society for the very purpose. But the state is helpless, impotent. Even the judges are helpless in the face of mounting pending cases. When there is too much noise about something, authorities use an earplug in the form of a committee or a commission. This august body functions in a laid back manner and gives its report after a few extensions, usually when the noise has died out on its own.
The economy goes into a recession or there is a runaway inflation. The Finance minister is helpless. Scams after scams take place. CBI is helpless. Those who interfere are to blame. A department of a state government overdraws money year after year. Everybody, the department head, the auditors, the Public Accounts Committee, the vigilance people, the courts, the media et al make suitable noises but they are helpless. All actions are taken except to recover the money. The whole state is “like that only”. What to do?
The onion prices go up. Those in authority are helpless. A severe drought happens one year. Inflation goes into double digits. The sensible step of importing the shortfall, is not taken despite a more than comfortable foreign exchange position. Gods – Rain Gods are to blame. What can mere mortals do in the face of the mighty Almighty? In case there is a good monsoon and food prices come down despite the best efforts of the authorities, promptly people in power can claim having mastered the devil of inflation.
The people are helpless. They change their rulers, giving a chance to everyone but the situation does not change. What is the cause of this helplessness – this impotence? The answer is very simple. Responsibility. Make an Indian responsible for any task and he promptly becomes helpless, impotent for the task on hand, whether he is a Babu or a Neta, a judge or a journalist. In case, if anyone succeeds, there is a question mark. Is he not an Indian as in the case of Vishwanathan Anand? Or has he flouted the elaborate structure created to make him fail? Modi whether of the Narendra or Lalit variety have commited the ultimate sin. They seem to have not only succeeded but done so somewhat spectacularly. That is intolerable. They are not the norm. The ilk of Kalmadis are. If any task is to be accomplished, it must be done after raising blood pressure. We must procrastinate when there is ample time and when everybody is scared, then to rush things at breakneck speed and at a huge cost that helps line up the pockets of those who matter.
The West prides itself for having discovered Viagra as a cure for impotence. Our ancient civilization and Bharatiya culture laughs at it. We did that long back. We have now found a cure for potency. Make a man responsible for any task and he promptly becomes impotent. That is our Anti – Viagra. Akin to the Anti-Missile Missile. Aren’t we more advanced?
Whether it is a Police sub-inspector or a Health inspector whose job is to prevent epidemics, a Railway permanent way inspector in charge of maintaining Railway tracks or an opposition politician, the moment they get power, they become impotent in respect of their duties. They are however only selectively impotent. They are quite potent when it comes to harassing the public for wanting to do things legally or out of the way. The impotent Biradari or brotherhood has excuses ready for trotting out to the lay public in case, an outcry on any scale. takes place.
This phenomenon gives us a unique place in the world. Elsewhere power is an aphrodiasic. In India it is our own Swadeshi pill for impotence. We can be as proud of it as we are of our Mahatma Gandhis or Amartya Sens. While we can leave our rulers to gloat over this unique phenomenon, we, the ordinary people, the hoi pollois, need to think of a way to cope with this Anti-Viagra. There does not seem to be much use trying to change persons or parties. Whether it is the “Garibi Hatao”wallas or the “Ram Rath “ wallas, the situation worsens instead of improving with every change. Even bigger problem is the bureaucracy. To the ordinary man or “Aam Admi” as he is referred to, government is encountered in the shape of a Thanedar, or a revenue clerk or a railway booking clerk. They do not change. Running after a Neta is like running after a mirage. Very few realize that a Babu can make or mar a Neta in actual practice.
We have , therefore to think of an innovative solution. Our neighbours have tried to get the Army to rule. They were not successful. Don’t their Army brass belong to the same stock of people? Therein lies a clue Sonia Gandhi does not belong to the Indian stock genetically. We can try her. There is one snag though. She has been the Bahu of the Nehru-Gandhi household for around forty years. Has she not been Indianised enough?
We ought to try the genuine imported stuff. Old timers say that the British ruled rather well. Of course they were costly, but aren’t our present ones as costly after the recent hike of our parliamentarians? Perhaps at 68 times the per capita income of an Indian according to one estimate, they are not as yet, as costly but we can depend on the likes of Lalus and Mulayams to make up the difference. Under the British, law and order was very well maintained. They built the original infrastructure in the country, whatever their motivations. They were the people to introduce modern education, sanitation, scientific temperament and democratic spirit as against the authoritarian and perpetually outdated regimes that proliferated before them. Thuggy and suttee were abolished. Thuggy, however seems to have been reborn in the form of extortionists of Mumbai or the kidnappers of the cowbelt.
I am not suggesting that we bring the British back. Perish the thought! But we can, may be, ask that nation of shopkeepers to take a contract for managing a district or a metropolis. It can be on a 5 year contract with built in stiff penalties for every crime that takes place. An unsolved crime would attract the stiffest penalty. For example, the moment a theft takes place, the total value of the theft would be deducted straightaway from the contractor’s safety deposit. When the thief is caught, 10% of the deducted amount would be refunded, when he is convicted in a court of law, a further 20% would be refunded, when the stolen property is recovered and restored to the owner, a further 60% would be refunded. However the balance 10% would remain deducted as the theft took place under their management.
Democracy is supposed to mean accountability. In practice, in India, the remedy for public sector ills has been given to be freedom from this accountability. The parliamentarians are themselves a law unto themselves. How can anybody be accountable to those who are themselves accountable to none? This gives an idea of how effective this accountability is. But if we have this type of carrot and stick approach in terms of contracts, payments and penalties, we might get a better accountability.
In any case our government thrives on contractors and suppliers, dalals and chamchas. A departmental construction on the lines of various housing boards fails to deliver the goods. A contractor, even if pricey, delivers the goods. We can therefore, float global tenders for various districts and municipal bodies. Good management may earn an extension of the contract. Even more districts could be awarded to them. We may then have a British managed district, a German managed municipality, a French managed department and so on.
The moment, you have global MNCs, our Swadeshi brigade would complain of a non-level playing field. They may be placated by inviting them to bid for the districts on the condition that they form joint ventures with approved foreign partners for the purpose. Unlike other projects, here we may stipulate a minimum rather than a maximum foreign component. Good management can earn them a lesser foreign component.
Our leftist friends are now likely to rise in consternation. What about the unemployment caused by this mindless privatization? I have an answer for this. We can grant the existing bureaucrats as well as the political class, a compensatory pension for life, to be reduced to half for the next generation, to one fourth for the third generation and then abolished altogether for the succeeding generations. The pension amount would be fixed depending on their present earnings. We have figures for their legitimate ( if I may be allowed to say so) earnings. We have, however no figures for their undue earnings. To obviate any difficulties in this regard, we may ask them to file a declaration under a Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme ( VDIS ). Their declared undue earnings have to be added to their legitimate earnings to arrive at the basis for fixing their pension.
Once we pension off these people, our leftist friends would be satisfied, at least partially. They are never going to be satisfied fully. After all, they have not as yet, been given an unfettered, extra-constitutional opportunity to misrule all of us! They have, however themselves given us this idea. A fertilizer factory in an eastern state governed by them has been paying wages to its employees for a number of years without producing any fertilizer. They should therefore agree to this idea. The granting of pensions is based on a precedent. In the government, precedents are very important. We had granted privy purses to the erstwhile rulers of princely states at the time of transfer of power. We are therefore not departing from our tradition of effecting a harmonious and peaceful transition from one type of rule to another. The Babus and the Netas should also be happy as they would no longer have to invent excuses for non-performance. They would, no longer be required to stay for a major portion of their tenure in their headquarters. A couple of our cabinet ministers have, with foresight, been already exercising this right. Another advantage to our political class would be that they will be perpetually in opposition – that hallowed condition of power without any responsibility!
The public may groan. They are doing this now also. There is however one qualitative difference. In future, they would groan only for the excessive price for the services. They would however be assured of getting service. Accountability would return in practice. Some question may be raised about double expenditure. But aren’t we already bearing it in the form of employing private security, paying bribes, extortionists, kidnappers, thieves and dacoits in addition to paying taxes?
Any takers for this idea? I mean for Surajya rather than Swaraj of the present variety.
STOP PRESS: I received my passport from Ahmedabad Regional passport office, sitting at my home in Vadodara on the 17th day of my applying for the same. Pray to God that the RPO, Ahmedabad is not punished for this unseemly haste and betraying the age old norms set by his predecessors or hounded by the CBI on one or the other charge.
A few years back, an old couple was murdered in Saket area of New Delhi. There was a furore and the Governor and the Police Commissioner visited the area. Police patrolling started. A few days and a couple of murders later, the police said that they did not have enough men for the job. The private security guards ( who would not have been employed by the citizens if they had faith in the police ) were to blame. The public is also perhaps to blame. What business do they have to get murdered? Do the police not have enough on their hands to protect the VVIPs and the lesser VIPs?
Who is more important? The public or the public servants? The Masters or the Servants? Of course the servants! We are Indians. We deify even our servants! We build palaces or swanky furnished apartments for them and they can decide to raise their own monetary and other compensation three to four times whenever they wish. The state has no money or men left after protecting such worthies for doing the primary job viz. that of protecting the society that created a structure called the state for the purpose. A naughty question sometimes arises in my mind. How many of these worthies would actually get killed if their security were withdrawn? Would the loss be irreparable except, of course to the sycophants and the beneficiaries of the slain VIP / VVIP? In any case, security itself was the cause of the assassination of one Prime Minister and lack of adequate security was the cause of a former Prime Minister’s murder. Security or no security, VIPs or VVIPs get killed if they are fated or targeted to be killed. Then, why oh! Why, are we made to shell out so much money? Money perhaps would not matter much but what hurts is that it is at the cost of the security of the very people who foot the bill.
The security chaps are helpless. Impotent is a strong word, but to a limited extent, it is not very wrong either. The Chief Minister of Delhi is helpless since like her two predecessors of a different party, she has no control over the police. Inwardly perhaps all the three are happy that they do not have to find a more difficult excuse. All of them are helpless, impotent, if you please.
The population of India has grown. So have the number and severity of the Railway accidents. Railway ministers, irrespective of party labels, are helpless. Either there is not enough money or the staff is careless or there is a systemic failure or if nothing else, there is of course the sabotage by the political opponents. Neither the political classes nor the bureaucratic classes are to blame. The blame always lies elsewhere. Those supposedly responsible are invariably helpless or impotent.
The local police in the states, when free of the onerous duty of collecting their earnings, both due and undue and harassing the by and large law abiding public, are helpless. How to cope with AK 47 wielding smugglers, extortionists or terrorists? How could they cope with militants of various hues? Central forces or the army are required. Each organization pleads its helplessness in tackling law and order problems. Somebody else is to blame. Everybody sagely nods to this, so long as they are themselves not held up for blame. The media make noise, taking care not to hurt anyone in a permanent sort of way. Law and order is the primary duty of any government – a structure created by the society for the very purpose. But the state is helpless, impotent. Even the judges are helpless in the face of mounting pending cases. When there is too much noise about something, authorities use an earplug in the form of a committee or a commission. This august body functions in a laid back manner and gives its report after a few extensions, usually when the noise has died out on its own.
The economy goes into a recession or there is a runaway inflation. The Finance minister is helpless. Scams after scams take place. CBI is helpless. Those who interfere are to blame. A department of a state government overdraws money year after year. Everybody, the department head, the auditors, the Public Accounts Committee, the vigilance people, the courts, the media et al make suitable noises but they are helpless. All actions are taken except to recover the money. The whole state is “like that only”. What to do?
The onion prices go up. Those in authority are helpless. A severe drought happens one year. Inflation goes into double digits. The sensible step of importing the shortfall, is not taken despite a more than comfortable foreign exchange position. Gods – Rain Gods are to blame. What can mere mortals do in the face of the mighty Almighty? In case there is a good monsoon and food prices come down despite the best efforts of the authorities, promptly people in power can claim having mastered the devil of inflation.
The people are helpless. They change their rulers, giving a chance to everyone but the situation does not change. What is the cause of this helplessness – this impotence? The answer is very simple. Responsibility. Make an Indian responsible for any task and he promptly becomes helpless, impotent for the task on hand, whether he is a Babu or a Neta, a judge or a journalist. In case, if anyone succeeds, there is a question mark. Is he not an Indian as in the case of Vishwanathan Anand? Or has he flouted the elaborate structure created to make him fail? Modi whether of the Narendra or Lalit variety have commited the ultimate sin. They seem to have not only succeeded but done so somewhat spectacularly. That is intolerable. They are not the norm. The ilk of Kalmadis are. If any task is to be accomplished, it must be done after raising blood pressure. We must procrastinate when there is ample time and when everybody is scared, then to rush things at breakneck speed and at a huge cost that helps line up the pockets of those who matter.
The West prides itself for having discovered Viagra as a cure for impotence. Our ancient civilization and Bharatiya culture laughs at it. We did that long back. We have now found a cure for potency. Make a man responsible for any task and he promptly becomes impotent. That is our Anti – Viagra. Akin to the Anti-Missile Missile. Aren’t we more advanced?
Whether it is a Police sub-inspector or a Health inspector whose job is to prevent epidemics, a Railway permanent way inspector in charge of maintaining Railway tracks or an opposition politician, the moment they get power, they become impotent in respect of their duties. They are however only selectively impotent. They are quite potent when it comes to harassing the public for wanting to do things legally or out of the way. The impotent Biradari or brotherhood has excuses ready for trotting out to the lay public in case, an outcry on any scale. takes place.
This phenomenon gives us a unique place in the world. Elsewhere power is an aphrodiasic. In India it is our own Swadeshi pill for impotence. We can be as proud of it as we are of our Mahatma Gandhis or Amartya Sens. While we can leave our rulers to gloat over this unique phenomenon, we, the ordinary people, the hoi pollois, need to think of a way to cope with this Anti-Viagra. There does not seem to be much use trying to change persons or parties. Whether it is the “Garibi Hatao”wallas or the “Ram Rath “ wallas, the situation worsens instead of improving with every change. Even bigger problem is the bureaucracy. To the ordinary man or “Aam Admi” as he is referred to, government is encountered in the shape of a Thanedar, or a revenue clerk or a railway booking clerk. They do not change. Running after a Neta is like running after a mirage. Very few realize that a Babu can make or mar a Neta in actual practice.
We have , therefore to think of an innovative solution. Our neighbours have tried to get the Army to rule. They were not successful. Don’t their Army brass belong to the same stock of people? Therein lies a clue Sonia Gandhi does not belong to the Indian stock genetically. We can try her. There is one snag though. She has been the Bahu of the Nehru-Gandhi household for around forty years. Has she not been Indianised enough?
We ought to try the genuine imported stuff. Old timers say that the British ruled rather well. Of course they were costly, but aren’t our present ones as costly after the recent hike of our parliamentarians? Perhaps at 68 times the per capita income of an Indian according to one estimate, they are not as yet, as costly but we can depend on the likes of Lalus and Mulayams to make up the difference. Under the British, law and order was very well maintained. They built the original infrastructure in the country, whatever their motivations. They were the people to introduce modern education, sanitation, scientific temperament and democratic spirit as against the authoritarian and perpetually outdated regimes that proliferated before them. Thuggy and suttee were abolished. Thuggy, however seems to have been reborn in the form of extortionists of Mumbai or the kidnappers of the cowbelt.
I am not suggesting that we bring the British back. Perish the thought! But we can, may be, ask that nation of shopkeepers to take a contract for managing a district or a metropolis. It can be on a 5 year contract with built in stiff penalties for every crime that takes place. An unsolved crime would attract the stiffest penalty. For example, the moment a theft takes place, the total value of the theft would be deducted straightaway from the contractor’s safety deposit. When the thief is caught, 10% of the deducted amount would be refunded, when he is convicted in a court of law, a further 20% would be refunded, when the stolen property is recovered and restored to the owner, a further 60% would be refunded. However the balance 10% would remain deducted as the theft took place under their management.
Democracy is supposed to mean accountability. In practice, in India, the remedy for public sector ills has been given to be freedom from this accountability. The parliamentarians are themselves a law unto themselves. How can anybody be accountable to those who are themselves accountable to none? This gives an idea of how effective this accountability is. But if we have this type of carrot and stick approach in terms of contracts, payments and penalties, we might get a better accountability.
In any case our government thrives on contractors and suppliers, dalals and chamchas. A departmental construction on the lines of various housing boards fails to deliver the goods. A contractor, even if pricey, delivers the goods. We can therefore, float global tenders for various districts and municipal bodies. Good management may earn an extension of the contract. Even more districts could be awarded to them. We may then have a British managed district, a German managed municipality, a French managed department and so on.
The moment, you have global MNCs, our Swadeshi brigade would complain of a non-level playing field. They may be placated by inviting them to bid for the districts on the condition that they form joint ventures with approved foreign partners for the purpose. Unlike other projects, here we may stipulate a minimum rather than a maximum foreign component. Good management can earn them a lesser foreign component.
Our leftist friends are now likely to rise in consternation. What about the unemployment caused by this mindless privatization? I have an answer for this. We can grant the existing bureaucrats as well as the political class, a compensatory pension for life, to be reduced to half for the next generation, to one fourth for the third generation and then abolished altogether for the succeeding generations. The pension amount would be fixed depending on their present earnings. We have figures for their legitimate ( if I may be allowed to say so) earnings. We have, however no figures for their undue earnings. To obviate any difficulties in this regard, we may ask them to file a declaration under a Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme ( VDIS ). Their declared undue earnings have to be added to their legitimate earnings to arrive at the basis for fixing their pension.
Once we pension off these people, our leftist friends would be satisfied, at least partially. They are never going to be satisfied fully. After all, they have not as yet, been given an unfettered, extra-constitutional opportunity to misrule all of us! They have, however themselves given us this idea. A fertilizer factory in an eastern state governed by them has been paying wages to its employees for a number of years without producing any fertilizer. They should therefore agree to this idea. The granting of pensions is based on a precedent. In the government, precedents are very important. We had granted privy purses to the erstwhile rulers of princely states at the time of transfer of power. We are therefore not departing from our tradition of effecting a harmonious and peaceful transition from one type of rule to another. The Babus and the Netas should also be happy as they would no longer have to invent excuses for non-performance. They would, no longer be required to stay for a major portion of their tenure in their headquarters. A couple of our cabinet ministers have, with foresight, been already exercising this right. Another advantage to our political class would be that they will be perpetually in opposition – that hallowed condition of power without any responsibility!
The public may groan. They are doing this now also. There is however one qualitative difference. In future, they would groan only for the excessive price for the services. They would however be assured of getting service. Accountability would return in practice. Some question may be raised about double expenditure. But aren’t we already bearing it in the form of employing private security, paying bribes, extortionists, kidnappers, thieves and dacoits in addition to paying taxes?
Any takers for this idea? I mean for Surajya rather than Swaraj of the present variety.
STOP PRESS: I received my passport from Ahmedabad Regional passport office, sitting at my home in Vadodara on the 17th day of my applying for the same. Pray to God that the RPO, Ahmedabad is not punished for this unseemly haste and betraying the age old norms set by his predecessors or hounded by the CBI on one or the other charge.
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