Decline, Debasement and Devastation in the All India Services. By P. S. Appu (IAS, Retd)
(extract)... The political scenario
is, indeed, depressing. Even so, there are two good reasons for retaining the
All India Services and trying to rejuvenate them. In the first two decades after independence we had both at the Centre and in
the states ministers who had faith in the Constitution, the rule of law and the
principles of democratic governance. Unfortunately, many of the ministers and
other political leaders of the present day have no faith in the Constitution
and the law or in democratic practices. So, there is greater need today than at
any time in the past for the All India Services wedded to the Constitution and
the law. They can offer considerable resistance to illegal actions of the
politicians in power.
Secondly, recent
experience in Gujarat confirms the need to retain and strengthen the All India
Services. A great deal has been written and said about the devastation and
utter failure of the All India Services. Unfortunately adequate light has not
been shed on the performance of a handful of fearless officers who stood by the
Constitution and the law.
When all over the state the Police acquiesced in the
nefarious activities of the Sangh Parivar, the Superintendents of police of
Kutch, Bhavnagar, Banaskanta and Bharuch accorded effective protection to
Muslims. They exercised their powers under the law and, where necessary, used
force against troublemakers. In one case in which a Commandant of the Home
Guards, an erstwhile VHP activist, had stabbed an old Muslim woman and her
grandson living in an isolated dargah, the Superintendent of Police took
drastic action. He drew up a First Information Report, arrested the culprit and
sent him to prison. Not only that, he stood firm when a minister and a member
of the Chief Minister's staff tried to browbeat him. Of, course he and the
other three officers were subsequently transferred.
But the four officers have
the satisfaction that they did their duty in extremely trying circumstances in
Gujarat's darkest hour. I have no detailed information about the performance of
all the IAS and IPS officers. In all probability there are others also who
discharged their duties fearlessly. These instances prove that it will be
disastrous to wind up the All India Services. If only the Chief Secretary, the
DGP and a number of senior officers had displayed the same fearlessness and
dedication, the Gujarat carnage could have been averted or at least mitigated.
After having watched Indian administration for half a century I am firmly of the view that the All India Services should continue. The President is the guardian and the Supreme Court the very palladium of our Constitution. But they are beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. It is a civil and police administration fearlessly upholding the Constitution and the rule of law that will enable millions of Indian citizens to enjoy the rights guaranteed under the Constitution. Abolition of the All India Services will certainly lead to a worsening of the situation. A question that merits urgent consideration is what practical steps can be taken to restore to the IAS and IPS, at least partially, the ethos and elan that existed some four decades ago. Admittedly, noticeable success can be achieved only after the cleansing of the Indian polity by introducing far reaching political and electoral reforms.... read more:
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