The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recently announced the results of the civil services examination held last year. This is hailed as one of the toughest tests for civil service aspirants, who often come from a wide range of disciplines — liberal arts, pure sciences, engineering, medicine, and agriculture. The numbers finally recommended for appointment would depend on the numbers demanded by the Union government each year, but, on average, about 1,000 candidates, from a pool of several lakh aspirants, get the final nod.
In the 1960s, when I wrote the examination, I competed against less than 10,000 candidates. Last year, close to a million filled up forms and almost six lakh sat for the exams. I am more than convinced about the integrity of the test procedure. It is indeed a matter of national pride.
The story after that is heartwarming and concerning in equal measure. Recruits are put through carefully designed training programmes at different institutions. I can speak authoritatively on the National Police Academy (NPA), Hyderabad. Moving it in 1975 from Mount Abu, Rajasthan, to the outskirts of Hyderabad was wise as the latter offered more space and convenient access to highly rated visiting faculty, the lifeline for modern methods of training. Centres to shape recruits for other senior services are spread over different states.
By all accounts, these centres are all well-financed and have highly talented faculty. Gone are the days when training had the lowest priority in the government’s scheme of things. The growing perspective is that the civil service can fulfil its primary objective of serving the community only if it imparts state-of-the-art and values-based training at the entry level. Against such a clinical process to pick our bureaucrats, it is sad that the image of the civil service has suffered during recent years.
The lack of personal financial integrity on the part of a number of senior officers and unabashed executive interference in day-to-day administration are two blots that are of serious concern. This unfortunate situation requires constant monitoring.
The abject surrender of independence by the bureaucracy to the political executive seems irreversible. What is galling, especially, is the subservience of the offices of the chief secretary (CS) and the director general of police (DGP) — the two pillars of the administration in a state — to the office of the chief minister (CM), which is so common now, to the extent that even illegal orders from the political class are complied with. To be sure, this existed to a degree in my time and earlier. Now, however, this has become almost endemic.
Until a few decades ago, an officer would do only what is legal and ethical, defying the CM. The penalty for such “disobedience” was a transfer to an inhospitable location or posting. But now, there are reports of intimidation and threats of physical harm from some parts of the country. These may be somewhat exaggerated. But there are indications that there is some truth in such charges. Such intimidation goes down the line and, with this, so do its dangerous systemic implications. I don’t foresee any improvement here because the politician-civil servant nexus is becoming stronger by the day.
Corruption in high places is now discussed in various forums. Raids by probe agencies and the seizure of huge sums of cash and jewellery from the homes of senior civil servants cannot be ignored. The corruption at the level of elected representatives percolates down the line and encourages members of the civil services to line their pockets. That such graft also begins very early in the career of many new entrants to the service is a dangerous portent for the future.
Can anything be done to mitigate the evil? Not really, unless the political ambience becomes at least partially clean. The judiciary is no route because court processes are painfully slow. The only hope is when public movements against corruption become bolder and stronger.
RK Raghavan, a former CBI director, is professor of criminal justice at the Jindal Global University, Haryana. The views expressed are personal
