Sudhir Kumar Rakesh
IAS (Retd.)
Patna : The other day I came across a thought provoking article written by Mr Chetan Bhagat. This is titled – “Those convoluted govt. circulars show what’s wrong with Indian babudom”. The article was published in the Times of India, Patna, on May 24, 2020. It begins with a reference to the “complicated MHA circulars”. Mr Bhagat states that he had earlier tweeted: “If you can understand MHA circulars, you can crack the Data Analysis and Comprehension of CAT or any entrance exam in the world easily.”
According to Mr Bhagat, most people laughed at his tweet, but not all were amused. A young IAS officer replied: “Civil Services Exams are among the toughest in the world. With patience, orders/circulars can easily be understood. Read calmly, because each word written in such orders matters.”
To this, his reaction in the article is: “This one example reflects the broader superior, arrogant and unwilling-to-change attitude that exists among many of our civil servants. And yet, one falls to understand this: if they are so amazing, why are India’s bureaucrats seen as a part of India’s problem? Why are they cited as the main reason behind the difficulty of doing business in India?”
Up to this point, these were Mr. Bhagat’s personal views or his perceptions. So, there can not be any dispute. But what actually set me thinking were the subsequent paragraphs written by Mr. Bhagat in that article. I would quote a few paragraphs for the benefit of readers :-
“Why are babus like this? The entrance exam is where it begins. There are two prelim papers, nine mains papers and an interview. You don’t need eleven exams to test the capability for being a government employee. Don’t laugh, but one subject is ‘Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude’. It has cute questions like “What is expected of a public servant?” and “Describe a ‘crisis of conscience”. One would think India runs one of the most honest services in the world. If only integrity could be learnt by memorising answers. Another paper is about India’s heritage and geography. Cracking it requires massive amounts of rote memory. In times of Google Maps and the internet, the course content is as outdated as the font UPSC selects for printing the question paper.
Of course, appearing candidates don’t question the syllabus. A million plus people apply. Less than a thousand get selected. Half the seats are reserved. It is a ridiculous exam curriculum and an equally ridiculous selection rate. The real skills needed for the job are never tested.
Mr Bhagat, seems very very unhappy with the recruitment system and the entrance examination which are conducted to appoint “babus”, as he calls them.
It is here that I would have liked to request Mr Bhagat to kindly go through the provisions of our Constitution and relevant Acts/Rules at least once. According to the Constitution, we do have Rule of Law in India.
Let us now examine the constitutional and legal provisions relating to the system of recruitment put in place in our country for the recruitment of officers belonging to the Defence Service, Central Civil Services and the All India Services. Our constitution makers had provided for a constitutional scheme for the creation of different services under the Union and the States.
The provisions mention the Defence Service. A Civil Service of the Union or an All-India Service. They also cover persons who are members of a Civil Service of a State or hold any civil post under a State. Our constitution specifically mentions that the services known at the commencement of the constitution as the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service shall be deemed to be services created by Parliament under Article 312 of the Constitution.
Under the constitution, it is the duty of the Union and the State Public Service Commissions to conduct examinations for appointments to be services of the Union and the services of the State respectively.
The Preamble to our Constitution reminds us that WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, have solemnly resolved to secure to all our citizens EQUALITY of status and of opportunity also. Our constitution specifically provides for Equality of opportunity in matters relating to employment to appointment to any officer under the State.
The constitution specifically provides for reservation for members of the Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Article 335), as also for members of Backward Classes, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State. The constitution also does not prevent in making of any provision in favour of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes for relaxation in qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in matters of promotion.
It is clear that the All India Services, the Central Civil Services and the Defence Services have been created under the mandate of the Constitution of India. The recruitment to these services is regulated by the Acts passed by the Indian Parliament. The Rules for the regulation of recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons appointed to an All India Service are made by the Central Government, after consultation with the Governments of the States concerned, and by notification in the official Gazette. The syllabus is designed by Expert Committees and is updated / revised from time to time based on the recommendations of subsequent Expert Committees.
One feels that a writer/commentator of eminence should have considered the constitutional as well as legal provisions before ridiculing the recruitment pattern as well as the reservation of seats for the All India Services/Central Civil Services.
If this kind of constitutional/legal system is called ridiculous by an individual, that may be the view / perception of that individual. I, as a proud and law abiding citizen of India, would side a thousand times with the system which has been put in place by the Indian Constitution and the law made by the Parliament of India rather than agreeing with the personal views of an individual who chooses to call this system ridiculous.
Mr. Bhagat has written one paragraph in the article which he should have pondered over many times before writing. The paragraph reads : “People talk about India benefiting from coronavirus as companies will want to move manufacturing out of China. Sorry, but that will not happen. Firstly, China is already back. India is not. The factories are buzzing there, not here. More importantly, global companies are happy there. They would rather risk a new pandemic than deal with Indian babus.”
The author of the article calls himself “THE UNDERAGE OPTIMIST”. If the above paragraph of his article shows any kind of optimism, then I have nothing further to say! Before finishing, I wish to make the following points very clear :
Ø This post of mine is not a rejoinder;
Ø This is neither to defend any arrogant nor any unwilling-to-change member of either the All India Services or the Central Civil Services;
Ø This is also not to defend the MHA circulars in question;
Ø This is only by way of an attempt to show how and under what scheme of things recruitments are made and reservations applied to the All India Services and to the Central Civil Services;
Ø This is an attempt to put the constitutional as well as legal provisions in public domain.