This is not about Durga Shakti anymore. It is about the many Durga Shaktis in the IAS and the paramount need to protect them. And this is about why Durga’s Shakti matters to not just the IAS, but also to India’s health as a democracy. It is about creating strong, upright civil servants and not civil “servants” and the need for the political executive to understand that honest, upright officers are not their personal vassals. It is about protecting and preserving the constitutional democracy of India whose lynchpin is the permanent executive working in tandem with the political executive, and where the former is not expected to be subservient to the latter, much less carry out its illegal orders.
The political executive needs to understand that every single enforcement action by any IAS officer will necessarily have a repercussion, both good and perhaps some bad, and indeed it must have a repercussion for it get to its desired objective and be effective. That must not become a convenient scapegoat for the political executive to suspend or even transfer inconvenient officers. Being a rubber stamp destroys institutions and, with them, individuals forever. The political executive must learn to have good officers around them, who may not and should not, always agree with them, which alone makes for impartial, honest advice. They need to learn to get along with those officers who know when to say “No Minister” as much as when to say “Yes Minister”.
In Durga’s specific case there is a clear violation of procedure by the government of UP. This makes for a manifestly colourable exercise of power. The UP government stands in violation of several provisions and the officers who signed the orders, without applying their mind and judgement, should have exemplary damages imposed on them by the courts.
Constitutional protection of the IAS under Article 311 is integral to our democracy and without it, India can might as well disband the IAS and bring in a USstyle spoils system instead.
What are young, conscientious IAS officers supposed to do when they witness violations of law in their jurisdiction? Wring their hands helplessly or take action? Who is causing communal tension- a senior minister sanctioning the loot of natural resources by invoking the name of God in full public view, or an officer who has stopped the encroachment of public land and upheld the spirit of the January 19, 2013 judgment of the Supreme Court?
IAS bashing is no longer the favourite avocation for India’s politicians; it is now their favourite vocation. Many in the IAS break the law, loot the exchequer, collude with a rapacious political executive and the common weal is often dammed in the process. Yet every single day, all across the country, away from the glare of the media, there are many more doing enormous good work and holding the country together in circumstances in which no corporate sector professional, or even members from the hallowed armed forces, would like to work in. They need to be treated with respect and fairness, especially by those who disagree with some decision of theirs, just as they are expected to treat others likewise.
(Source: Extracts from Article by Mr. Srivatsa Krishna in the Times of India dated 04-08-2013)
