Whispers Forum — 16 Jun 2021
DEBATE(1)
Polticians and bureaucrats, both try to exploit each other but ultimately bureaucrats succeed.
Girja Shankar
(DEBATE 2)
More than two millennia back, the master of statecraft Chanakya aka Kautilya aka Vishnugupta stated “नैकं चकà¥à¤°à¤‚ परिà¤à¥à¤°à¤®à¥à¤¯à¤¤à¤¿” which translates as "you cannot move a chariot having a single wheel." The Constitution of India unambiguously reflects the noble objective of the founding fathers who clearly laid down that the legislature, the executive and the judiciary must function like components of a well-oiled machine for the proper functioning of our democracy. However, present-day India is radically different from what it was in the initial decades post-Independence. Idealism plummeted in the political sphere and now almost anyone with deep pockets can don the mantle of a parliamentarian or legislator. Politicians are not "all bad" but it is often observed that they pressurise the bureaucracy to have things done their way. In such a situation, an honest officer's choices are certainly not easy - either ignore, buckle or protest at the cost of transfer or suspension! A babu who acts like a puppet will definitely have the advantage of his or her other mistakes or graft being 'pardoned' but that hardly augurs well for public welfare.
Abhijit C. Chandra
Polticians and bureaucrats, both try to exploit each other but ultimately bureaucrats succeed.
Girja Shankar
(DEBATE 2)
More than two millennia back, the master of statecraft Chanakya aka Kautilya aka Vishnugupta stated “नैकं चकà¥à¤°à¤‚ परिà¤à¥à¤°à¤®à¥à¤¯à¤¤à¤¿” which translates as "you cannot move a chariot having a single wheel." The Constitution of India unambiguously reflects the noble objective of the founding fathers who clearly laid down that the legislature, the executive and the judiciary must function like components of a well-oiled machine for the proper functioning of our democracy. However, present-day India is radically different from what it was in the initial decades post-Independence. Idealism plummeted in the political sphere and now almost anyone with deep pockets can don the mantle of a parliamentarian or legislator. Politicians are not "all bad" but it is often observed that they pressurise the bureaucracy to have things done their way. In such a situation, an honest officer's choices are certainly not easy - either ignore, buckle or protest at the cost of transfer or suspension! A babu who acts like a puppet will definitely have the advantage of his or her other mistakes or graft being 'pardoned' but that hardly augurs well for public welfare.
Abhijit C. Chandra