Please show some RESPECT : Thoda karo Samman

“Please show some RESPECT : Thoda karo Samman”

Future Historians writing about the present times would be startled by the level of cynicism that pervades the entire social canvas of the Nation today. This cynicism, the most infectious social disease known to man, often takes the shape and form of “bashing” and lampooning everyone and everything: politicians, bureaucracy, the judiciary,  leftists.... the list is endless. Everyone is finding fault with everyone else.

A recent crusader may have lent respect and credibility to “bashing” and made it fashionable, but is the media, particularly the electronic media which has lapped it up and taken “bashing” to new and ridiculous heights.

While I leave it to other victims to defend themselves, I would confine myself to the bashing of the bureaucracy .

At the outset I would like to make a few things clear:

• This is not an attempt at overlooking or ignoring infirmities and inefficiencies in the system,the most common alibi for bureaucracy  bashing. 
• This is also not an attempt at condoning or approving all that is wrong with our system and its faces
• This is also not an attempt at defending or excusing delinquent elements: members have brought disrepute to the system

                Instead, this is an attempt at a dispassionate and objective analysis of the causes consequences of this bashing.

What is it that the bashers find so objectionable in the bureaucracy?

First and foremost, the corruption and inefficiencies: Please for God’s sake hang the culprits. No one has any issue with that. We are lucky to have a robust judicial system which can take care of the worst offenders. We also have by and large efficient investigative and enforcement agencies. Put them to use. But for the sake of a few do not discredit or lampoon the entire system and its functionaries.

                Next comes the “laal-neeli batti culture” which is nothing but an euphemism for glamour,perks,  prestige, privileges and power that go with bureaucracy. The most vocal and passionate basher was none other than a recent entrant into politics, till he himself succumbed. Here I have two points to make: One, that with all these trappings also goes immense responsibility to administer and deliver. Who has’nt seen us weather storms and floods,  natural disasters, riots and public disorder, provide relief and succour to millions of victims of drought, floods and other such calamities.  You can always see us lead from the front. Many observers and thinkers  have gone so far as to credit the bureaucracy with  keeping the country together in one piece. Two, it is  in fact these privileges glamour that attract the best talent in the country to these professions. It is without allure that around one crore young Indians take the civil services examination every year all over the country !.

                I am also reminded of the recent attempts of the officer-starved Armed Forces to lure talented youngsters by selling   them     “glamour” and a “classy life style”. You have to see their ads on TV to understand what I mean.  

I may also add a Third point.  The much derided bureaucrats after all come through one of the most rigourous system of selection. Although no system can be 100 per cent fool proof, it is generally acknowledged that by and large the best people make it. Once selected, they go through an extensive and well thought out system of sensitisation and training, to equip them with skills and tools to administer and deliver, and fulfil the aspirations of the Nation. Many such selectees have and continue to render yeoman service to the nation and society, something the bashers  chose to ignore and overlook. There is another crucial fact which these  bashers miss, and that  is the historical context. During the Raj, when the bureaucracy was established, albeit for a very different purpose, the bureaucrats were largely British and the subjects were Indians. But in the present times, things have dramatically changed. Not only have the British bureaucrats been replaced by Indians but their very raison d'être has undergone a sea change: from ruling to service. the Indian subjects are now free citizens, zealously protected by the constitution.

I now come to my next point. Who are these bashers and why do they love to bash our bureaucracy.

Well, the most visible and vocal are the sundry TV anchors and so called journalists, with access to 148 million households! Not to be left behind the new breed of Radio Jockeys, who swarm the FM world, too have jumped onto the bandwagon. And mind you, these Radio Jockeys too have access to countless citizens of towns and cities.   Barely out of their teens, with little or no erudition or experience, these anchors and RJs, as they prefer to be addressed, have taken upon themselves the onerous task of opinionating and passing judgement on everything under the sun. How could the bureaucracts be spared or left behind. In fact they have a special fascination for them, lampooning them at every hint of an opportunity.  Let no one be surprised to know that most of these bureaucracy bashers would have themselves tried in the past, albeit unsuccessfully, to become bureaucracts! (many may still be at it!). I am reminded of Aesop’s Fox and the sour grapes. Envy gives way to malice.

And finally, what are the consequences of this bureaucracy bashing?

One, this untiring hammering of the bureaucracy, has given fuel to all round cynicism. one of the most vital, coveted, and sacrosanct institution gets badgered day in and day out, it is bound to lead to  breed cynicism and pessimism, two things all aspiring nations can well do without. With an access into, at last count, 148 million households just imagine the enormity of the influence these people carry. This bashing has actually lowered the morale of those at the helm of crucial affairs, demoralising and demotivating them, undermining efficiencies and performance.

Two, since the entire apparatus of the State is manned and run by the bureaucracy, deriding and belittling it tends to undermine the authority of the State, something that could bring cheer only to Anarchists and Enemies alike. Constantly finding fault, ignoring or overlooking the vast majority of performers who are rendering service to the Nation, is a particularly unhealthy way of looking at things.

Three, who are the beneficiaries of this media bashing?  The Media itself! (who has not heard   of TRP wars and paid news) who sets to gain by sensationalising and focussing on the black sheep and the dark recesses of the system. Nations are built on hope: on self belief and confidence in the present and optimism for the future. With their reach and  the influence they carry, just imagine the role these ladies and gentlemen in front of the cameras and studio microphones, can play in Nation building.  On the other hand, If they continue to deride and belittle all our institutions which have by and large stood the test of time, we would not need enemies!

In conclusion, this phenomenon of all round, unrelenting bashing the bureaucracy is like throwing the baby with bath water.