The founding fathers of India and the Constituent Assembly envisioned a strong, independent civil service free of partisan influence, writes S.N. Sahu.
—
THE Narendra Modi regime issued a letter on October 17, 2023 to all ministries of the government of India for nominating officers of the rank of joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries from different services for deployment as "district rath prabharis" (special officers) in 765 districts covering 2.69 lakh gram panchayats of the country between November 20, 2023 and January 25, 2024 to "showcase/celebrate the achievements of the last nine years."
The move was severely criticised by activists, Opposition political parties, civil society and media organisations because such initiatives of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government amounted to politicisation of civil service.
Civil services were envisioned by the Constituent Assembly as instruments to be used in a non-partisan manner for serving people without fear or favour within the framework of the Constitution of India.
In response to the sharp remarks of some of those civil servants, the Election Commission of India wrote a letter to the cabinet secretary not to deploy such prabharis in the election-bound states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram as the model code of conduct has already come into force in all those states.
However, despite trenchant criticisms from manifold quarters, the Modi regime has decided to deploy such rath prabharis who will now be called as "nodal officers" as per the revised notification issued in this regard.
Such employment of very senior officers of the civil service by the Modi regime for propaganda purposes, that too at a time when the 2024 general elections are hardly five months away, negates the very ethos of civil service so brilliantly articulated in the Constituent Assembly by none other than Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is justly hailed as the architect of civil services of independent India.
Patel would have been aghast to see civil servants of different services being deployed by the Modi regime for political and partisan purposes so as to "showcase/celebrate the achievements of the last nine years".
Such use of civil servants blatantly for propagating and marketing the regime's so-called catalogue of achievements on the orders of the government is contrary to the vision of Sardar Patel, whose legacy is often invoked by Modi regime while accusing the Congress of disregarding the manifold contributions of Patel to unify India and build our nation.
“Civil services were envisioned by the Constituent Assembly as instruments to be used in a non-partisan manner for serving people without fear or favour within the framework of the Constitution of India.
In this context, it is pertinent to recall the profound words of Patel in the Constituent Assembly on October 10, 1949 concerning civil service. When he came to know that personnel from services were ordered by several provincial governments to perform certain tasks he was deeply anguished by such treatment accorded to them.
He remarked with pain by saying, "I see a tendency today that in several provinces the services are set upon and told: 'No, you are servicemen, you must carry out our orders'."
"The Union will go," Patel warned, "You will not have a united India if you do not have a good all-India service which has the independence to speak its mind."
He underlined the point that civil servants should have a sense of security and the Parliament would safeguard their rights and privileges. "If you do not adopt this course," Patel sternly said, "Then do not follow the present Constitution and substitute it with something else."
He then sharply remarked, "Put in a Congress Constitution or some other Constitution or put in a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Constitution— whatever you like— but not this Constitution."
"This Constitution," he made it clear, "Is meant to be worked by a ring of service which will keep the country intact."
"There are many impediments in this Constitution which will hamper us, but in spite of that, we have in our collective wisdom come to a decision that we shall have this model wherein the ring of service will be such that will keep the country under control," he asserted.
These utterances of the indomitable Sardar are being callously and willfully disregarded when civil servants are ordered to engage in activities meant to praise the government by broadcasting its achievements in the length and breadth of the country when 2024 general elections are nigh.
“Vallabhbhai Patel said in the Constituent Assembly, "Put in a Congress Constitution or some other Constitution or put in a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Constitution— whatever you like— but not this Constitution [if you want a plaint civil service]."
Articles 309, 310 and 311, dealing with civil servants, were incorporated on the insistence of Sardar Patel so that they would serve the country and its people without getting encumbered by the dictates of the political regime of the day.
During the tenure of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh April 20 was celebrated as Civil Service Day in India to commemorate Sardar Patel's address to the probationers of 1947 batch of Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
He had said, "The service will have to adopt its true role of national service without being trammeled by the traditions and habits of the past."
He had added, "A civil servant cannot afford to, and must not, take part in politics. Nor must he involve himself in communal wrangles."
Also read: Modi and his new Parliament: A few lessons
He had also hoped that the IAS will "render service without fear or favour and without any expectation of extraneous rewards."
The Modi regime's Order that a set of civil servants would praise its achievements is not consistent with the vision of Sardar Patel.
A peep into history reveals that the order is also violative of the vision of Mahatma Gandhi and the Constituent Assembly. On May 8, 1947, slightly more than three months before India got independence, Gandhi, in a letter to Viceroy Louis Mountbatten wrote, "[Members of the civil service] should be taught from now to accommodate themselves to the new regime. They may not be partisans taking sides and the slightest trace of communalism among them should be severely dealt with."
On August 23, 1949 Article 320 (corresponding Article 286 in the draft Constitution) dealing with the functions of Public Service Commissions was being discussed in the Constituent Assembly.
Laxminarayan Sahu, a distinguished member of the assembly representing Orissa (now Odisha), while speaking on the occasion said, "[W]e are providing for the formation of a Public Service Commission solely with a view to ensure the smooth and efficient running of our republican government."
However, he expressed an apprehension, "[W]hen a democratic form of government is established, many political parties dominate the field and they adopt undesirable methods for appointments in the services."
Therefore, he remarked, "We are going to form the Public Service Commission solely with a view that political parties may not be in a position to adopt such methods… No one may be able to suggest that the services are working under influence."
Also read: What is the 'rath prabhari' controversy?
That vision articulated in the Constituent Assembly clearly indicated that civil services should not be used for political purposes.
Dr B.R. Ambedkar defended the protection prescribed in the Constitution to civil servants on the ground that they would perform their duties by following the service conditions which are obviously above any partisan interest.
The aforementioned Order of Modi regime for deployment of civil servants for mobilising people around the achievements of the present Union Government is in negation of the vision on civil service articulated by leaders such as Gandhi, Sardar Patel and Ambedkar and as presented in the Constituent Assembly.
“Dr B.R. Ambedkar defended the protection prescribed in the Constitution to civil servants on the ground that they would perform their duties by following the service conditions which are obviously above any partisan interest.
To uphold that vision, it is of categorical imperative for the government of India to dispense with the Order substantially, and not just by name-changing. In doing so, the constitutional vision of India can be upheld.