A culture of acquiescence

As the Best Bakery retrial proceeds in Mumbai, the victims can hope for justice at last. But a question will continue to fester long after t...

As the Best Bakery retrial proceeds in Mumbai, the victims can hope for justice at last. But a question will continue to fester long after the culprits in this famous case are brought to book: why did the bureaucracy cave in to pressure by political bosses during the murder and mayhem in Gujarat 2002?

8220;As one who has served in the IAS for over two decades, I feel great shame at the abdication of duty of my peers in the civil and police administration8230; the blood of hundreds of innocents is on the hands of police and civil authorities in Gujarat8230;8221; With these words, Harsh Mander, a civil servant in Gujarat resigned as the administration chose to remain a spectator of the post-Godhra carnage.

There were only a few administrators in Gujarat who had the guts to defy the state government8217;s unspoken but clearly understood orders to allow the rioters to kill members of the minority community with impunity. This lot included Kutch Superintendent of Police SP Vivek Srivastav, Bhavnagar SP Rahul Sharma, Banaskantha SP Himanshu Bhatt, and Ahmedabad DCP P.B. Godhia, who tried to maintain law and order during the riots. Not surprisingly, all of them were transferred later.

However, seemingly, these fearless and objective public servants were in a minority, while those who helped and supported the Narendra Modi government in carrying out its communal agenda were the majority. The absence of courageous public servants became the strength of the 8220;modern day Neros8221;.

It is shameful that bureaucrats should be willing to obey illegal orders given by the political executive for fear of a transfer or refusal of a good position, while overlooking the fact that such compliance can result in the killing of hundreds of innocent lives, as happened in Gujarat.

Unfortunately, this tendency to play safe in the bureaucracy is an old phenomenon, as the Administrative Reforms Commission 1968 stated, 8220;There is a disinclination among quite a number of ministers to welcome frank and impartial advice from the Secretary or his ideas and an inclination to judge him by his willingness to do what they wish him to do8230; This has also bred a tendency on the part of an increasing number of civil servants to attempt to anticipate the minister8217;s wishes and proffer their advice accordingly8221;.

Even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has promised administrative reforms, his government should ensure a fearless bureaucracy by making provisions in the recruitment process of public servants to gauge the courage and personal integrity of candidates, and by including necessary safeguards in the executive-bureaucrat relationship to allow courageous administrators to survive rather than having to resign or face transfers as punishment for discharging their duty.