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Journalism of Courage
The All India Institute for Medical Sciences AIIMS8212; the very symbol of the highest standards of medical education in the country 8212; was ironically in a very poor state of health thanks primarily to the intrusive role the government played in its affairs. Something as basic as the appointments of professorial staff required the prior clearance of the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet. It needed Prime Minister Vajpayee8217;s personal intervention to strike down this stipulation and restore a modicum of autonomy to AIIMS, as the Sunday Express has just reported. The fact that shortly after being granted the power to make appointments, AIIMS went ahead and hired 50 professors 8212; staff that it had evidently badly needed 8212; testifies to the virtues of autonomous decision making.
There is a simple lesson in this story. Institutions are grievously shackled by the extraneous influences that are brought to bear upon them the moment the government evinces an interest in running their affairs. Before long, they are reduced from being centres of excellence to centres of control. Control, by its very nature, is the enemy of initiative, and without initiative there is no way excellence can flourish. Every institution must therefore have the freedom to decide what is in its best interests. This is something that the government, given its distinct agenda, cannot do 8212; however noble its intentions may be. This is something that bureaucrats, given their distinct orientation, cannot do 8212; however talented they may be as individuals. Incidentally, that was the precise point iterated by former RBI governor, Bimal Jalan, in his convocation address at IIM A. He observed that the damage inflicted by unwarranted political or bureaucratic interference can cause permanent damage to an institution.
