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Journalism of Courage
A fine opportunity is at hand for the new government to correct a dangerous and foolish subversion perpetrated by successive governments. This refers to the systematic emaciation of the once all-powerful Ministry of Home Affairs which, in better days, boasted a Sardar Patel at its helm. That was a long time ago. During Indira Gandhi8217;s tenure, North Block fell upon ill days as her obsessive need to corner power saw its progressive sidelining and divestment. A concomitant was the installation of a series of non-entities who were moreover put in a position where they had no choice but to spar with and intrigue against their own junior colleagues.
Proposing a strong and rejuvenated home ministry may seem like a dangerously centralising idea at a time when unitarianism is passe. It is no such thing. The issue is a sensible allocation of functions within the central government. The home ministry8217;s enfeeblement has empowered only an unaccountable bureaucracy and junior ministers at the expense of senior ones. Avicious circle has followed of feeble ministry getting feeble leaders who perpetuate the ministry8217;s marginalisation. Who can forget the infamous running battles between Rajesh Pilot and S.B. Chavan where the former, as minister of state for internal security, routinely went over his boss8217;s head to the prime minister? The more recent outbursts of Indrajit Gupta against his Home Secretary are legion. Both ministers in fact had good reason to complain. What is the home ministry without charge of internal security, direct oversight of Kashmir, control of the CBI, and supervision of the Intelligence Bureau which, in the absence of direct ministerial control, has become a law unto itself? Yet every one of these has been successively taken out from under North Block8217;s umbrella. The inevitable result has been the aggrandisement of the bureaucratic cabinet secretariat and junior ministers gleefully giving senior colleagues a bloody nose. All of which leaves North Block a mere posting shop for the central para-militaryforces.
