THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, DELHI
Hon’ble Chief Minister, Smt. Rekha Gupta
Chief Secretary, Shri Rajeev Verma
Director Training
Distinguished guests, officers, and dear colleagues
It is a matter of great pride and privilege to join you on this momentous occasion - the 150th birth anniversary of one of Mother India’s greatest sons, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Sardar Patel was not only, one of the leading founding fathers of this Nation, but also nursed and nurtured the nascent nation, like a mother, in the three years that he lived, after attaining Independence.
02. Few individuals have shaped the destiny of India, as profoundly as he did. His leadership, determination, and vision for a united and strong India, laid the foundation of our administrative and democratic structure. While he single-handedly shaped the geography of India, in conjunction with his legendary colleagues, he also shaped our socio-cultural, economic and political landscape. Indeed, he ensured that the ideals of discipline, unity, and integrity became the cornerstones of our civil services.
03. He described, the Indian Civil Services, as the “steel frame” of India. In doing so, he put-forth before a monolithic behemoth, a daunting task of transforming itself, in line with the transformation, that the nation was undergoing.
04. The Indian Civil Services, till then, was essentially a coercive and status quoist organ, entrusted with maintaining and perpetuating status quo, that was exploitative and imperial. But on 15th August, 1947, it was entrusted with the task of achieving transformation, under a democratically elected political executive. It was not to, perpetuate the Imperial Raj of the colonial masters, but to achieve the goals, set forth by the will of the people of India, as enshrined in our constitution.
05. I will not hesitate in saying that the Civil Services, in the first few decades, after independence, indeed withstood the test of time. However, I would be failing in my duties as the Lt. Governor, if I do not point out today, that the “Steel Frame”, as envisioned by the Sardar, rapidly deviated from the path of nation building.
06. In this regard, at the outset, I would like to underline that “Steel Frames”, that hold a building, are supposed to be invisible. They are supposed to be rigid, as well as flexible, at the same time.
07. As far as invisibility is concerned, it is a civil servant, who is supposed to be, that nameless - faceless person, consistently working to achieve, positive transformation. They have to work for the benefit of the people, they serve, as per the will, reflected by the people in the political executive, that the people elect themselves. In lieu of this namelessness and facelessness, they are ensured security of tenure, pay and perks, in contrast to the political executive. They are, unlike the political executive, also ensured immunity from direct public pressure and censure, something that is again buffered by the political executive.
08. However, we today see a new breed of civil servants, ever ready to appear in the media and showcase themselves on the social media. This is an undesirable trend, that has to be stemmed, not only through diktats, but through self-realization. You have to realize that it’s not you, who is judged by the people periodically, but those, who seek the people’s mandate every election.
09. While the Steel Frame of a building has to be rigid enough to hold the building from collapsing under its own weight, it also has to be flexible enough, for the building, to withhold earthquakes and Tsunamis.
10. As far as this aspect of civil services is concerned, their performance has, in many instances, been questionable. It is often seen, that when, pragmatism is required to achieve developmental goals in the benefit of the people, they become dogmatic. At the same time, when they need to be dogmatic, in the interest of the exchequer, they become pragmatic in self-interest.
11. Having witnessed the civil services, very closely, as a representative of the corporate world, as indeed as a political and constitutional head later, I have myself experienced, “Trained Incompetence”. Even if desired, a bureaucracy rooted in hierarchy, often suffers from “over conformity”, where following the rules become more important, than achieving the organization’s goals. Veblen’s phrase of “Trained incapacity” also underlines the same.
12. Having said that, I would be more than happy to declare publicly, that the civil services, guided well and asked to perform, can achieve wonders. It is, however, critical that they work solely in the public interest, rather than vested financial and political interests of the political executive. My experience with the civil services, in achieving the goals of cleaning the Yamuna floodplains, turning around DDA’s finances, organization of the G-20 Summit, handling the floods and rejuvenating the Yamuna, in the limited time during which, I headed the NGT appointed High Level Committee for the same, has been more than gratifying and satisfactory. When called upon, they performed and achieved, what even their highly paid counterparts in the corporate sector, can never dream of achieving.
13. As the theme of today’s seminar rightly suggests, the role of civil servants is changing rapidly. Today, the challenges before governance are multi-dimensional - technological disruptions, social inequities, environmental pressures, and the growing aspirations of a youthful nation.
14. Civil servants are not only administrators now; they are innovators, communicators, facilitators, and, above all, leaders of change. It is imperative, that officers at every level, uphold the principles of transparency, ethics, and service to the last citizen - the true spirit of Antyodaya.
15. I know that the task of a civil servant is not easy. Even if you move ahead, with all the right intentions, and in the right direction, there will be many, even amongst your colleagues, who would try to deter you. People posing as activists and civil society will try to entangle you in vicious criticism, often to serve their own vested interest. To all of you, my message is very simple.
फर्क नहीं पड़ता, कौन मुझे क्या मानता है,
मैं खुद की नज़रों में ठीक हूँ, मुझे खुदसे बेहतर कौन जानता है।
16. Institutions like UTCS are playing a commendable role in shaping this new generation of administrators. I am happy to note the Directorate’s initiatives in professional development, leadership training, and adoption of modern learning methods. However, any professional training will make you only that much. To evolve as a true administrator with compassion, you have to follow the vision, simply enunciated in these two lines:
चरित्र को पवित्र करने का कोई इत्र नहीं मिलता,
अपने किरदार से इंसान खुद महकता है।
17. As we remember Sardar Patel, let us also remember his belief that the civil service must remain fearless, impartial, and people-centric.
18. The best homage we can pay him, is to ensure that governance remains transparent, accountable, and responsive, to the needs of every citizen.
19. When we talk about transparency, accountability and responsiveness, another extremely important aspect of ensuring the same comes to my mind. Only seamless communication between the people and the administrators can ensure transparency, accountability and responsiveness. However, this gold standard of governance and administration is severely neglected by all of us, including myself.
20. Whenever, we in our comfortable spaces start speaking in English, we effectively and arrogantly exclude more than 99% of our people from the very discourse of governance. एक साधारण भारतीय के समक्ष जब हम अंग्रेजी का प्रयोग करते हैं, तो स्वतः ही हम उसके और अपने बीच, वह दूरी बना लेते हैं, जो transparency, यानी पारदर्शिता, accountability, यानी जवाबदेही, और responsiveness, यानी संवेदनशीलता से खुद को दूर कर लेते हैं।
21. हिंदी, कन्नड़, ओडिया, बंगला, तेलुगु, मलयालम, गुजराती, मराठी, असमिया, तथा अन्य भारतीय भाषाओँ को पढने और बोलने वाले लोगों को हम, जुबान की बस एक मार से, बेजुबान कर देते हैं। अब समय आ गया है, कि हम पूरी तरह से प्रशासन के colonial स्वरुप को त्याग कर, उसे पूर्ण रूप से भारतीय बनायें। सरदार पटेल के प्रति यही हमारी सबसे बड़ी श्रद्धांजली होगी। अगर हम किसी का काम न भी कर सकें, तो हमारी संवेदनशीलता ही, बड़े मरहम के रूप में, काम कर सकती है।
ज़रूरी नहीं कि हर पेड़ फल दे,
कभी किसी की छाया भी बड़ा सुकून देती है ।
22. Let this seminar be a reaffirmation of our collective resolve - to serve with integrity, to innovate with courage, and to uphold the unity and strength of our great nation.
Thank you.
Jai Hind