This is an abridged version of First BK Nehru Memorial Lecture delivered by
N N Vohra Governor of Jammu and Kashmir at Chandigarh.
I compliment the Centre for Research in Rural & Industrial Development for establishing a Lecture in the memory of Mr B.K. Nehru who rendered outstanding service to the country both during the period of British Rule and after Independence. I feel privileged to have been asked to deliver the First B.K. Nehru Memorial Lecture to remember this eminent administrator.
Born in 1909 Nehru was educated at the Allahabad and Oxford Universities and at the London School of Economics where he was a favourite student of Harold Laski. He took the ICS examination while studying at London and was second in the list when he made it in 1933. He joined the ICS in 1934 in the Punjab cadre. At about this time he got married to Magdolna, a fellow student from Hungary. Renamed as Shobha Nehru, this elegant lady learnt to speak Hindi, wear Indian dresses and prepare Indian delicacies. She had a very large hand in her husband’s successes throughout his life.
In 1939, with only five years service, he joined the Government of India on deputation. The excellent quality of his work in the Ministry of Finance, particularly in the management of Foreign Exchange and Sterling Balances, led to his being picked up to join the Finance and Commerce Pool. When he had done twelve years of service he was elevated as Joint Secretary and continued to deal with External Finance related work for which he had already acquired the reputation of an expert.
After his work in the Northeast, Nehru was appointed as High Commissioner to UK where he served during 1973-77. Thereafter, for the following four years, Nehru remained unemployed till, in early 1981, he was appointed as Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. In Kashmir, from around the end of 1983, Nehru ran into difficulties with the Government of India for not being able to carry out New Delhi’s behest that the incumbent National Conference Chief Minister should be replaced by the Chief Minister’s brother-in-law, also a Legislator in the National Conference, who would be supported by some elements of the National Conference and a larger number of Legislators from the Congress Party. Nehru’s resignation on this issue was not accepted for the stated reason that this would cause embarrassment to the Prime Minister! Allowing the Centre to have its way, Nehru accepted a transfer from J&K and took over as the Governor of Gujarat where he served (1984-86) for the remainder period of his five year tenure as Governor.
He served as India’s man in Washington for nearly half of his entire career, successively as India’s Director on the World Bank, Commissioner General for Economic Affairs and as Ambassador to the United States; four years as our High Commissioner in London and for ten years as Governor of Assam and Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir, and Gujarat.
Having spoken about Nehru’s long and illustrious career in the civil service, I shall devote the remainder part of this Lecture to making some observations on governance – as it obtained during the British period, the challenges faced after Independence and the situation which obtains today.
Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, our first Prime Minister (for ease of reference hereinafter referred to as Pt Nehru), was B.K. Nehru’s uncle. Because of the constraint of time I would not be able to comment on the numerous references in B.K. Nehru’s memoirs which reflect on the personality, character, convictions, total commitment and high values of Pt Nehru, who remained at the forefront of the struggle for freedom and, thereafter, served as the first Prime Minister of India for 17 years.
As B.K. Nehru has written, during India’s prolonged struggle for freedom, Pt Nehru remained deeply concerned that the aim of gaining Independence should not be merely restricted to liberating the country from foreign rule. His vision was to also change the whole structure of Indian society for bettering the lot of the vast masses of the people of India. B.K. Nehru has said that Pt Nehru, like Omar Khayyam’s lover, was eternally seeking, “to grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire” and “to shatter it to bits and then remould it nearer to the Heart’s Desire”.
Pt Nehru’s passing away in 1964 marked the end of an era which encompassed the entire period of struggle for freedom from the colonial rule and, thereafter, the very difficult years in which gigantic challenges were faced by the first national government. As BK Nehru has recorded, the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri “laid the final seal on that era ….. hardly anybody was available any longer who would insist on Gandhian values being observed and who, in his own life and behaviour, practised such values”.
Any talk about governance raises questions about the role and responsibilities of public servants. In this context, it would be interesting to recall that Ivan Jones, Deputy Commissioner of Hissar, advised Nehru, his trainee: “the duty of a civil servant is exclusively the pursuit of the public good with no attempt to take any credit for his work or to seek publicity for himself. The life of the civil servant was in some respects like that of a monk – devoid of all self-interests and serving not the God but people at large without any thought of aggrandization”.
Till 1947 the Central Secretariat was strictly a policy making body which drafted laws required to implement policies which had been agreed to by the Government. The Secretariat also approved the rules and regulations required for implementing the various laws which were enacted to govern the country. It is noteworthy that the Secretariat did not take decisions in regard to individual cases which were examined in accordance with the extant rules and regulations and decided by the offices below the Secretariat, which were designated as “Attached” or “Subordinate” Offices, among which were the Central Board of Revenue, Comptroller and Auditor General, Railway Board and the P&T Department.
Each of the six departments in the Government of India were serviced and run by limited staff as compared to the gigantic size of the present day Ministries at the Centre. The Department of Education, Health and Lands, in which Nehru initially served, was run by a total of seven officers comprising the Secretary, one Jt Secretary, two Dy Secretaries and three Under Secretaries. The work of the Department was shared between the Secretary and the Jt Secretary.
The creation of a new post during the British period was made so difficult that very few could muster the courage to moot a proposal which would be critically examined at various levels before it could be forwarded, if at all, for consideration by the Secretary of State for India, who sat in England. The situation which has existed in the States and in the Government of India in the past decades has been totally the opposite: any number of new posts can be created for purely political considerations, even if the State Government is facing severe financial problems.
Having spoken about the time during which Nehru served the Government of India, I shall comment briefly about the situation which has evolved since Independence.
The British ruled Indian for nearly two centuries to promote their own interests and left behind a backward and feudal agrarian economy, huge regional imbalances, large scale unemployment and wide spread poverty. It was the unflinching commitment of the founding fathers and the front ranking political leaders of that time which enabled the first national government, led by Pt Nehru, to bring under control the prevailing communal violence, arson, loot and killings and restore law and order. Millions of refugees were re-settled, food grains were efficiently distributed through thousands of ration shops, droughts and floods were faced and, in the midst of troubles on various fronts, the country rose to also deal with Pakistan’s aggression in Kashmir. It would not be out of place to observe that these various challenges were successfully tackled because of the devoted hard work put in by the limited cadres of the civil, police, defence and other services which had been splintered and dislocated after the Partition.
After the Partition of the country was announced some of the best minds in the country sat together and engaged in intensive debates to draft the Constitution of India which provides a framework of cooperative federalism for the governance of free India. The Constitution, founded on four pillars of JUSTICE, LIBERTY, EQUALITY and FRATERNITY, contains specific provisions and the Directive Principles of the State Policy which provide the direction of the tasks to be carried out for building a strong and vibrant nation. The Constitution perceives a strong Centre for guiding and supporting the States in the collective endeavour of nation building and provides a uniform set of inter-related institutions which are envisaged to lay the basis for a common framework of governance.
During the debates in the Constituent Assembly, Sardar Patel had repeatedly stressed that the effective governance of free India and the harmonious working of Centre-State relations was crucially dependent on the collective pursuit of a national perspective. He strongly believed that the unity and integrity of India could be safeguarded by a federal administrative system in which the All India Services would be required to play a vital role. It was realized, right in the beginning, that success in securing orderly change and stability would act as a bulwark against social unrest and violence. It is for this reason that the task of tackling the problems of poverty and unemployment was among the government’s foremost priorities.
Looking back over the years past it could be said that during the first two decades, notwithstanding the innumerable difficulties faced, the Government of India achieved reasonable success in several arenas. The foundations of the country’s future growth were laid during this period, particularly in regard to the enlargement of the educational and health systems, establishment of universities and institutions for the promotion of science, technology and research, expansion of civil aviation, sea ports, highways, railways and public transport; implementation of land reforms, consolidation of holdings and provision of security of tenure to the actual tillers; construction of large dams and expansion of irrigation systems which enabled the phenomenal success of the Green Revolution; enhancement of power generation and steel and cement production; establishment of Space and Atomic Energy Commissions and many other visionary initiatives which paved the way for the growth and advancement which we have achieved in recent years. During this period the country faced external aggression on three occasions: while we had to accept humiliation in the 1962 conflict with China our Armed Forces acquitted themselves most creditably in the 1965 and 1971 wars.
Around the end of 1960s the Congress Party, which had continuously ruled at the Centre and in most of the States since Independence, was beset with internal feuds. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s resolve to cling to authority at any cost led to the enforcement of Emergency (1975-77) which severely fractured the rule of law and the constitution and damaged the functioning of the parliamentary and cabinet systems.
While there was corruption and maladministration in the earlier years, the period of Emergency saw the emergence of an unwholesome nexus between unprincipled politicians and the brand new breed of the so called “committed civil servants”. This led to the emergence of extra constitutional elements playing an unlawful role in governmental functioning at the Centre and in the States.
The post Emergency years witnessed the growth of political instability and the exposure of a series of corruption scandals which involved allegations against the senior most echelons in the government, including the Prime Minister. This period also witnessed the unearthing of alarming cases of gross abuse of authority in the States which involved high ranking civil and police officers, Ministers and Chief Ministers.
Among the factors which have contributed to the failures of governance in the past years: the foremost is corruption which has spread unchecked and presently permeates all levels of functioning. The continuation of corrupt and unlawful practices has resulted in seriously damaging the capability and credibility of the institutions of governance. It is a matter for grave concern that in many States it has virtually become a practice for pliant officers of doubtful integrity being handpicked on considerations of caste, community or political affiliations and assigned to lucrative posts for gathering funds for their political masters. Resultantly, the best available public servants are perhaps not even considered for manning important posts in the administrative system. This phenomenon has bred frustration and demotivation among the competent and upright elements in the various cadres, all over the country.
Day to day political interference in the functioning of the governmental machinery has generated indiscipline and unaccountability. Resultantly, it has become growingly difficult for the common man to get any work done without paying bribes and this has led to the common man losing trust in the functioning of the administrative system.
The incessant interference in the functioning of Police organizations has led to serious damage being caused to the morale, discipline and professionalism of the constabularies. A grave consequence of this situation has been the progressive deterioration in the maintenance of public order, open defiance of the law, and increase in the incidence of varied serious crimes.
The past decades have witnessed the growing phenomenon of criminal elements enjoying the protection of politicians in power and a threatening nexus developing between unprincipled public servants, corrupt politicians and organized crime and mafia networks in the country. Side by side, while several major scams and scandals have continued to remain under investigation for decades none of the alleged offenders have so far been brought to book. This is perhaps because the CBI and CVC, the apex central agencies responsible for dealing with corruption among public servants, are no longer looked upon as professional agencies which are capable of resisting political pressures and extra-legal influences. This has rightly led to the general belief that the rich and those who hold high positions are not answerable to the laws of the land. It is indeed a sad failure that successive governments at the Centre have not as yet succeeded in establishing an effective law to curb corruption in the highest echelons, including at the level of the Prime Minister. After decades of discussion, the country is still awaiting the appointment of the first Lok Pal. Time has come for leaders of all political parties, particularly those who wield power at the Centre and in the States, to recognize that the continuance of corruption shall damage and weaken the administrative and legal framework to the extent of threatening the very foundations of our polity and society and thus endangering the unity and integrity of the country.
The Rule of Law cannot be enforced unless the criminal justice system functions with speed, efficiency and fairness. Unfortunately, we have failed on this front. It has been reported that well over 3 crore cases are pending trials, of which nearly 2 crore relate to criminal offences. Because of the virtual collapse of the justice system, the offenders get discharged for want of evidence, after awaiting trials for years and there has been a worrisome decline in the conviction rates of the criminal cases put to trial. It is a matter for even greater concern that, besides the failures arising from infrastructural deficiencies, the judicial apparatus has been also facing complaints which reflect on its competence and integrity and, in the past years, members of the superior judiciary, even up to the level of the Chief Justice of India, have been the subject of serious allegations.
We also face serious challenges in regard to the management of National Security. For the past several decades now, adversary external agencies and international terrorist groups have been continuing with their determined activities to subvert and destabilize India by spreading religious fundamentalism, inciting conflicts and perpetrating violence and killings. It is important that the highest attention is paid to ensure that there is no gap or deficiency whatsoever in the effective preservation of the country’s territorial integrity.
Even after the terror attacks in Mumbai, on our Parliament and, more recently, on the Air Force Base in Pathankot, we are still in the process of establishing the required country wide apparatus which would have the capability of effectively safeguarding National Security. Also, the required steps have still to be taken for securing firm and clear understandings between the Centre and the States for enacting a comprehensive federal law for establishing a fully empowered central agency which can take immediate cognizance and promptly investigate a terror attack which may take place at any time, anywhere in the country, without precious time having to be lost in securing multiple clearances.
It is of crucial importance, particularly at the current juncture, for the Centre and the States to join hands for working most closely together and tackling all major pending tasks for building a strong and vibrant India. In working towards such a goal, the very first steps required would relate to speedily de-politicizing the entire administrative apparatus, curbing corruption, fearlessly enforcing the Rule of Law, ensuring impregnable National Security management and creating a country wide environment for re-energizing, enlarging and strengthening the vital institutions of governance.
In looking towards the future we need to recognize that among the most daunting challenges facing us is to reduce inequality without losing any more time. The continuance of social and economic inequalities could unleash confrontations and conflicts which could trigger chaos and disorder across the country. For this reason alone it is of vital importance to ensure that the administrative system, all over the country, functions in a manner which ensures against any injustice being done to our people, particularly to those who belong to the disadvantaged segments of our society and are already suffering.
Another cause for concern relates to the wanton manner in which rights and liberties are sought to be exercised in our country. This trend must not continue. It is also essential that our citizenry remains duly conscious of its obligations and duties to the nation. Side by side, it would be beneficial for the Central and State Governments to take sustained initiatives for promoting an environment which imbues our people with values founded in equality and secularism and respect for the diversity of our numerous and far spread communities. For this purpose we shall need to make conscious efforts to learn, understand and appreciate the diversities of our various communities in regard to their views, beliefs, cultural practices, customs and habits.
Already, in several parts of the country, community relations are being disturbed and disrupted by growing caste and religious divisiveness. This is resulting in time honoured socio-cultural traditions and practices being questioned with unjustifiable aggressivity, leading to inter-community clashes and violence. While we may be rightly proud of our civilisational past and repeatedly keep reminding the world that the people of India are multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual, it is cause for considerable anxiety that our tolerance levels and traditional sensitivity to differing views and beliefs are witnessing erosion.
It is also necessary to devote due and timely attention to the upcoming generation. If we are to benefit from the youthful demographic profile of our large population it is essential that gainful opportunities are provided to our youth and all required steps are taken to ensure against their energies being exploited for generating disharmony or causing disruption. For this reason alone, it is essential to ensure against there being any failure in providing clean, prompt and efficient governance which is aimed at achieving inclusive and equitable human, social and economic development to rapidly promote the welfare of all our people, in every part of the country.
If the country has to be liberated from corruption, maladministration and misgovernance, the political executive shall need to accept their responsibility, assume leadership and play a visibly pro-active role in promoting productive governance. It would no longer do to attribute all our failures, on various fronts, merely to the deficiencies of the bureaucracy.
In conclusion, I would reiterate that we do not have the luxury of waiting endlessly for reforming the governance of the country. If we have to move forward and achieve the goal of eradicating inequality and discrimination and for all our people to become free from want and fear of any kind, then the entire administrative apparatus, effectively and honestly led by the political executive, shall need to perform with efficiency, speed and accountability, all over the country.
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