Why can’t bureaucrats speak against the wrongdoings of the government?

 

Bureaucrats are an important part of the government and administration in India. They advise the elected representatives of the people about everything ranging from change in policies, to areas of work, and transfers of the employees. They look after various departments allotted as the secretaries. A section of them looks after the autonomous institutions such as the election commission. The bureaucrats in our country are selected through a rigorous selection pattern and are expected to know the history, geographical and economic status of the country. After clearing the civil services examination, they are trained in the respective services they get.

Bureaucrats, a powerful group of individuals are often criticised for not standing up or speaking up against the wrong moves or law, especially in the public platforms. They are expected to be the ones standing up against the political pressure. Primarily because that is their job and they are paid a high salary and enough allowances for that and secondarily, they serve under the Hon’ble President and their job can only be taken away by political orders.

Then why don’t they stand up against faulty policies or unnecessary transfers done out of political motives or personal vendetta ? I remember a senior bureaucrat of my state saying over Twitter that you can’t stand up against your manager at your job. I would disagree and say most of us can. He isn’t the MD. Also, our choices affect a company, not the public. The reason, I guess, is the fear of frequent transfers. I remember the Haryana Cadre office Mr Ashok Khemka, an IAS who has been transferred 54 times in his 28+ years of his service, an average of 7 months in each office. The general tenure of an officer is from 2-4 years in a department. The officers do not want to displease their bosses to be posted in less relevant posts, to which some of them refer as the punishment posting, for standing up to what is right.

I wish, that one day we have the bureaucrats united, to stand against the political bosses. The idea of having favourites has to be gone down. The civil servants should be accountable to the public, which spends a lot of money on their lifestyle and perks, apart from the salary and give them a distinguished status.