TIME TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CIVIL SERVICE

PRAVEEN KUMAR
G B , H AY ES H AL L , H AY ES RO AD ,
B ANG AL O RE-5 6 0 0 2 5 . ( Ka r n a t a k a , I ND I A)
p r y v e e n @ y a h o o .c o m / p r y v e e n @ g m a il.c o m
Ph o n e : 0 8 0 -4 1 1 2 5 3 0 9
Mo b i l e s : 9 9 0 1 9 7 9 5 6 7 / 9 9 4 5 3 3 6 8 4 9

PRAVEEN KUMAR

1
TIME TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CIVIL SERVICE

PRAVEEN KUMAR

2
PUBLISHED WORKS OF PRAVEENKUMAR

English writings

POLICING FOR THE NEW AGE

POLICING THE POLICE

English poems

UNKNOWN HORIZONS
PORTRAITS OF PASSION

Kannada poems

DIVYA BELAKU
BHAVANA
PRIYA CHAITRA TAPASVINI

3
COMMENTS

BHAVANA

(Poems In Kannada)

The work is a bunch of lilting poems in easy, intimate

and cosy kannada. They are the reveries of a trained
and critical mind of a mature poet with an observing
and penetrating eye and sharp sensitivity to the
world around.......the canvas for his 62 short pieces
of poetry is the whole gamut of human life, its
charms and beauty..... And is highly enjoyable.....
There is also a bouquet of the ecstatic world of
lovers and romance.

THE HINDU

DIVYA BELAKU

(Poems In Kannada)

CªÀÅUÀ¼À°è CªÀgÀÄ-w à gÀ ¥ ÀÄl Ö , ¥ Á æ A i Àı À: D gÀA ¨ s Àz À “z Á å j v À¦ à v É Ã £ ÀÄ” J A § P ÀªÀ£ Àz À°è v ÀªÀÄä

« Äv À ¨ s Á µ Á ¸ ÀA ¥ Àw Û ¤ A z À CA ¢ £ À C£ ÀĨ s ÀªÀUÀ¼À£ ÀÄß º É Ã ¼Àv É Æ q ÀV z ÀgÉ , ªÀÄÄA z É ªÀi Á w £ À ¥ Àj « Äw A i ÀÄ
¨ É Ã °A i ÀÄ£ ÀÄß z Á n ªÁ P ï ¸ ÀA ¥ Àw Û £ À ¨ s ÀA q Á gÀP É Ì PÉʬ ÄQ Ì º À® ªÁ gÀÄ « µ ÀA i ÀÄUÀ¼À § UÉ Î P ÀªÀ£ ÀUÀ¼À£ ÀÄß
gÀa ¹ z Á Ý gÉ ! E ªÀÅUÀ¼À°è ¥ ÀÄl Ö W Àl £ É UÀ½ ªÉ , ¢ l Ö º É e É Ó UÀ½ ªÉ . ªÀi Á w £ À ¤ § ð A z s À P À¼Àa , ¨ s Á ªÀ£ Á
¯ É Æ Ã P Àz À°è º Á gÁ q ÀĪÀ « º Á gÀUÀ½ ªÉ ; P À® à £ É UÀ½ ªÉ .

£ À£ Àß UÀæ º Àt ± ÀQ Û ¸ É Æ Ã ® ĪÀÅz ÀÄ C°è-¥ Àz ÀUÀ¼À ¥ Á æ ¸ À ªÀÄv ÀÄÛ £ Á z À ¯ Á °v Àå ¢ A z À ¥ ÀÄn A i ÀÄĪÀ

G ¥ ÀªÉ ÄUÀ¼ÀÄ, ªÁ P ï © A § UÀ¼ÀÄ z É ¸ É z É ¸ É UÉ º À© â , º Á j , P ÀÄt  z ÀÄ, v É Ã °, ¸ ÀÛ § Þ ªÁ UÀĪÀÅz ÀÄA l Ä. ªÉ Äà °A z À
ªÉ Äà ¯ É CªÀÅUÀ¼À ªÀÄgÀÄz sÀé ¤ C£ ÀÄgÀt ¸ ÀĪÀÅz ÀÄA l Ä. CA x À¯ É ® è £ À£ ÀUÉ ¨ s Á µ É A i ÀÄ UÀÄj A i É Äà £ ÀÄ, ªÀi Á w £ À ªÀÄÄQ Û
J °è J A § ¸ ÀA z É Ã º À º ÀÄn Ö A i É Äà º ÀÄl ÄÖ v ÀÛ z É ! P À® à £ Á ªÉ Ê ² µ ÀÖ ö å , « ¸ Á Û gÀ, ¨ É q ÀUÀÄ © £ Á ß t UÀ¼À°è
°Ã ¯ Á e Á ® ªÁ V CªÀgÀÄ « º Àj ¹ z ÀA v É £ Á £ ÀÄ « º Àj ¸ À¯ Á gÉ !

M ªÉ Ää N ¢ z À P É ® ªÉ à ¥ ÀA Q Û UÀ¼ÀÄ, CªÀÅ º ÀÄn Ö ¹ z À © A § UÀ¼ÀÄ v Àĸ ÀÄ º É Æ v ÀÄÛ ¸ Àj z À § ½ P À

E £ É Æ ß ªÉ Ää N ¢ z Á UÀ CªÉ à © A § UÀ¼À£ ÀÄß ªÀÄÆ r ¸ À§ ® ÄèªÁ z ÀgÉ £ À£ Àß ¥ Á °UÉ CªÀÅ Cx Àð UÀ© ü ð v ÀªÁ UÀÄv ÀÛ ªÉ .
¨ s Á ªÀ UÀ© ü ð v À © A § UÀ¼À ¸ ÀªÀĸ É å A i ÀÄÆ Cz É Ã . ¤ e Á £ ÀĨ s ÀªÀUÀ¼ÀÄ A i Ài Á ªÀ v É gÀ£ ÀªÉ à E gÀ°- CªÀÅUÀ¼À
P À® à £ É A i ÀÄ£ ÀÄß £ À£ Àß °è ªÀÄÆ r ¹ G ½ ¸ À§ ® è j à w , £ À£ ÀUÉ Cx Àð ªÁ UÀĪÀA x Àz ÀÄ, G ½ z ÀĪÀÅ £ À£ Àß £ ÀÄß « Äà j z ÀªÀÅ.

4
 º Á UÉ £ À£ Àß UÀæ º Àt ± ÀQ Û A i ÀÄ£ ÀÄß « Äà j º À© â , º ÀgÀr ªÉ Æ Ã º ÀP À ¨ s Àæ ªÀi Á ¯ É Æ Ã P ÀªÀ£ ÀÄß º À© â ¸ ÀĪÀ ¥ Àz À
Z ÀªÀÄv ÀÌ ø w A i ÀÄ£ ÀÄß E °è P Á t Äv É Û Ã £ É !

CªÀgÀÄ v ÀªÀÄä ªÀÈ w Û A i ÀÄ£ ÀÄß w à gÀ ªÁ ¸ ÀÛ « P À C¼Àv É UÉ Æ Ã °A z À® Æ C¼É ¢ z Á Ý gÉ . Cz É Ã CªÀgÀÄ v ÀªÀÄä

D z À± Àð ªÀÄv ÀÄÛ º ÀA § ® UÀ¼À « Z Á gÀz À°è ¨ s Àæ ªÀi Á ¯ É Æ Ã P ÀªÀ£ ÀÄß ¤ « Äð ¹ v É Ã ¯ Á r z Á Ý gÉ . D j à w
v É Ã ¯ Á q À¯ Á gÀz ÀªÀ£ ÀÄ £ Á £ ÀÄ! Z ÀA z Àæ £ À£ ÀÄß P ÀA q ÀÄ ¨ É Ã r z À gÁ ªÀÄ£ ÀA v É , v Àm É Ö A i ÀÄ°èj ¹ z À ¤ à j £ À°è CªÀ£ À
© A § ªÀ£ ÀÄß P ÀA q ÀÄ v ÀÈ ¥ ÀÛ £ Á UÀ¯ Á gÀz À £ Á £ ÀÄ, gÁ ªÀÄ£ À® è ‘² ªÀgÁ ªÀÄ’.

DR. SHIVARAMA KARANTHA

in introduction to the book

UNKNOWN HORIZONS

(Poems In English)

There is an element of delight and surprise

throughout. The poet is aware of the wonderful
world of nature and of man. So he is able to employ
telling images to portray his inner feelings of
beauty and love.

DR. M. GOPALAKRISHNA ADIGA

POLICING FOR THE NEW AGE

(Essays on Police)

Mr. Praveen kumar in this treatise has exhaustively

dealt with various aspects of policing with
reference to the new challenges.....his approach
to the various topics is refreshingly sound. He has
dealt with each subject in a thorough -and
thoughtful manner.

CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE S. MOHAN

(SUPREME COURT JUDGE)

in introduction to the book

5
The language is flowery.....there is a need to
appreciate his ruthless exposure of the
criminalisation of politics and the politicisation of
the police... His treatises on dowry deaths and
their investigation and on police dogs are
characteristically thorough and sound meriting
universal attention.....there is no doubt that the
author who has already acquired a reputation as
a poet is a highly sensitive and cultured person.

THE HINDU

POLICING THE POLICE

(Essays On Police)

A Police officer and a prolific writer, Praveen Kumar, has published

another anthology ……….in the form of this book.……… "Policing the police"
acquires more relevance today in the context of the criminalisation of not
just politics, but of the services as well……….Coming as a sequel to his
earlier book Policing for the New Age, the author chooses to describe
policemen as "social doctors" and policing as a "surgical operation to
systematically remove cancerous growths from the body of society”.

THE HINDU

Praveen Kumar is not only an upright police officer but also a poet and a
prolific writer.……..Policing the Police—an analytical Study of the
philosophy and field dynamics of the policing in practice highlight
various problem areas including defective selection and
recruitment,unsound training and unhealthy job culture and identifies
likely solutions for its redemption.

DECCAN HERALD

Praveen Kumar gives an insight into the Indian police set-up and analyses
the problems of the department, with interesting illustrations from the
field. Mr Kumar's book is a departure from the routine, where he not only
analyses the problems, but also suggests solutions.

6
THE ASIAN AGE

The author expresses concern over sycophants climbing the ladder and
reaching the top to hold the reins and guide the destiny of the police.
The result — a spiritless culture created by incompetent
leaders…….Policing the police involves self-policing. Through the book,
the author has made an honest effort to throw some light on the state of
affairs of Indian police.

THE TIMES OF INDIA

A police officer unravels his profession.

INDIA TODAY

Policing with a cause. Policing The Police by Praveen Kumar.…….delves

deeply on this core aspect of policing and lays bare the Indian Police
setup, sheath by sheath………He interprets police and policing through the
prism of a poet’s sensibilities.

THE HINDUSTAN TIMES

7
 TIME TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CIVIL SERVICE

Published in THE HINDU daily dated March 2, 1999

(Authored by PRAVEEN KUMAR, mail: pryveen@yahoo.com)

India wanted its All India Services of the post-independent era to break away

from the British legacy and as a first step altered the names of the services. It is an irony

that the process led to and marked a dilution of quality. The present Indian

Administrative Services is not even a poor shadow of the old Indian Civil Service; nor

does the Indian Foreign Service bears a resemblance to the Indian Political Service; and

the present Indian police service lacks the vigour of the good old Indian Police.

The old All India Services was built on the tripod of faultless selection and

recruitment, perfect training and exposures to the highest standards of professionalism

and character to sustain it throughout. But, new India just failed to give these factors the

importance they deserved.

Reasons for this deterioration are many. The first is inherent lack of passion for

quality and excellence. The agency incharge of selections, the Union Public Service

Commission, is manned by people unequal for the task either in their professionalism,

efficiency, passion for brilliance or basic character, How can the process be reversed?

8
 Merciless pruning of the extant services to create a compact and highly

responsible core of administrative potentialities to handle a few sensitive key positions in

the colossus of the administration is needed now. Nothing short or brilliance and highest

potentiality to handle the affairs of the country should find a place in the wing that is

responsible for constituting the nerve-centre. The administration must be kept beyond

the purview of extraneous constraints such as reservation of any kind and even age

restrictions by way of multiple point entries for different age groups. The guiding

principle here is drawing the best talents from whatever sources without restraints of any

kind for the best results. The services should not be treated as an employment

opportunity to the elite, but as the foundation and pillars of the government.

HUMAN RESOURCE

The basic source of manpower for these services has to be boys and girls below

the age of 16 years who have completed secondary education. The selection must be

made part of the final secondary examination. The UPSC must be made responsible for

grooming those recruited. The commission must handle their further academic studies at

the government’s expense for the next seven years to meet the demand of the services.

Identifying the best talents of the country at higher age groups has to be the goal

of the Establishment Cell created within the UPSC on the lines of the Establishment

Officer of the Home Department of the British Raj. The cell must get busy scouting for

best talents from whatever source for direct absorption to the All India Services at the

9
appropriate levels after initial training. Outstanding professionals, technocrats and

creative minds of proven calibre can be the candidates.

Every recruit has to be put in independent charge of a subordinate job for two

years under the supervision of a competent senior officer. His performance in this

sphere must from a vital ingredient in the annual assessment. The trainee must be

judged at every stage at different levels to decide his or her suitability for various jobs.

Five years of regular service after the field training must pave the way for the first

promotion. This must function as a natural filtering process as those fit should be

promoted in the mainstream while others get elevated to higher ranks in the related

subordinate departments to man posts covered under the Central Services.

Mr.B.K.Nehru, in his memoirs “ Nice Guys Finish Second” refers to an incident

in 1950s wherein the then Finance Minister T.T.Krishnamachari, asked the chairman of

the Central Board of Revenue to show him a particular income-tax file. The latter

refused point blank on the ground that the law did not allow it. While he agreed that

T.T.K. was his superior, he contended that he himself could see the file as the chief of

the Income-Tax Department while TTK could not as he was not directly involved with

the department. India needs such spirit.

While the Ministers must lay down objectives and policies, their secretaries must

formulate programmes including drafting appropriate laws and rules to channel the

10
government objectives and policies. The onus of implementation of the programmes

must be left to the departments concerned.

India, in the pre-independent years needed brilliant people to handle its

administration. British India, with all its brilliant ideas and administrative wisdom,

created the All India Services. It recruited brilliant people for the services, imparted the

best possible training to them, exposed them to the highest standards of the profession

and presented them the best of trust, powers and opportunities to carry out their

responsibilities. The Government took care of all their personal needs, provided them

with many opportunities for growth and bestowed on them a halo of invincibility.

The training programmes for the services should be relevant to the time and

highly advanced in content. Subjects taught have to be updated every year by experts and

made challenging even to the brightest among the members of the services unlike present

training programmes which are intellectually impoverished, irrelevant to the time and do

not help tune attitudes to higher levels. Another need is making the promotional tests

mandatory and of a high standard. Overhauling the present mediocre Union Police

Service Commission to create an efficient and responsible set-up capable of handling the

enormous responsibilities under Article 320 that compels attention to arrest the

degeneration set in, in the set-up that led to blunders in identifying talents and managing

the services.

11
CREDIBILITY OF THE UPSC

A recent case is from Karnataka where three promising officers from the state

cadre were denied selection by the UPSC to an All India Service for no obvious reason

for ten years from 1990 while their juniors scored the elevation. The acute frustration

and demoralisation caused led to the break-up of family life of one of the promising trio

and subsequent divorce, repeated violent behaviour by him in public leading to public

humiliation and ultimately involvement in a murder case ending in his arrest and

conviction.

The answer to unprofessional transgressions by the UPSC lies in transforming it

to a highly professional outfit managed by people of unimpeachable character, efficiency

responsibility. The objective can be achieved by suitable amendment to Articles 316 and

317 to ensure that only right and sensible people become members and chairman of the

organisation and remain in the saddle only till they retain their moral and professional

calibre.

This can be made possible by the constitution of a committee comprising the

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Commissioner of Central Vigilance

Commission and Speaker of Parliament as members and the Vice-President of India as

the Chairman to clear the names for appointments as members and chairmen of the UPSC

for a fixed tenure and initiate actions for their removal by an appropriate procedure in fit

cases. Changes to this effect in Articles 316 and 317 plug the loopholes in the existing

12
provisions that provide too much scope for political interferences in the selection of

members and chairman of the UPSC.

All –India Services as the nerve-centre of the administration has to be made

responsible to an apex body called All India Services apex board. The board should

oversee, supervise, study, control and manage every affair pertaining to the Services at

its own collective wisdom and discretion with powers of rewards, punishment and

placements invested with it. Sensitive posts in the governments and public undertakings

have to be identified in advance for the All India Services and once it is done,

placements have to be left to the wisdom and discretion of the apex board. The

governments concerned and public undertakings as employers must keep the apex body

constantly and periodically informed about the performances of each official placed

under it and request changes wherever necessary with reasons therefore. The final

decision on such requests has to be left to the judgement of the apex board based on its

constant research, study, enquiry and assessment.

The best bet for professional resolve and high commitment in such an apex body

is having senior most officers of the All-India Service in fine fettle as members of the

apex board under the seniormost member as the chairman, appointed strictly on seniority.

It is these members with tow-thirds majority who must be empowered to bar a competent

senior officer from becoming a member or remove an existing member of chairman from

the board by recording sufficient reasons for the act.

13
 Under the new scheme one should be committed to service for life unless one

offers to retire on health or personal grounds or forced out by the apex board for valid

reasons. Except in cases of retirement on request before the age of 60 years for

nonmedical reasons or removal by the apex board as a punishment, every officer should

be entitled to all the benefits as in service for life even after retirement. However, once

confirmed in the service, one should be prohibited from taking up any private or other

government jobs while in service or after retirement or even after resignation from the

service. These safeguards should be relaxed only by the apex board.

The country should take cognisance of all the legitimate needs of these officers

and provide them with the best possible living standards. Instead of salaries, these

exceptionally brilliant officers must be allowed to decide and draw emoluments against

performances every month on their own assessment which include liberal perks such as

free education for children in any kind of educational institution, free educational

supports, free medial aid of whatever kind, free club membership and other

entertainments, free foreigh tours, free housing and transportation of whatever kind,

help to earn permanent assets, free supplies of daily needs and other movable properties.

Each officer must submit to the apex board a periodical report of his performances. The

board must study each report to judge the officer. It may warn or take whatever action

found necessary.

The Government is doing nothing to arrest the decline of the All India Services

on all fronts. India is preoccupied with myriad issues of economic and social

14
developments and perhaps the rapid deterioration of its All India Services does not seem

important. But, the Government should realise that a strong civil service is mandatory for

the survival of India and act fast.

15