QUOTA SYSTEM CAN WEAKEN CIVIL SERVICE

It is a historical fact that India was never a single nation at any time till the 20th

century. Neither Asoka of the Maurya dynasty nor Samudra Gupta or Chandra Gupta of

the Gupta dynasty nor Akbar or Aurangzeb of the Mughul dynasth could boast of binding

al the regions stretching from Kanyakumari to the Karakoram pass, and from the Rann of

Kutch to Arunachal Pradesh under a single rule. If India is a single nation today the

credit should go to a large extent to its distinguished civil service of the early and

middle 20th century which was rightly called the steel frame of India unity. Should India

continue as a single nation, it has to be again mainly through the grit, strength and quality

of its civil service.

The worst curse for India is the classification of people on the basis of birth with

the lower strata being denied equality of opportunity for growth and a decent life. Post

–independent India, as a welfare state, took a number of measures, both constitutional

and legislative, to erase the sins perpetrated on the unfortunate sections of society, like

removal of untouchability, prevention of atrocities, reservations in jobs and providing

educational opportunities. Such measures are not only the compensation India must pay

for having deprived some of its children of their growth opportunities, they are also a

kind of remorse the country suffers for its past sins.

 But the cardinal question is the direction such measures must take. Wrong

policies in such matters may not only fail to make the measures efficacious; but may also

block the existing opportunities. It may weaken the country’s social fabric and pose a

real threat to even the existence of India as a country. The policy of job reservation in

civil service carries the danger of undermining the quality of the steel frame and deprive

India of its main binding force.

The victims of the age-old stratified class system deserve many more special

privileges. They need easier access to educational opportunities to prepare them for

higher slots in life. Hence, the need for reservations in educational institutions. To

remove their poverty for which Indian society is historically responsible, they have to be

provided with easy finance, whether for higher studies or business ventures. Perhaps, an

apex development bank with branches in all districts exclusively for their financial needs

of a non-consumptive nature has to be set up to provide funds at a nominal rate of

interest. Liberal scholarships, concession in or exemption from application fees for jobs,

a wider network of board and lodging facilities for students, special vocational training

for men and women, concessional hostel facilities for working men and women, easy

housing schemes, free advanced medical treatment, etc are other schemes for the

underprivileged that may help to bring them on par with the rest of society, without in

the process affecting the quality of its governance.

Basically, democracy signifies the rule of the common man. But this definition

applies principally to the political system and not to the civil service which is expected to
be the spine of democratic rule. A sound civil service draws the boundaries of

governance within which the democratic system must function and also inspires a sense

of moderation, discipline, fairness, legality and reasonableness in the political leadership.

It absorbs the shocks of political follies and helps the political leadership in taking

sound and intelligent decisions.

The well-being of the repressed classes of the India depends upon the survival of

India as a single nation and therefore on the quality and soundness of the civil service.

Measures like job reservation are bound to be counter-productive by weakening the civil

service structure. Quality and excellence are inseparable from pride. Any allowance to

mediocrity leads to flight of quality and excellence till mediocrity completely takes over.

This is what is feared about the present India civil service thanks to the reservation

policy.

The apprehension that the steel frame of pre-independent India has crumbled into

a mediocre set-up because of wrong policies of selection and recruitment needs serious

attention. Several opinion polls point to the diminishing attraction of the civil service for

the Indian youth who prefer jobs in foreign and private industrial houses and banks.

This trend deserves to be noted by those who are interested in the survival of India as a

nation and a democracy, The interest of the country lies in marshalling the best talents of

the country to run its administrative services.