OROP:
Are Bureaucrats the Real Villains?
By
Major General Mrinal Suman
Whenever the blame game starts for delay in
OROP, bureaucrats are painted as the
incorrigible villains who doggedly impede its
implementation. The services consider
bureaucrats to be their biggest adversary. Read
any mail on the social media, bureaucracy is
blamed for stalling all pro-services measures –
endless litigations, rank pay, equipment
deficiencies and so on. Are we being fair to
them? Are they really culpable? Can
bureaucrats disobey the political leadership and
block OROP?
The answer to this convoluted mystery lies in
the Indian bureaucracy’s split-personality
syndrome. It is a neurosis disorder in which the
personality becomes dissociated into two or
more distinct parts; each of which becomes
dominant and controls behaviour from time to
time to the exclusion of the other parts. A
modern name for this condition is dissociative
identity disorder.
Regrettably, Indian bureaucracy suffers from
triple split-personalities. Each personality
manifests itself as per the target group. A
bureaucrat is an arrogant ruler while dealing
with the public. In this persona, he looks at the
citizens as seekers of favours and considers
himself to be the dispenser of largesse. As a
result, he behaves in a haughty, pretentious,
condescending, pompous and supercilious
manner.
The second personality becomes dominant
when a bureaucrat interacts with the American
and European authorities. He becomes an
epitome of humility and decorousness; and
displays immaculate manners (bordering on
servility). He seeks scholarship and green card
for his progeny. Further, he craves for a
lucrative appointment under UNO, World Bank
and other international organisations. They
know that his candidature would need positive
support from the developed nations and hence
puts up a show of ‘good behaviour’.
However, it is the third personality of a
bureaucrat that concerns us with respect to the
implementation of OROP. It manifests itself
when he interacts with his political master. He
becomes the most servile, timid, gutless and
spineless creature on the earth. Even the most
degrading treatment meted out to him is
endured with inexplicable reticence. Some
states treat bureaucrats in an offensive manner
but there is not even a whimper of protest.
No bureaucrat ever opposes or questions his
minister. During a social gathering, a senior
bureaucrat was candid enough to admit, “I stay
in my job as long as he is happy. Otherwise, I
will be shunted to some innocuous job in some
NE state. Who wants to risk it? Therefore,
during meetings, I keep looking at the facial
expression of my minister for clue and tailor my
response accordingly”.
It is commonly joked amongst the bureaucrats
that their
degree of impotence is
directly proportional to the
nearness of their retirement
date. Every bureaucrat dreads retirement and
consequent loss of power, recognition and
perks that he had got so used to during his long
innings with the Government. Thus senior
bureaucrats become the most pliable officials.
Fading away gracefully is not a trait that most
bureaucrats can be accused of suffering from.
They, by their very nature, are ‘lingerers’ and
hate the sight of an ‘exit door’. For re-
employment, they need to cultivate their
political mentors and stay on their right side.
Governorship is by far the most sought after
appointment. The next option is to grab a
vacancy in UPSC, CEC, CAG, CIC and such other
establishments. Many functionaries initiate
proposals for the constitution of
monitoring/regulatory commissions to create
suitable slots for themselves. As a desperate
resort, some bureaucrats ‘offer themselves’ for
appointment on an expert committee,
howsoever obscure it may be. Committee
members get office, staff, telephone, car and
other perks along with honorarium.
In view of the above, is it ever possible for any
senior bureaucrat to go against the wishes of
his minister? It takes no time for a minister to
remove a recalcitrant bureaucrat. Bureaucrats
are ‘survivors’ by nature and swim with the
tide. No bureaucrat stopped scams related to
2G spectrum, coal mines and Commonwealth
games.
To prove the point, let us recall Rahul Gandhi’s
demand for an increase in the number of
subsidized gas cylinders from 9 to 12 per year
at a Congress rally at Delhi on 17 January 2014.
The Cabinet approved it on 30 January and the
new policy came into effect on 01 February
2014. Wishes of the Congress Vice President
were implemented within a period of 15 days.
Although the then Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily
estimated the increase to cost the exchequer Rs
5,000 crore annually, no bureaucrat objected to
the huge fiscal penalty to stall it. They knew
what was good for them.
The contrast is obvious. In the current
dispensation, one year has passed; neither the
Defence Minister nor the Prime Minister can
fulfill the solemn promises made by them on
the OROP issue. Progressively, Modi is
appearing to be a weak and powerless leader,
whose writ does not run at all; making some
wonder if Rahul has a bigger chest than Modi’s
proverbial 56 inch one to enforce orders.
Therefore, it is grossly unfair for us to blame
the bureaucrats for the OROP logjam. No
bureaucrat can dare to stall it unless so
instructed by his ministers, whose bidding he
does so very diligently. Someone in the apex
authority is sabotaging the issue by asking the
bureaucrats to keep raising infructuous and
irrelevant queries. They are simply following
orders.
Postscript
OROP has ceased to be a question of financial
compensation. It has become an article of faith
with immense emotive connotations. It
symbolizes reluctance of a government to fulfill
its solemn commitment to its soldiers and is
considered symptomatic of the moral
deprivation of the worst kind of a two-faced
political party.
The Modi government could not have handled
the issue in a more senseless manner. It is
surprising that Modi remains unconcerned at
the inordinate delay denting his credibility. In a
short period of time he has frittered away
goodwill of 50 lakh strong military community
and their family members, whose en-block
support ensured his electoral victory. Modi is
certainly going to rue it.
Whenever the blame game starts for delay in
OROP, bureaucrats are painted as the
incorrigible villains who doggedly impede its
implementation. The services consider
bureaucrats to be their biggest adversary. Read
any mail on the social media, bureaucracy is
blamed for stalling all pro-services measures –
endless litigations, rank pay, equipment
deficiencies and so on. Are we being fair to
them? Are they really culpable? Can
bureaucrats disobey the political leadership and
block OROP?
The answer to this convoluted mystery lies in
the Indian bureaucracy’s split-personality
syndrome. It is a neurosis disorder in which the
personality becomes dissociated into two or
more distinct parts; each of which becomes
dominant and controls behaviour from time to
time to the exclusion of the other parts. A
modern name for this condition is dissociative
identity disorder.
Regrettably, Indian bureaucracy suffers from
triple split-personalities. Each personality
manifests itself as per the target group. A
bureaucrat is an arrogant ruler while dealing
with the public. In this persona, he looks at the
citizens as seekers of favours and considers
himself to be the dispenser of largesse. As a
result, he behaves in a haughty, pretentious,
condescending, pompous and supercilious
manner.
The second personality becomes dominant
when a bureaucrat interacts with the American
and European authorities. He becomes an
epitome of humility and decorousness; and
displays immaculate manners (bordering on
servility). He seeks scholarship and green card
for his progeny. Further, he craves for a
lucrative appointment under UNO, World Bank
and other international organisations. They
know that his candidature would need positive
support from the developed nations and hence
puts up a show of ‘good behaviour’.
However, it is the third personality of a
bureaucrat that concerns us with respect to the
implementation of OROP. It manifests itself
when he interacts with his political master. He
becomes the most servile, timid, gutless and
spineless creature on the earth. Even the most
degrading treatment meted out to him is
endured with inexplicable reticence. Some
states treat bureaucrats in an offensive manner
but there is not even a whimper of protest.
No bureaucrat ever opposes or questions his
minister. During a social gathering, a senior
bureaucrat was candid enough to admit, “I stay
in my job as long as he is happy. Otherwise, I
will be shunted to some innocuous job in some
NE state. Who wants to risk it? Therefore,
during meetings, I keep looking at the facial
expression of my minister for clue and tailor my
response accordingly”.
It is commonly joked amongst the bureaucrats
that their
degree of impotence is
directly proportional to the
nearness of their retirement
date. Every bureaucrat dreads retirement and
consequent loss of power, recognition and
perks that he had got so used to during his long
innings with the Government. Thus senior
bureaucrats become the most pliable officials.
Fading away gracefully is not a trait that most
bureaucrats can be accused of suffering from.
They, by their very nature, are ‘lingerers’ and
hate the sight of an ‘exit door’. For re-
employment, they need to cultivate their
political mentors and stay on their right side.
Governorship is by far the most sought after
appointment. The next option is to grab a
vacancy in UPSC, CEC, CAG, CIC and such other
establishments. Many functionaries initiate
proposals for the constitution of
monitoring/regulatory commissions to create
suitable slots for themselves. As a desperate
resort, some bureaucrats ‘offer themselves’ for
appointment on an expert committee,
howsoever obscure it may be. Committee
members get office, staff, telephone, car and
other perks along with honorarium.
In view of the above, is it ever possible for any
senior bureaucrat to go against the wishes of
his minister? It takes no time for a minister to
remove a recalcitrant bureaucrat. Bureaucrats
are ‘survivors’ by nature and swim with the
tide. No bureaucrat stopped scams related to
2G spectrum, coal mines and Commonwealth
games.
To prove the point, let us recall Rahul Gandhi’s
demand for an increase in the number of
subsidized gas cylinders from 9 to 12 per year
at a Congress rally at Delhi on 17 January 2014.
The Cabinet approved it on 30 January and the
new policy came into effect on 01 February
2014. Wishes of the Congress Vice President
were implemented within a period of 15 days.
Although the then Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily
estimated the increase to cost the exchequer Rs
5,000 crore annually, no bureaucrat objected to
the huge fiscal penalty to stall it. They knew
what was good for them.
The contrast is obvious. In the current
dispensation, one year has passed; neither the
Defence Minister nor the Prime Minister can
fulfill the solemn promises made by them on
the OROP issue. Progressively, Modi is
appearing to be a weak and powerless leader,
whose writ does not run at all; making some
wonder if Rahul has a bigger chest than Modi’s
proverbial 56 inch one to enforce orders.
Therefore, it is grossly unfair for us to blame
the bureaucrats for the OROP logjam. No
bureaucrat can dare to stall it unless so
instructed by his ministers, whose bidding he
does so very diligently. Someone in the apex
authority is sabotaging the issue by asking the
bureaucrats to keep raising infructuous and
irrelevant queries. They are simply following
orders.
Postscript
OROP has ceased to be a question of financial
compensation. It has become an article of faith
with immense emotive connotations. It
symbolizes reluctance of a government to fulfill
its solemn commitment to its soldiers and is
considered symptomatic of the moral
deprivation of the worst kind of a two-faced
political party.
The Modi government could not have handled
the issue in a more senseless manner. It is
surprising that Modi remains unconcerned at
the inordinate delay denting his credibility. In a
short period of time he has frittered away
goodwill of 50 lakh strong military community
and their family members, whose en-block
support ensured his electoral victory. Modi is
certainly going to rue it.
All Comments