Till the time I was staying with aspirants of civil service in Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi, I thought that corruption is the biggest problem of the Indian government and the country is boiling in anger against it. It appeared that it is just a matter of time when the government will start feeling the pressure of public angst and things would begin to reform. It was also the time when Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal were leading fierce protests in Ramlila Maidan and India Gate, and I, like many other middle class urban youth, thought the tide of change has arrived.
But before Anna could push the Lokpal Bill down the throat of the government, I joined the government. And this, I thought, was the best opportunity to kill the demon from within. I haven't had any practical experience in the government yet and I have just had an extended college life in the academy, so all that I comment is still from an outsider citizen's point of view and not an insider's opinion.
The UPSC results are portrayed by the media and the society, especially in Bihar, Jharkhand, UP etc, in great pomp. When the results arrive, photos, interviews and special features galore. One reason for such glamour attached to it is that it is considered a tough and a fair exam and one who qualifies can boast that he/she has made it purely on his own merit irrespective of his/her background. It is on this logic that I enjoyed the attention that I got after qualifying the exam. Till then, I had zero interaction with any IAS or any government setup at all.
But gradually, I realized that IAS is not the best paid job in the country anymore. There was a time when it was, but not anymore. The IIT's, IIM's, opening of the economy, globalization, new entrepreneurs and many such developments have rendered IAS as one of the many good career opportunities that a meritorious student has. And that is a jolly good sign for Indian Society. In no developed society, the bureaucracy is seen as the best job. In less developed societies, army is the best place for a youngster, in semi-developed societies, it is civil service and in purely developed society, it is big corporate firms or starting firms of their own that attracts the best minds. Yet IAS continues to attract a lot of people in India today.
The sad realization, however, is that nobody agrees to the fact that it is not the best paid job in the country. I agree that an IAS gets paid enough for one's needs and housing and commuting is highly subsidized so it makes up for a moderate salary. But when compared to what similarly able persons get in the private sector, the IAS salaries do look modest. When I discuss these things with family and friends, I have two kinds of consolations that I get. One set of people tell me that it is power and not money that is an IAS's remuneration. This is an argument I have never been able to appreciate. The other set of people say that you shall have so much 'outy' income that you won't need to touch your salary. 'Outy', by the way, is an indigenous Bihari word derived from the english word out. Roughly it connotes the income that is not your official due but what you get as gifts, or share, or commissions from various people that you deal with, in other words, 'outside' your normal salary. This argument is more outrageous that the first one. And this forces me to think if people are against corruption or for it. If I say that this is suggestive of corruption, people smile at me and pity my innocence.
Some people tell me that I shall never be required to ask for a bribe. It shall be taken by the junior staff in my office and I shall 'automatically' get my 'share' at the end of the month. When I contest that why should I let such a thing happen, I am told of stories of people who have 'done well' by staying in the government. The stories of such people are not from very far away. One of my relatives is an accountant in a state treasury. He is one of the most educated and well-behaved persons in our fraternity. Earlier he was in a sick state PSU and was struggling for daily needs. Being good at academics, he managed life by doing tuition. In his forties, he heard about an opening in the treasury and he got the job because of his brilliant merit. The entire extended family was full of praise for him and happy to see the change of fate. I was in school then and I thought that this treasury job must be a far better one than the sick PSU one, but I was corrected. Though both the jobs were roughly at the same grade, the new one had an assured salary while the older one was devoid of any pay. More significantly, 'treasury is a very 'earning' place.
Today that relative has been in the treasury for about 15-18 years and shall retire in two years. He has now a four-floor house built in the city and has happily married off his daughter to another 'well-paid' government servant. Our entire family adores his success. When I confronted him recently about his salaries and his 'other' sources of income, he candidly accepted that 'everyone in the treasury makes money.'
One of my more destitute relatives is a widow who lost her husband when her kids were only of three years and one year each. The brothers of her husband tried their best to get her a job. After bribing a CDPO of the district, they could get her recruited as an Aanganwadi worker. After about ten years in that job, it is said that she has managed to make a good amount of money and that her kids can now have a good future. The brothers of her husband are respected by the society for 'helping' her get a 'good' government job.
In our Bharat Darshan trip of the training, we met a DM who was impressive beyond description and we felt that we have found a role model. He had received awards from the PM as well as the State's CM for his excellent works in various fields. He also organized one of the best dinners we had in our Bharat Darshan. When I discussed about him with a friend of mine who is still an SDM in that same cadre, I was aghast to know that the DM is known to be very corrupt and makes a lot of money. When I argued that he appeared so efficient, my friend agreed. He said that the DM is brilliant in his work, but he is making good amount of money as well and everyone loves him.
I have been in this job for less than a year and friends of my brother call me to get their kids admitted in the most prestigious school of the city. When I tell them that there is nothing I can do, they taunt that I have become a 'big and haughty person' and forgotten my roots. When I succumb to their pressure and call up the school Principal, he laughs at me and says, "Now your transformation to an officer is complete." No one sees anything wrong in what I do. My only face saving is that the school doesn't listen to me. But rather than it making the school upright, it reduces my stature in my city.
A young officer who is an SDM now mailed his senior colleagues that he should be allowed to use his official vehicle for personal use, though he could be charged for it. He found it impractical to keep a personal vehicle for personal jobs. The very senior officers blasted him for asking such a lewd favour. He was reminded that it is a poor country and he should learn to live in limited resources. He was also reminded that he earns well enough to buy his own vehicle for personal use. When depressed by such remarks, he went to his DM, he was told, "Why do you need to explicitly ask for it? You use the vehicle as you wish. No one shall stop you. That is how every one does it." The officer, still in his third year in the government was taught that if you ask for a personal favour from your official perks and pay for it, you shall be seen as corrupt, but if you use the official perk for personal use and say nothing about it, no one shall bother.
In a very short span I have seen a lot of examples of how neither the people in the government or out of it have any disregard for corrupt people. Money is a far more worthy value than honesty. But honest means of making money are very limited. An officer who does brilliantly in a government scheme gets the same pay as the one who does nothing in that scheme. He also gets his promotions at a fixed time. But an officer who makes more money from a scheme than one who makes none is someone who gets instant reward for his innovative ways.
