The Credibility Gap: Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru often remarked in utter exasperation, that, the central secretariat was an administrative jungle. With all his power, charisma, mass appeal and intellect, he was unable to rid himself from the clutches of the bureaucrats. Ironically, he always played in the hands of the very people, whom he shunned and watched helplessly, the manifold and haphazard growth of administrative offices of the Government of India. Similarly, most of the political leaders are fond of declaring publicly, that, they were convinced that, it was not possible to usher in socialism with the help of the existing bureaucratic set up of administration. Ironically, in spite of all these pronouncements, the bureaucracy continues to flourish and make hay and has a stranglehold on all the policies and programmes of the country. These may be the feelings of many others, bigger and smaller mortals, including ministers, industrialists, intellectuals, laymen in the street and even bureaucrats themselves. There is a tremendous gap between, what, people in general and responsible men at the helm of affairs think and feel and consider to be the basic needs of the people and the nation, what, they profess, on and off the public platforms and what is actually done and delivered to the nation and the common man. New slogans are coined and heaped on the public, by all and sundry, in the wake of broken and forgotten promises. Credibility, which never existed, seems to have lost, whatever, meaning or significance, it had.
Pre-independence period: The story begins with the struggle for freedom, which brought out, what was best in the nation. Spontaneous participation of the unarmed and helpless masses in a mighty struggle, against an absolute autocracy, which promised nothing but hardship, persecution and sacrifice, was a great tribute to the leadership of those days, which welded the impoverished, under-fed and un-clad millions into a mighty force and were able to turn the course of history. Fortunately, there were no bureaucrats to guide them.
The decades since independence: Tricolour was hoisted on the red fort on 15 August 1947. The nation looked to the future with hope and aspirations. Bureaucracy turned its coat overnight. The persecutors became protectors. The pitfall was always there and tragically enough, all those who mattered, went right into it, with their eyes wide open. The constitution was drafted and proclaimed. The preamble to the constitution embodied the resolve of the people to ensure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity for all the citizens, assuring the dignity of the individual and unity of the nation. Fundamental rights guaranteed basic freedoms and conditions, which make life significant and productive. Directive principles of state policy were enshrined in the constitution for the conduct of day to day affairs of the nation, in conformity with the fond hopes and visualizations of the founding fathers of the new republic. Formulation of the five year plans was the next significant step aimed at harnessing the energies and resources of the nation for a bright and prosperous future. Basic objectives of the plans laid considerable emphasis on full employment and development of a self generating economy. Conduct of general elections on adult suffrage, was another bold step for the education of the masses and to give to them a hand in choosing the people, who were to manipulate the destinies of the nation and were to lead the people to the desired goals. Avadi session of the congress was another significant land mark on the route, providing definite direction to the leadership. Bank nationalization, abolition of privy purses, imposition of land ceilings and a host of other policies and programs had the potential of completely revolutionizing the past concepts and putting people on the move. Garibi Hatao topped it all and promised an El Dorado to the common man.
Political Leadership: How is it, that, with the best of policy formulations, best of intentions, reasonably good people, bulk of the policies and programmes of the country flop and fail to achieve the desired objectives. A little structural analysis may provide some insight into the mechanism of the affair. It is the job of the political leadership to have their hands on the pulse of the people, to assess their needs and aspirations and to visualize policies and programmes, which will make the country emotionally well knit, politically strong and economically productive and prosperous. The leadership is expected to do be dynamic, which should be able to break fresh ground, discover new vistas and harness the energies of the people to useful purpose, thereby leading them to the desired heights. In spite of all the chaos, confusion and disruption, all people of almost all shades of opinion will agree, that, the country has been able to throw up reasonably good leadership from time to time, more particularly in times of crisis. Ignoring party affiliations, it can be safely asserted, that there is no dearth of talent in the political leadership of the country. Political pronouncements and manifestos of different parties spread over the past few decades bear ample testimony to this contention.
Bureaucracy: Next in the line is the translation of political objectives, policies and programmes into administrative action. The usual modus-operandi of the administrator is checks and controls. He does not own direct responsibility for anything that, involves originality of approach, initiative and dynamism. He is a past master in placing obstacles and hurdles in the path of anything that appears to be moving and is able to exercise a close vigil, so that, additional obstacles and hurdles are immediately improvised and inserted as soon as something good, fruitful and productive gets on to its feet. Bureaucracy provides a steel frame, linked with all sorts of vested interests, that sucks in the best that is available in the country in terms of resources and opportunities and throws out the waste products for the consumption of the common man, who unfortunately, clings even to those scatterings with the greatest attachment, in the fond hope, that something better will come out some day.
Men in the field: Implementation, which follows formulation of administrative plans of action is next vital link in the line. The men responsible for implementation of policies in the field, broadly fall into three categories. One group includes good, competent, sincere and gritty people. They try to steer past built in checks, hurdles and constraints and are able to weather the storms. They are the men who give to the nation, whatever, little we see in the name of progress or development. Another chunk of people responsible for implementation are corrupt and inefficient. They are the most sought after people in the political and bureaucratic hierarchy. They have the capacity to sap out the vitals from almost anything. The third group consists of frustrated, demoralized and indifferent people. They form the bulk and are a drag for the economy. Best of economies can ill afford to sustain indefinitely such a large chunk of disgruntled men in the developmental process.
Merry go round: The ruling party finds almost all opposition parties saturated with rank reactionaries. The confused opposition keeps beating about the bush, trying to discover weapons, sharp enough to turn the tables. Meanwhile, the relaxed bureaucrat chuckles and licks the boot of the master and frowns in utter contempt at almost everybody, from his cosy chair. The game goes on and own, while the common man looks to the whole show, day to day, year to year and from one election to another, hoping against hope, for better days.