Pradhuman Jhala

There is a video of a district-level IAS officer visiting a temple surrounded by armed police. In another case, an IAS-IPS couple posted in a district had 56 personnel deployed at their bungalow. These are not isolated incidents. District-level IAS and IPS officers routinely deploy 25 to 40 personnel at their residences, along with 3 to 4 government vehicles and drivers. They routinely block traffic for their movements. Why is this treated so casually in India? This is not privilege. It is misuse of public resources and abuse of authority. Misappropriation of public money and misuse of government personnel, vehicles, security, funds or any other public resource for personal luxury, status or convenience must invite immediate and severe punishment. Anyone found doing this should be removed from public office. They are public servants, not rulers. How can they serve citizens with this mindset? They are unfit for public service. What is shocking is how normal this feudal culture has become. Society is conditioned to treat it as the natural privilege of office. It is not dignity of office. It is VIP culture built on taxpayers’ money and the humiliation of citizens. Then comes the myth that clearing the UPSC makes someone universally intelligent. Rote learning of intermediate-level textbooks and clearing a deliberately difficult examination does not create expertise, yet the system gives them lifelong authority and privilege. That they are not experts is evident from the condition of public services despite their rule over district administration since independence. The police force, one of the most corrupt and insensitive institutions, is totally controlled by the IPS. This is feudalism at the heart of the system: one examination, lifelong authority, extraordinary privilege and presumed expertise over everyone else. That is not how a strong democracy works.

Running the @Wipro Bengaluru Marathon was an absolute logistical disaster that fell woefully short of @procamintl and AIMS standards. Running out of drinking water completely past the 10km mark and recycling unwashed plastic cups are severe public health hazards.

#Pune How bad of a rule is this, though? Think about it: an infrastructure project which will improve the quality of life for people cannot be started because of MLC elections, where general citizens are not even a part of the voting process. Make it make sense.