The Shrivelled Mammaries of the Welfare State?

There has been a long period of silence since I last wrote. So why is this silence being shattered now? The urge to write emanates from strong feelings; feelings that need to be taken out of the abstract and moulded into concrete ideas, which can be shared. There are many shades of such feelings – ranging from extreme happiness to extreme sadness. These feelings, however, leave very little to write about – except for, maybe, a status update on Facebook. However, somewhere in the middle lies the feeling of cognitive dissonance – which comes when one’s held beliefs and ideas clash with one’s real life experiences. This feeling gives rise to great literature – irony is in fact one of the strongest weapon in the armoury of a writer. Not to drag the point too far, for the past two quarters, I had been in the realm of the ideal – dealing, almost exclusively, with how things ought to be. Not anymore! 

Those who had seen Adolf Hitler in his last few days recalled that he had become cut off from the reality. He was busy directing armies that that long perished, ordering defence of redoubts that had been decimated, and planning movement of units that had never been raised!  No one had the heart to tell Herr Fuehrer the reality behind his grandiose dreams. Some of the closest advisors even humoured his fantasies, just to keep the peace. This may sound ridiculous. This may also be the reality about the State machinery in the nation!

Many of the intellectuals and commentators dealing with the State, particularly the Permanent Executive (often, derogatorily, referred to as the ‘bureaucracy’), have a common thing to say – it is bloated. I have some bad news for them. From what I have observed – and believe me, I have observed in details – it needs to bloat further – somewhere between 30-50% more, if things are to be set right.

The past few months have given me the opportunity to observe the working of almost all the departments of the government - mainly the Revenue Administration and the Rural Development Departments, but also various associated departments like Agriculture, Cooperatives, Social Welfare, Panchayati Raj, Planning and Statistics, Medical and Engineering Departments. There were two things in common. Understaffing at the lower levels, and under-budgeting to debilitating levels. With due apologies to Upamanyu Sir, the so called ‘Mammaries of the Welfare State’ have become totally shriveled!

The level of understaffing can be appreciated better by looking at some figures. A gram panchayat is supposed to have a Village Development Officer (VDO), who implements the various schemes of the Rural Development Department at the village level, and a Village Panchayat Officer (VPO), who is supposed to be the secretary of the Village Council, providing the services of a permanent executive to the elected Political executive of the panchayat. Somewhere in the older days, owing to the shortage in both the cadres, it was decided that either can look after the task of the other cadre. Thus, a Panchayat was now supposed to have either a VDO or a VPO, who was supposed look after both the works. At a stroke, the workload of this functionary was nearly doubled. However, he was supposed to work in the given Panchayat, and could dovetail his works together. However, the situation worsened even further. In the present scenario. The single Panchayat Secretary (who has the double work of VDO and VPO) is looking after 6-8 panchayats. Thus, the workload on this functionary is about 12-16 times what was designed initially! Those who are think that this functionary has some mindless dead end clerical job, are in for a shock. This guy has to execute all the schemes of the Rural Development and all the works desired to be done by the gram sabha. He is responsible for the holding of all the meetings of the Gram Sabha – the regular, as well as the special ones – for social audit, or for some special publicity event; he has to prepare the plan for works to be done in the village, get it approved in a meeting of the Gram Sabha, give administrative approval on those schemes, get those works executed, and verified, and paid for; he has to look after the end to end performance of mammoth schemes like the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme; he has to inquire and redress all the development and public works related grievances in his village, and assist all senior functionaries who go to his village for any such inquiry. These are just the regular jobs that he has to do. In addition, this guy is roped in for verification of ration cards, enumeration of electoral rolls, assisting in the Pulse Polio vaccination, and a number of other programs that do not have their own dedicated personnel. Contrary to the image of a government functionary napping on the desk, this functionary has to work 7 days a week, often beyond office hours, and he still gets the stick for not completing the targets. I have myself been the unwilling conduit for a number of such ‘admonishments’ handed down by the higher ups to these functionaries. Recently, one of my Village Secretaries had a serious road accident, and was hospitalized for 2 months with multiple fractures. The other Secretaries were almost envious!  And it is not that this serious staff crunch is there only in this department. This malady is ubiquitous – Lekhpals (Village Records Official) are holding charge of two to three circles, Auxilliary-Nurse-cum-Midwives are supervising 3-4 subcentres, and Supply Inspectors, meant to look after 150-200 Fair Price Shops, are now having to supervise a whole Subdivision of a District. The ground layer of government is being spread a little too thin for comfort.

What are the drawbacks of cutting so deep into the working arm of the executive. The reader must have noticed the whole schedule of schemes and programs that the ground level workers have to execute. Most of these involve personal interaction, with the still functionally illiterate masses, who cannot use the internet to achieve the same effect quite easily. Recently, the whole ground level force was deployed to do publicity for a new fast track scheme for vocational training. The village secretaries had to go personally into each village and call meetings and explain the program to them! When they tried to distribute the few handbills we had received for publicity, there was a mad rush, as the village folk thought those handbills were forms for application! Often there is an unfair comparison between the efficiency of the government and the corporate sector. What one forgets is the fact that the clientele composition is totally different. Most corporates would have easily done their publicity through advertisements in newspapers and on the television. The government still has to do it the old way of the ‘town crier’ – as the majority of the cell phone subscribers are unable to read and understand the SMSs that are sent! (whatever the advertisers for IDEA Cellular may like you to believe) Hence, it can be seen that ground level work requires personal supervision, unlike the work of the higher ups  - who can do their work of supervision on telephone, and in weekly meetings and similar events. Hence, increasing the ground level workload, upto 16 times on a territory 8 times larger than what they were meant to cover, can be deleterious. We are seeing the effects now. Gram Sabha meetings are being held in a bogus way. The sincere secretaries wait for the quorum to assemble and get done with it, the smarter ones simply visit the houses of quorum strength people and get their minutes signed! Thus, the concept of ‘parliamentary’ control has been totally lost at the village level – and the Panchayats have become unsupervised. A lot Pradhans are being accused of favouring their votebanks – which is all the more easy at Panchayat level, as it is possible for the elected government to pinpoint its ‘friends and foes’ very clearly. What should keep the Panchayat in check is the control by Gram Sabha resolutions. With the atrophying of the Gram Sabha mechanism, the elected Panchayats have more space to indulge in nepotism, and in absence of redressal at Gram Sabha level, the grievances are frequently reaching the desks of Block Development Officers, Sub Divisional Officers and Collectors. Not all of these grievances are genuine. As it is easy for the Pradhans to identify friends and foes, so is it easy for the ‘opposition’ to find their friends and foes.  This had led to a very clear and stark division in all the villages, along the lines of political allegiance. Complaints and counter complaints keep on flying across. I have witnessed RTI harassment – two cases in my tenure of three weeks. What is RTI harassment? Nothing – just asking for reams and reams of information – ‘all the works being done in the Panchayat in all the years, including the names and details all the laborers who did the work’ type of RTI queries. This is harassment at a physical level. Just imagine collating all that data and getting it photocopied, and sending it across – there is a single person, a village secretary, who has to do all this – in addition his already bloated job sheet! The harassment becomes even greater, when the same information is asked for again, with minor changes in the particulars – to make the person repeat the efforts. Then again, often these “grievances” are disguised as allegations of corruption, since that is one word that is sure to get an ear these days. Guess who has to inquire into these grievances (or supervise his higher ups in their inquiry) – yes, the same ground level worker. To add to their plight, often, under stiff targets on the developmental  programs, they cannot physically verify the works, and sign, at their personal risk, whatever the Pradhan or his representatives give them. On that front, it is largely true for all the levels of the hierarchy. Recently, Courts and Commissions have been asking for statements signed by officers not lower than Collectors, and even Principal Secretaries in some cases. However, given the low staff strength at the lower levels, it is not possible for the higher authorities to get the statements filed by the ground level workers verified independently as a matter of routine. There is a common adage in government – “Lekhpal ka likha Rajypal bhi nahin badaltey” (Even the Governor does not change what has been written by the Village Record Official). This is not a happy situation, but this is the reality. Tonnes and tonnes of bogus data and implementation figures keep creeping to the highest levels. There is also immense scope for nepotism and misappropriation by the non-official persons who are helping, unofficially, in the program implementation. Then again, these workers have to be constantly on the move, from this Panchayat to that, in order to attend to their scattered wards, and at the meager level of rural connectivity that we have, it leads to about half of the productive time being wasted in commute. The result is in front of us to see – half baked implementation of programs, and a general sense of discontentment among the beneficiaries, resulting in physical conflicts, within the village, as well as between the village folks and the government functionaries.

The other dimension of the mendicancy of the state machinery at the lowest levels is the level of under-budgeting. While there is ample budget for the programs themselves – the material, the labour cost, the books etc. there is scarcely anything for the machinery that runs the programs. The average Village Secretary must be travelling 70-80 kilometres daily on an average, and that excludes the commute from his residence. That, on a bike would mean expenditure of at least a litre of fuel everyday., or around Rs.2000 worth of fuel everyday. Similarly, there is a lot of paperwork involved at their level. Each grievance requires an investigation report of two pages, followed by photocopies of the documents relied upon by the concerned to refute the charges. To avoid the slur of ‘being insensitive’, we often entertain all sort of random complaints – ‘massive wrongdoings going on in MNREGS’, & ‘a number of undeserving BPL cards being issued’ type. What should ordinarily be done in such cases is to ask the complainant to give specifics and, as far as possible, documentary evidence. That is, sadly, not being done, and it is left to our lower functionaries to deal with all the paperwork. Massive budgets are required for the paperwork generated (each worker must be getting Rs.100 worth of photocopying done daily), and none is provided as a matter of routine – leaving them to skim off the ‘administrative budget’ of various programs to get the work done. Where does the money come to run the show? You may have already guessed it – irregularities. Ask no question, hear no lies!

The nation has, in the recent times, seen some phenomenal upheavals in the political arena. How far that leads to the fulfillment of the promises which have been made is to be seen. I must humbly submit that despite past misgivings, I do see some hope around this development. It may go a long way in curbing one kind of irregularities that happen in the working of the State. That obviously brings us to the question – are their various ‘kinds’ of irregularities that happen in the workings of the State? Yes. There are various ways of classifying irregularities. Let’s take the simplest one first – ours vs theirs! While the latter is commonly known as corruption, the former is known by various names – management, smartness, adjustment etc. Similarly there are many other methods of classification. Our purpose shall be served by classifying according to motive. While there may be psychopaths in all walks of life, and many studies have been conducted, and will be conducted in the future to know what exactly makes them carry on their illegal acts. We are more concerned with why seemingly normal, god fearing people, who aren’t psychopaths, and who most probably have been raised on the homilies of honesty being the best policy, and are quite good persons in all aspects, do a whole range of irregularities in their public offices. Sadly, the answer lies not in any dishonest streak that we all share, but in two things – one - a financially exploitative political leadership, and two - these unbudgeted critical gaps.*** Recent political changes may very well rid us of the former, but to get rid of the latter requires efforts in another dimension. Readers would notice, that the major part of it – expenses for transportation, maintenance of office infrastructure, and stationery etc, are not so prohibitive as they are made out to be. Sadly, basic tools for public functionaries – such as transportation facilities, or communication facilities, are often seen as ‘perks’ by the public. The media spread perception is to be blamed. Two months back, they had run riot about officials getting ‘free petrol’ upto so and so limits. There have been instances of misuse of occupational facilities, and that is to be blamed, to some extent. However, in this great nation of ours, there is scarcely any occupational facility which has not been misused – either in public, or private organizations. Shying away from provision of these facilities, and the budget for their upkeep, only because they appear ‘perky’ is like shooting oneself in the foot. For though these look like peanuts as compared to the actual budget provisions, these expenses are too big to be paid out of the pockets of the functionaries, and once someone starts to steal to pay for his occupational expenses, he would not stop at that alone. Once a person crosses the line, he is, for all purposes, a delinquent – better to hang for ten crimes if you are to hang for one. It is much easier for us higher officials to ‘stay clean’ – it just requires a little bit tempering down of personal lifestyle. However, in the current understaffed and under-budgeted scenario, for a lower functionary to stay clean requires him to miss on targets on most of his jobs; and contrary to popular perception, performance appraisal in the government can get really nasty, especially for lower functionaries. So, there is a huge incentive to play a bit dirty but safe. Once they do dirty their hands out of compulsion, there is no compunction in dirtying them for private gains either.  Even the higher authorities generally do not have an incentive to stop the garden variety irregularities, as they themselves would not like to see their achievements fall back on the appraisal. Thus, despite the best of intentions at the top most level, these types of irregularities will surely continue under the given circumstances.

Then, what is the way out. More importantly, why am I mildly optimistic about the change in the politics, when the rot that I am worried about is largely apolitical. The reason is simply the balance of incentives. In the current scenario, achieving the targets, by means fair or foul, is more acceptable, even at the risk of exposing oneself to the charges of corruption at some later stage, as compared to not achieving the targets. The hope is that the popular uprising against corruption would raise the stakes much higher against the risk of getting caught using foul means – in other words, putting the extreme fear of God in those who commit irregularities. In that scenario, using ‘ill-gotten budget’ to achieve one’s targets would be more costly than not achieving the targets. Then the much abused machinery would start to put its foot down – they would not be willing to risk dismissal and incarceration for the achievement of a few development targets, and the higher officials will be fearful of asking them to ‘manage’ it anyhow. Then all the development schemes, and even a few essential services will come crashing down. The welfare state shall be largely paralysed, and then it shall be realized that there is no grease in the bearings of the State. This fact shall be made to be known, and redressed, if the party has to continue. Someone shall have to pay for the show to run. Those who imagine burgeoning deficits should relax – most of it shall have to come out of taxes, and more importantly, fees. Any burden imposed upon the user shall be lower than what he currently has to pay on the side to get the works done, since the functionaries, in absence of any pressure to take money for official work, shall have all the more reasons to desist from taking bribes for their personal use. Thus, the whole ‘underground’ taxation would be brought over ground, and would be comparatively lessened. Of course, there would still be sociopaths and genetically wired delinquents, who shall not stop – and there are punitive means to deal with them. In absence of the pressure to allow irregularity ‘for the greater good’, the higher authorities would be more free to crack down on these elements. This shall be the way governance and administration shall finally be cleansed. 

However, there is a catch in this scenario. To cleanse via this route would require all our programs and services to reach to a shutdown level. It is true that out of destruction comes the new creation. However, it is the measure of a sentient civilization to avert total destruction and to metamorphose into a changed system on the first inkling of a better way. My endeavor in writing this long, dull piece is simply to make the reader aware of what exactly is needed to give this nation clean and more responsive governance. If the realization dawns on a ‘pareto majority’ – the majority of those who make and break opinions in this highly charged opinion-osphere, and if they are honest about cleaning the system, and not just hyperventilating hypocritically, we might address this issue and get some changes done without reaching apocalypse first. That is the scenario I wish for, for the alternative is imminent otherwise.  

[*** - There is a third major 'source' that motivates otherwise honest functionaries to steal in order to line up a tribute. However, I am not sure if writing about that would be 'contemptuous' to the 'source'! Hence, more on that after more research.

The Lazy Man’s Guide to the CSE

For Mechanical Engineering Preparation - click here

I am writing this piece, because, despite my repeated declaration of my not having any pronounced ability or ‘formula’ for success in the CSE, my inbox is getting inundated with requests for ‘tips’ – from persons not having Mechanical Engineering as an optional subject. I may assume I have some sort of command over Mechanical Engineering optional, and as a duty towards fellow strugglers, I have written an article on the same. However, many do insist that I tell them about the ‘rest of my preparation’, and they would not take no for an answer. So, here it goes.

First of all, the disclaimers. I took the exams in the pre-2013 syllabus era. Some of the additions done to the GS syllabus are not covered here, simply because I did not read those topics while preparing, and I would be lying if I say I read those topics now. However, had I been writing under the new pattern, I’m sure the strategy would not have changed much. My CSE strategy was based solely on my growing grip over Mechanical Engineering. It took time, and took mental effort, and yielded quite good marks – over all my three attempts. So, the ‘rest of my strategy’ was basically reading something that should be covered in less time, and yield decent scores – not ‘selection grade’ scores – that responsibility rested on Mechanical Engineering. In fact, over my three attempts, which included two selections, I never crossed 300 even once in my second optional! My GS scores were also quite pedestrian. However, paired with a solid first optional, like Mech, it was a feasible strategy. It was like the Indian Cricket Team of the 1990’s – you had Sachin Tendulkar, and then you had to pick up the next 10 players to make up the numbers. My point is – this is a “lazy man’s strategy” – involves less efforts, for the maximum “marks to effort ratio” – not necessarily the maximum marks. If you have a reliable optional subject, like I had, then you may follow this strategy, and then too, at your own risk.

General Studies – static and dynamic

General Studies has two parts – the static, and the dynamic. The static comprises of things that do not change – generally – like History, Political Science, Geography, Culture etc. The dynamic comprises of things like Contemporary Affairs, Environmental Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs, and practically anything under the sun, which has appeared in any newspaper or magazine in the country. There are separate ways to deal with both. There is a third category, which involves the use of the static knowledge to explain dynamic affairs. Dealing with it is more of a skill, which can be developed in many ways – writing a blog like this may be one of them!

Static

Whatever you do, it is always advisable to get a good GS Compendium. GS Compendiums are basically compilations on the various GS topics, from various renowned books and publications, in one place. Since the lessons need to be summarized, they usually cut through the bullsh*t that authors of the original books often put in to make their books thicker. Like, I got the Tata McGraw Hill General Studies Manual. It is a hefty book – but half of it is exercises. What remains of the book is divided almost equally between the sciences and the humanities. If you are a science / engineering student, you may not need to touch the science part (except if you had no Biology in XII – then that portion may require a quick look). What remains is some 300-400 pages dense with pure, relevant facts – in History (including the National Movement), Geography, Political Science and basic Economics. Just read it twice, thrice, as long as it takes to get it all crammed in. Believe me, this would be the most remunerative quantum of effort you put in in the course of CSE preparation. If you have more time, and a higher pain-threshold, you can always go for reading the books mentioned as ‘Sources’ in the TMH GS Manual. The NCERT textbooks for Intermediate Geography are also good. However, they are to be tried only after being thorough with the Manual.

Dynamic

Dynamic part has gained preponderance in the GS papers over the years. As I said, anything under the sun can be asked under this. It is not possible to be ‘fully prepared’ for this. It is not feasible to be even ‘half prepared’. You can only maximize what you read, and, if you are a believer, pray that enough questions come from what you read. So, reading a good newspaper is a requirement. Many swear by ‘The Hindu’; I personally preferred ‘The Indian Express’ – especially since it had good articles on Economics – my other optional. Both are good newspapers, and either would do equally well.

Reading the paper has to be done a bit methodically. The paper has two broad parts – the news, and the ‘Opinions / Editorials’ (Oped). The news parts needs to be run through speedily. Any important event – a death, award, inauguration, appointment, wedding, book release, commission reports, NGO reports, discoveries, inventions, Supreme Court Cases – the 2 marker stuff, may be noted down. Should hardly take 10-20 minutes to do this. However, the Oped part needs to be read more coolly, with concentration. One should try to have a ‘mental debate’ with the views expressed by the authors of the article. If one has time, it is better to read the opinion pages of both the papers, as they often project the Left and the Right view, and it helps the reader develop a balanced view on most issues. However, even reading a single paper, with a conscious effort at mental debate, can help you develop good substance of your own.

Other than the papers, one source, which is quite good, even if terribly boring, is the Front Line Magazine. It takes care of a part of the Foreign Affairs and the Environmental Affairs, by bringing out obscure issues from nowhere into the limelight. Read it, if you have the stomach.

Internet and other stuff

Internet can be scoured for a variety of aids – one can go through the websites of RBI, MoEF, MEA etc. for some more ideas on the Economic, Environmental and Foreign Affairs. Another important website is that of the Press Information Bureau - which lists important news directly related to the Union Government and its policies - in fact, this site should be followed as religiously as the newspapers. Internet can also be used to find summaries of important documents – like the Economic Survey, the General Budget etc. In my honest opinion – reading the whole text of these documents can be regarded as misallocation of time – the summaries should equip one enough. One can also look for the various ‘Current Affairs’ notes floating on the net – many coaching institutes give out some as a ‘demo’ – if you are regular with the newspapers, the content may look familiar. If it does, do not read them further. If you are in Delhi, or have access to Delhi markets, you can get a copy of the latest ‘GS Notes’ in the market. Again, if you have been honest with the news reading, this will also appear familiar. It is not as if the coaching notes have a lot of relevant factoids – but the fact is, this exam is about beating the competition – and if 90% the competition is reading this, it is better to have one look – but only if time permits.

Another skill that needs to be developed is reducing pages of reading into notes of one or two lines during the preparation, and reassembling those one or two lines into pages of answers in the exam. Many people prepare copious amounts of notes, which are as voluminous as, if not even more voluminous than, the source. In my opinion, notes should be handy, and small enough to help one revise one day before the paper. So, any notes that one plans to prepare must be subjected to this constraint – the final document should be readable in one or two days. Now coming to reassembling – one should always remember that the hundreds of days gone into the preparation amount to nothing if the implementation in the three hours of examinations is not upto the mark. As I have said earlier, first answer only what you know, and relegate what you don’t know to the back of your mind. Papers are getting too lengthy for one to afford rumination over some tricky question. Chances are that by the time you are finished with what you know, your subconscious brain would have formed some answers for the other questions too. I have noticed it. It is also important to break answers into points, as far as possible – it is easier to read and understand for the examiner – and also fills the pages faster, if you have less time!

This was my honest to God strategy for everything other than ‘Mechanical Engineering’ in my CSE attempts. Can’t say it would work for you, or anybody else. It did work for me, and it does not cost me anything to put it here. So, here I rest my keyboard, with best wishes for the reader.

Ignorance is bliss?

It is rather creepy to start two articles with the same quote. Einstein has said – “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” (The quote has been attributed to other scientists too, like Feynman, or Rutherford – doesn’t matter.) The point, this time, is that the so ‘taught’ grandmother is no position replace Einstein (or Feynman / Rutherford) at his job. She is no position to suggest to Einstein (or Feynman/Rutherford) on how to carry on his profession. If the said explanation made any change in the status of the grandmother, it was just that she is now in a position a.) to appreciate what her grandson does, b.)to increase her understanding of the subject even more by reading the more advanced texts, and finally, c.) to actually achieve the status of a critic and a collaborator. However, there is a vast chasm between stage a and stage c – and if the same is not appreciated by the grandmother, it can lead to two simultaneous disasters – a. the grandmother shall get intellectually stunted, and b. the relation between her and grandson will get a lot constrained.

Dumbing down is a part of the technique of teaching. Teaching is normally done on a ‘capacity to know’ basis. Any student of chemistry can recall his progression through the orderly ‘solar system’ model of the atom, to the shell model, the subshell model, finally followed by the totally nebulous advanced models based on abstract mathematics. It’s not as if the advanced models were not known when the more primitive models were being taught to the pupils in the elementary classes. So why were these students taught a model known to be ‘wrong’? The answer lies in the ideas of truth, capacity and the objective. The idea of ‘truth’ is that none of the linearly evolved models is completely wrong or completely accurate. For the purpose of understanding that atoms are the smallest discrete elemental particles, even the elementary ‘currants in the bun’ model of atom (that an atom has some positive parts and some negative electrons) would do well. The idea of ‘capacity’ shows that for a 12 year old, understanding probabilistic ideas of orbitals or ‘electron gas’ might not be easy, whereas he can easily extend the analogy of the Newtonian solar system to electrons encircling the atomic nucleus. The idea of ‘objective’ tells us that we do not expect the 12 year old to use the course knowledge to do cutting edge Nobel prize work in his 13^th year. What we expect of him is to appreciate the facts that there are atoms – having positive nuclei and negative electrons outside the nucleus. If he continues to study Chemistry or Physics – he can build on it the higher concepts in atomic modelling. Even if he does not continue with Chemistry, he shall not go “WTF” when he hears the word ‘electron’, and confuse it for some alien death ray.

However, in teaching by dumbing down, one must always keep in mind to tell the students about the fact that they are being taught the dumbed down version. It is the absence of this caveat that can lead to quite disastrous results – as is evident in the contemporary world. One of the reasons for this happening is the fact that most of our knowledge these days comes not from the traditional sources of knowledge, but through the internet and the media – mainly the electronic media. Both of these media are prone to give out information at a primary level, without the caveat. Internet, as such, has a variety of information – ranging from the most rudimentary ‘how stuff works’ to the most cutting edge research paper.  However, constrained by our prior academic base and short attention span for most average topics, we tend to filter this information in favour of the lower end of the spectrum. As far as the electronic media is considered, dumbed down bite-sized nuggets of information and opinion are their fastest moving products. The result is a burgeoning number of people who think they are well-informed enough on any subject to make decisions without rechecking their facts, and to lock arms with those who have trained and dedicated their lives in the service of the subjects.

One of the rather innocuous results of this phenomenon is the increased reliance of consumers on brands. While a large part of buying ‘brand’ may be associated with the feel good and esteem associated with the possession thereof, a substantial number of decisions to buy on the basis of brands stem from the inability to really ‘separate the wheat from the chaff’. While brand may be the only criteria of judgement for a customer totally ignorant of the product’s features, it is more likely that such totally uninformed customers confine themselves a few products and develop a horse sense about the merit of such products. The half-informed customer, on the other hand, is usually the one who is expanding his purchase horizon. So brand based maneuverers find them as sitting ducks. They just need to string up a few intelligent & technical sounding taglines to their advertisements, to get them (the customers) eating out of their hands, and while they are at it, they will be totally convinced about the virtue or the demerits of any product, based on pseudo-scientific inputs fed to them. People are quicker these days to make a judgement and stick to that, even in face of mounting evidence. As Sir Winston Churchill said – “Occasionally he stumbled over the truth but he always picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened.” Ask them about the reasons for their judgement – and they draw a blank, or concoct false ‘facts’. It might be innocuous when you are choosing your toothpaste, but might mean a big deal when you are choosing your post-graduation! Recently a close person had a lot of heart burn over choosing between a degree in a college which is among the top ‘brands’ in the country, or to go a job that he likes very much, and which also pays well. Asking many ‘experienced’ persons of the society did not help – all said that he should opt for the college – aankh band kar ke (without batting an eyelid). When asked ‘why’ – they said it is a very good college, everybody dreams of joining it. On probing further, it came out that they knew nothing about it – and yet they were prepared to advise in favour of it with the certainty of an expert. Being the closest person with some experience, I was asked for advice many times – all I told him was to find the facts, and form an independent opinion based on it. So he gathered the information – and decided not to join the college. The truth, it seems, has really set him free. Still there are people who tell him he did wrong; and the funny thing, they still are not able to justify their judgement with facts!

Recently, a couple of RadioJockeys were made to face criminal charges because somebody complained thatthey were spreading fear through misinformation. All that the poor guys had done that they had announced that ‘dihydrogen oxide’ was going to pour out of the municipal supply on the date of announcement. It was meant as a harmless prank – the assumption being that after initially freaking out, the listeners would realize what this was about. The dumb listeners went berserk. For those who have not got it – ‘dihydrogen oxide’ or H2O would be - plain water. On a more closer note, around a year back, our local Hindi dailies carried some flyers about some locally manufactured Induction heaters.  Among the USP’s listed out, the one that really made me double with laughter was the fact that it claimed that cooking on induction is better than doing it on gas stove because the food cooked on induction does not give you gas! Are people stupid enough to believe that? I don’t know. Since the advertiser was highlighting this point, he might have had somebody in mind. During my last visit to my native village, I heard one guy was forcing his hapless wife to cook on the wood choolhaa, as he believed that the gas stove food might cause him gas!

Around two months back, we had our attachment in the Parliament of India, as a part of the training. Amongst everything else, we had an interaction with some senior Honourable Parliamentarians of most major parties. It was that time of the year when the functioning of the Houses was being disrupted because of various issues – we ourselves could not get the opportunity to see them functioning. So somebody in the class asked why this was happening. We were expecting the usual answers which come on our TV. However, the sagacious reply of the Hon’ble Member was stunning. He said that the expectations the electorate had from them was totally out of line with their jobs. Parliament is the National legislature – it has the function to make Union Laws, and hold the Union government responsible. However, the majority of the electorate expect them to get their roads built, to get their kids employed somewhere with the government, to do them petty favours. They are happier if the actual Legislation is suspended and the Members are free to attend to their personal issues! This is the state of the awareness about the polity and the distribution of responsibilities under it among our masses. Why shouldn’t it be, when most of us are taught the humanities, at least till Class X, by uninterested teachers, as something which has to be mugged up and disgorged in the examination.

Iconic comedian George Carlin has said - "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups." The idea is even more important given the fact that a general tendency to attack the established institutions on the basis of half-baked ideas, generally aided by an electronic media bereft both of any restraint or any guilt (about further dumbing down the dumb), has been gaining ground recently. While the administration is generally portrayed as not working, the fact is that it works just as well as any other average organization in the country, for the general good of the greatest – manned by experienced persons, who are not all the bloodsucking leeches they are made out to be. When such pressure groups indulge in petty demagoguery, it often leads to pressures that cause the government to indulge in fire-fighting. This may redistribute the efforts of the government in ways that are not optimal or good for the country in the long run, simply to appease those vested interests that mount such pressures. This can lead to great diseconomies in the efforts of the governments to do things right. Strangely, governance seems to be that one job about which everybody other that the doer seems to know better.

I must say here that I am not against the dumbing down of things, in general – by the textbooks, by the news channels, by anyone. I just wish that it should not be done with a vested interest, and it should be done with a clear disclaimer. It should be done only to spur further interest in the subject matter, and to increase the general awareness of the ideas. After all, nobody can be an expert in all subjects – when scarcely few are experts in their own subjects! However I hope that malicious dumbing down to indoctrinate and brainwash would be fought by those in the know – may be with their own benevolent dumbed down models. These are turbulent times, when the masses long steeped in ignorance are becoming aware, in some measure, and are interacting with the system in the light of this awareness. I hope this is a transient phase, and soon, the new found knowledge would be tempered by an awareness of the limitation of that knowledge. Sir Isaac Newton has described this feeling really succinctly – “I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” Real knowledge brings with it real humility, real civility. On the back of such knowledge is raised the edifice of a responsible, informed, involved and mature nation.

With Great Power, comes Greater Arrogance?

[Due apologies to Ben Parker, the uncle of Peter 'Spiderman' Parker, whose quote has been mauled for supplying the title of this article. I must also say outright that the word 'Muggle' has been used for 'people who neither are in the bureaucracy, nor have any uncles in the bureaucracy', precisely for the reason that the whole expression might be quite unwieldy, and it is not used in a derogatory manner. Thank you, Jo, for creating such a nice word.]

After around 10 months from the date I left my office in Mumbai, it is time to take up public office once more. Most probably it shall come with some of what has been called, by persons ostensibly more learned, but suspected to be quite innocent of field-craft, “trappings of power”. Nothing too wild – a mode of conveyance, a place of stay, a designation that does not sound dodgy – little things, that have been described by some as ivory towers atop which bureaucrats sit and survey their domains. Yes, our kind has been described as suffering from many ills – venality may be the most highlighted one these days. However, as we have been told by many persons – bureaucrats and muggles alike – it is not the venality that hurts the people interacting with the bureaucracy the most. It is the arrogance. People say they are willing to forgive, or even aid and abet, the venality, if only it would help them avoid the humiliation that they face while interacting with the public service delivery system.

            As it is in my nature, I trace all the ills that riddle the governance structure back to our society at large – this article shall be no different. It is not that the author is oblivious to the arrogance the holders of public offices display. On the other hand, it might give some solace to the humiliated muggles that the bureaucracy reserves the best of its excellent ‘PR skills’ for its own people! What makes it worse is the consciousness which is fuelled by the notions of ‘Grade Pay’ and ‘Warrant of Precedence’. While the outrage of a muggle might stem from the public ‘servant’ dictating terms, it is a whole new level of humiliation when a person you know to be drawing a grade pay at least four steps below you makes you dance to his tunes! So, coming back to the point - our society at large has a proclivity towards arrogant behaviour. My ideas are derived from my interactions within the Northern, Hindi speaking belt; the same may be extrapolated, with caution, by the readers based on their experience. We tend to be arrogant in any relationship where there is a power differential in a transaction. The transaction may be of any nature, and the issue of contention may be of any type – the only common factor is that there exists a transaction, and there exists a power differential between the transacting parties.

One of the most interesting ways in which this arrogance manifests itself is in the arrogance of the ‘ladkeywaaley’ (groom’s side) in the traditional arranged marriage scene. Somehow, in this society, a greater stigma is attached to spinsterhood than is attached to bachelorhood. Combine that with the tradition of most brides being younger than the grooms, and the clock is already running out for the girls as soon as they hit the legal age. This puts an enormous pressure on the girl and her family to get a ‘suitable match’ as soon as the possible, putting them at a disadvantaged status in the arranged marriage market. That it leads to venality is manifest in the practice of dowry. However, venality is not the focus of this article. Arrogance is. The traditional arranged marriage scenario sees the worst kind of arrogant display of this power. The bride’s family is treated as second grade citizens, at least till the period the negotiations, or even the wedding itself, are not complete. The clichéd Hindi cinema meme of the hapless ‘dulhan ka baap’ (bride’s father) taking off his turban and placing it at the feet of the recalcitrant ‘dulhe ka baap’ (groom’s father) has more than a grain of truth.

Another common everyday scenario where our innate arrogance comes to light is in our little economic transactions, especially when it comes to our dealings with the little vendors – the roadside grocer, the street corner cobbler, the emaciated rickshaw puller. We would assume our right to a ‘bargain’, even at the cost of the already slim margins of these entrepreneurs. Many would say they are simply extracting their money’s worth. Think again. The same person would happily drink a 100 buck coffee at CCD, or buy a T-shirt, costing some 200 rupees, at a price range 10 times that. However, when it comes to paying a rickshaw puller Rs.15 instead of the tenner we insist on, we become apoplectic with rage, and start plying them with all the notions of market propriety. It is not that we do it consciously. I myself have gone livid with rage when the Delhi autowallah insist on charging above what has been deemed ‘proper’ (who does not). However, the same feeling of being cheated does not come  up that often when we are transacting with the big people – the lounge-suited owner of an upscale eatery, for that matter.

Popular discourse itself shows traces of societal arrogance. We tend to discount, and deem ourselves superior to, the ‘voting classes’. After all, who hasn’t heard of the story that they sell their votes for liquor and amusement? They constitute a class of which the individuals are powerless compared to the individuals of our class – so how could their judgement on how the nation is to be governed be right? As some people are discovering the ultimate helpless of the ‘once-considered-powerful’ bureaucracy, at least in the arena of verbal dueling, a sense of propriety has given way to arrogance. The ‘civil society’ claims that the public ‘servants’ should behave like ‘servants’, not masters. There is an element of scorn in the utterance of the word ‘servant’. This vision of ‘servants’ is quite different from the Western version of the ‘help’ – the ‘servant’ has to be servile, docile, and able to brook all sorts of abuse. No doubt the government is looking to legislate for the welfare of the actual domestic servants of this very civil society, who, as a whole, have not been very civil to their helps.

Is the situation totally hopeless, and are we doomed to a life devoid of propriety and ‘gentlemanliness’ in our social interactions? Well, we have had individual examples of thorough ladies and gentlemen in our lives. At IIT Delhi, we had the good fortune of having, as our Finance instructor, Professor P.K. Jain, an epitome of right conduct. He addressed all his students, the canteen workers, the helpers, in fact any human being, of whatever age, background or qualification, as ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’. He never used any ‘street level’ word, even when he had all reasons to do so. Even his admonishments, which were rare, sounded like a well drafted letter! We all would have come across such persons in our life. It is a pity that they are so rare that chancing upon them is such a memorable thing.

It is also a pity that in such an arrogant society, a non-arrogant person who has to deal with a lot of public has to develop a retaliatory ‘instrumental arrogance’. I can tell from the experience of holding office for 10 months that a ‘nice person’ faces a hell out there when faced with people who are confused about their parentage – the “jaante ho mera baap kaun hai” (do you know who my Dad is?) types. If it is not their Dad, it is their uncle, their Aunt, their friend, their student. However, it might be a good idea to shut down this defence mechanism once in a while – and to give the other party a chance to show some innate decency. It is one such incident that prompted me to write this piece, and it is quite illustrative. It so happened that I was traveling with family across the length of my State by a train, which touched the departure station at an hour later than the midnight. When we boarded and reached our berths, we found them occupied with a lot of uniformed men, all armed with INSAS rifles! Now this is the point of panic – government servants, in a huge group, armed, uniformed, and in illegal occupancy of one’s berths at 1 a.m. I was preparing to bring out the whole ‘steel frame’ and stuff – asking them to vacate the berths, tell the name of their commander, their post, their antecedents, and their reasons for being in illegal occupancy of the berths of the family of an officer soaring in pay-grades miles above them! I knew nothing lesser would have worked – given their advantageous position, and I was worried if my affectation of righteously hurt bureaucratic pride would be convincing, given the fact that I was in a 2 day old T-shirt and was carrying a rumpled bag on my shoulder. Fortunately, the showdown never came. Dad requested them to vacate, and they did! All they said was – “Sir, kindly let us wear our shoes, and keep some of our luggage in the vacant holds”. I felt bad for them, in a split interval of a moment. So when they had made their way to a vacant berth at the end of the coach, I started small talk with one of them. I learnt that they were no ordinary ‘chowki’ policemen, but the armed security detail of one of the senior-most Cabinet Ministers of the State which I am about to serve, who was traveling in the First AC coach next to ours. It was good I had not pulled rank in front of them – after all, what is a mere Assistant Collector in front of a Cabinet Minister! One may argue that they were in the wrong in occupying our reserved berths, but the society in the area the train was passing through did not set much store by such laws; and anyway, how was one supposed to enforce those laws there. Yet, despite their immensely powerful position in this transaction, those men chose to be civil. They chose not to be arrogant. They chose to do so with a so called ‘aam aadmi’ (a better heeled one, may be, judging by the fact that he was traveling in Second AC, but an ‘aam aadmi’ nevertheless, since we had not been introduced). It was heartening that this departure from the sad societal norm was done by one of the most vilified segments of the society in this regard – the uniformed forces. The incident redeemed my faith in a better future for our social discourse. Let us bring civility back (if it ever was here to begin with) in our society – avoid the innate arrogance, and let down on the instrumental arrogance, once in a while. We might just usher in a more pleasant world.