Maybe Indians should Stop Killing their Daughters !



In the training at LBSNAA today, Dr. Neelam Singh from Vatsalya talked of the sex selective abortion in India and how grave the problem it poses for the social fabric of the country. Being a self proclaimed feminist, I felt a pinching sensation for some points yet most of the talk left me unperturbed.

Then, it was this image that caught my attention while it was lingering on the fold able screen.

I stared at it a little longer than usual. Gradually, it came in as a revelation - this realisation that almost all the states of the country have showed the trend of sex-selective abortion! 

 

Look at the colours of the map that shows the child sex ratio of 2001 (left) and 2011 (right) census. Wherever it has changed, it is for the worse. And it has changed a lot. Studies conducted by Vatsalya and other such commendable organisations repeatedly show the increasing percolation of this trend. This trend of "daughter aversion". The trend that shows how many people are ready to kill a child in the womb just because it's a girl.

It is flagrantly clear that the illegal practise of sex determination and consequent selective abortion is becoming more available. This also means that there is increasing demand for such services.
It means, as a society we are increasingly becoming more ready to kill an unborn just because we don't "prefer" a daughter.

It is an instance when the society has adopted a course for its own detriment. The PCPNDT Act is a mere attempt to arrest it through legal force. But what if the law itself gets dissolved in the engulfing mess of social acceptability and hypocrisy.

Yes, hypocrisy - that is why "creating social awareness" doesn't work. Daughter- aversion, coupled with the inherent hypocrisy in the Indian society makes people comfortable through self-denial. The rich blames the poor for the "missing girls". However, studies have shown that the households of top executives and businessmen show an abnormally low child sex ratio vis-a-vis their deprived counterparts.

Legal measures will only have a marginal utility in curbing this social trend of self-destruction.It's for us to understand and assess the consequences of our acts. It's time for us to decide, as Indians, that we will stop killing our unborn daughters!

The Elephant & The Tiny Dot: A week @ Singapore

The development story of Singapore is arguably a legend among the developmental economists because of reasons more than one. The first key feature about the growth is the speed and consistency with which it took place. Hardly could anyone have imagined that this “tiny little dot” of a city would become a thriving global financial powerhouse, once it unwillingly gained independence in 1965.

The second key feature that sets this story apart is the network of constraints within which Singapore has grown. It wasn’t ready for political independence- The idea of securing its borders and the maritime offshore interests from the world was a nightmare for its political leadership. It had a nearly fully migrant population that resided in closely packed squatter settlements, making a living out of the port operations. Singapore has handled these constraints in a spectacular way and even today while the global financial powerhouse shines to its strength, the potable water to be used by its residents finds its way from Malaysia. Hence, Singapore’s story of governance is not a “done and forgotten” type, rather a “continuous blossoming” type.

Amidst such continuous tweaking, it is important for the government to have a set of underlying principles that need to be mandatorily followed amidst all the policy experimentation. Singapore has been smart enough to define them thus -

  

1: “Leadership is the Key”- Singapore looks at leadership as both political and administrative. Efforts are actively taken to ensure that the best talents of the nation is recruited and retained in the public sector. This is done through fair and meritocratic selection process and pay parity with the best in the private sector.

The fact that this is the first principle enunciated by Singapore in its list also shows their perception of their political leaders. The fact that the same party has been in power in Singapore right since its independence and a single person has been at the helm for 35 continuous years and still remains overtly powerful as the Minister Mentor of Singapore, calls for an analysis.

Being a small state that started its journey by fending for its own survival, Singapore and its people have put the stability of government’s vision and policy as their topmost priority.

2. Anticipate Change and Stay Relevant- Given the strict and quick enforcement of its policies, Singapore has to be more cautious about making mistakes in its policies. Such course corrections require the governmental sector to be attuned to receiving feedback and acting on them positively.

A number of sessions that we attended in our stint at the Civil Services College showed how smoothly Singapore’s government has pro actively addressed the changing needs of its population. Eg. The design of public housing projects and the allotment policies were changed in the real time due to the changing needs of the clientele – Hence, increase in the car ownership led to constructive planning for inclusion of parking spaces and the change in the location preferences of the people led to restructuring of tariffs of the public housing projects.

3.  “Reward for work, and Work for Reward” - Singapore is the melting point of civilizations and financial business houses of the world. It naturally understands the concept of incentives and opportunity costs in human resource management. Young and talented people are recruited and retained in the public sector through competitive salaries and professional growth opportunities.

4. “Create a Stake for Everyone and Opportunities for All” - Singapore as a democracy maybe doing a devil’s job in curtailing civil liberties when it comes to protests and political demonstrations, but, inter-alia,  the involvement of the citizenry in governmental processed serves as real tool for democratization.

All the policy interventions in Singapore are oriented to include the relevant people as important stakeholders. It provides scope for participation in planning, enforcing, implementing and in course correction.The people we met in our visit also showed a keen understanding of their stakes and show how proud they felt in being included. This gave people a sense of “one country, one government” through their most routine interactions with the government.

Singapore has its turfs guarded very possessively. There are a number of blanket restrictions regarding ownership of private property and other associated rights for migrants. Similarly even the migrants, who obtain “Permanent Residency” of Singapore, receive fewer governmental privileges. However, when it comes to its citizens – Singapore offers them a number of opportunities in employment, ownership of property and education.

 “Leadership is the Key”: Messiah from the Indian Chaos?

Given the political stability in Singapore, a shared vision and policy outline that remained consistent through more than 5 decades was made possible. One can argue how much of the same is possible in India and how one can assist in that.

To my mind, it is a fact that the political system in Singapore has elements and traits of an autocracy in it. There is always a risk involved in such autocratic regimes – It is Singapore’s fate that its longest serving prime minister of the country had the abilities of a stalwart. Most importantly it is also Singapore’s fate that the focus on curbing of corruption was started from its inception by the political leadership and has continued since then. Systemic corruption can twist and turn any policy intervention in ways that are difficult to predict. The fact that the political establishment was highly motivated to curb corruption, helped Singapore in good stead – one could ask, what if it would have been otherwise – how and when would the people have revolted against it.

So even though “autocratic democracy” worked for Singapore in ways that could have been best possible, it cannot, to my mind, be prescribed as the panacea for all developmental ills.  

In India, the nature of polity and politics gives room for change of parties with every election. It brings in fresh ideas and views, in line with the ever changing demands of the multi-colored society. Politically, India can come on broad terms of agreement for governance of the nation and if that is done and agreed to by all the parties like the “Model Code of Conduct” is, in case of elections conducted by the ECI.

Such a broad framework can give the country’s governance a sense of continuity. Similar framework can be evolved for the state’s administrative setup.

We cannot dream of a messiah to emerge from our crowds, it’s better we start with what we can do in the existing milieu of mortals.

 “Anticipate Change and Stay Relevant”: Dancing Elephant?

Based on the exposure I received during the Singapore stint, this is the single most important principle for India to learn from.Singapore’s “manageable” population (it was lesser than the population of my sub division of Raigarh in Chhattisgarh), makes it easy for the government to proactively assess and address the changing needs of its population.

The “manageable population” might have made it possible for Singapore to be a perfectionist in its service delivery to the people, however as a state, India can start with adopting an attitude that allows it to introspect and self-correct.

When a semi-autocratic public system can go back on its harshly implemented policies and make regular course corrections to allow for achievement of results, why the public sector of India doesn’t adopt the humility to receive and process feedback objectively and tweak the policies based on such real time feedback.

The way I see it, adoption of this principle in India is not impractical. Visualizing our system as an elephant that moves at a glacial pace will not help our levels of public service delivery. For a wise man would have once said, with enough political will and administrative acumen, even elephants can be made to dance!

 “Reward for Work and Work for Reward”: If You Pay Peanuts, You’ll Get Monkeys!

A senior administrative officer of Singapore, on getting candid in an interaction, said “If you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys.” The simple line summed up the Indian bureaucracy’s state of affairs beautifully.

 Singapore trainers were not proud of paying their civil servants high salaries. They didn't look at the salaries as “high”. It was very clear to them that if you want a world class bureaucracy, you need to give world class incentives. And the salary, they defined, to be “apt and respectable”. Such a change in attitude is required in the Indian setup to enable the civil servants from getting de-motivated by seeing their peers in the private sector.

The Cosmopolitan Commonality

The one striking similarity between the two countries is their fundamentally diverse population. The manner in which Singapore has addressed the issues brought by a fundamentally diverse type of population is noteworthy. It has given a sense of inclusion to all the citizenry by including all the major communities’ languages as the official language. Moreover, the country celebrates its diversity in population – while little india is scintilla-tingly decorated for Diwali, the Malay population area shines during the month of Ramzan.

The way the country is run, it makes it clear that Rule of Law is paramount and no mercy can be expected based on anything that is politically accepted. It’s what leads to what people call “Curtailing of civil liberties to protest and demonstrate”, while others find it enabling to have a stable environment to do business.

It is very easy to dismiss the entire Singaporean experience as a “chance incident” with the right mix of political leadership and size.

It is easier enough to belittle their achievement by smirking on its geographical and population size.

However, the future of our country lies in us challenging ourselves to think of ways in which we can learn from Singapore’s experience. The fact that good policies, if implemented ruthlessly with eyes and ears open for feedback, can bring about miracles – is shown by Singapore in more ways than one.

I hope the exposure offered to us through this short foreign stint will serve us well in dreaming and creating visions for our own jurisdictions. It also shows how important a role international exposures play in the minds of young officers; Any attempt to reduce or abolish them citing that India’s unique problems leave  nothing to be learnt from others, is short-sighted, in the least. 

PS: All views expressed here are purely personal and have no connection with those of the Government. This post has been carefully modified to fit into the ambit of freedom of speech permitted to officers under the Rule 6 and Rule 7 of All India Service (Conduct) Rules, 1968.

Hello Chhattisgarh!

Time ticks away. It's been one year since i first landed in Chhattisgarh as an IAS probationer and now i find myself going back to where i came from (#lbsnaa). 

Exactly one year back, i had funny notions about the state and its people, there were doubts whether i will fit in. Doubts whether i will survive, both professionally and existentially. Like any other newspaper reading member of the middle class citizenry, i also thought of "Chhattisgarh" as a term synonymous to "Naxalism". (Having read and reviewed a lot of Leftist literature obviously didn't help feel better). 

I remember being pleasantly surprised finding that there is flight connectivity to its capital, the fact that the airport was normal and there was no armed ambush till half an hour after the flight's landing also brought relief. 

The drive from the airport to my district took 6 odd hours and i spent the whole time looking out of the window, searching for People carrying weapons and red flags. What i found instead, were wide roads that led to the highway that cut through a beautiful, serene countryside, dotted with kuchcha houses and ponds..

Over the next few weeks, my preconceived notions about the state went for a complete toss! Instead they were replaced by even funnier notions... 

For one, I was astonished by people's capacity to consume paan... When there are more than 4 people clustered at a place, the place is bound to smell of beetle nut! ... When the "Honorable" High Court decided to confer on us, probationers, temporary powers of a judicial magistrate, i found myself sitting on a high chair listening to the pan chewing lawyers. The height of the chair was enough to make me seem imposing and give wings to my already inflated ego but not enough to prevent the pan filled saliva that splashed from the lawyers' mouths, from reaching me!

The scenes at the courts and govt offices were filled with obnoxious red teethed smiles of middlemen, spread across faces that were made rotund by intense oral activity (i.e. chewing :P)...  I soon learnt the subtle differences between people's choices - the gudaku, the paan, the gutkha and the hundred other products that they subject their teeth to. 

The second pattern that emerged clearly was that of pond bathing! Initially i saw it as an escape from the heat, but then, when my travels increased, i realized its omnipresence. Wherever there is a water body - a river, a pond, a tank, or even a temporary rainwater nallah... There are bound to be people of all age groups and genders bathing, be it early in the morning or late into the evening... ( somehow the nights were given to the poor water bodies to soak in all the human touch). One had had dreams in which the river flowing next to the circuit house would be flowing with soap water and there would be bubbles all around.

Away from the dusty towns, in the tribal villages, i sensed satisfaction in the air; A sort of a unhurried ease that comes with lack of expectations. Children greet me with broad noses and beautiful white smiles (for their teeth are still not subjected to the torture reserved for adults). Barefooted people could be seen carrying tendu patta on their lean, sun-burnt bodies.  The forest that surrounds is cut by roads that are plight-fully checkered with tar. Roads that are used by trucks and lorries carrying produce from the dug-up earth.

In the days that followed, chhattisgarh slowly began to reveal itself. Its a cadre wherein the IAS is still looked up to, a state where administration has shown promise, a state where political intervention is not vile or crippling. A state where problems are huge and complicated and the people are submissive and enduring.

Chhattisgarh has the land from which the richest business tycoons earned their money, made the middlemen rich and left the indigenous people wondering what just came and took away their home. It's a rich state with poor people that challenges the government to deliver and distribute the benefits of industrialization better. 

One can go on writing, but its now time to go back to LBSNAA and somehow describe my dirt and sweat filled field level experience using big English jargon words that no one back in the district would either understand or care to...

PS: All views expressed here are purely personal and have no connection with those of the Government. This post has been carefully modified to fit into the ambit of freedom of speech permitted to officers under the Rule 6 and Rule 7 of All India Service (Conduct) Rules, 1968.

Marriage: the Institutional Arrangement...Part 1

This is something I wrote on 2nd February, 2013.

.....................................

They say i have topped the social chasm
They say this is the  next step

The apt step;
Immune to procrastination
The step that leads to collective orgasm

But how shall i show them as vividly as i see
How crucial it is for me to be free
To fly like an eagle in the sky
Without any care for the crying boy

The only delay mechanism i own
Is the reason that is all known
That i may have reached the end of the room
Yet,
It needs psychological grooming to be a groom

I come to meet the one,
The one to bond,
My socially short-listed, numerological match
Of this life and those beyond...

I don't know what i shall say to thee,
How do i judge or how do i flee?

What game is it, please let me know
How do i sense which line to tow!

How do i tell you what needs to be told
Yet squeeze it into a digestible mould

Here is what i thought of it-
It may be apt, it may be fit
 it's not an adventure in my personal fold

But,Now i see what wasn't told...

It's about offering myself and the child within
To someone whom i have never seen

What a precarious game these societies play
It makes me shiver in the day...

How can i assure this little one its peace
Where will  life's surety be?

Maybe, this life is not meant to be sure
Its just an endless journey to the elusive shore

Aah! 
I need to forget these fears and the glooms they pour,
And reach out to discover that shore!
......................................

BITS and Pieces of the Past

It seemed preposterous at first – spending 30 hours on road, on a well-deserved weekend, to spend less than 24 hours in our alma mater.

Yet, it happened – we found ourselves packed in hired cabs, negotiating the curves of Mussourie and the potholes of UP to finally land in that patch of desert where much of our lives were molded.

The SAC ambiance gave a sense as if

 I was here only yesterday 

It was a complicated experience as it ignited different feelings in each one of us; the feelings that consistently flickered and replaced each other through each passing moment. As for me, the initial burst of excitement soon gave way to fatigue which was subtly transformed into wonder about how things that seem so commonplace today, were so pivotal then.

As is usually the tendency, each batch tends to highlight its uniqueness and give wings to its vanity by proving that things have only worsened since it graduated. Needless to say, we were not immune to this J, and with our newly acquired bakar skills (courtesy the UPSC exam) we could easily justify how pivotal we had been to the institution as we knew it.

So while each one of us spelled out his/her theses of exactly how things have taken a fall, it was interesting to observe the changes that had slowly crept in over the past few years.

The Dug Up C Lawns where even photography is prohibited

The “crowd” looked just as we had left it – extremely casual (read sloppy) dressing sense, similar faces and the same unmistakably unique BITSian lingo. The campus had undergone a number of infrastructural modifications – from the more sanitized REDIs to the completely dug up C lawns, but despite all this the feel of the campus, as we knew it, was intact.

The interaction that we had with the BITSian junta and others who happened to eavesdrop was unexpectedly exciting. We were all expecting half-interested crowd of less than 20, who would (in a typical BITSian manner) walk out as soon as we became boring. But what greeted us was a hall brimming with people who were bubbling with excitement and filled with queries. It was a wonderful experience with each one of us giving gyan in his/her peculiar style.

With NVM Sir  - Revisiting The Old Times

Meeting NVM sir and other faculty members was also a reminder of the fact that nothing has changed – for what makes an institution is not its buildings but the people.

Overall, it was a well-timed closure to the intense love-hate relationship that I shared with the college that has had a larger than life impact on me.

My UPSC Interview - 2nd Attempt

Pardon the poor text editing in this post. LBSNAA's training doesn't offer enough luxury of time for me to sit down and correct it.

Interview details:-

Name of Candidate: Rajat Bansal

Profile: HERE

Attempt: 2nd (Selected for IPS in 1st)

Optionals: Geography and Public Administration

Board Chairperson: Ms. Rajni Rajdan

Interview Marks - 215

UPSC rank - 85

PART 1:- The Chairperson

CM:"Rajat? What is your roll no.? Date of Birth? Is this you (showing the photo)?"

Me: answered ... Yes Ma'am (smiling)

CM:"Are you working anywhere?"

Me:"Yes Ma'am, I am an IPS officer and am undergoing training at the National Police Academy in

Hyderabad"

CM:"When were you selected?"

Me:"In my last attempt, so I am in Hyderabad just now".

CM:"OK..(brief pause).. what is Roaring Forties?"

Me: (without any pause)"Ma'am roaring forties refers to the westerly winds. They are called so because

they are predominant at 40 degrees latitude and are of high speeds"

CM:(nodding approvingly)"Ok, what is aurora borealis?"

Me:"Ma'am I cannot recall the technical definition but these are the beautiful displays of

colorful light which are found in the Norwegian region."

CM:"So these are lights in the sky which are found in northern hemisphere only?"(she was smiling and

just re-framing what i said in a way to reassure me that i knew the answer)

me:"Yes ma'am, they are found in northern hemisphere only"

CM:"What are the different names of cyclones in the world?"

me:"Ma'am cyclones are called by different names - eg. hurricanes, typhoons, willy-willies"

CM:"Where all are these names being given to"

me:"Ma'am Hurricane term is used in U.S., willi-willies is used in australia, typhoon is used in Japan (She

frowned), and there others which i can't recall"

CM:"Typhoon is used in South China Sea, taifu is used in Japan (she smiled) and baguio in phillipines..

what about the term cyclone?"

me: "Ma'am cyclone term is frequently used in India only"

CM:"Yes, in the Indian ocean region. What is the difference between fog, mist, cloud and hail?"

me:"Ma'am all the three, except clouds, are modes of precipitation. Clouds are condensed water vapor

present at high altitudes. Both fog and mist are low altitude precipitation. Their technical difference lies in

the amount of visibility that they permit- fogs usually allow only less than 100 meters of visibility while

mist provides greater visibility. Hail is when the falling raindrops get solidified in transit and fall as

concrete ice."

CM:(nodding)"What is dew?"

me:"Ma'am when the water vapour in the atmosphere comes in contact with cold surface, it gets

condensed into the dew drops."

CM:"when was the last amendment to CRPF made?"

me:"Ma'am i don't know"

CM:(Surpised)"Don't they teach you law in the academy?"

me:"Ma'am we are taught law but maybe this wasn't covered"

CM:"How can they not cover this? Do you know about Civil procedure code?"

me:"Ma'am were you referring to the CrPC?"

Another member- "Yes, Yes"

CM:"Oh! Yes YEs CrPC, I'm sorry, I meant amendments in CrPC"

me:"Ma'am CrPc was last amended in 2008 and was notified in 2010. It added the sections 41-A,41-B,41-

C and 41-D which adds to the provisions of arrest in line with the D.K. Basu judgement"

CM:"Yes, do you know about CPC?"

me:"No ma'am that hasn't been taught to us"

CM passes the baton to the member on her right, it turned out later that he was an IPS. (Referred to as

IPS from hereon)

PART 2:- The member IPS

IPS: "Achcha have you read the Indian Constitution at least?"

me:"Definately sir"

IPS:"what is the difference between the powers of SC and HC?"

me:"Sir, the foremost difference is in the territorial jurisdiction - while HC's jurisdiction is confined to

states' territorial limits, SC's is stretched across India. Secondly sir, the nature of writ petition jurisdiction

is different (I searched for words for a few seconds here), Art 32 makes it mandatory for SC to take up

writ petitions while it's not so for HC. Thirdly, the article 136 defines Special Leave Petition for the SC

which is not so HC."

IPS:" There is a white marble in front of the library in your academy, what is written on it?"

me:"Sir, there is a martyr's block in front of the library but there is a white marble as soon as we enter the

academy on which it is written that there is a fine police officer in each one of you and the process of

training is essentially a process to hone you to bring that officer out. It's a quotation by Michelangelo Sir.

(Looking at CM, trying to engage her) -It is essentially a white bare rock structure that symbolizes the

influence of training"

IPS:"What are the national security threats to India?"

me:"Sir the national security issues that India faces include the state sponsored terrorism across the J&K

border, the Left Wing Extremism and (after a moment's break) also the radical groups present within the

country that add to the problems"

IPS:"Is the terrorism from Pakistan our only external concern?"

me:"Primarily yes sir, at least on the land front but the alleged movement of Chinese troops across the

Gilgit-Baluchistan border may also be considered an external security threat".

IPS:"How many neighboring countries does India have?"

me:"Seven sir"(without even a moment's break, although i wasn't sure)

IPS:"OK. and which is the border that exists only on paper"

me:"I think you are refering to the small border that India shares with Afghanistan, it measures only 26

kms"

IPS:"No, it measures 126 kms"

(Chairperson interjects)

CM:"Oh? It is 126 kms?"

IPS:"Yes Ma'am".

me:"Sorry sir, 126 kms, but it is a relatively small territorial interface".

IPS:"OK how long is India's coastline?"

me:"Sir, it is around 7500 kms long"

IPS:"What are the threats to the coastline"

me:"Sir, due to the long coastline and the geo-political sensitivity of the Indian Ocean, India faces several

marine threats, the most predominant one being from China's contiual expansion vis-a-vis its string of

pearls theory" (I wasn't very fluent with this answer and had to stop for words in between)

IPS:"Where is china actually confronting India in the Indian ocean?"

me:(I knew China confronted India in south china sea but since he asked about Indian ocean I chose to

say something else) "Sir, it is Sri lanka's territorial waters, Maldives,..."

IPS:(interrupting)"No, there is a case where china actually told India to step out and mind its own

business"

me:"Yes sir, that was in the case of Vietnam's territorial waters in the south china sea where India

acquired few exploration blocks in Nha Trang. Here china confronted India outrightly" ( I gave this

fluently and noticed that CM was looking at me intently).

IPS:"Yes. What are the layers in which India's coastline is policed"

me:" Sir after the 26/11 attack, India's coastal security was revamped and now its a three-tiered system in

which the immediate territorial waters are guarded by the coastal police stations manned by special wings

of the state police force. The Next contiguous zone is guarded by the Coastal guards and the further

waters are protected by the Indian Navy."

IPS:(looked satisfied)"Which country has been holding Indian ships hostage?"(he said something about

Italy too.. which confused me)

me:"Sir are you refering to the Italian incidents where two marines shot Indian fishermen?"

IPS:"No, there is a country which often comes in light about attack on merchant ships etc."

me:"Yes Sir, it is Somalia which is a cause of international concern due to its pirates"

IPS:"So Why should we be bothered about it? Why should we not let these incidents continue?"

me:"Sir, given Somalia's position in the east Africa wherein it borders the heavily used trade route of west

Indian ocean, it becomes important for India to protect its vessels. The Indian navy has shown good

capability of tackling these issues and has been successful in foiling a few incidents of piracy."

IPS:"So how should it be tackled"

me:"Sir it needs bilateral and multilateral cooperation between countries, especially in terms of

intelligence and real-time information sharing that can enable effective counter operations. Also the fact

that Somalia has a non-existent governance structure that can keep its territory free from pirates, the

concern for Somalia's development is also picking up in global forums. There is also an issue of choosing

the right justice delivery procedure for the pirates who are captured."

He passed the baton to the third member [AP] who appeared to be, based on his questions, from

Andhra Pradesh.

PART 3:- The Member from Andhra Pradesh

AP:"So Rajat you are undergoing training in the Andhra Pradesh Police Academy (APPA)?"

me:"No Sir, in the National Police Academy, as an IPS officer Trainee" (APPA trains state police of

Andhra, so I wanted to make sure that he knows that I am IPS).

AP:"Ok. You are interested in swimming, there is one IPS officer from Andhra Cadre who has won

numerous medals in swimming... (he went on to praise him)"

me:(I gave an excited look as I had seen and read about him) "Yes sir, I have seen his achievements

written on the swimming pool notice board in the academy, but his name escapes me just now"

IPS:"Yes, he has crossed the English channel too"

me:"Yes sir, I remember his face clearly but not his name"

AP:told his name

me:"Thankyou Sir"

AP:"Som, sir has asked you about national security issues, can you tell me some state security issues

pertaining to Andhra Pradesh"

me:(no break, just speaking whatever came to my mind, but fluently) "Sir, the foremost issue is the threat

of re-insurgence of naxalism, although the grey hounds has been able to successfully oust naxalism from

Andhra, but due to their activities in surrounding states, this threat consistently remains. Secondly sir, the

issue of communal disharmony, as we have seen in today's newspaper, there was a communal clash in

Hyderabad, so this friction throws up certain challenges from time to time" (IPS was nodding in

agreement)

AP:"That's all?"

me:"Sir these are what i can think of specifically"

AP:"So did you work during the Telangana agitations?"

me:(It showed that he was confused about the fact that I haven't worked in the field yet)"

SIr I have read about the Telangana issue"

AP:"So in what capacity did you work?"

CM:"No, He's under training still"

AP:"Ok. So there are administrative setups in different parts of the country. Are they same in each state or

are they different?"

me:"Sir they are different for each state"

AP:"So tell me in detail about AP's administrative structure"

(I was convinced that he had understood my job experience in a wrong sense but I still went ahead

answering)

me:"Sir, As such I don't know the specifics but being a south Indian state I know AP has a strong

Panchayati Raj Setup ingrained in its administration. So the Zila Committiees, etc play an important role"

AP:(interrupting) "No tell me from the lowest level"

me:"Sir, do you mean, the tehsildar level?"

AP:"No...from more basic"

me:"Sir, I don't know the specifics as I haven't worked in Andhra Pradesh"

He passed the baton to the 4th member(NE) who sounded like a professor.

PART 4:- The Academic

NE:"So Rajat you have mentioned community service as your interests. Tell me what is the difference

between social service and community service?"

(I liked the question, and smiled at him and the CM just to engage them into my thought process)

me:"Sir, As such we tend to use the two terms interchangeably but the difference exists in one's

perception. Social service is a term which reflects that the beneficiaries

entities while community service seeks to adopt models in which projects are meant to increase the

participation of the community members in the resolution of the problems that they face as a community.

So in the latter there is higher participation and external help is seen as catalysts, it's ultimately the

community that is prepared to solve its own problems"

NE:"So, we can use this is policing also?"

(I was on a high just now, and therefore had louder voice and was commanding the attention of the entire

board)

me:"Yes sir, in fact in the NPA we have been given strong focus on the service aspect of the IPS

acronym. And if we combine that service element with models of community policing, it effectively

becomes community service"

NE: "So you are interested in travelling, tell me what all countries or states have you traveled in?"

me:"Sir as far as countries go, I have traveled to France, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and in terms

of states, I have covered the entire north India and Kerala and Andhra in the south, among others".

NE:"Since you have been abroad, tell me what differences do you notice in the conditions of abroad and

in India? "

me:"Sir, if I talk of France per se, an immediate difference that comes to my mind is the way life is

percieved and lived in both the countries. In India we experience a continual rat race, i.e. every Indian

seems to be toiling to eke his livelihood, we have a huge section of population living in absolute penury

and poverty, while in France work is treated as a means to enjoy the leisure and explicit emphasis is laid

on quality of life. Apart from this Sir, there are other differences in the economy, politics ans societies".

NE:"Yes, but what is the difference in terms of the public service delivery system?"

me:"In terms of the public service delivery a rights-based approach of delivery is practised, while it has

been taking roots in India, it has a long way to come. Also the grievance redressal mechanisms were much

more effective. Thirdly the efficiency of the inter-agency coordination also sets it apart"

NE:"Have you heard about RTI? What is its objective?"

me:"Yes Sir, the Right to Information Act seeks to bring transparency in the process of governance. It acts

as the statutory framework for exchange of information from the state to the citizens."

NE:"Suppose you are posted in a naxalite area, let's say Chattisgarh. What will be your first

step as the SP, except the normal operations part.?"

me:"Sir my first step would be to reach out to the tribals and the people in the most naxal affected areas. It

is very important to bridge the trust divide through a more deliberative process. I will need to give them

the room to air their grievances and engage with us. I am sure the civil administration will be desperately

seeking to address the public service delivery, we will be there to engage the community in our efforts so

that they are not alienated".

NE:"But it is a very soft approach. Do you think it will work?"

me:"Sir I think it won't just be successful but it is the very necessity of the present time. You can call it

soft in a pejorative manner only if I am going loose on a person who has perpetuated crimes, but I am

making a conscious attempt to avoid harrassment of the innocent victims. Not all the tribals are naxals sir

and as an SP, I will make sure that this message reaches clearly to my force." (NE looks at CM, who I

think was listening and interpreting the assertiveness in my demeanor in her own way).

The baton is passed on to the 5th member(ECO), who focussed a lot on economics.

PART 5:- The Economics Member

ECO:(with a serious look)"What is the inflation rate in India as present?"

me:"Sir the headline inflation rate as of today is around 9 %"

ECO:(nodding)"Yes, but it was hovering around 10% in the last 2-3 years, which is the agency that you

think controls inflation?"

me:"Yes sir, the RBI is the primary agency that seeks to monitor and control inflation through its demand

management techniques. However, since the current inflation in India is caused by supply side factors

rather than demand ones, RBI's efforts haven't borne much fruit."

ECO:"Is inflation always bad? IS there anything like good inflation?"

me:"No Sir, to a certain extent inflation is healthy and it is a natural byproduct of GDP growth. The RBI

considers inflation of 4.5 to 5 % as healthy. It is only when it reaches beyond a limit that it makes certain

commodities and services as prohibitively expensive for certain segments of our society."

ECO:"What is inflation rate?"

me:"Sir Inflation rate essentially shows the trend of current market price of a particular basket of

commodities, with respect to that in a benchmark year, which in India's case is 2004-5."

ECO:"What is the rate in it?"

me:"Sir rate is simply the ratio of present price with the benchmark price multiplied by 100"

ECO:"Yes.What is global warming?"

me:"Sir global warming refers to a general rise in ambient temperature of the global atmosphere"

ECO:"So why has it been suddenly causing so much of hullabaloo, since, the last 20 years?"

me:"Sir there has been a concern about the anthropogenic nature of origin in global warming which shows

that human activities have been effectively changing the global ecosystem which could have multiple

negative ramifications on the human survival."

ECO:"So you are talking about GHGs?"

me:"Yes Sir."

ECO:"Tell me some processes that release GHGs?"

me:"Sir the foremost process is the burning of fossil fuels. Also, mining activities also contribute due to

release of methane."

ECO:"And?"

me:"Sir automobile combustion also adds, but it is also a fossil fuel"

ECO:"Think more. Think"

me:... pause.....

ECO:"Ok, anyways, what is the difference between WB and IMF"

me:"Sir both are Bretton Woods institution but while WB is focused mainly on the development needs of

the developing countries, the IMF is concerned about the macroeconomic balance on the globe and it

seeks to keep the currency balances of its countires in check in order to promote a predictable trading

environment."( I did stop a little in this answer to search for right words)

ECO:"Can you name the IMF President who was in news?"

me:"Sir, DSK"

ECO:(smiling)"Attempt the full name"

me:"Sir, it is Dominique Strauss Kahn. K-A-H-N ( I pronounced it)"

ECO:"(smiling) "OK good"

CM:"Thank you Rajat"(Smiling)

Note: Unlike my last interview, in this attempt I was maintaining eye contact specifically with the

member who asked the question. Except for a few questions where I looked at the chairperson and

engaged her, most answers were given directly looking at the member who questioned. (I don’t know if it

will be a positive or negative). I used voice modulation a lot – the factual questions were given on a “as-amatter-

of-fact” tone while in the question of naxalism I showed the intensity of my conviction with an

assertive voice – however my hands were interlocked and I made sure I was not moving them around.

Since there were no cross questions, I felt that they were satisfied with my content but at the same time I

had an uneasy feeling of whether the answer was correct or not. It went on like a question-answer session,

since in most questions my response time was less than a second. Let’s see what happens.

What Shall Thou Seek? : A case of misplaced incentives in the Govt and beyond

Most "successful" people start their journey by chasing material gains and well-recognised targets like medals, public appreciation, competitive positions, etc. It takes some time, when they become mature (old? :)) enough to realise that they actually derive pleasure from the process and not the end result. eg. one swims because he likes to challenge himself in the pool and the medals won are of token importance, similarly intellectual curiosity is what propels him and not the greed for extrinsic recognition.

But, this transition from seeking outward incentives to finding joy in things one likes to do, is often an elaborate one - It takes years to mature. In between, there is a position (where I often find myself) when one starts doing something because he genuinely likes to do it, but when the possibility of gaining some extrinsically-awarded and socially-appreciated benefit lingers close - the mind goes back to the old habits of target-chasing.
It becomes a typical situation of a greedy man looking for everything he can grab - without knowing what he wants and what he would do even if he gets it all. (a common sight of dogs chasing a moving car and when they do outrun it, they don't know what they did it for)

It is in this context that we need to look at the incentive structure available in the Govt. of India. It is now urban legend that the usual incentives in Govt service - transfers, postings, and often (allegedly) awards in the Govt. are determined more on non-professional considerations than on merit. Sycophancy has its own sweet importance - and it pays! We have seen it not just in the field but sometimes even in the training regimen. (Although the field situation can be much more brutal, often not even offering a facade of distributional justice to help one heal his wounds). So what incentives are left for one to chase?

Clearly, chasing fame or money or even recognition can often lead to gross errors of judgement. Search for fame has made some officers "encounter specialists", "media savvy" and "news room commentators"; Those seeking recognition often confuse the latter with the appreciation of political and bureaucratic bosses and become just another cog in the wheel of exploitative state machinery; I guess I don't need to elaborate on the effects of chasing money while being in the public service.

So the only thing that is possibly left to chase is this cliched, catch-all phrase called "inner satisfaction". But as I had mentioned earlier, for less-than-mature people like me, this is often a difficult task, because the mind is still tuned to the old habits of seeking appreciation. After all, who would like to spend hours and days of effort into a risky, difficult and out-of-the-league endeavour when he knows that a much easier and cheesier presentation is likely to be more appreciated?

It's very intuitive for a lot of us to look at life as a process of walking the tight-rope-  there are two mutually competing contradictions and both of them are real. I guess "putting your best efforts in the service" would mean that you keep on propelling yourself (often by distorting the perceptions of the extrinsic incentives) and still don't become too concerned about whether you grab those incentives or not. (Another one of life's paradoxes).
That is the importance of cultivating hobbies - because pursuing hobbies often (though not always) keep a person tuned in to the fact that the process is more importance than the end, that perpetual chasing is not what life is meant to be. This attitude can enable one to allow the job to consume him- by exploring all the possible avenues for inward self-growth, yet not be too concerned about collecting praises. (In fact officers who fear losing their "popularity" (likability-quotient) can be more spineless than the outright pliable ones)

It's about eating your favourite ice-cream in your favourite store and not getting into the habit of collecting the bills for preserving the memory. And even if you do collect and store the bills (possibly in a photo album), then treat them only as the tokens and not the substance of the experiential pleasure you derived.

So in such a world of misplaced incentives, the choice is simply between the substance and the token; I know what to choose, but hope that my old habits of collecting the tokens dissolve over the course of time.

LBSNAA – The colours of the Foundation Course

It’ s a beautiful place to reside in, the very ambiance of the academy with its hills and curves signifies  a sense of stability, that comes naturally to any place with a rocky terrain.

The interesting aspect of doing FC here is that the pace with which the course moves; There are 250+ people to meet and get to know about, trillions of gossips revolving around hundreds of tit-bit events that happen during the day, and to top it all, every week ends with some organised event that adds to the randomness and entropy (some call it excitement) of the course.

It is this brisk pace of the mind, deeply contextuated in the stillness of the spirit, that acts as the continuous underlying theme of the stay here. No matter how random my day goes – with seemingly irrelevant/ trivial classes, or incidents of incoherent (and often defying-ly irrational) behaviour of some batch mates, I can always find my inner peace just sitting out and staring at the majestic topography that this place offers.

Last few weeks that I have spent here have been an experiment in handling randomness – to do something, experience it and then return to the shell that is secured in the presence of few like-minded friends.

"Pratakal ka Atyachar"- Our Skit in the 1st cultural

A lot of my active participation in the FC has been questionable; The skit that I partly scripted and played a role in – was very well-received by the OTs and faculty alike, but only our team knows how many questions were put to us before we performed on stage. There were batchmates who had a blanket objection to their being imitated (Frankly, I thought it was their inflated egos who made them feel that they deserve imitation), while some took it in the right spirit. We were constantly wary of how the faculty will take their own imitations – being the first cultural night, we knew that we have to set the standards and we took the risk of doing things our way.

A Scene from the Bhojpuri Song in 2nd Culturals

A similar story is that of the Bhojpuri item song that we danced on in the second cultural – although the jury is still out on whether it was vulgar or not (or rather, whether the level of vulgarity was within acceptable limits or not :D). A lady faculty member complimented us on the “unapologetic manner” in which we did it while there were a number of differing viewpoints from some batchmates.

I guess the most difficult type of questions for me to answer would be those questioning the logic of my acts, and I won’t care about such questions unless my behavior gets really out-of-the line.

A major departure from the NPA attitude has been that of image consciousness – while in NPA my acts were directed so as to ensure that my low-profile image doesn’t get blurred, here I am just being myself irrespective of the consequences. This isn’t really the safest approach – I have already merited a personal meeting with the disciplinary in charge along with the image of being “culturally active” (some extended it to assume that i would be energetic about everything, irrespective of its stupidity). Given the latter image, my low participation in the childish fete organised yesterday, brought the ire of my batch mates who coordinated it.

One critically important learning from the stay in LBSNAA so far is that the lonely boring moments centred around somber futuristic existential questions can be humorously evaded by gossiping about the most nugatory things in academy life. This is the importance of friends whom you can talk to.