We all know about Babudom --
In film 'Khaki' - playing a cop Amitabh Bachchan says -- "If police wants to enforce law sincerely... even a kid's doll would not be stolen in this country".
Can such a mechanism be applied in civil service without uniform as well ?
Babudom .... as we understand a virtue when it comes to groom haunt. The dowry rates also go up ... practically every season - with or without Narendra Modi.
That the Prime Minister has said - Na Khaunga ... na khane doonga ... is immaterial.
But when we go to government offices for 'works' - private and public - you either meet the lazy Babu on the other side. He may say "I am Sorry" in more ways than one.
His chaprasi will behave as if he is running one of the Double Engines - the Prime Minister keeps talking. Or there will be a coat on the empty Kursi ... as it is winter now in the north.
In once communist-ruled Tripura - I know of 'mother-in-law' who visited office late as her son-in-law would land for post honeymoon holidays either from Mumbai or Dubai. And the lady was reprimanded every time she went to office on time.
Her colleagues would rebuke her - "Please go back early and attend to you guest. He is also our son-in-law".
The Dignity of Labour was replaced by the Dignity of being such hospitable hosts.
In West Bengal - you may get a dressing down: "Who asked you to come to our office today... Boss has gone for carom competition in the union office".
In Nagaland - some contract or adhoc workers - maybe a plain-manu or a Gorkhali who would tell you "Na Jaane ho".
We can give plenty of such examples.
But the issue here is "babus" among Babus.
I am Sorry is actually a sacred cow.
There are others who feel the world is not so cozy.
According to records, the total Indian Revenue Service (IRS) cadre strength stood at around 9,775 officers, with approximately 4,192 in Income Tax and 5,583 in Customs & Indirect Taxes as of recent cadre statistics.
"That means over the decade nearly 9% of the entire cadre chose voluntary exit, a figure that should give policymakers pause," reports one former Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) officer.
"Between 2014 and 2024, Parliament was informed that 853 IRS officers opted for voluntary retirement under the VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme)—
with 383 from the Income Tax wing and 470 from the Customs & Indirect Taxes wing laying down their batons rather than enduring the grind of the service. To put that number in perspective, the IRS cadre is not an insignificant outfit," writes P Sesh Kumar.
Kumar is a retired officer of the IA&AS having served under the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
Now comes more operative part.
"In theory, says Sesh Kumar, "... the IRS is a central civil service cadre whose officers could shape tax policy through expertise and institutional memory.
In practice, however, policy latitude is tightly held at the top, often in IAS hands or by shorttenured Chairs and Members of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), many of whom don’t remain in a post for more than 18– 24 months."
In his article for news website 'The Raisina Hills'; the retired official says --
"But behind the numbers lies a gnawing discontent. The IRS officer’s job, once characterised by rich field experience and significant discretionary engagement with taxpayers, has transformed.
The adoption of faceless assessments, faceless appeals, and IT-based annual information returns (AIRs) has dramatically reduced personal interface with assessees.
What once was considered the art of discretionary administration is now a digital treadmill of data points.
Officers feel their role has shifted from revenue guardians with judgment to revenue processors with targets. This reduction of informal discretion has struck at the heart of traditional tax administration culture."
Ting tong ... or sarey gaama ... the choice is yours.
It goes without stating that 'sarkari naukri' has an aura by itself.
Most 'well to do babus' want at least one of their children to be in the same shoes.
Personally, my father was no exception.
I declined. My arrogance has made me a semi-jobless blogger. I have some friends around too.
But it goes without stating that bureaucracy as the 'executive apparatus' of the government is a crucial wing.
Pause and take a list of problem areas - outrageous corruption,
flamboyance,
insensitivity and
Arrogance.
Once a senior Naga leader Late Hokishe Sema has said -- "All governments, regardless of political colours, want to do good and deliver.
But there are issues. General resentment sets in when the chasm between deliver and decision making or policy move widens.
Specialities of Babus - either IAS or IRS or IAAS and others ...
* Any good idea can be shot down by making it illegal or cannot be implemented.
** Bureaucracy is permanent while the political executive changes
(for extra knowledge - look at Bangladesh - Fascist Hasina is ousted but the Babus have survived)
** When confronted with major issues, governments appoint committees or commissions - again headed by babus/retired Babus ... whose task is to study and give clean chit to some and make 'scapegoats' of others.
We may debate these Babudom qualities ... on another occasion.
In the meantime, Sesh Kumar says in his article --
"In the arc of modern Indian bureaucracy, the IRS once stood proudly as the nation’s elite tax cadre-experts in direct and indirect taxation, guardians of fiscal sovereignty, and indispensable cogs in revenue mobilization.
Yet today, that pride is tinged with frustration."
Time to give a shake up !! The Agniveer scheme was a good concept. But it was wrongly implemented with Fauzis.
Babu's world deserve ... something like that !
Coming back to Sesh Kumar's piece: And he writes rather acidly --
"In the final analysis, the exodus of 853 IRS officers over a decade is more than a statistics.
It’s a clarion call.
If India wants a robust, respected, and intellectually vibrant tax service that can meet the challenges of a digital economy and global tax competition, it must fix not just the recruitment pipeline but the deeper motivational architecture of the IRS itself."
ends
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