By Anil Raturi
“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.” – Voltaire
Recently, various news forums have been replete with a controversial young lady’s story of alleged unethical practices used by her in trying to get into the Civil Services of the country.
The recruitment process of the Civil Services of India demands a high level of academic knowledge from the candidates. However, the selection process does not seem to be very
effective in gauging the suitability of prospective candidates as far as their values and attitudes are concerned.
Entry of young men and women of questionable integrity into the Civil Services is potentially threatening to erode the legitimacy of the whole system.
Perhaps integrity is the single most important quality required in a Civil Servant. No amount of academic brilliance can be a substitute for it.
In the existing environment of all pervasive cynicism, less number of people are taking the upright path. The system considers such individuals as mavericks and disruptive nuisances.
This raises the issue of the dilemma of human’s moral choices!
Most human beings, at some point in their lives, invariably encounter the eternal question!
Why should human beings choose to be “good” in a cynical world?
It touches upon the very core regarding what it means to be “Human”.
Humans are animals just like any other creature on this planet. It is the evolution of moral and ethical values within them which elevate them to become “Human!”
Values of love and compassion for not only fellow humans but extended to the ideal– for all life anywhere- including the environment are necessary!
Such human beings do not live in conflict but exist in harmony. They bring peace to themselves as well as to others.
This world has enough in it to satisfy everyone’s needs. Of course, nothing can ever be enough for greed!
The great potential that a person has can only be unleashed when he or she rises in spirit to become a “Human”!
Unfortunately, this “elevation” in individuals happens only in varying degrees. Those who are less evolved often get motivated by crass greed, leading them to resort to unscrupulous methods in order to get what they want.
Thinkers studying human nature are divided in schools of thought that have diametrically opposite views.
Hobbes says man is intrinsically “selfish” while Rousseau believes him to be born “noble”!
Religion and faith, with limited success, provide a moral framework to motivate humankind to be good and thereby curb the latent malicious tendency within individuals.
The agnostics or atheists propound “Absurdism” and ” Existentialism”.
In their view, the world is Godless and meaningless. In such an “Absurd” world, they believe a human has to choose to love and be ethical. Otherwise, the dark aspects of humankind will overwhelm the world to make it an existential Hell!
Whatever maybe the “True” and best way to negotiate this complex, though beautiful life, ultimately, all individuals have to make their own choice and live with its consequences!
The recruitment process of the Indian Civil Services needs an urgent overhaul. It requires an effective system for selecting candidates with the right values and attitudes!
The situation brings Premchand’s short story
“Pariksha” to mind. In this classic story written in Hindi in the last century, the author gives primacy to an individual’s qualities of character over academic knowledge during selection for a Public Service post. The story is about the selection of a new “Diwan” for an Estate whose old “Diwan” is retiring. The advertisement for the post mentions the primacy of values and character over academics.
During the selection process candidates are kept under a month-long observation to gauge their character. During their stay in the Estate Palace, the majority of the candidates in order to impress the selectors are at their hypocritical best!
The old “Diwan” who is also the chief selector, is wise enough to see through the sham put up by most of the candidates. He finally selects a candidate who despite being hurt had spontaneously helped a poor farmer whose bullock cart was stuck in slush. The compassionate man had taken off his shoes to step into the mud to push the wheel of the stuck cart while the farmer goaded the bullock to pull the cart out of the slush.
The recent disturbing case coming to light tends to suggest that the recruitment process for the Indian Civil Services needs to be reinvented. It needs to devise an objective method of selection that more than anything gives primacy to the values of candidates. Integrity and good common sense are perhaps more than sufficient ingredients for a good Civil Servant.
The powers that be urgently need to stem the rot before it is too late!
(Anil Raturi is former DGP, Uttarakhand)
