An Indian Bureaucrat's Diary

In  April 2010, Maharashtra’s Minister of State for Home Ramesh Bagwe announced in the Maharashtra Legislative Council that Pune’s Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh would be transferred and steps would be taken to upgrade security following a spate of high profile crimes in the city.

Political observers were surprised, when within hours of his announcement, his senior, Home Minister R. R. Patil, distanced himself Read the rest of this entry »

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I studied law; and by a quirk of fate, instead of becoming a professional lawyer, I became a bureaucrat.

I never dreamt of joining any service. But one day, I saw an advertisement for the Indian Administrative Services Examination which is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission and filled the form. I was not serious about the examination. So I did not do any preparation and did not take any coaching. But I was selected !

I was offered the Indian Police Service and the Indian Revenue Service. My mother did not like the idea of her second son becoming a police officer and could not understand why a softie like me should be selected for the Police. In those days, mothers ruled the roost and had the final say. Right or wrong, the mother was always right. So I landed up in the Indian Revenue Service.

But unlike my colleagues, friends and foes alike, I continued with my studies, getting a Masters in Law, 6 Post Graduate Diplomas in different fields, and the highly coveted Ph.D. in law.

Convocation Dress

When I was declared to have qualified for the Ph.D., the University of Bombay sent me a form for the next convocation – whether I would like to attend the convocation, and take the diploma in persona or take the diploma in absentia (which means collecting it from the University office after the convocation).

I had never attended a convocation before. So this time, I made up my mind to attend the convocation. I asked my staff to obtain a convocation dress for me.
They searched everywhere (I really could not understand why they had to search so much), and after a lot of effort, managed to hire a set of convocation dress from an old time photographer.

On the day of convocation, I proudly dressed up in the hired convocation dress and arrived at the university premises.  I was shocked to learn that the Bombay University had discontinued the old traditional convocation dress several years ago and males were to be dressed in simple white shirt and trousers.

So I had to take off the convocation dress which only made everyone stare at me and since I was not wearing the white shirt and trousers, I could not take part in the convocation procession. I had to be content with watching the entire proceedings from a chair in the University Convocation Hall.

It was therefore a bit of stale news to me  to learn that at a convocation function at the Indian Institute of Forest Management in Bhopal, the Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh found the traditional attire  ’barbaric’ and ‘a sign of colonial slavery’ and discarded the square hat and the red and yellow gown he wore.
The Indian Institute of Forest Management is a under Jairam’s ministry. Which sane person could question his outburst?

I am surprised to hear that soon after, Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar called for a debate on convocation clothes.

But my dear sirs, both of you are a little too late.
Bombay University has already taken a lead.

Advocates Robes

After my retirement, I appear in some courts and forums. An advocate is required to wear the traditional lawyers dress…..black coat, tie or band, white shirt and trousers.
Of course, lawyers may not wear the black coat during the summer for a month or so.

The dress is colonial no doubt. But it is still in vogue in many countries of the world.
I have no grievance on this score.
The dress is all right in air conditioned environment. But it is really awful to see lawyers perspiring in the lower courts and forums, where some times even fans don’t work.

Is it not time to become practical and have a more practical dress code for lawyers in India?
You don’t need public debate on this. The Bar Council of India, the Supreme Court, the Government ..in fact, anyone can take the lead.
I am sure everyone will welcome the change.

Club and School Dress

For these, who are allergic to dress codes, I can only point out that some elite clubs and most elite schools have some sort of dress code.
And the dress code is not imposed by any one from outside, but by the management themselves.

If you don’t like the dress code, don’t join these institutions.
Don’t join the elite club.
Don’t send your child to that elite school.
That’s all……

The matter is as simple as that.

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The Supreme Court of India errs – not once, twice, but thrice.
It takes the Supreme Court a fourth attempt to get it right.
Supreme Court of India New Delhi, April 22, 2010

From the highest to the lowest, from the most intelligent to the greatest duffer on earth, any one can make mistakes.
Most of us do make mistakes. Read the rest of this entry »

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Indian Express February 11, 2010


Today, I was pleasantly surprised to read a news article about a Public Interest Litigation involving a snake….a king cobra…… to be precise.

The report said a 16 feet king cobra was rescued from a monk and is under the care of Solapur Municipal Corporation. More about this later…..

The news transported me back in time …..more than four decades back ….to 1968.
I was then a probationer in the National Academy of Direct Taxes in Nagpur where new entrants to the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) are trained to become what they finally become.

Being an animal lover from early childhood, I purchased a baby python from a local snake charmer. Till that day, I never knew humans are so scared of snakes. The result was that on the third day, I was directed to dispose off the baby python or get out.

I went to the local Maharajbagh Zoo and managed to meet the acting Director. I offered to donate my baby python. But he was averse to taking anything as donation. I requested him to keep my baby python for a few months. I would pay for the upkeep and take back the baby python later. But this was completely ruled out.

I then went to his boss…a senior professor. He called the acting Director and asked him whether the zoo had too many pythons.  No…that was not the case. The zoo had two pythons earlier and both had died. So there was a clear vacancy. The senior professor almost forced him to accept the baby python.

I wanted a receipt for my baby python. The acting Director refused. I suppose he had had too much of me.
Again, I went to his boss…the senior professor. He called the acting Director and asked him why he could not issue a receipt and how he would account for the baby python in the zoo’s inventory. The acting Director said they would show it as found while digging the ground. The senior professor convinced the acting Director that pythons are not recovered while digging and finally I got my receipt.

I later found that the acting Director was from the University’s Botany department. That explains his apathy to animals.

Today’s news is mentally stunning. The Public Interest Litigation application wants the High Court to order the king cobra to be released in the wild.

A division bench of Justices J N Patel and B R Gawai of the Bombay High Court has called for report from the Central Zoo Authority and the Solapur Municipal Corporation.

I am sure there are enough wild life experts and government departments who could have taken a well reasoned decision in the king cobra’s interest and done for him (or may be her) what was best and given better facilities in some good zoo.

I really find it difficult to understand how this issue could become a matter of public interest litigation when our courts are almost choked with cases.

I would have probably understood the situation better if the issue involved a community or group of king cobras. But this case involves a single king cobra!

Of course, some things are better left unexplained, because there is no rhyme or reason or logic.

Incidentally, the king cobra is one of the five most venomous snakes of India. It is found in dense forests and the chances of sighting it in the wild are rather rare.

The Government has already established a special reserve for king cobras in Agumbe (about 90 kms. from Shimoga) in Karnataka.
The king cobra, which is the subject matter of the Public Interest Litigation, can be relocated to the Rani Bagh Zoo, in Mumbai; Sanjay Gandhi National Park or can be easily sent to Agumbe – even without the High Court’s intervention.

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It took the legal system 19 years and 400 hearings

to convict and sentence the former DGP to 6

months imprisonment and fine of Rs. 1000 for

molesting a teen……..who was driven to commit

suicide 

S S Rathore, (who retired as Director General of Police, Haryana) then a senior police officer and President of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association molested Ruchika Girhotra, a 14-year-old tennis player in August 1990. Read the rest of this entry »

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The appointment of Chief Judges of different High Courts of India and Judges of the Supreme Court is made by the President of India (read Home Ministry) on the recommendation of a collegium of judges headed by the Chief Justice of India.
   In August 2009, the collegium comprising K.G. Balakrishnan, Chief Justice of India, Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice S.H. Kapadia, Justice Tarun Chatterjee and Justice Altamas Kabir, recommended the names of Justice P.D. Dinakaran, Read the rest of this entry »

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Reintroduction in India

The  Cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth.
The word “cheetah” is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘chitraka’, meaning “speckled”.

Asiatic Cheetah

Once upon a time, the Asiatic Cheetah (a different sub specie from its African cousin) was quite common and  roamed all the way from Arabia to Iran, Afghanistan and India. Read the rest of this entry »

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Supreme Court of India on our bureaucracy

Even God cannot save this country………  
Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, August 5, 2008

The Supreme Court was hearing a case relating to unauthorised occupation of Government accommodation. Read the rest of this entry »

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Social Inequality 

The extent of social inequality in India – even after 6 decades of independence, is to say the least, unbelievably appalling.
Our politicians, whose primary job is to reduce, if not remove, social inequality, clearly believe in the age old dictum, make hay while the sun shines.
The public, at large, continue to suffer, while the politicians prosper…and prosper.

Take a peep into the background of your neighbourhood councillor, MLA or MP. Read the rest of this entry »

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