We are the IAS

These are the assumptions an IAS officer lives with, and the reality there:

• We are in this service to serve.
  The truth is, we scarcely behave as servants.
• We handle vast sums of money and human resources;
  we do not possess any expertise for this task. We are not trained accordingly.
• We have a very high opinion of ourselves and our “intelligence” and “experience”, and think people respect us for what we are.
  In reality, people genuflect before us due to the power we wield to either do benefit or damage.
• Over the years we have developed the tendency to distribute largesse, whether in kind or in ideas.
  In reality, we do not own what we distribute.
• We are paid to manage things efficiently and create systems.
  In actuality, we thrive on mismanagement and chaos because that gives us the power to choose some over others.
• We are supposedly the steel frame.
  In reality, we have no long-term vision. We take adhoc decisions, looking to what the authority above us wants.
• We exploit the system for preferential treatment — for ourselves and people known to us.
  We are hypocritical enough to say we do it to “help” people.
• We know if we create systems where everyone has easy access to services, we shall become superfluous.
  So we let things be.
• We love to expand and enhance our sphere of work.
  We do not bother to place systems to bring in the needed efficiency.
• Worst of all, we are the most pompous, officious and ill-bred set of people.
  And we have the nerve to say we work for the people of this country.
• In reality we have no stakes in this country — our children often study abroad and we have created a niche cocoon of the luxuries this system can give us.
  We have no empathy with the larger populace, though we are always careful to make the right noises.
• If there were any justice, we would have long been extinct.
  But we are too powerful to let ourselves be annihilated.

We are the IAS.

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Democracy and its Perils

• Democracy is a political system which combines the elements of fairness, legitimacy and effectiveness. It is the least worst system. 
• Democracy is imperfect and, when misapplied or incorrectly interpreted, can be saddled with flaws and weaknesses. 
• Democracy is the most expensive & inefficient form of governance.
• A democracy is not a democracy unless it has independent and strong institutions that help facilitate good governance and right thinking citizens demanding accountability and transparency.
• Proper democracy is far more than a perpetual ballot process. It must include deliberation, mature independent institutions and checks and balances. It may include educated citizens, strong civil society and strong laws.
• Freedom is an essential part of democracy. Freedom is essential for both the ruled and the ruler.
• Unfettered freedom brings with it its own hazards that would undermine the institutions that help sustain democracy.
• The victim of democracy is the politics itself. Politics in a democratic set up tends to be looked upon with contempt by the people. It is much maligned and abused field in all the democracies.
• Politicians once elected to power become the custodians and abusers of power.
• Bad politics leads to corruption. As the people responsible for corruption are ‘enabled’ to loot the exchequer either by the loopholes in the laws or indifferent ‘people’ who form the very basis of democracy.
• Corruption has reached gargantuan proportions, because of the indifferent attitude of the people and enabling environment provided by democracy for the corrupt to practice their art. 
• Democracy aides both the individual and the ‘corrupt’ authority. Democracy with weak institutions gives them free hand to run the government, they tend to err, and err with impunity.
• Criminalization of politics is the biggest peril of democracy. With it comes misuse of position and authority. It inevitably leads to corruption.
• Corruption directly brings underdevelopment and spawns poverty. In India poverty is the major benefactor for the politicians. As long as poverty is sustained, they can amass wealth – always unaccounted.
• Democracy promotes capitalism which in turn results in uneven wealth distribution. Rich becomes much richer while poor remain poorer.
• Risk of capitalism is usually socialized while profits gets privatized.
• Democracy in itself is not a threat, but any weak link within it is bound to weaken the whole structure.
• Democracy has become synonymous with elections and is reduced to the process of elections.
• In democracy poor people vote, and the elected become rich at the cost of the poor. It’s a government of the rich, for the poor to sustain the poverty. This sounds cynical, but hard facts vindicate the statement. If 70% of India’s population still earns less than Rs 50 per day, even after 70 years of independence, should we compliment ourselves or introspect?
• Development has suffered more in democracy than in other forms of governments. Though it is fashionable to say that democracy is better than despotism despite lack of development, does it do justice to the vast millions who go to sleep hungry?
• Within democracy, we need a change of mindset both of the people and politicians in their attitude towards development. We are witnessing the loot of our resources by the powerful few who are covertly supported by the government machinery. Every penny that’s put to improve the lot of this country is unaccounted for. The crux is lack of accountability.
• Education of the masses and strong institutions is a solution to most problems in India.
• Institutions which are not pestered and interfered by the ruling classes perform better. The fear that these institutions if given complete autonomy would grow as a threat is unfounded. The Supreme Court of India and Election commission of India are governed by bureaucrats, not by the elected politicians. These institutions function well within the scope of our constitution.
• Our military has gained reputation for being fair to its people and the constitution. Where there is no interference by the politics, the institutions serve well. For a democracy to thrive and bring development to the masses, we need independent institutions to act as check and balances on the government.
• We need universities which are not at the mercy of government; we need public service commissions not interfered in their functioning by the government; we need a strong Lokpal to punish the corrupt; strong local governments to bring development at the bottom; independent CBI and a police force which is pro-people; the list goes on.
• These changes are not difficult to bring on. It is the will which is missing, lest it affects the power of few to amass the wealth. Perils of democracy are the result of loopholes within it. To plug them, we need to fight. Of course, non-violently.
• A blanket endorsement of it as a convenient panacea will do more harm than good.
• There are very few nations on this Earth, which openly reject the notion of democracy. Most countries espouse it, or at least offer it lip service.
• Myth #1: The people can do no wrong.  The legitimacy of majority rule with no reservations or caveats raises the issue of sub-units within the voters viz territorial, cultural, ethnic or religious. What happens if the people change their minds? Democracy cannot be just if it is not just over time. Does a coalition automatically legitimize the action of individuals or groups or nations without regard to higher principles of morality or ethics? The doctrine of popular infallibility can be kept as a useful reference point but must not be abused or overextended.
• Myth # 2: Direct  democracy is always better than representative democracy. Given the volatility of public opinion, the complexity of social psychology and the possibility of inter generational conflicts, the representative democracy is often superior to direct democracy, with the representatives acting as buffer. Mistakes can then be attributed to representatives and not to the people. The conventional assumption is that the will of the people should always trump that of the elites. The principal arguments against leaving too many decisions to the direct appreciation of the masses can be summarized as follows: (1) Uninformed or insufficiently informed electorate (2) Influence of money and media (3) People changing their mind (4) Contradictory Referenda (5) Deleterious effect on public policy.
• Myth #3: Democracy trumps all other social goals. The backlash against Dumb Democracy is the realization that democratization, although a valid goal, is not the only desirable one that a Society can legitimately aspire to. The following compete for priority with democracy. (1) Peace (2) Justice (3) Liberty & Freedom (4) Security (5) Good governance (6) Escape from extreme poverty (7) Public Vs Private goods (8) Good health (9) Traditional values (10) Climate change and sustainable development. 
• Myth #4: Democratic countries will never go to war against each other. There is a frequent assumption that once a country becomes democratic it will renounce violence, avoid going to war especially against other democracies, and try to resolve outstanding problems by peaceful means. Experience shows that the relationship between democracy and war is actually very complex and far from straightforward. 
• Myth #5: National democracy automatically leads to global democracy. Will a world composed of democratic nation-states automatically mean that it will also be democratic? This question is as complex and there are no simple answers. The UN Security Council, with coercive powers, is composed of five permanent members with veto powers who appointed themselves to that position. The other non-permanent members are elected by the UN General Assembly, but do not have veto power. The elected President of United States has real authority over the whole world by virtue of the overwhelming military power, which it has used in Iraq and threatens to do so elsewhere. There is a serious democratic deficit where 2% of the world’s voting population manages to have a determining influence on the entire world.
• There is no formula of global democracy and every formula suffer from inefficiencies and conflict of goals. The attempted simple transition from national to global democracy without a lot of preparation and adaptation is therefore destined to fail unless treated with a more sophisticated analysis.
• Other than democracy, there are no other known political alternatives which will work in the long run.  There is no permanent security in tyrants and the checks and balances of democracy make it the only sustainable political system, which can claim both long-term efficiency and legitimacy. Democracy must prevail because of mounting global interdependence requiring team responses and collective decision-making. A leader has to motivate his troops and keep their confidence. No single individual holds absolute power anymore, and everyone has to report to some group or a parliament, all leaders are accountable to some committee of peers, which makes democracy sustainable, indispensable and inevitable. 
• The modalities of this accountability have to be modulated and perfected.
• The construction of a democratic state must be gradual and well planned. It can rarely be imposed by non-democratic means. Democracy by force of arms is self-defeating. 

 In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great 
difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; 
and in the next place oblige it to control itself ... James Madison

The Perils of Dumb Democracy


Ambedkar described constitution as a fundamental document stated that the purpose of a constitution is not merely to create the organs of the state but to limit their authority because if no limitation was imposed upon the authority of the organs, there will be complete tyranny and complete oppression. The legislature may be free to frame any law; the executive may be free to take any decision, and the Supreme Court may be free to give any interpretation of the law. It would result in utter chaos. Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top-dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic. Demonetisation has negated the fundamental and constitutional rights of Indians. By forcing every Indian, and not just the black marketers and counterfeiters, to stand in queues to withdraw hard earned money, our elected government has insulted all. Citizens have been temporarily deprived of property by a single fiat, even though the constitution says this can only be done with the authority of law. Countless have died, been rendered jobless, hungry and homeless. Is this a democratic act? RBI has been reduced to cipher. Fiscal policy has become political and the finance ministry redundant. The parliament and the cabinet have been turned into a mere formality. Judiciary appears seriously weakened. It is not easy for the victims of police and investigative agencies to get any relief against wrongful detentions and prosecutions. But it is the concerted attack on institution after institution by the Modi government that raises serious concerns. Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship. India has moved away from constitutional democracy to populist democracy. Ambedkar is losing. Modi is winning.

Wars: Causes and Consequences

• War is the spectacular and bloody projection of our everyday life.
• War is merely an enlargement of our daily action. It is the collective result of our individual activities. 
• We are responsible for war and what can we do to stop it, is by transforming ourselves.
• Impending war cannot be stopped by anyone, because it is already in movement. 
• But we, seeing that the house is on fire, can understand the causes of that fire, can go away from it and build in a new place with different materials that are not combustible, that will not produce other wars. That is all that we can do.
• In order to save ourselves from wars, we have to cease to be greedy, cease piling up wealth, seeking power, domination, and be morally simple in our thoughts and feelings and in our relationships. 
• If circumstances are too powerful for you to alter, then you are responsible for the war and destruction. Circumstances can be controlled by us, because we created them.
• Society is the product of relationship. Societal changes merely relying on legislation for the transformation of outward society, while remaining inwardly corrupt, while continuing inwardly to seek power, position, domination, is to destroy the outward, however carefully and scientifically built. That which is inward is always overcoming the outward.
• What causes war – religious, political or economic? Obviously belief, either in nationalism, in an ideology, or in a particular dogma. If we had no belief but goodwill, love and consideration between us, then there would be no wars. 
• But we are fed on beliefs, ideas and dogmas that breed discontent. What causes war is the desire for power, position, prestige, money; also the disease called nationalism, the worship of a flag; and the disease of organized religion, the worship of a dogma. 
• If you as an individual belonging to organized religions, greedy for power, envious, you are bound to produce a society which will result in destruction. So it depends upon us, not on the leaders.
• How quickly we could bring an end of all these wars, is an appalling misery! But we are indifferent. We have three meals a day, we have our jobs, we have our bank account, The higher up we are, the more we want security, permanency, tranquility, the more we want to be left alone, to maintain things fixed as they are; but they cannot be maintained as they are, because there is nothing to maintain.
• We may talk about peace, have conferences, sit round a table and discuss, but inwardly, psychologically, we want power, position, we are bound by beliefs, by dogmas, for which we are willing to die and destroy each other.
• To have peace, we must be peaceful; to live peacefully means not to create antagonism. Peace is not an ideal which is merely an escape, an avoidance of a contradiction. But to have peace, we will have to love, we should not to live an ideal life, but to see things as they are and act upon them, transform them.
• We seek psychological security, which does not exist; and we seek it through power, through position, through titles, names – all of which is destroying physical security. This is fact.
• To bring about peace in the world, to stop all wars, there must be a revolution in the individual. Economic revolution without this inward revolution is meaningless. We will not win peace because we will not give up our position, our authority, our money, our properties, our stupid lives.
• To rely on others for  peace is futile. No leader is going to give us peace, no government, no army, no country. What will bring peace is inward transformation which will lead to outward action. There can be right action only when there is right thinking and there is no right thinking when there is no self-knowledge. Without knowing yourself, there is no peace.
• To put an end to outward war, you must begin to put an end to war in yourself. The world miseries and wars are not going to be stopped by your casual assent. They will be stopped only when you realize the danger, when you realize your responsibility, when you do not leave it to somebody else.
• If you realize the suffering, if you see the urgency of immediate action and do not postpone, then you will transform yourself; peace will come only when you yourself are peaceful, when you yourself are at peace with your neighbor.

In war there are no winners, but all are losers.
War is an unmitigated disaster. There is nothing good about it.
The two most powerful warriors are patience and time ... Leo Tolstoy
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength ... George Orwell
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind ... John F. Kennedy

My View:

In a war one country might win, but soldiers from both sides will perish. While winning country celebrates, the families of deceased soldiers will suffer loss of their family member forever. The economies of both warring countries will suffer severe setbacks. An example is Iraq. Prior to 1992 Kuwait wars, Iraqis were leading high end lifestyle. Post war their life is miserable. Prior to Iraq war in 2003, USA's national debt was under $1 trillion. The war costs are estimated at $800 billion and continued costs of the war are about $6 trillion. Today USA's national debt is $9 trillion, mainly due to Iraq war impact and some other reasons as well. Finally, wars were never between people or soldiers of the warring countries, but due to ego clash of their national leaders.

Source: 1948, Second public talk; Collected Works of Jiddu Krishnamurti

Forms of Government

It has been suggested that every government which has ever existed has been a prime example of kakistocracy, or the rule of the worst, but this list of 169 different types of government suggests that that might be a bit too simplistic. Each of the following words indicates a form of government or type of leadership by a certain kind of person or institution. Everyone seems to want to get in on this rulership gig, from saints and mothers to beggars and prostitutes. Note the difference between the suffix 'archy', meaning 'rulership', and 'cracy', meaning 'power', which both come from Greek roots. 

1. acracy         government by none; anarchy
2. adhocracy   government in an unstructured fashion
3. albocracy     government by white people
4. anarchy      government by none
5. androcracy       government by men
6. anemocracy   government by the wind or by whim
7. angelocracy   government by angels
8. antarchy     opposition to government; anarchy
9. argentocracy   government by money
10. aristarchy   government by the best
11. aristocracy   government by the nobility
12. arithmocracy   government by simple majority
13. autarchy     government by an absolute ruler
14. autocracy   government by one individual
15. barbarocracy   government by barbarians
16. beerocracy   government by brewers or brewing interests
17. bestiocracy   rule by beasts
18. biarchy     government by two people; diarchy
19. binarchy     government by two people; diarchy
20. bureaucracy   government by civil servants
21. cannonarchy   government by superior firepower or by cannons
22. capelocracy   government by shopkeepers
23. chiliarchy     government by one thousand people
24. chirocracy   government by physical force
25. chromatocracy government by rulers of a particular skin colour
26. chrysoaristocracy government by the wealthy; plutocracy
27. chrysocracy   government by the wealthy; plutocracy
28. corpocracy   government by corporate bureaucrats
29. cosmarchy   rulership over the entire world, esp. by the devil
30. cottonocracy   government by those involved in the cotton trade
31. cryptarchy   secret rulership
32. decadarchy   government by ten individuals; decarchy
33. decarchy     government by ten individuals
34. demarchy   government by the people; popular government
35. democracy   government by the people
36. demonarchy   government by a demon
37. demonocracy   government by demons or evil forces
38. despotocracy   government by despots or tyrants
39. diabolocracy   government by the Devil
40. diarchy     government by two people
41. dinarchy     government by two people; diarchy
42. dodecarchy   government by twelve people
43. doulocracy   government by slaves
44. duarchy     government by two people; diarchy
45. dulocracy     government by slaves; doulocracy
46. dyarchy     government by two people; diarchy
47. ecclesiarchy   government by clerics or ecclesiastical authorities
48. endarchy     centralised government
49. ergatocracy   government by the workers or the working class
50. ethnarchy   government over an ethnic group
51. ethnocracy   government by an ethnic group or race
52. exarchy     government by bishops
53. foolocracy   government by fools
54. gerontocracy   government by the aged
55. gunarchy     government by women; gynarchy
56. gymnasiarchy   government over a school or academy
57. gynaecocracy   government by women; gynarchy
58. gynarchy     government by women
59. gynocracy   government by women; gynarchy
60. hagiarchy   government by saints or holy persons
61. hagiocracy   government by holy men
62. hamarchy   government by a cooperative body of parts
63. hecatarchy   government by one hundred people; hecatontarchy
64. hecatontarchy   government by one hundred people
65. hendecarchy   government by eleven people
66. heptarchy   government by seven people
67. heroarchy   government by heroes
68. hetaerocracy   government by paramours
69. heterarchy   government by a foreign ruler
70. hierarchy     government by a ranked body; government by priests
71. hierocracy   government by priests or religious ministers
72. hipparchy   rule or control of horses
73. hoplarchy   government by the military
74. hyperanarchy   condition of extreme anarchy
75. hyperarchy   excessive government
76. iatrarchy     government by physicians
77. idiocracy     personal rule; self-rule
78. infantocracy   government by an infant
79. isocracy     equal political power
80. jesuitocracy   government by Jesuits
81. juntocracy   government by a junta
82. kakistocracy   government by the worst
83. kleptocracy   government by thieves
84. kritarchy     government by judges
85. landocracy   government by the propertied class; timocracy
86. logocracy     government of words
87. matriarchy   government by women or mothers
88. meritocracy   government by the meritorious
89. merocracy   government by a part of the citizenry
90. mesocracy   government by the middle classes
91. metrocracy   government by mothers or women; matriarchy
92. millionocracy   government by millionaires
93. millocracy   government by mill owners
94. mobocracy   government by mobs or crowds
95. monarchy   government by one individual
96. moneyocracy   government by the monied classes
97. monocracy   government by one individual
98. myriarchy   government by ten thousand individuals
99. narcokleptocracy government by those who profit from trade in illegal drugs
100. navarchy     rulership over the seas
101. neocracy     government by new or inexperienced rulers
102. nomocracy   government based on legal system; rule of law
103. ochlocracy   government by mobs
104. octarchy     government by eight people
105. oligarchy     government by the few
106. paedarchy   government by children
107. paedocracy   government by children; paedarchy
108. panarchy     universal rule or dominion
109. pantarchy   government by all the people; world government
110. pantisocracy   government by all equally
111. paparchy     government by the pope
112. papyrocracy   government by newspapers or literature
113. parsonarchy   government by parsons
114. partocracy   government by a single unopposed political party
115. patriarchy   government by men or fathers
116. pedantocracy   government by pedants or strict rule-bound scholars
117. pentarchy   government by five individuals
118. phallocracy   government by men
119. philosophocracy government by philosophers
120. phylarchy     government by a specific class or tribe
121. physiocracy   government according to natural laws or principles
122. pigmentocracy government by those of one skin colour
123. plantocracy   government by plantation owners
124. plousiocracy   government by the wealthy; plutocracy
125. plutarchy     government by the wealthy; plutocracy
126. plutocracy   government by the wealthy
127. polarchy     government by many people; polyarchy
128. policeocracy   government by police
129. pollarchy     government by the multitude or a mob; ochlocracy
130. polyarchy     government by many people
131. polycracy     government by many rulers; polyarchy
132. popocracy   government by populists
133. pornocracy   government by harlots
134. prophetocracy   government by a prophet
135. psephocracy   government resulting from election by ballot
136. ptochocracy   government by beggars or paupers; wholesale pauperization
137. punditocracy   government by political pundits
138. quangocracy   rule of quasi-autonomous non-governmental organizations
139. rotocracy     government by those who control rotten boroughs
140. septarchy     government by seven rulers; heptarchy
141. shopocracy       government by shopkeepers
142. slavocracy   government by slave-owners
143. snobocracy   government by snobs
144. sociocracy   government by society as a whole
145. squarsonocracy government by landholding clergymen
146. squatterarchy   government by squatters; squattocracy
147. squattocracy   government by squatters
148. squirearchy   government by squires
149. squirocracy   government by squires; squirearchy
150. statocracy   government by the state alone
151. stratarchy   rulership over an army
152. stratocracy   military rule or despotism
153. strumpetocracy government by strumpets
154. synarchy     joint sovereignty
155. technocracy      government by technical experts
156. tetradarchy   government by four people; tetrarchy
157. tetrarchy     government by four people
158. thalassiarchy   sovereignty of the seas; thalassocracy
159. thalassocracy   sovereignty of the seas
160. thearchy     rule by a god or gods; body of divine rulers
161. theatrocracy   goverment by gathered assemblies of citizens
162. theocracy   government by priests or by religious law
163. timarchy     government by the propertied class; timocracy
164. timocracy     government by the propertied class
165. triarchy     government by three people
166. tritarchy     government by three people; triarchy
167. tritheocracy   government by three gods
168. whiggarchy   government by Whigs
169. xenocracy   government by a body of foreigners