The Writers Building was established 250 years ago in Dalhousie, Kolkata. This was a place to stay for the clerks brought in from England to do the administrative and clerical work of East India Company. Writers Building became the hub of administrative activities during the British colonial times. That is why it was later called Mahakaran or Secretariat. Up until 2013 this had been the secretariat of the West Bengal state government.
Anyway, the origin of today’s bureaucracy lies with those clerks of Writers Building. That bureaucracy was the basis of the 190 years of direct colonial rule of the British who had come here for trading purposes. For around 100 years of this colonial rule, no Asian was given place in their bureaucracy. In 1835, Macaulay came up with an education policy aimed to create a middle class to serve as interpreters between the rulers and the subjects. They would be of this country in colour and blood, but English in their grooming, views, values and thinking.
Three decades after this education policy of Macaulay, the first graduate of Calcutta University, Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, was the first Asian to be appointed as Deputy Magistrate in the British civil service. He compared ‘deputy’ to a ‘cat’.
Former lead economist of the World Bank Kaushik Basu had been the chief economic advisor of the Indian government during Manmohan Singh’s government. In his book ‘Policymaker’s Journal” From New Delhi to Washington DC’ published in 2021, he wrote Indian bureaucrats uttered the word “sir” 16 times a minute. Referring to the red tape of bureaucracy, he wrote that these were habits learnt from the colonial powers. Bureaucrats who have been long in civil service, like such mannerisms. That is why, even though times have changed, manners and norms haven’t.
The reason behind this preamble is that after the unprecedented uprising of the students and the masses, questions loom large over the interim government’s dependence on the bureaucracy.
In an interview with Prothom Alo on 20 January, the PPRC executive director Hossain Zillur Rahman said, “The interim government has entered into a self-contradiction from the beginning and that they imposed on themselves. The mistake that the government has made is to put bureaucrats on driving seat from the beginning. On one hand, there is talk of greater change, yet those who were supposed to be changed as part of the agenda of this upheaval have been placed in the driver’s seat.”
At the recent symposium of the White Paper drafting committee, Rounaq Jahan, Debapriya Bhattacharya and Anu Muhammad also strongly criticised the interim government’s dependence on the bureaucracy. CPB’s distinguished fellow Rounaq Jahan questioned what the government had done to smash the strong syndicate of politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats. Jahangirnagar University’s former professor and editor of Sarbajankatha Anu Muhammad said, “If the bureaucracy is not changed, it will not be possible to change anything else.” Head of the White Paper drafting committee and distinguished fellow of CPD, Debapriya Bhattacharya, said, “The civil servants still remain up high, they are still powerful.”
Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule gradually took shape of a fully autocratic rule, and the bureaucracy had a major role in this. A cronyism of politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats emerged, creating a kleptocratic economy
The commission for reforms in public administration held a press briefing towards the beginning of last month where they highlighted certain issues. In response, the bureaucrats reacted in a most unbecoming matter. In a clear violation of the service rules, the BCS (admin) Welfare Multipurpose Cooperative Association issued a 48 hour ultimatum and announced a rally. They even issued a threat, saying that if the head of the public administration reforms commission was not removed, they knew the course to take to remove him.
The advisor for information and broadcast Md Nahid Islam reacted angrily to this behaviour of the bureaucrats. He said, “In recent times were have heard the bureaucrats issuing a sort of threat. They have been emboldened by times in the past.”
In continuation of the British and Pakistani colonial rules, every government (civil and military) of Bangladesh too has used the bureaucrats politically, in varying degrees. It broke all records during the Awami League rule. Sheikh Hasina’s authoritarian rule gradually took shape of a fully autocratic rule, and the bureaucracy had a major role in this. A cronyism of politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats emerged, creating a kleptocratic economy.
The highest expenditure in the budget every year is made on the salaries, allowances and other benefits of the 1.4 million employees of the republic. There are question concerning the justification of such expenditure. After all, the difference between the salaries and allowances at the top level of the civil service and that of the lower level is huge. At the lower level, the starting pay is unrealistic. Is it possible to run a family with such monthly wages, even if living on just dal and rice?
The public administration budget is so high because the government has to maintain a top-heavy bureaucracy. An upazila nirbahi officer on the lowest rung of bureaucracy, gets a bungalow, a costly car and other perks as well as unlimited power. Does that not set him apart from the general citizens, even those of the same status as him, but in other professions?
During colonial times bureaucrats were, in effect, the rulers. Have we managed to break away from that norm?
The higher one ascends the administration ladder the more one avails state benefits and power. One’s authority increases too. A deputy commissioner is the head of at least 146 committees in a district. No funds of any projects are released without his not. The government projects are centre-point of the bureaucracy’s authority and corruption. And lucrative contractual appointments of the state await them after retirement. Towards the end of the Hasina government rule, the DCs were demanding separate universities for them. In recent years we see a surplus of bureaucrat-teachers in the private universities.
The interim government in recent times has taken certain decisions that are, quite clearly, a continuity of the past government. The influence of the bureaucracy on such decisions and actions are obvious. The two issues that sparked off shark public reaction were the increase of VAT on over a hundred products and services in order to increase revenue, and directives from the department of secondary and higher education to take action against students and educational institutions that spread propaganda against the government and the state. In face of criticism, the government backed off somewhat from the VAT hike and moved completely away from the department of secondary and higher education’s directives.
The government is mulling over an increase in gas prices, under IMF pressure. Then we see an advisor using a helicopter to distribute winter clothes.
The most criticism has been generated over preparing a list of those killed and injured in the July-august uprising and the assistance for them as announced by the government. That list was not finalised even five and a half months after the uprising and many of the victims have not received assistance. But within this span of time, a list of the deprived civil servants has been drawn up. Their retrospective promotions have been made. At a moment when the government is desperately seeking funds, they are even considering dearness allowance for the civil servants. Yet there are over 70 million people involved in various work and professions in the country. Who will think of their living standards?
The 5 August mass-uprising is an outstanding chapter in Bangladesh’s history. The uprising itself is the biggest mandate. An opportunity has emerged to break the old ways and usher in the new. Being able to reply on the forces that led the uprising and the creativity of the people was most urgent for the government. But in politics, it is most important to be able to keep up the momentum. The interim government must now seek an answer to why they have stepped into the trap of the bureaucracy instead of relying in the strength of the students and the public. Simply removing a handful of bureaucrats does not mean an end to bureaucratic manipulations.
prothom alo