It's a JOB, Not an ENTITLEMENT!
Sept. 13, 2007

The government of Nitish Kumar has been in power for almost two years. I am sure that he has the best intentions at heart for Bihar and he is doing everything possible to make a "New Bihar". He has to realize that he is running a race against time and the public is looking at him with very cautious optimism.

Among all the different things the government is trying to do, I want to discuss one issue in particular. During the last 30-35 years of political and bureaucratic history, Bihar saw an immense rise in the level of corruption. There are thousands of people whose assets have no direct correlation with the income they were entitled to receive from the office they occupied during their professional careers.

I feel that Nitish Kumar has done a good job in terms of political corruption and even a better job in terms of bureaucratic corruption. The role of the Vigilance department in apprehending corrupt officials while accepting illegal financial gratification is nothing less than remarkable. It is even more commendable that the Vigilance not only arrested junior officers but also had the guts to arrest the senior officials.

These kinds of officers have to realize that they have been given a job to perform. If they feel that their salary is not enough to support their lifestyle, they should either quit their job and do something else or use the proper government forum to fight for an increase in their salary. They have been hired to work towards the development of their state and not the development of their own families.

It is a shame and it is hard to fathom that how some of these officials have so much money. These corrupt officials have to change their mindset and a very clear message should be sent to them - "Either change or face the consequences". They have to imbibe the fact in their psyche that they are nothing more than the executive arm of a service-oriented legislative setup.

Before I end this article, I want to share one of my recent experiences. I recently met one of my IAS friends after a gap of almost fifteen years. I thought that India has changed so much in the last ten years, and among other things, we would have a good discussion about India as a new global economic power. Unfortunately, our discussion was very short because of some of the statements made by my former friend during our conversation (After this meeting, I have added his name to my short list of former friends). Some of the statements made by him were:

- Since I became an IAS, I only drink Johnny Walker and I take three drinks every night.

- I have developed very good contacts with politicians who help me get good assignments. (He even mentioned the name of a minister in the present UPA government with whom he went to have lunch with at Maurya Sheraton, New Delhi. He said that the minister must be making a lot of money because he not only paid a hefty bill; he also left Rs. 3,000 in tips.)

- I have access to Russian prostitutes in New Delhi

- I always visit politicians on a regular basis

He talked about everything else but his accomplishments as an IAS officer. It seems that his non-governmental activities keep him so busy that he can hardly find time to concentrate on his governmental duties. Thinking of his very modest family background, I wonder how his salary supports his lifestyle. The only silver lining about this person is that he does not belong to the Bihar cadre of IAS officers. A journalist friend of mine from the Times of India group has even suggested that we should report him to the Chief Minister of his home state cadre.

I also agree that there are officers who serve their state and the country with their selfless attitude and they should be commended. These officials because of their diligence and hard work are making a much needed contribution towards the development of the state and the country. On the other hand, the corrupt officials should always remember that :

It's a JOB, not an ENTITLEMENT!

About the author:

Punyatma Sharan is a native of Rajendra Nagar, Patna. He is the Founder/CEO of PRIME INTERNATIONAL INC., a United States based company. He has a BA (Political Science) from Patna College and an MBA (Finance) from St. John's University, New York. He was also an elected member of Patna University Student's Union.