al parties constituting it should engage themselves in a race for the chair only and the powers and trappings associated with it. In pursuit of the chair the parties mobilize resources, appease various castes and creeds, misuse the administration and rig ballots. There is no denying the fact that this is the political fashion of the day.
             No system can hope to serve its people if it does not contain accountability as its corner stone. As far as the Indian system goes accountability is missing. Consequently, it has lost substantial credibility, honesty of purpose and values.
             The system of a powerful bureaucracy of the British Raj was adopted by independent India without any change. ICS and lower officers of the British were trained to administer as loyal servants of the British Empire and to protect its interests. They were never trained to serve as servants of the people. Those who committed several atrocities on the people became their masters overnight. The newly elected ministers of the Govt. depended on their knowledge and experience. This strengthened the grip of the bureaucracy on the administration. Even the District Magistrates and Collectors continued with the same nomenclature.
             In 1975, during the imposition of Emergency the principle that the bureaucracy must be committed was articulated. This meant that bureaucracy must be committed not to the constitution but to the government of the day. From this started the systematic deterioration of the bureaucracy which became highly politicised. We inherited the British of the permanent civil service and the changing political executive dependent on elections. But today we find the spectacle of the bureaucrats getting aligned politically and labelled as belonging to this political leader or that. Naturally with every change of government, massive transfers of bureaucrats at various levels take place to ensure proper alignment of the political frequencies of the bureaucrat ...