On Chacha... And The IAS

Chacha Manmohan S Gandhi has enjoyed a long honeymoon with the mainstream press, but perhaps this is finally over.

Here is an article that judges Chacha very harshly, in the light of four names – Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar, Ottavio Quattrochi, and – this is the surprise – Navin Chawla, who has just become chief election commissioner.

Navin Chawla is an IAS man.

Funny how the IAS runs nothing well – except for elections!

Funny.

Anyway, this is what the article cited above says on Chawla:

“The third example is that of Navin Chawla, secretary to the Lt Governor of Delhi during the Emergency in 1975-77. Chawla displayed fascist tendencies when he ordered the superintendent of Tihar Jail to ‘bake’ Indira Gandhi’s political opponents in cells with asbestos roofs. The Shah Commission of Inquiry, which examined the systematic assault on democracy during the Emergency, said Chawla had behaved in an “authoritarian and callous” manner. It indicted him and two other officers and said: “They grossly misused their position and abused their powers in cynical disregard of the welfare of citizens and in the process rendered themselves unfit to hold any public office which demands an attitude of fair play and consideration for others.”

The same man was appointed election commissioner in 2005. Chawla assumed charge as chief election commissioner on April 21.”

If Navin Chawla, as alleged, is a Congress loyalist, then there is much to think about. In the old days it was called the “bureaucrat-politician nexus.” This is the IAS practice – while in theory they say they are “apolitical.”

Such a system of administration is typical of centralized socialist states – this is “dual subordination,” by which the Great Socialist On High attempts to run anything and everything through his centralized authority over, first, his party, and second, his bureaucracy.

It should come as no surprise that when I last visited the IAS Academy in Mussoorie, with Barun Mitra of Liberty Institute, we were quite appalled to find that their professor of economics was a Marxist-Ricardian, a follower of Piero Sraffa. These guys believe that an economy can be planned by a State – which they control.

We have been liberalizing from 1991 – but key government institutions meant for imparting knowledge are sticking on to the dissemination of lies and propaganda.

Barun and I made known our views on their choice of an economics professor to the then director of the Academy, Wajahat Habibullah, who is now the CIC, known to be “close” to Soniaji (or do they call her “madam” – in hushed tones, with eyes lowered?).

The IAS, as a professional body, must be viewed with suspicion, as deeply embroiled in socialist politics. Their ability to conduct elections well should not hide the fact that nothing else in this country works. The “knowledge” they apply towards advising the politicians, who are representatives of illiterates, should be treated as suspect.

Note that the IAS, IPS and the forest service are established by the Constitution of India.

If we are to swear by this Constitution, we must swear by the IAS-IPS too.

This we mustn’t do.

A Second Republic, nothing less.