Good officer vs honest officer: Are they always the same?

- By Rahul Nandan

The perfect bureaucrat is one who manages to make no decisions and escapes all responsibility — Brooks Atkinson | American theatre critic & reviewer

Who is a good officer and who is an honest officer? Is a good officer always honest, an honest officer always good, and then those officers who are both good and honest?

A good officer is always an honest officer and vice versa but in a utopian world. And, certainly there are bureaucrats who are good and honest but are they like those species facing gradual extinction in the present socio-political environment.

Today, when bureaucrats are seen as mere puppets in the hands of their political masters and many times not considered synonymous with efficiency, how many of them are honest officers who deliver? Or there are good officers who are not necessarily honest? These are intriguing questions.

In an increasingly unethical society, how practical is it for a bureaucrat to be non-pliable, lead a career with absolute integrity and yet deliver optimally? The possibility seems to be low. Mostly, an officer either remains honest, tightly holding his integrity and accepts what comes his or her way without taking much trouble to bend set norms to achieve a visible change OR becomes part of the system, is not so honest, is pliable and works around rules to deliver, but largely sees own interests.

Often, officers who are honest, non-pliable and yet try to be efficient are inconvenienced and may not perform to their optimal capacities. They are seen as a misfit in the well-oiled politico-bureaucratic system that is largely corrupt and selfish. And, hence many of them sulk and suffer in different ways — frequent transfers, shunting and harassment — in the absence of a culture conducive to civil servants taking value-based positions and the fraternity standing in their support.

There are numerous such officers and some have hit national headlines. Whistleblower Haryana cadre bureaucrat Ashok Khemka is known as the ‘most transferred IAS officer’ with record 55 transfers in three decades. He has unveiled graft and scams almost everywhere he has been posted. Though he is among the very few who remain undaunted by the personal fallout of their actions. Mindful of such repercussions, many officers are insecure, tread a cautious path in their careers, stick to precedence, ultimately resulting in zero innovation at work.

It is outright upsetting to see some of the most talented and brilliant minds join the civil services and gradually take the path to mediocrity.

Then there are those officers who work in perfect tandem with their political bosses, compromise with reality and concentrate on their interests. And, such bureaucrats seem to be mostly flourishing in their careers. Also, as part of the system, these ambitious officers are less anxious about their actions and tend to take quick decisions ignoring precedence, but of course keeping their interests on priority. But such pliability many times pushes things faster and results in quicker turnaround.

So, what is good for the common good? Of course, integrity and commitment are the hallmarks of public service. It is critical to ensure a congenial environment for officers who display these traits, where they have the bare necessary shield that insulates them from the whims and fancies of their political superiors, to enable them function and perform to their optimal capacities without getting concerned of any backlash that may impact their careers and shake their commitment to service. We need competence, conscience and cover all together.

But the more important concern is how feasible is such a work culture and environment today? Or all this is an impractical proposition when immorality and corruption is so deeply ingrained in the existing politico-bureaucratic system? Would working around this system in favour of the larger good is pragmatic rather than waiting for absolute, unrealistic changes? And, if so, in what ways? It is time all of us reflected and looked at all these questions from a fresh and functional perspective.

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