Unnoticed in the rest of the country, the structures and processes of civil administration have been undergoing such drastic changes in Assam, which now has 35 districts and 184 revenue circles, and to a lesser extent in other states of the north-east that it is necessary to examine these developments from a larger perspective.

In Assam, the districts have been reorganised into smaller units as all subdivisions of pre-2010 have been upgraded to districts, and more significantly, the designation of the district officer is no longer Dy Commissioner; it is now District Commissioner and District Development Commissioner as the system of the Divisional Commissioner in charge of several districts as appellate and supervisory authority ceased to exist from last year on the stated grounds of “administrative expediency and convenience.” Further, 36 Revenue circle offices may be reportedly closed in Assam after a review of the working of circle offices as a new idea of “co-districts” is under consideration to assign a “development” role to the circle office, the basic unit of land revenue administration and maintenance of land records and a primary “sovereign function.”.

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This is important because the area of a development block under the block development officer is usually not coterminous with that of a revenue circle and was put in place to separate the two functions—regulatory and development—and to facilitate the growth of the Panchayati Raj institutions. In Mizoram, it is reported that the sub-divisional officers have been designated as sub-divisional development commissioners! Apparently states of the North East are free to establish their own systems of district administration, there being no requirement to adhere to an All India pattern. And in August last, a State Minister acting as the “District Guardian” presided over a meeting in Jorhat in upper Assam to resolve a potentially damaging issue between the Marwari community and the Assamese residents. All these developments suggest that the civil service in the north-east and elsewhere in the country, in varying degrees, is facing new challenges that demand a constructive approach and response.

In this scenario, perusal of “Flashes before My Eyes: Civil Service and More”, penned down by Inderjeet Khanna, a member of the IAS who had served as the Chief Secretary, Rajasthan, and Secretary to the Government of India with distinction, might help the policymakers at the Union and north-east states to construct a road map for revamping the civil service in the region as an instrument of development with justice.

Now about the book ; there are 23 chapters in 327 pages and 18 Appendices of which the first five are simply captivating as the author narrates first, his remarkable multi cultural family background that linked Punjab and Bengal, his christian heritage and values seeking excellence with integrity and modesty, followed by education at Sherwood college in Nainital where Amitabh Bachchan became his friend who had written the foreword of the book; and later at St Stephens college in Delhi where he excelled in studies which prepared him for  several career options that he narrated with useful details; and eventually made it to the IAS and posted in Rajasthan cadre of the IAS after  completing  training at the National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie.

In the next fifteen chapters, the author has penned down with remarkable insight his experience in the “field” as a sub-divisional officer, Raisinghnagar and District Magistrate, Banswara, and later in assignments at the state level in diverse areas of work such as Director of Education, Commissioner of Tribal Development, Secretary Planning, and in between a professorship at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management at Ahmedabad—a recognition of the author’s diverse intellectual capabilities that enabled him to evaluate development projects in a number of Asian countries in association with international development institutions.

His later assignments at the Centre were Secretary, University Grants Commission; Special Secretary, Finance Ministry; and finally he was back to Rajasthan as Chief Secretary—the post from which he superannuated in February 2003. Public service and public cause didn’t, however, leave the author. His appointment as State Election Commissioner by the Government of Rajasthan for a 5-year term was also a recognition of his outstanding ability. On the expiry of his term as SEC in 2008, the author was invited to be a mentor to guide the work of the Gita Mittal Foundation, a charity engaged in a wide range of activities that Prof. Amartya Sen called “human capability advancement,” with a focus on “skill development “of the youth of Rajasthan. Read with the appendices several official appreciations of the author’s work and his current association with 14 voluntary organisations in health, education, skill teaching, and care for the differently abled; and above all, his care for the family, relatives, and friends leaves an enduring impression about the author in the reader’s minds as a person who believes in stable human relationships founded on love, mutual empathy, and good will. It appears that he enjoyed every assignment, such as his work at IIM Ahmedabad, where even residential accommodation was not comfortable as he considered work as worship.

This is a book that every civil service aspirant should read to understand the role and functioning of the civil service in the quasi-federal system of democratic governance and how a “well-rounded personality with professionalism” could grow in the system. That civil service is not simply a career but a lifelong opportunity for self realisation is the author’s message to all serving  and civil service aspirants. This is a point the north-east states should note to develop “core competencies” in the civil service, such as the way the Bhil tribes of Banswara district were motivated by the author to organise fishery co-operatives to run the state-owned water bodies that were earlier leased out to contractors who engaged the same Bhil people as fishermen on payment of subsistence wages to reap huge profits. In the same way, Rajendra Singh, “the Waterman of India and Magsaysay Award winner, organised the villagers of Rajasthan to protect the water bodies—”Johads”” in local parlance, which vastly improved the level of water security and rural economy of the state.

Empowerment of the community is indeed development, which the state, as the author argued, has to support, and this is the “development strategy” of Rajasthan, which produced the famous ‘Bhilwara model’ in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

It will be useful for the north-east tribal areas to examine the development experience of Rajasthan for adoption with necessary changes in management of land, forests, and water bodies, which in the north-east is presently “unsustainable,” as the National Green Tribunal has observed recently in several cases.

This book has special relevance to the Christian majority North East Hill states, as it shows how Christian ethics and its spirit of social service are integral to Indian culture, and hence identity politics” on some grounds or the other as seen in the North East is counterproductive is the unstated message of the author. His other such message is the need—especially now—for research and documentation of the great role the Indian Christian community of Punjab and Bengal played in education, social reforms, sports, and music in north India so that the unhappy experience of the author in getting the names of even his wife and mother-in-law included in the electoral roll in Delhi as they appeared “outlandish” to the election office is not faced by others in similar situations.

The author, “Titch” Khanna to his contemporaries and IAS batchmates that includes your columnist for his height, sharp intellect, and agility on the horseback during riding sessions. He is endowed with a facile pen and a discipline of mind and body that enabled him to maintain a diary meticulously recording facts, feelings, and interactions with all—family, friends, colleagues, and extended family—across the world to write the memoirs that every discerning reader will find sheer joy to read and share with others the “flashes” the author saw.

It is a “must-read book” for everyone interested in what may be called civil service, democratic governance, and more!

The reviewer, a retired IAS officer of Assam Meghalaya cadre had served as DG Council for Advancement of People’s action and Rural Technology under the aegis of Rural Development Ministry and in the NEC as its Planning and Financial Adviser.

Spotlight

Flashes Before My Eyes: The Civil Service and More

By Inderjeet Khanna

Rawat Publication, 2022

360 pages, Rs 795/-