Book Review:
By Akshat Mittal
Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant is an “ethical” memoir of an IAS officer. A book by Anil Swarup, an IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, joined the elite service in 1981 and retired in 2018. During his career spanning 38 years, Swarup held various key assignments within the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Union Government.
If one considers journalism as the first draft of history, it won’t be wrong to say that memoirs or the writings of bureaucrats are its primary source material. The source material is even richer and varied if the bureaucrats happen to be the officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or the Indian Police Service (IPS), like the expanse of work of these officers is so large that it touches almost the entire gamut of human existence in India.
Mr. Swarup had earlier penned down the book “Not Just a Civil Servant.” He is not the first bureaucrat to put pen to paper post-retirement. He continued the rich tradition followed by the rich content, first with his book “Not Just a Civil Servant” and then with an ethical memoir “Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant”. The latter book was a much-enhanced version of the first one. Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant was launched on 5 July 2020, in a virtual session. Since then the book has been taken very well by the audience and it got tremendous response across the length and breadth of the country. The book is yet another success for Mr. Swarup. It on some occasions looks like a thorough write-up of a brief one (Not Just a Civil Servant).
Unlike his first book where his state postings were very briefly described, focusing more on his tenure with the Union Government, in this one he thoroughly focused on both his tenure in State as well as the Centre. The book gives some glimpses of “Not Just a Civil Servant”. It was a mind-capturing book, as when I decided to give it a read; I could not resist from completing it and finished the book within 2 nights. This is not only the case with me, it is with everyone who read it and reviewed it on Social Media. It is a thorough documentation of a Civil Servant Comprising the details from the beginning of the career to the retirement.
We have often heard about the alleged “Coal-Gate” Scam and CBSE paper leak. However, the complete degree behind the allegations is a mystery. Both events were briefly described in the book by someone who was in the core and integral part of the government at that point of time. The book gives a straight view that “if desired, a civil servant can achieve any goal and can bring change in the society”. Mr. Swarup in his book described his term in office with Kalyan Singh and Mayawati in the state of Uttar Pradesh and about the various key projects he held at the center. The book points out a wide range of issues that came to the Project Monitoring Group (PMG), which was chaired by Mr. Swarup himself. PMG was set up by the Union government to fast-track projects that had suffered on account of delays in clearances by various state agencies. One among those was the issue with Delhi Aero-city which is discussed briefly in the book. The issue was later resolved by the PMG. Thereafter, the dream of Delhi Aero-city became a reality.
Book also consists of issues such as; the politicization of the bureaucracy, issues that confront the efficient working of the Government, financial hurdles and turbulence, the difference in working for the State Government and the union government as a Civil Servant. But at last, as Mr. Swarup mentioned, it is upon the officer what he chooses to do. During his career, Mr. Swarup says he was not at all worried about the transfers. It is indeed true, if a Civil Servant isn’t worried about the transfers, he could do his work more efficiently and honestly. Mr. Swarup very effectively conveyed the message that for an Idea to fructify and be sustainable in the government it has to be politically acceptable, socially desirable, technologically feasible, financially viable, administratively doable, and judicially tenable.
In conclusion, the book is worth a read. The book gives detailed knowledge about ethics and efficiency along with honesty side-by-side. It is a bunch of knowledge not only for Civil Servants but also for appearing UPSC aspirants and in fact for anyone interested in the Government policies and the Indian polity. For Civil Servants, they must read this book preferably at the beginning of his/her career to know the challenges they will probably face.
The life of a civil servant is indeed the replica of the thought, Mr. Swarup mentioned within his book:
“मुख़्तसर सी ज़िन्दगी के अजब से फ़साने हैं,
(Mukhtsar si zindagi ke ajab se fasane hain)
यहां तीर भी चलने हैं और परिंदे भी बचाने हैं.
(Yahaan teer bhi chalane hain aur parinde bhi bachane hain)”
Book Name- Ethical Dilemmas of a Civil Servant
Review Rating- 4.5 Stars
Maximum Retail Price- 300/-
