VisionIAS - Video Classroom Lecture

Ethics Class 02

THE CLASS STARTED WITH A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS CLASS (05:07 PM)

IMPORTANCE OF COURAGE FOR CIVIL SERVICES (05:12 PM)

It helps them 'to stay firm on their core values' and principles irrespective of hardships.
Civil Servants often face numerous temptations as part of their work, courage allows them to 'make the right decisions'
'A leader leads by example' and for that courage is of utmost importance.
Financial irregularities have become part and parcel of the government system and to expose them one needs courage.
Policy-making often results in failure and only a courageous individual has the 'ability to identify mistakes and rectify them'
Civil servants often make unpopular decisions and only courage can help them in making the decisions.
Courage is important to ensure a well-functioning society as Napoleon had once said "The world suffers a lot not because of the violence of the bad but because of the silence of the good"
Ways of inculcating courage in Civil Servants:
Implementing a 'Strong Whistleblower law' so that the wrongdoing within the government is exposed without fear of repercussions.
Making the process of appointment, posting and transfers apolitical nature by establishing mechanisms such as a Civil Services Board.
We may consider providing fixed tenure for important postings.
Recognizing and 'rewarding the acts of courage' shown by civil servants.
Laying down a comprehensive 'Code of Ethics for the Ministers' to reduce their day-to-day interference in the functioning of the administration.
An 'Independent constitutional body such as UPSC' may be given a bigger role in deciding the appointments, and postings of civil servants.

DEDICATION TO PUBLIC SERVICE (05:36 PM)

It is the quality to be able to apply one's time and attention entirely to the cause of public service.
It refers to 'commitment, passion and a personal urge to do something for the public good' without any external stimulus or without any external force.
In other words, It refers to internalising the cause of public service or public good.
It is often dedication and commitment are confused with each other but dedication refers to the highest form of commitment where a person is 'willing to go beyond the call of duty'
Commitment on the other hand is more of an obligation fulfilled by a person as a part of his duties.
Importance of Dedication to Public Servants:
A Civil servant's job is 24*7 and a person can sustain in such a job only if one is dedicated to the cause of public service.
Civil servants often work in hostile conditions and under severe resource constraints only dedication to public service can help in overcoming such situations.
The very purpose of civil services is to act as agents of development and any such developmental efforts require dedication.
Ways to inculcate dedication in civil Servants:
'Rewards and recognition' to the best-performing officers to create inspiration for others.
'Organizing regular training sessions' and providing exposure through field visits to sensitise the civil servants towards the challenges faced by the citizens.
Inspiring the young civil servants through anecdotes, examples and stories of exemplary civil servants from the past.
We may adopt a 'Performance-linked approach' as is done in the private sector.

IMPARTIALITY AND NON-PARTISANSHIP (06:21 PM)

Even though 'impartiality' and 'Non-partisanship' are considered synonymous with each other, both of them are different from each other.
Impartiality refers to 'the act of not supporting an individual or group over others', an impartial civil servant would give a fair chance to others without allowing his biases to creep into his actions'
Non-partisanship has a special meaning that conveys 'apolitical behaviour' by a civil servant.
A civil servant is expected to remain neutral and execute the policies irrespective of who is in power.
Political parties may change hands but a civil servant should be willing to serve and provide technical advice to the political executives, keeping himself away from the politics of the day.
Significance of Impartiality to Civil Services:
It is crucial for maintaining the trust between the Citizens and government institutions, a number of problems such as naxalism have emerged precisely due to the breakdown of faith in the government institutions.
India is a diverse society with varying interests and therefore the civil servants are expected to remain neutral while implementing the policies and serving the people.
In India numerous conflicts exist between communities, in such situations civil servants should remain neutral otherwise they would be inclined to protect the interests of the groups or communities they are biased towards.
Civil servants are bound by the constitution of India and provisions such as Article 15 cast an obligation on them to remain neutral.
Significance of the Non-Partisanship in Civil Services:
If the civil services are not neutral they can not lend their wholehearted support to the reforms introduced by political executives.
In a democracy the most important decisions are taken by the people and the representatives of the people and civil servants should only be tools for the implementation of those decisions.
Only when a civil servant is non-partisan can he/she show courage to suggest alternative policies to the political executives.
Civil servants need to be non-partisan to maintain public confidence in the apolitical character of the civil services as an institution.
Challenges to Political Neutrality:
Lack of independent institutions for posting and transfers.
Opaque nature of functioning of civil servants resulting in nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and capitalists.
The inter and intra-service rivalry results in groupism and partisan behaviour by the civil servants.
Politicians tend to compromise the neutrality of the bureaucracy for their own motives.
Ways to inculcate the Non-Partisanship and Political Neutrality:
Make the 'Postings and transfers as apolitical' as possible.
'A mandatory cooling-off period' should be prescribed before taking up further government appointments, private sector jobs or political positions after quitting the services.
A 'Comprehensive code of conduct' should be formed to regulate the acceptance of gifts from individuals and organizations.
The Second ARC recommended objectively defining the relationships between the civil servants and ministers to minimize interference in the day-to-day functioning of civil services.

TOLERANCE (07:23 PM)

Tolerance means 'giving respect to the views of others irrespective of whether they are in conflict with one's views or not'
Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of and rich diversity of our culture.
Tolerance involves the rejection of dogmatism, and absolutism and therefore promoting a healthy environment for discussion and deliberations.
Significance of Tolerance in Civil Services:
Freedom of Speech and expression is necessary for any democracy and crucial for driving growth in society.
It can be protected only if tolerance is given importance.
As Voltaire said "I disapprove what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
It is important to protect the multireligious, multiethnic and multilingual characteristics of society.
The courage to fight for the rights of others especially for the rights of the marginalized comes from the value of tolerance.
Tolerance ensures more accurate decision-making and helps in avoiding impulsive decision-making.
It plays a crucial role in promoting social capital.
Tolerance creates a society in which people feel valued and respected and in which there is enough room for every person with their views and thoughts.
It also allows scope for individuality.
All India Civil Servants need to serve culturally different sections of society and for this tolerance is really important.
Ways to inculcate 'Tolerance' in Civil servants:
Exposure to different traditions, and cultures through activities such as 'Bharat Darshan' and cultural events celebrating the diversity of India.
Encouraging a culture of debate deliberations and discussions.
During the training to drill the value tolerance at a young age.
Code of conduct must prescribe certain strict rules on discriminatory behaviour.
Organizing team sports events to encourage teamwork among the civil servants.
Regularly organizing field visits and encouraging interactions with people from different sections of society.

INTEGRITY AND HONESTY (07:56 PM)

Integrity is the wholesome value and to have integrity one needs to be honest.
Honesty is having a truthful approach towards one's own actions, thoughts and expressions.
Integrity is adherence to values and principles even when no one is watching.

TOPIC FOR THE NEXT CLASS: INTEGRITY AND HONESTY (To be Continued...)