The bickering babus

Most of the Services of Government ( IAS, IPS, IFS, etc., ) are unhappy with the recommendations of the Pay Commission, not because largesse proposed is meagre but because all the services want parity with IAS which the latter is in no mood to accept. Unsaid, what are the supporting arguments of each Service.
IAS: We have to spend all the time Ministers which is extremely taxing. With ignorant Ministers we have to marvel at their knowledge, with pompous ones we have to openly admire their humility, with the ones having proclivity to travel the world ( particularly to exotic destinations ) we have to commend in laudatory terms their penchant for more knowledge of countries, we have to close our eyes and keep silence at their insatiable desire to amass wealth, we have to often help louts who are relatives or sychopants of the Minister, we have to over-night change our approaches to issues when there is a change of horses, i.e., Ministers ( say, one who only drinks Tulasi jal to one who is ardent follower of Bacchus ), we have to all the time ensure that we only have peripheral understanding of the nuances of various segments and don’t get too involved with the problems of industry or the oldest profession, lest our actions would be partisan. We have to cleverly stonewall demands for information by the public (it is best for the country that public remains gullible ), we have to be adroit, spend considerable time and play a few games in ensuring that we are not shunted back to the State cadre ( a problem which other Services do not face ), we have to ensure that offialase, i.e., notes written on files could be interpreted in more than one way to ensure that we come unscatherd in any witch-hunt later on, etc., . Inevitably we deserve a better treatment than other services.
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IFS (Indian Foreign Service): All the time we have to market our country / government to other countries / governments. This is easily said than done, considering what a mess our Governments have made in governing the country, with de jure power being with IAS. Yes, in our duty we often have to imbibe day after day, with receptions of the host government and embassies on every other day. What we are doing is duty to mother land and not due to any proclivity for being in dazed state most of the time. We have to perfect diplomatic lies and deliver them adroitly. That is why we hardly get any time to look after our people in the countries to which we are posted or to attend to the problems of visisting Indians, unless they are VIPs. That we are not able to do this is nagging us all the time. But then we have to carry on with a heavy heart. So our Service deserves better treatment in terms of emoluments compared to IASwallas.
IFS ( Indian Forest Service ) : Members of all other services live and function in the comfort in cities/towns. But we have to go to forests, on one or two occasions during the service. Yet there is big risk to personal lives even in these one or two trips. Who knows when a lion will get through all the forest guards surrounding us during these visits. Yes, the guards have guns and they can shoot the lion. But then lion is a lion. The fact that no senior officer of our Service has been killed by wild animals during the last 60 years is no guarantee that the same will not happen in future. Then there are poachers of animals, contractors cutting illegally trees, NGOs all the time alleging that we are in cahoots with poachers and contractors, etc., With all these immense risks, it is only natural that we demand pay higher than that of IASwallas or atleast equal to what has been recommended for them.
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IRS ( Indian Revenue Service ): There is a fool-proof case for our service people getting salaries higher than IASwallas. We bring revenue to Government and all other services spend money of the Government. All the time we have to resist temptations to take bribe from business people. It is easily said than done. In fact this calls for Temptation Resisting Allowance for members of our Service. We have to reign our desire for wealth and pelf. So what if once a while we take this or that present or avail of the vehicles or guest houses offered by the business people. Our people have to be motivated to bring in more revenue to Government and that can happen only when we are paid higher than other services.
IES ( Indian Economic Service ): What is the use of our asking for a better treatment. It is clout that matters. We don’t have that. So are reconciled to the position that we have.
Military : Our men and officers are more patriotic than members of any other service. Every minute ( not to talk of every hour and day ) we have to be alert, whether our men are at the border or interiors of the country, because any time the enemy can attack and that attack could be any place. Our men can die any moment due to attakcs of enemy. That no General has died in any war is hardly an argument to deny us our due, which has to be higher than that of the different other services. Yes, we get various goodies at concessional rate, yes, we get longer duration leave, yes, only a small percentage of our people serve in the border areas, yes, police stationed in border areas have also to face immense risks. But then strength of a nation flows from its Military strength. And military strength can be augmented not only by recruiting more people but also by making them contented, which means more pay.
In conclusion, not only the aam admi but even intellctuals like me want only one thing. Remove the suffix of ‘ Service ‘ in respect of the clans of babus because they have all the time difficulty in understanding the meaning of Service. – 67 –