Till it's proven beyond reasonable doubt that Karnataka IAS officer DK Ravi had indeed committed suicide because of personal reasons as the government now claims, people in the state are justified in their suspicion of foul play because he had taken on the land and builder mafia.

Till it's proven beyond reasonable doubt that Karnataka IAS officer DK Ravi had indeed committed suicide because of personal reasons as the government now claims, people in the state are justified in their suspicion of foul play because he had taken on the land and builder mafia.

For those who poured out into the streets in anger against his death, this is a typical story of an honest officer biting the dust taking on the mighty and the corrupt. No ordinary effort would convince them because they have heard such stories too often. That the people in Kolar, where he took on the mafia, didn’t want him to be transferred out, and his father’s disclosure that he was under pressure from builders, point to unusual circumstances.

Although high paying corporate jobs have weaned away a lot of urban civil service aspirants, IAS still has its pride of place in the country. Compared to the past, it’s certainly not the money and perks that attract bright, young minds to the service, but the prestige, power and the possibility of serving the people of the country. After all, it’s the bureaucracy that runs the country. However, increasingly, what awaits them is the plight of Ravi.

The question is, is it really worth the hard work and trouble?

In 1994, the country was shocked when a district magistrate in Gopalganj, an IAS officer, was lynched by a mob participating in a funeral procession of a local gangster. The man who led the attack was an an ex-MP, Anand Mohan. It was little solace to the slain officer’s family that Mohan was convicted to life several years later. Two years earlier, a woman officer in Tamil Nadu, VS Chandralekha, was disfigured in an acid attack because she opposed a state government disinvestment plan. There have also been cases of senior officers facing public humiliation, and even physical threats, from politicians

Although such physical attacks are not very common, IAS officers are constantly under threat and harassment from the politicians they serve. While some have managed the art of ingratiating themselves with at least one political party so that they have a good time when the party is in power, the real upright ones get shunted whenever they try to do their job by the book. Ashok Khemka, the Haryana officer who took on Robert Vadra, has been transferred 45 time in his 20 year old career, while in Tamil Nadu, U Sagayam, who unearthed the Rs 16,000 crore granite scam has been transferred 24 times in 23 years. He also has the unique distinction of being transferred twice within a 48-hour period. In 2014, Rajasthan saw several bulk transfers in a single year.

It’s now public knowledge that these routine transfers are hardly routine, but are meant to shunt out inconvenient officers and to bring in pliant ones. Every state and every political party does it. Those who become heroes in the folklore of people, such as Ravi and Sagayam, end up in miserable lives because these transfers not only kill their spirit, but also disrupt their lives. Khemka, when he spoke out in frustration last year, had said how difficult was his life because of the constant transfers. They also come under direct threat from politicians and their criminal accomplices. For instance, DMK workers had burned the effigy of Sagayam twice because he thwarted distribution of cash for votes during elections.

There is certainly the other side of the story in which officers get cozy with politicians and enrich themselves. All the recent scams during the UPA regime allegedly had senior officers playing lynchpin roles in plundering national wealth. For instance, in the 2G scam, a secretary level IAS officer, who was otherwise known for his efficiency, went to jail with minister A Raja.

If not to share the loot with their masters, is there anything else left for the IAS officers? It takes months of preparation and single-minded pursuit to crack the civil services exam, but what awaits them are straightjackets and bludgeons. Most often, the candidates have to work in a different state, master its language and culture, and live there permanently. If it’s only to serve the interests of the political masters, is it really worth it?

With his engineering degree in computer science, when the discipline was still emerging, and a PhD from TIFR, Khemka could have become one of the top private sector honchos anywhere in the world. Instead, he is still struggling with the burden of 40 transfers and even some charge-sheets. Another IIT topper, Raju Narayanaswamy, has been languishing in minor posts in Kerala for years now whereas his less competent college-mates have made it really big in the private sector.

Reportedly, the service is now attracting more and more rural candidates, possibly because the city elites don’t find it alluring any more. It also makes for inspiring success stories for rural youth who come from challenging backgrounds. Apparently, Ravi also came from a humble family and had a clear vision as to what a civil servant meant for the people in his state. Unfortunately his dreams had to end prematurely.

Politicians and IAS officers may look like strange bedfellows, but in several cases, it works. Wherever it doesn’t work, the officers live a dog’s life. That’s where upright officers end up.