The tyranny of seniority has to end, and the Modi government has shown the way. Collective resentment has to be dealt with firmly and ruthlessly. Or else we would be witness only to sloth and dishonesty in the higher echelons of the superior civil service.

A new Foreign Secretary has taken over at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi, ending the unfinished tenure of Sujatha Singh, who was to lay down office in August. Sujatha's successor is Jaishankar, an officer of formidable reputation. He was, until yesterday, our envoy in Washington.

Two years ago Prime Minister Manmohan Singh very much wanted him to take up this critical job. But then there was a howl of protest from Sujatha and a few other IFS officers, who were senior to Jaishankar. As was his wont, Manmohan Singh staged a hasty retreat succumbing to the blackmail.

A man whom the previous PM found eminently suitable has been endorsed by his successor. This would mean that there is basically a recognition of the new appointee's merit. Any controversy therefore raised by some elements, who are opposed to the current establishment is manufactured and artificial. It deserves to be treated with contempt and rubbished. It ignores how a former PM dismissed A.P. Venkateswaran in the 1980s unceremoniously, that too in public view at a press conference. AP, who was present on the occasion, straight drove to his South Block Office and put in his papers. Selective amnesia is the favorite game many in the current political firmament play, and it has to be spurned.

I know Jaishankar only slightly. I had looked him up in Tokyo, where he enjoyed an enviable standing among a cross section, both in the Embassy and outside. His tenure in Beijing won him many more friends, wholly on the basis of his professional excellence. If India-China relations are stable, despite a few irritants, it is because of Jaishankar's deft handling of a sensitive relationship. His short innings in Washington before his current appointment was no less significant. He paved the way for the PM's visit there and the US President's latest visit to New Delhi. The bureaucrat is only on a few occasions given credit for any government achievements. This is especially if he is low-profile and self-effacing. This time it has been different. PM Modi's decisive move to bring in Jaishankar to occupy a pivotal position is a generous and heartwarming recognition of merit and hard work. It has be lauded and not criticised. If the decision has hurt a few individuals it is incidental and not intended.A nation's interest comes very much before individual sensitivities.

I welcome Jaishankar's induction as a move in the right direction. Above all it would shake the Mandarins in South Block out of their slumber. Some in that turf had taken their rewards for granted. This is one of the few occasions in which they have been reminded that advancement will be on performance and not merely on the number of years they had been in the Service. I know how a considerable number in this elite corps had ignored their basic duties only to promote their self interests. This is true of many other Services, including the IPS, where plunder has replaced a sense of dedication to the common man. When this happens in the IFS our international reputation is at stake. Rewards to outstanding officers like Jaishankar should help to stem the rot.

Going by seniority for key appointments has caused more havoc than good in many areas of government. This has to end, and end swiftly. Service rules need to change to accommodate this surgery. I need to mention here how one of my successors in the recent past was appointed on consideration that he was the senior most in the country.This has brought untold disrepute to an organization that was expected to be apolitical and uphold integrity of the highest order.

I would squarely blame the judiciary, especially the Central Administrative Tribunals (CAT) for encouraging this abominable trend of some of the despicably dishonest and lazy members of the civil service invoking the help of the judiciary at the drop of a hat. Seniority is sacrosanct only as long as the officer passed over is productive and honest. And definitely not when he is indolent and corrupt. The tyranny of seniority has to end, and the Modi government has shown the way. Collective resentment has to be dealt with firmly and ruthlessly. Or else we would be witness only to sloth and dishonesty in the higher echelons of the superior civil service.

( The writer is a former CBI Director.)

