No substitute for professionalism
Dr Samiullah Koreshi
The Nazims are mustering support in various cities hoping to launch a
movement against re-introduction of the former district administration
system. It is claimed that the revival of the old system will make the
people “slaves of bureaucracy” again and that the present local
governments are the foundation of democracy. As against this claim, the
general opinion about their 8-year old Nazim experiment is not
favourable — with a few honorable exceptions, Nazims have earned
reputation of personalized administration and corrupt. It led to
unprecedented lawlessness perhaps due to the abolition of over 140-years
old district administration system, which was backed by magisterial
powers, and the police The Nazims lack these powers. Thus the Nazim’s is
a toothless administration. Nor the Nazim can be given magisterial
powers for which a person must have the knowledge and training in law
and experience of exercising magisterial powers. In the 140-year old
system before being made incharge of the district the person had about
ten years experience in the field, from the lowest rung to the level of
a district administrator.
The District Administration system was created by the British in 1860.
It worked well in pre-independence days. No demand was made in
pre-independence days for its abolition. In Pakistan it remained
operative till 2001. A system which has stood the test of time, of 140
years, has its own claim not to be discarded. In the old system, the
magistrates had long training and gradually given powers from a third
class magistrate trying small crimes to first class magistrate and so
on. In the old system the Administrator could act on the spot to control
the situation. With lack of these powers lawlessness could not be
controlled right away. Cases in civil court take ages to be decided.
This has encouraged law breakers to take the law in their own hands,.
With magistracy abolished law breakers are tried by snail justice. This
is why Nazim system has led to increased lawlessness. It is obvious that
what had worked well over a century and half should not be cancelled
because someone did not like it for one reason or the other. Normally
parties with totalitarian inclinations want their protégés to control
civil powers. A neutral administration is the last thing a politicians
or a military ruler would like to have. An established system of such
duration has an aura of respectability and the names of the designations
convey the functions associated with them. Ther had been two
unsuccessful experiments of abolishing ranks. In Russia after the 1917
Revolution all the ranks were abolished in all organization. Every
official was merely tavarish. No general, no minister, no police head
just tavarish. Soviet soon found abolishing old ranks created too much
confusion and re-established them. In China in the military all ranks
were abolished. No generals, no colonels, no captains etc. This did not
work and old ranks were reinstated. Similarly this Nazim, DCO. DPO etc
do not carry the prestige of the old ranks like DC, SSP, DIG, IG, etc.
Is this Nazim-Local Government system the base of democracy? That is to
say out of it develops democracy in the country also? But we see that in
India, which is described as the largest and yet a successful democracy,
the old Magistracy and District Administrator system has remained in
tact. Admittedly, Democracy is known to be working well and India is
described as the world’s largest democracy. As against this, Pakistan
had a lame democracy most of the time and the less said about the
present “democracy” the better. I would not subscribe to the myth that
31 years of military rule has destroyed the fabric on which democracy
could flourish. This more an alibi for faulty democracy in Pakistan It
can therefore be asked why if it works in a proven democratic order like
India, in Pakistan where even at the Federal and Provincial level
democracy had a lackadaisical performance and political leaders were
found lacking in the democratic values, how can revival of the old
Administrator system be described as re-introduction of slavery of
people to Bureaucracy. It is nothing but an emotionally loaded
hyperbole. Leadership of the country has failed, politicians have
failed, dishonesty is on the rise in society, corruption is rampant, and
Pakistan presents the spectacle of a sick society, failed government, Of
course ‘Bureaucracy’ has lost the standards it used to have.. Yet it can
be said that there has never been and there cannot be a government
without bureaucracy any where in the world. Bureaucracy is the machinery
of any government since civilization commenced. The task of the
leadership is to be the rudder setting the course and policies but there
has been no leadership of any kind, which can do away with the trained
machinery required to execute its policies and orders. Since the day
civilization came into existence there has been ‘bureaucracy’. There was
a well-established bureaucracy in Babylon, pre-historic Iraq – (who
implemented Hamurabi Code), in Egypt, in Greece, in Rome, in ancient
Iran, etc. Over two thousand years ago, in this very area, Taxila,
Chanakya or Kautilya in his Artha Shatera had given a detailed lay out
of a “Bureaucracy “ to assist in running the affairs of the State; Nizam
ul Mulk Tusi in his Syaste Nama has similarly details of a bureaucratic
system which runs the affairs of the state, Imam el Ghazzali in his “
Nasihat ul Muluk” describes the respect the Pen of the scribe is given
by the Quranic ayat “ Nun wa ma yestrun”. (translation of the Ayat.: By
the Pen and with which they write –or record- ). The scribe symbolizes
bureaucracy. Just as brain needs hands and legs and eyes to serve its
aims, so bureaucracy is to a Government. It is not a government but
machinery at its disposal.
Indeed there are bad bureaucrats, dishonest bureaucrats indifferent
bureaucrats, lazy ones who take ages to decide, but they are in
proportion to the state of health of the country. Even then the majority
is hard working. Despite all the defects, there is no substitute for
professionalism, Bernard Lewis in his translation from old Arabic
classics had quoted a case which illustrates the importance of an
expert. He says that after the toppling of the Ummayas, a certain
revenue expert bureaucrat was thrown in the prison about whom the Abbasi
Caliph had sworn on the Holy Quran that that he would have him beheaded.
Soon after the regime found its revenues falling badly and treasury
depleted the Caliph sought advice of someone how to rectify the
situation. Somebody adviced to call that Wazir and ask him what to do.
He acted on the advice and the revenues began to flourish. He then
called the revenue expert from the prison and asked him what should he
do that he break his vow to behead him and re employ him as the head of
revenue. Democracy does not mean elimination of Government machinery to
run the affairs of the state.
There is just no substitute for professionalism and expertise in no
democracy “bureaucracy” can be eliminated. The two, leadership and
experts and professionals are essential for an efficiently functioning
state. The British who created professionalism in Administration called
the system the iron frame of the Government. It is generally agreed that
in the British days the Courts administered justice far quicker, more
justly and efficiently than at present where the dissension of justice
has become snail pace. One of my maternal grand relations was a police
prosecutor at the beginning of the 20 the century. He had left a diary
of his days. He wrote of the murder and dacoity case of a well known
dacoit, settled in months, from the trial court to the High Court, and a
note recorded “today so and so Singh the famous dacoit was hanged in
Agra Jail” The administration was much better responsive to the demands
on it, the Police was more alert and up to the demands on it to maintain
law and order. If this was so it was because there was an efficient
government machinery. The problem of colonialism was on an entirely
different level, and in that no one doubted the impartiality of the
administration.
States have existed much longer than any modern political system became
known, the ideas of justice, good administration had existed in all
systems, continents and peoples. The steel frame work of the state , the
professional services, have been inevitable for dispensing a good
administration. In Pakistan let democratic government work at the center
and provinces before we wish to try it at grass roots.
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