Details

Technical Note

Evolution of Civil Service in The Subcontinent - Philosophic Underpinnings & Collonial Steelframe

Tariq Mahmud

INDUSTRY : Public Sector, Civil Service

AREA : Business Government/International Economy

ORGANIZATION : Subcontinent

LENGTH : 14

LUMS No : 16-298-2014-2

PUBLICATION YEAR : 2014

KEYWORDS:

Civil Service,Subcontinent,Colonial Steelframe,Philosophical Underpinnings,Justice,Responsibilities,East India Company,Colonial Powers,Governance,Independence

DESCRIPTION:

As a public sector institution, the civil service has played a defining role in consolidating and advancing the key objectives of the colonial rule in the subcontinent. It has also been the driving force behind administering justice and development. The note looks at the evolutionary process of how the foreign rulers had raised the administrative structures and constituted an imperial service arrayed with vast powers and responsibilities. Appropriate merit based selection and rigorous training were the key hallmarks of the service. The arrangement led to the creation of covenanted service, in which the employer entered into an agreement with the employee. In later years, multiple growing needs led to the establishment of subordinate services which opened doors for the natives. At the beginning of the colonial period, East India Company remained at the helm of affairs for almost a century. This was followed by complete British suzerainty after the 1858 War of Independence. The British were able to control a vast part of the population and area through officers who were the interface between the ruler and the ruled. The system survived the vicissitudes of history and showed a remarkable degree of adaptability in the wake of multiple demands and their fulfilment. The note traverses through the various stages of the civil service. The system was based on the cardinal principle of merit, with deference to the generalist tradition's testing knowledge and scholarship of an individual in the field of humanities, literature and languages. Its philosophical underpinnings were influenced by the teachings of great thinkers, namely Plato and Confucius, which provided the inherent strength to design a strong structure. The predatory instincts of colonial rule were conflated by the high ideals of the enlightened, civilising mission which underlined the need for reforming and educating the native population. Extractive ventures of the British colonial powers were, therefore, laced with the ideals of the civilising mission which aimed at inculcating modernism amongst the natives. In this process, the civil service- a handiwork of the Englishmen- played a crucial role as an arbiter of justice and fair play. It had the requisite wherewithal to tap the local capabilities for social upliftment. A handful of rigorously trained officers selected through a well laid process provided the mainstay to the British Empire. As an institution known as the Indian Civil Service, it continued to retain its essence along with historic centrality as a lever of governance and administration even after independence.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1) To have clearer understanding about the key role of public sector institutions in administrations and development processes. 2) To get inshight into the expansive reach of the civil service in ever evolving situations. It identifies different variables which kept the institution at the centre stage of governance.

SUBJECTS COVERED:

Business Government, International Economy