DailyPost 2844
TRANSFERRED!
You would be reading of transfers in the government over the print, electronic and the social media. The impressions which you would carry is that it is a routine bureaucratic exercise which is benign and objective and is conducted in the interest of administration to provide state of art public service. You would have read about the NTA chief being shunted out being in the eye of the storm. It was just a transfer. And latest on chopping block has been Greater Chennai Police Commissioner, in the wake of a gruesome murder. This was also a transfer. The government generally responds that it was routine exercise and nothing much should be read in it.
Whether it was a routine exercise or punishment for mishandling or diverting people’s ire, or reclaiming some of the government’s credibility, we can keep debating till the cows come home. Transfers were weaponized a long time back by governments, political executive, elected representatives and the political class lock, stock and barrel. At times there are other elements to the transfer ecosystem, which the parties to be affected; positively or negatively by the transfers are fully aware of it and act accordingly. The gradation of the posts in the eyes of the government servants happened a long time back, and the game is played accordingly.
The creation of superfluous posts also added to the rat race. Positions of the same rank having radically different official and societal standing, perks, visibility and opportunities to outshine are the other accentuating factors. The closeness to the powers that be is also critical to chart out a different professional or more of posting trajectory. That the same officers / governments are able to get coveted posts in the so called “routine transfers,” has certainly much more than what meets the eye. If it were to be routine, from where does the well established theory of “Blue-eyed boys” theory comes from. It has been seen in practice all around the place.
As the joke goes, talent and merit start and end with the UPSC and then all other skills are required to the game, the way it is played. If you map it on delivery the less said the better. In a TV panel discussion one panellist openly stated that the SHOs in a state behaved like party functionaries. It is an open understanding today that the political executive can call any shots, fitting it into any new age governance mantra, created by them. If the governments were to give up powers of transfers and posting, they would rather not come to power. Besides all the other detrimental impacts of the ways transfers / postings happen in the current day and age, it has been referred to as “Transfer Industry” in many states, any number of times.
TRANSFERS / POSTINGS PRACTISED THE CURRENT WAY ARE EATING INTO THE VITALS OF THE FAMED STEEL FRAME.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.