The IAS Mafia Strikes Yet Again

The new year has begun on a note that only reinforces my belief that India continues to be mired in feudalism. The constitutional post of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) of India has been wrested once again by a "generalist" officer, one Shri Vinod Rai, and the professional officers belonging to the premier Indian Audit & Accounts Service left to lick their wounds.

Another little-known fact, which India's journalists have failed to expose, is that the posts of Internal Financial Advisors in almost all the Union Government Ministries and Departments have been grabbed by the generalist officers of the IAS in yet another silent coup over the past year or two.

This makes the strangle-hold of the IAS over Indian administration unshakable, as the expert professional service officers have been systematically squeezed out from any positions where their free and frank views could pose a challenge to the hegemony of the powers that be. But then, in today's milieu, who cares if India loses?