apr 29th, 2012 CE
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sri
Subject: Must Read: The Bribe and the Babu - by Omesh Saigal IAS
To:
THE BRIBE AND THE BABU http://expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=377543 Omesh Saigal is a 1st class engineering graduate (1962) from IIT,
Kharagpur and an IAS of 1964 batch. Whether General V K Singh’s sudden public revelation of the bribe offer, a
year and a half after it was made, was the deft move of an ex-commando or
the innocent protest against civilian apathy of a third generation
soldier….well, let future historians decide. For me, though, it is a bold
effort of a person who stands for probity and honesty and, maybe, it is a
blow against the ‘consultants’ and middlemen ridden world into which the
bureaucrat has to tread. I wish I had shown just a part of his courage when
confronted with a similar situation. I had just cleared my files as in walked an Member of Parliament who,
though then in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, earlier represented
Delhi, a state where I had spent the bulk of my working years. It was soon
clear that he was here to request for postponement of an order for
embossing a certain statutory warning on cola bottles, which, if
implemented, would cost several crores of rupees to his bottling company.
“We met the minister”, he declared, “he is clear that he will do as advised
by you.” His statement did not surprise me; a minister is supposed to be
guided by the departmental secretary. What he said next took my goat. “How
much do you think the minister will want?” he asked suddenly. It was all so
matter of fact that I didn’t even think there was something amiss. “Why
don’t you ask his private secretary?” was my simple retort. For a moment he
may have been taken aback but soon he quipped. “Okay, Mr Saigal….tell me
how much do you want?” My response, though instant, was quite different from the General’s ‘Get
out’ reaction. I sprung up in my seat: “Slap me as hard as you can, Mr….!”
And, before the taken-aback MP could react, I went on: “That will cause me
less pain than your query.” With just a moment’s respite, I went on: “With
my retirement just a couple of months away, I was happy in the thought that
at least I could spend my old age narrating stories about my integrity and
probity and the fact this was appreciated and accepted by all. But, sir,
you have shattered that dream. I have nothing left to count now but my
meagre retirement benefits, that won’t even buy me a two-bedroom flat in
Faridabad.” I salute the solder in General Singh for having the guts to disclose a fact
like this while still in service because I have been able to do so only
now, a full 10 years into my retirement. The relationship between the Babu and Bribe has always been intimate, almost
like the left hand to the right. My father, who joined the imperial
services way back in the Twenties of the last century, often joked: “The
corrupt person is a ‘dohathad’ (two-handed)… he takes his salary with the
right and uses the left to collect the *balai *money (bribe).” In the ‘good’ old days the bribe was really of the nature of bakshish, a
voluntary payment by the beneficiary. Even the British had found a way to
‘reward’ officers who spent almost their entire lives honestly serving the
king and country. Just a few years before their retirement, they were
seconded to the political service and appointed as agents in one of the
princely states. It was a tradition to give *dalis *during Christmas.
Naturally, the dali had to measure up to the ruler’s self perception and
meant a substantial pre-retirement bonus for the officer. ,,, deleted
From: sri
Subject: Must Read: The Bribe and the Babu - by Omesh Saigal IAS
To:
THE BRIBE AND THE BABU http://expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=377543 Omesh Saigal is a 1st class engineering graduate (1962) from IIT,
Kharagpur and an IAS of 1964 batch. Whether General V K Singh’s sudden public revelation of the bribe offer, a
year and a half after it was made, was the deft move of an ex-commando or
the innocent protest against civilian apathy of a third generation
soldier….well, let future historians decide. For me, though, it is a bold
effort of a person who stands for probity and honesty and, maybe, it is a
blow against the ‘consultants’ and middlemen ridden world into which the
bureaucrat has to tread. I wish I had shown just a part of his courage when
confronted with a similar situation. I had just cleared my files as in walked an Member of Parliament who,
though then in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, earlier represented
Delhi, a state where I had spent the bulk of my working years. It was soon
clear that he was here to request for postponement of an order for
embossing a certain statutory warning on cola bottles, which, if
implemented, would cost several crores of rupees to his bottling company.
“We met the minister”, he declared, “he is clear that he will do as advised
by you.” His statement did not surprise me; a minister is supposed to be
guided by the departmental secretary. What he said next took my goat. “How
much do you think the minister will want?” he asked suddenly. It was all so
matter of fact that I didn’t even think there was something amiss. “Why
don’t you ask his private secretary?” was my simple retort. For a moment he
may have been taken aback but soon he quipped. “Okay, Mr Saigal….tell me
how much do you want?” My response, though instant, was quite different from the General’s ‘Get
out’ reaction. I sprung up in my seat: “Slap me as hard as you can, Mr….!”
And, before the taken-aback MP could react, I went on: “That will cause me
less pain than your query.” With just a moment’s respite, I went on: “With
my retirement just a couple of months away, I was happy in the thought that
at least I could spend my old age narrating stories about my integrity and
probity and the fact this was appreciated and accepted by all. But, sir,
you have shattered that dream. I have nothing left to count now but my
meagre retirement benefits, that won’t even buy me a two-bedroom flat in
Faridabad.” I salute the solder in General Singh for having the guts to disclose a fact
like this while still in service because I have been able to do so only
now, a full 10 years into my retirement. The relationship between the Babu and Bribe has always been intimate, almost
like the left hand to the right. My father, who joined the imperial
services way back in the Twenties of the last century, often joked: “The
corrupt person is a ‘dohathad’ (two-handed)… he takes his salary with the
right and uses the left to collect the *balai *money (bribe).” In the ‘good’ old days the bribe was really of the nature of bakshish, a
voluntary payment by the beneficiary. Even the British had found a way to
‘reward’ officers who spent almost their entire lives honestly serving the
king and country. Just a few years before their retirement, they were
seconded to the political service and appointed as agents in one of the
princely states. It was a tradition to give *dalis *during Christmas.
Naturally, the dali had to measure up to the ruler’s self perception and
meant a substantial pre-retirement bonus for the officer. ,,, deleted
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