Lifting the six-decade-old ‘ban’ on government employees taking part in the activities of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a retrograde step, making a mockery of Sardar Vallabhai’s vision of the role of civil services in IndiaToShri Rajiv GaubaCabinet SecretaryGovernment of IndiaI write this letter with a feeling of anguish and distress at a disturbing news report(://indianexpress.com/article/india/ban-govt-employees-in-rss-activities-removed-cong-bjp-9467790/) that the Department of Personnel (Government of India) abruptly lifted the six-decade-old “ban” on government employees taking part in the activities of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). If what has been reported is factually correct, the said order makes a mockery of the vision of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, the architect of the civil services in India, of the role expected of civil services in the country. Now that the RSS has gained a strong presence in politics, does the latest order of the government represent the present political executive’s endeavour to extend such a presence among the country’s civil services also? To depart from the path of rectitude in either of these respects is to debase public service and to lower its dignity. Is the latest memo on civil servants a part of an orchestrated attempt of the political establishment today to politicise institutions one by one, systematically?

Source: Indian Express July 30, 2024 07:01 UTC