Governance and Administration : An Insider\'s View
Contents: Foreword. Introduction. 1. Good Governance: Constitutional Goals, Achievements and Disappointments. 2. Combating corruption: Preventive, Detective and Punitive Measures. 3. Relevance of All-India Services in the Federal polity of India. 4. Police-Public Perception: A Case of Delhi Police. 5. More Judges More Delays: Parkinson’s Law. 6. Citizens and the Public Services. 7. Need for Greater Fiscal Discipline and Economy in Expenditure. 8. Social Sector Development: “Outlays vs. Outcomes” – An Overview. 9. The Ombudsman Institution: Its Relevance for India. 10. Job Reservation for OBCs: Constitutional Provisions and Judicial Verdicts. 11. Protecting Independence of the Election Commission. 12. The Constitution and Citizenship Values. 13. Meaning and Significance of Hinduism to Make India a Secular State. 14. Justice Sachar committee Report on Muslim Backwardness. 15. Role of Public Administration in National Integration. 16. Sardar Patel-“The Iron Man of India”. 17. Governance for Development: Constitutional Goals and Directives. 18. India’s Water Resources: Some Issues of Concern. 19. From the Official Secret Act (1923) to the Right to Information Act (2005) Dawn of “Glasnost”. 20. Why and How to Vote for Democracy. 21. Caste Census : “Not only folly but Disaster”. Index.
This work represents the distillation of the experience, comprehension and observations of a civil servant with understanding and empathy for public aspirations and his role as a professional working within a political framework and constitutional parameters.
The book is quest for a governance system that could contribute more to the well-being of the common man. While the author presents an insider’s view he has not lost sight of the citizen’s perspective, nor other views from the outside.
The analysis and views put forth by the author on different aspects of the country’s governances and administration have considerable validity. His observations on the indifferent quality of grassroots administration, based on his personal experience are noteworthy. He has commented extensively on the quality of governance and points out the aberrations that kept on creeping at various stages and circumstances ion the sixty odd years’ history of Independent India.
The wide variety of issues taken up in this volume speaks profusely of the author’s concern as a civil servant, a thinker and an enlightened citizen. More importantly, he stimulates thinking and raises questions and misgivings that need adequate answers.(jacket)
