Withstanding Pressure – UPSC Ethics

For a civil servant what qualities are required to withstand pressure from various influential sections to stick to rule book and follow his/her conscience as sources of ethical guidance to do the right thing? With suitable examples, discuss these qualities. (200 Words)

Civil services hold honorable but responsible position in the society. So the very first concept of this position should be of a facilitator rather than being a powerful entity of the system. Some qualities should be deeply rooted in these facilitators to improve social and economic conditions of people on large scale. These can be counted as :
Honesty : in the infiltrated society honest officers are the dreams of the poor and destitute. Honesty in one’s duty makes a man bold and actions unquestionable. A honest person can go long way in his service without much compromise.
Objective: honesty without objective won’t lead to better results. a civil servant should have an objective to make people’s life more better by encouraging them and by interacting with them.
Emotional intelligence : pressure from influential groups and from situations have been common challenges for civil servants, this can be tackled by proper emotional intelligence.
Consistency and dedication : consistency and dedication towards service is also another important pillar.
Neutrality: without being biased to influential parties or individuals neutral stand on issues should be the base of decision making.
Rational thinking: being a administrator it is well deciphered that he is the role model for many in the society hence it is a responsibility to have rational thinking and direct the mass in rational light overcoming the social stigma and taboos.
Ajit Doval and Armstrong Pame are some of the most eminent example who have not just shown honesty and dedication but also immense courage in their work.
[ Uma Shankar, Tamil Nadu: Merely remaining in office has become a trial by fire for this senior Dalit bureaucrat. For, he has been hounded and humiliated by state governments headed by M. Karunanidhi as well as J. Jayalalithaa. But nothing has deterred Uma Shankar’s steely resolve to abide by his principles. He was dumped in an insignificant post for unearthing the cremation shed scam as additional collector of Madurai, which eventually led to Jayalalithaa’s poll defeat. The situation was no different under the DMK. For daring to take on the Marans and the DMK patriarch’s kin as joint vigilance commissioner, he faced suspension. ]

 

 

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