Its High Time That IAS Officers Should Quit Playing Smart While Hiding in Their Ivory Towers Like Clueless Elitists

In a blistering letter to secretaries, Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan has issued a clarion call for IAS officers to shatter their self-imposed bubbles and engage directly with civilians, including trade unions, NGOs, and those entangled in law enforcement issues. He warns that shunning public interaction severs bureaucrats from the pulse of ground-level governance, crippling the critical feedback loop essential for effective policy implementation.

Senior IAS officers often hide behind the excuse that “we can’t know who’s connected to whom, and a wrong impression could spell trouble.” This self-serving narrative has become a convenient bogey, deepening the chasm between bureaucrats and the public, particularly those with genuine grievances. By clinging to this fear, officers are wielding a double-edged sword: their isolation fuels biased or flawed policy assessments due to a lack of real-world insights, while simultaneously fostering distrust at both bureaucratic and governmental levels.

A senior source emphasized, “Secretaries must broaden their horizons. No ‘wrong impression’ forms unless an officer acts improperly on a civilian’s request. The specter of collusion only arises when bureaucrats grease the wheels of favoritism.This disconnect was glaring during recent PMO reviews, where some secretaries stumbled, exposing their shaky grasp of ground realities and policy impacts. A well-placed source attributed this to a deficient feedback mechanism, rooted in bureaucrats’ reluctance to engage beyond their comfort zones.

Such behavior starkly contradicts Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a public-oriented bureaucracy, as articulated in his rejection of the “Mera Kya, Mujhe Kya” mindset. Modi’s call for “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” demands a bureaucracy that prioritizes citizens over self-preservation, yet some secretaries remain entrenched in elitist detachment, justifying their aloofness with baseless fears.

Somanathan’s letter sets a bold tone for reform, underscoring that a public-oriented bureaucracy is not optional but imperative. He urges IAS officers to climb beyond superficial hearings toward genuine partnerships with civilians. It’s time for secretaries to abandon their ivory towers, shed the pretense of omniscience, and engage authentically with the public—lest they remain clueless elitists, undermining the very governance they are tasked to uphold.