Sanjeev Mishra - JUST AN ACCOUNTANT: A MEMOIR OF AN INDIAN CIVIL SERVANT

JUST AN ACCOUNTANT

A Memoir of an Indian Civil Servant

Sanjeev Mishra

To all the women I love.

In order to uncover truth, everybody must have the freedom to think freely and to express opinion. Suppressing others freedom of thought and speech will inevitably suspend the discovery of truth, and therefore, harm the humankindIf all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.

John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

Contents

ABOUT THE BOOK

Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.

Andre Gide

The life of a civil servant is a hold all of many lives lived, infinite crossroads and sudden transitions and emotional tsunamis. There is, of course, privilege, power, and influence to it but it is also full of constant predicaments, internal struggles, and perennial ructions. Its a glistening crown to wear but there also lies in the thorns that cover the rim of the crown. As the crown attracts a lot of attention, the thorns also deserve their story. The life journey of a civil servant is interspersed with unending narratives some known and some unknown, some with intelligent quotient and some with emotional quotient, some with pride and some with humility, some with success and some with failure.

This book captures that journey of an Indian civil servant. The journey spanning more than three decades encountered fun and monotony, success and failures, pride and absolution, applauds and regrets.

The book shows that in the government, teams, as well as individuals, matter equally for the system to function for the nation to progress. Some governance myths have been demystified and some light is shed on the intricate layers of the mechanisms and sense of duty. The frustrations of lawmakers have been highlighted. Anecdotes to resistance to change, dilemmas in administration, opportunities available for advancement have been narrated. The problems & prospects of post-conflict countries such as Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Liberia have been brought out, as experienced.

Indias march towards maturity from a controlled economy to an open economy has been narrated by citing cases of disinvestment of public sector undertakings and development of airport infrastructure through public-private partnership route.

A civil servant has to work under a strict protocol with numerous limitations despite the power quotient. That does not mean that the mind of a civil servant is immune to discomfort in relation to events that have happened now or earlier. A glimpse of such events is shared in the pages of this honest account that will give aspirants a peek into the universe of this arena and how a civil servant sails through the multi-layered predictable and unforeseen circumstances. The book finally tries to shatter some myths, restore some beliefs, and provoke the readers through some unavoidable nudges that a civil servant comes across while serving the nation and its people.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

FOREWORD

There is no dearth of books written by civil servants after they reach the retirement age. They share the accolades, moments of pride and sincerity and the tough crossroads that they have encountered many times. So, what is so unique about this book? How is this any different than any other book that has chronicled the times and lives of the civil servant? Most of the books are written by either the former administrative officers on administrative issues or former foreign service officers in the domain of diplomacy or by police service officers in the area of policing or intelligence. Very few books have been written by the officers from other services. This does not mean that they have nothing interesting to share. This is a book on the experiences of an officer of an accounting service of Government of India.

This book tries to share the multi-dimensional view of an accountant. An accountant by definition has to be very dispassionate. For him, arithmetic matters more than emotions and the relative spheres. Being part of the financial system in the Government of India, I was lucky to see things and events quite dispassionately while working in different ministries.

This book tries to enlarge the vision. The Government of India is a huge organisation. For the common people, all of us are babus, the elite , and the crme de la crme of the society. For the intelligentsia, all of us are grouped as bureaucrats who love inaction and status-quo. The following pages will show that a lot happens within this mammoth organisation that is positive, as well as eventful. In fact, even those who are not in the limelight contribute significantly.

The book proudly acknowledges achievements and the stories behind these victories. India today is a success story in terms of a friendly direct tax system. In the indirect taxes, a new beginning has been made through the implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST). Of course, its benefit is yet to be appreciated fully. The interventions in social sector through welfare schemes have brought out significant changes in the rural political economy. The fight to eradicate poverty is yet not finished. The will of the State to combat the extremes of poverty and deprivation is undiluted.

The book attempts to capture something which has been missed out by illustrious seniors. The goal is to encapsulate and map some of the missing dots to add some pixels to the image of public administration in India.