Officials should at least be willing to smile

The High Court has said that bureaucracy is not the master of the people and that there should be a human touch in the decisions it takes on files. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has made similar comments and suggestions many times in the last nine years. Our Chief Minister has been constantly saying that officials should remember that each file is a life. However, the experience of the people is that all this talk and lamentations just remain on paper. For a few years, in commemoration of the country becoming a republic, officials have been reading the preamble of the Constitution aloud and taking an oath in all government offices of the country. The words uttered in that oath are of great meaning. The preamble of the Constitution says that we, the people, have decided to make the country a sovereign, equal, secular, democratic and republic, and to make it a reality, we will make justice, freedom, equality and fraternity a reality for all the citizens of the country. Gandhiji and Sree Narayana Gurudeva shine in the concept of justice and fraternity.

Would the court have had to make this observation if the officials who take the oath by repeating these sentences in the preamble every year and handle the files to solve the problems of the people had at least some understanding of the meaning of the words they were saying? Would the Chief Minister have had to repeat this again? The High Court said that government officials are servants of the people. Even when government officials are described using the English word 'public servant', it means that they are servants of the people. In other words, their fundamental duty is to work for the people. It was Gandhiji who said that democracy can be fully realised only when the voice of the people at the back of social life is heard at the front and their rights are protected. The Constitution and democratic systems of governance have been formed based on this view.

Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan's remarkable observation was made in the verdict of the revision petition in the case registered for creating a ruckus in the Kollam tahsildar's office and obstructing the execution of duties by seizing a file. The court, which acquitted the accused, also pointed out that the incident could have been avoided if the officials had behaved sympathetically. Humanity and empathy are the bridge between the government and the people. Behind every decision, there are hopes, anxieties or dreams. People who come to government offices react in various ways. The court, which said that the petitioner's action should have been avoided, also observed that patience should be the guiding emotion of bureaucracy.

There are systems to inform about the quality of service provided by private and corporate institutions. The level of service of the said officer will be checked, and a rating will be determined according to the level of response given by the public. Why not consider such an evaluation system for government officials? The government should take it seriously. Sir, you should be prepared to at least smile at those who come to the office with various needs.