Questioning the Role of the Indian Administrative Service in National Integration

After Independence, the Indian Administrative Service was expected to promote national integration, from a social as well as a spatial point of view. Yet, despite the reservation policy, this elite body lacks representativeness. The partisanship of IAS officers along caste, religious and ethnic line...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Dalal Benbabaali
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre d’Etudes de l’Inde et de l’Asie du Sud 2008-09-01
Series:South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/samaj/633
Description
Summary:After Independence, the Indian Administrative Service was expected to promote national integration, from a social as well as a spatial point of view. Yet, despite the reservation policy, this elite body lacks representativeness. The partisanship of IAS officers along caste, religious and ethnic lines has further reduced their efficiency as a binding force of the nation. Being an All-India Service, the IAS encourages the spatial mobility of its members, which is not always welcome by officers posted in far-off states or in disturbed areas. In these places, the vacancy of postings in the higher administration is a sign of desertion that is contrary to the IAS mission of territorial integration.
ISSN:1960-6060