AS a colonialist power, the British were cunning, subtle and, strategically speaking, visionary of sorts. They hired and supported local chieftains who were more than willing to serve their new masters to control the masses; their own countrymen.

The British were so successful in instilling such a mentality in the minds of their subjects that a few generations down the road, their language used to become the mark of scholarship and wisdom so much so that people would start hating their own.

Some of the local dominant groups learned this strategic thinking from their masters. Their modus operandi as well as the goal remained the same, and, unfortunately, the response from the target group also remained the same with the exception of a few hard-headed self-respecting individuals.

Such a mentality is pervasive and is perpetuated by the hiring system that is still in vogue related to the bureaucrats. The prime example is the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination which turns doctors into accountants, and engineers into policemen. This exam is nothing but a screening of sorts to ensure the continuation of the sahib-creating factory, even if it means wasting the already scarce resources.

It is time to reform the system along modern lines, and only professionals should be allowed to apply for the job they qualify for. One wonders why a doctor or an engineer after years of professional education and training is allowed to waste his/her education on unrelated professions for which they have no training and probably have no aptitude for. Well, the answer is simple; power, and, at least in some cases, easy and massive amount of money.

These bureaucrats live in their own tiny kingdoms. They are cut off from the realities of life that the masses around them have to put up with on a daily basis. As rightly pointed out in the article ‘Investing in food and water’ (March 11), these bureaucrats are no specialists in the fields but still by virtue of their position, they are appointed advisers to heads of governments — prime minister and chief ministers — even in fields in which they lack competence and experience. The result, not surprisingly, is waste.

Such generalised bureaucracy should be confined to clerical work in which they may have expertise in, and special fields should be left to the relevant professionals with educational and real-life experience.

In order to encourage efficiency and competence, it is high time the state of Pakistan did away with the colonial legacy with regard to bureaucracy, and reformed it along truly modern lines.

Shakeel Nizamani
Calgary, Canada

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2023