Power is every human's dream and one would go to any extent to grab it. However, if we translate the word into Hindi or Punjabi as "Shakti", it becomes very subjective. Some would consider it a divine gift or a supernatural state which empowers a human to exercise his/ her will. "Shakti" also refers to physical strength, but the social or political definition of power refers to the ability to influence the behavior of other people or a course of action. Though, the common notion about acquisition of power is that it can be captured through force but it may be possible in the rein of terror but in a democratic set-up like India specifically, political and bureaucratic institutions are highly empowered. Though I will not make a mention about the constitutional power hierarchy in India which has President on top of it, followed by the Prime Minister then Unions Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers and the Governors of the states, this hierarchy very well adjusts those civilians in it who have been bestowed upon them the prestigious "Bharat Ratna". A holder of a "Bharat Ratna" decoration enjoys the status of that of the Chief Minister of the state or a former Prime Minister of the country. But in this article I will focus on how people acquire such institutions.
Firstly, let's start from the level of a city/district, the amount of social status and respect enjoyed by the the District Collector (DC) or the Commissioner of Police (CP) in India would surpass the social status of a well-established Director/ CEO in an MNC. Though, he may be getting a much higher salary slip, but he won't enjoy the proximity of the top notch political leadership of the state or the country as that of a senior IAS or an IPS officer. We usually say in a lehman's language that XYZ is the DC of the city or the SSP or CP of the city but let us correct ourselves by admitting that DC, CP or SSP are not people but established institutions which are subsequently occupied by competent individuals and are thrown open to acquisition through UPSC civil services exam for the super-intelligent people of the country or the person from a lower rank be promoted to these positions based on their performance at the lower rank and the work experience of fixed number of years. Now, to occupy these institutions, the main criteria is intelligence- the mind power. Any bureaucrat if reaches the level of a secretary i.e. the defense secretary, finance secretary or the chief secretary is assumed to have had brilliant career in Civil Services. By the time, he/ she reaches the secretary level, he/ she is at the threshold of retirement.
Now let's talk about the Ministerial positions at both the state and the Central Level. Any person who aspires to be the minister in the state Cabinet first needs to win the seat of an MLA in legislative assembly elections, then, based on his past record or his performance as a party worker, the high command of the particular party which has allotted him/ her the ticket to contest the elections decides whether to give him/ her the ministry or not. Same kind of procedure is laid down for those who acquire Union Cabinet berths but they have to either go through Parliamentary elections or they can be nominated through the upper house of the parliament.
Usually, both the processes i.e. selection in civil services and elections in the assembly or the parliament are not very transparent and usually the parameters of the selection or the elections are kept hidden whether by the UPSC or the party high command in question. But UPSC is known for its sanctity and unbiased attitude but the acquisition of a political rank gets dirty because of the involvement of money and muscle power. Hence, the institution of Ministry carries much more power than that of the bureaucratic institutions because it requires three M's i.e. Mind, Money and Muscle whereas bureaucracy requires just one M i.e. the Mind. Though one needs to be physically fit and strong to join the police force but Muscle power is definitely not the physical strength of an individual. It is the number people backing you up who are always ready to manhandle any person or a situation that is proving to be an obstruction for you to acquire the seat of an MLA/ MP and subsequently the ministry. Money power is required to allure such people with alcohol, cash and other benefits.
The things that I've mentioned in this article as yet must be common-sense for a civil servant or a politically socialized individual. But now, I'll hit the soft spot by saying that we should ask bureaucrats personally why did they choose to be bureaucrats ?? Was that their personal calling ?? or Did the leader within them felt the dearth of money or muscle power to acquire a ministerial rank ?? Same sort of piercing questions can be asked to the ministers why did they choose to be politicians ?? Were they born leaders ?? Were they circumstantially forced to acquire power to change their life situations and meet the other ends ?? Didn't they aspire to have their own business empire ?? Don't they envy cult leaders who enjoy much more material comforts than them and are literally worshiped by people ?? Weren't they bound by their dynastic compulsions ??
The term "Leader" is highly misunderstood in India. For an uneducated Lehman, every politician is a leader. For the educated middle class, a "Leader" is the one who excels in life. My definition of a leader is somewhat similar. I would rather define a leader as guided by Stephen R Covey. I would say leader is the one who has successfully found his/ her inner voice and inspires others to find their inner voice. That may be too idealistic for acceptance in the Indian masses majority of whom are still struggling with the basic necessities of life but there are countless examples of both political and non-political leaders in India who have found their voice, followed it and unleashed the infinite potential hidden within themselves. Though the government institutions are highly empowered in India but there are people/ places and events happening in India which makes one feel the complete absence of government in the country. Best examples are , some award ceremony of Bollywood or the award ceremony of a cricket match. Such institutions make you feel that no government is required to govern the country and the country and the citizens can take care of themselves. Government only seems to be a set of nonsensical, egocentric people asserting themselves time and again and making life tougher to live instead of facilitating it.
In the early stages of evolution of the country after independence, the need of the government was absolutely necessary to guide people about the working of the institutions and tell them about what they can/ cannot do for the nation, what they can achieve in their lives. But now, as the Indian society has evolved into a wiser and a much more matured society, even a normal person would not feel connected with any office-bearer of the government and would find it actually hard to believe that a particular govt. institution has been set up to facilitate his/ her life.
Though social stratification definitely has a role to play in the utilization of the govt. institutions as a rich and an influential person can use these institutions better to work for his/ her advantage but that is more the outcome of his/ her own wisdom instead of the directions or guidelines given by the govt. I firmly believe that one should never work for acquisition of power or money in life but one should definitely work for realizing one's own potential and unleash it, chase one's dreams, once they're realized and accomplished, all the power and money will fall at your feet and you won't have to deliberately work to acquire it. It has been rightly said about power that: "Power is like a dead sea fruit, once you reach there, you realize there's nothing."
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