Book review: Prabhat Kumar,Public Service Ethics—A Quest for Naitik Bharat

Ethics, which has no universally agreed definition, when linked with public service and public life in India, invariably touches upon the multidimensional gamut of a fundamental element of Indian ethos. ‘Ethics in Public Service’ and ‘Ethics of Public Service’—one that refers to public servants discharging their duties to the best of their ability; the other that invokes doing what is right with an intrinsic sense of service to the people—is what encompasses the most relevant aspects of Prabhat Kumar’s monograph, ‘PUBLIC SERVICE ETHICS, A Quest for Naitik Bharat’. While brilliantly and deftly bringing out these issues of right and wrong when public servants frame policies aimed to benefit the common man, the book delves into the practical aspects of the ethics of public service in India. Highlighting the multiple dimensions of a very crucial element of human character, the practice of ethical principles as a way of life, the author eloquently argues how public servants need to be innovative, imaginative and empathetic to the needs of people.

As a retired civil servant, Prabhat Kumar brought his personal enormous experience and background in public service over a lifetime, shouldering a variety of responsibilities in this monograph. Prabhat Kumar joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1963 and reached the highest bureaucratic position of Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India. He also served the State of Jharkhand as the first Governor. As the president of the IC Centre for Governance, he takes up the responsibility of spreading awareness about people-oriented governance. With a keen eye, he has witnessed the action of public governance for more than 50 years. The book remains the author’s significant ramifications and reflections on the quality and trustworthiness of the public governance system. The meticulous analysis and anecdotes from real-life experiences create an authenticity that immediately rings a cord in the mind of the reader.

The prologue begins with Plato’s quote, rightly setting the tone of an honest narrative voice that underlines the higher calling of public servants. While narrating his experiences and research at the IC Centre for Governance, and putting the experiences of decades into perspective, Prabhat Kumar elaborates on the genesis of his idea that was systematically brought out in 12 well-planned chapters. Through these chapters, the author effectively weaves the related aspects of ethics in governance, including issues that encompass corruption, the perception of civil service, the role of democratic institutions and elements of understanding the global principles of ethics, to drive his point.

The introduction in the first chapter establishes the context by mentioning the IC Centre for Governance, the training programmes, and the values of good governance. The IC Centre for Governance, New Delhi, is a not-for-profit public charitable trust that serves society with extensive research and training programmes on governance practices and policy capacity. In the context of the training at the IC Centre, this chapter initiates the author’s quest for Naitik Bharat, taking a wide sweep and covering a very large canvas as it puts forward the hypothesis that ‘ethics of public service should be the cornerstone of all training in the Union Government and State Governments’.

In the next three chapters, the author describes the perception of ethics and the issues of corruption and ethics in democracy. It is interesting to note that the author’s stance is never that of preaching as he narrates his own life experiences to put forward his points. His use of simple, lucid language and candid experiences easily touches the readers’ minds. While discussing the attitude towards ethics, the author proclaims that ethics in the context of public service is different from ethics in other professions, as the citizens are the creators of norms and standards of behaviour for public servants. In his pursuit of Naitik Bharat, Prabhat Kumar does not deny the grim menace of corruption and the fragility of ethics that are quite widespread in the country. His mention of ‘ethics and corruption being genetically related’, ‘corruption being a subset of ethics’and ‘democracy and corruption being a heady mixture’ jolts the reader’s mind. And then, Kumar treads slowly but steadily towards a path that shows a changing future.

His real-life anecdotes, examples viz. ‘mission karmayogi’, ‘vigilance and ethics’, ‘childhood on crutches’, ‘the policeman and the pregnant lady’, ‘the constable and the bleeding man’ et al. at the end of the chapters, not only sums up the chapters but also reminds the readers that his messages come from a professional space that demands the highest understanding of transparency, accountability and reliability.

The fifth chapter stands in between the progression of thoughts, touching upon numerous definitions and concepts of ethics. The chapter proceeds to explain how spirituality, morality and ethics have different loci and different relationships with our being. Prabhat Kumar beautifully describes how the ethics of public service is a ‘linguistic abstraction’, and its meaning can evolve differently as per the concern. The sections of this chapter concerning justice and compassion and actual examples of conscious ethics prove to be a unique and masterly expositions on the subject.

The following chapters mention different attributes of the Ethics of Public Service and move ahead to mention authenticity, humility, compassion, commitment, self-assessment, the art of listening and communication as a few essential pillars. When Prabhat Kumar talks about ‘the courage to say I am sorry’ and ‘the principle of reciprocity that is embedded in our DNA’, he delves deep into a momentous subject that is crucial for our democracy. Yet, at the same time, he has the ability to explain everything through simple storytelling to which every common man would be able to relate. The eighth chapter mentions the principle of reciprocity while explaining the choices and dilemmas of ethics. While narrating the philosophical development since 200 BC, the author travelled through various religious and philosophical movements across the world to find a relationship between ethics and reciprocity. The chapter proclaims that the principle of reciprocity is submerged within us, and it has continued from antiquity. When the author says that people experience a sense of fairness and compassion for others and do good, but unconsciously expect returns, his critical and reflective approach to the subject becomes prominent. The chapter leaves scope for debate and deliberation. The ninth chapter, while portraying ethical alignment, indicates,

It is now high time to set up a council of ethical training … to deal with the questions of spirit, content and spread of training in addition to creating centres of ethical training in training institutions of Central and State Governments, PSEs and municipal corporations.

This indeed shows a clear future direction towards change.

Interestingly, these chapters come up with several real-life incidents and sample course content of training programmes, formulated by IC centre that provided unique opportunities to the officers to learn aligning Ethics for Service. These examples rendered reliability and authentic understanding to the entire discussion. The author asserts the need to set up a council of ethical training in the Department of Personnel Training (DoPT) to deal with the questions of spirit, content and spread of training in addition to creating ethical training in the training institutions of central and state governments, PSEs and municipal corporations.

The entire discussion of the monograph reaches its finale when the last three chapters concentrate upon ethical leadership, ethical decision-making and the scope and periphery of institutional ethics. The 10th chapter begins by reinstating that an ethical decision is a personal choice. Kumar’s viewpoint on ‘how an ethical decision is a personal choice’, and his analysis that ‘one who wants to be on the ethical side might have to pay the price’, upholds that ethical conduct, though difficult at times, is always profitable. He asserts that for an official, it is his or her ethical decision that gives peace and feel-good factors, making one love oneself and their surroundings.

Embedded skillfully in the middle of the chapter on ‘Ethics in Decision Making’ is the list of leading causes of a lack of ethics in decision making. Here, Kumar hits the real target, quickly yet strongly, while mentioning personal greed, conflict of interest, competition, envy, source of power and sadistic pleasure as some important causes why certain decisions may lack ethics. The author makes the reader introspect and reflect when he says that it is easy to find faults in others, but most often how we are blind to the same flaws in ourselves and, in these discussions, he uplifts the book to a universal level where these points are applicable not just to public servants but to humanity in general. In the same breath, the chapter discusses the definition of ‘truth’ and says professionals need to think of truth in context. Talking about the universality of truth and ethics, the chapter juxtaposes the topic of corruption and unethical deeds and mentions how they are not specific to any country or region but rampant among civil servants across the globe. This is where the book crosses boundaries and appeals to humanity in general. The references to Immanuel Kant, Jamshed Irani of Tata Sons, Lord Cadbury, the Chairman of Cadbury, Queen Victoria’s soldiers, Ram Jethmalani, et al., depict the varied and large canvas of the chapter’s dealings. The last lines of the chapter, ‘We need to remember that how we decide is just as important as what we decide. An ethical decision is one which is able and willing to defend’, thus bringing it to a fitting and justified end.

The chapter on ‘Ethical Leadership in Public Service’ begins with a quote that establishes integrity as the supreme quality of leadership. Here, Prabhat Kumar endorses the need for a value centre—a school of ethical leadership. Following his initial idea, much later, the Asia Plateau launched the Disom Leadership Institute. The chapter raises a pertinent question about what good leadership is. When the author talks about whether leadership is synonymous with moral leadership, he appears to be on an emotional and personal journey. The author is sure about his stance when he discusses ‘leadership with inspiration’and ‘ethical leadership, and with a deft stroke, he parcels information along with his own experiences, satisfying the readers’ expectations.

The discussion of ethical leadership smoothly culminates into the next chapter on institutional ethics. While narrating his experiences in the capacity of the offices he held, Kumar easily touches upon the most solemn issue of institutional ethics. He wraps up the discussion with aspects of integrity, ethical individuals, code of ethics, organisational culture, guiding principles, ethical duties, governance, conflict of interest, compliance with the law and implementation procedure—aspects that are integral to any institution.

The lucid language, the simplicity of a storytelling approach, the easy choice of words, the real-life experiences and personal anecdotes make Prabhat Kumar’s book, dealing with a serious, thought-provoking and substantial topic such as Ethics for Public Service, easily relatable. That is how the book remains a comfortable read, and the lessons it intends to convey are easy to understand and apply in life.

The epilogue remains a clarion call for a Naitik Bharat, a concept that was developed by the IC Centre. Despite the mention of the grim time that the country is going through, the book ends with optimism and exemplary cases that show the possible path of a bright ethical nation. The end-notes on the ethical training of IAS officers and the participants’ feedback endorse the need to understand ethics, its dilemmas and choices, especially for public servants who are required to take far-reaching decisions on matters concerning the common man. One of the feedbacks from the training programme talks about ‘Life’s Balance Sheet’, confirming the crux of the book that combines ethical principles seamlessly with happiness, peace of mind, satisfaction and contentment.

The book strives to make the nation competitive and grow globally. While making it competitive in a multiplicity of global endeavours, the book will give a substantial leap to India’s prestige in the comity of nations. And in the end, Prabhat Kumar rightly asserts: ‘Naitik Bharat is a created future, which is not going to happen if we do not make it happen collectively’. Prabhat Kumar’s monograph, ‘PUBLIC SERVICE ETHICS, A Quest for Naitik Bharat’ proves to be an easy, simple handbook that successfully takes a wide sweep and covers an immense landscape dealing with multiple aspects of ethics in public policy and governance. The author’s logical analysis of concepts, ability to blend diverse viewpoints, realistic narratives and storytelling style make the book a must-read for not only public servants but for every common man who desires to be part of the mission of crafting a New India. The book opens up a space that nudges the readers to think twice before making a decision, be it in their personal lives or professional lives. While the book proves to be a valuable read, it would have been better if the author had maintained a more impersonal, objective tone in his writing to make the approach more scientific.