What do you think?
Rate this book
Journeys Through Babudom and Netaland: Governance in India
Autobiographical account of Indian government, commerce, by a retired ICS officer who served in the Commerce and Textile Ministries and as Chief Secretary in the U.P. just after Babri Masjid. An excellent narrative, clear and thoughtful. a very unique volume that should be read by scholar and layperson alike
359 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2004
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 13, 2024
Shri Subramanian, in his wisdom and rich experience has made some scathing remarks while also trying to show the humane side of the bureaucracy. It may seem to some of the readers that he has just pointed out to all those things which are wrong with Indian bureaucratic and political machinery. But everything needs to be understood in the backdrop of a context. The book is a product of the time in which the country was well at the nascency of its developing curve. We shouldn’t forget that we are just 75 years old. We would learn from our mistakes. Till the time the common populace of the nation feels that the coming years would be better than the past few years, (and most of the people do feel so), we should be confident that we are doing something right and that things do fall in place when assiduously pursued.
‘Our chaos also has a discipline’ someone had rightly said😊
Some interesting opinions from the book
“……….The law of administration that governed the situation, but which I did not recognise then, runs as follow: “Effort put in and rewards received are inversely related”.
“……After all, we receive so much undeserved goodness in our lives, we should also be ready for undeserved brick bats.”
“…….That was an occasion for me to think about the uses of Article 311 of the Constitution, which provides protection to government servants against arbitrary action without due process. Till I was at the short end of the stick, I had hitherto held the view that Article 311 provided an umbrella and cover for lazy, inefficient, and corrupt civil servants who cannot be got rid of easily. However, the authors of our Constitution had the foresight to envisage that vicious and self-seeking civil servants could as well be arbitrary in their dealings with their own officials.”
“………Bureaucrats are to be tamed and controlled, for them to be productive and useful; otherwise they are, by nature, like wild untamed horses – arrogant, lazy and self-willed.”
“…….A government servant, however high he may reach in the system, does not stand much chance to make reasonable savings if he follows the straight and narrow path.”
“…..It is alien to the genius of Indian babudom to be a transmitter of knowledge – the Indian field official’s forte is ‘distributing’ scarce resources and enforcing ‘controls’, feathering his nest in the process.”
“……years of hard work can be destroyed rapidly, one weak chief executive or chairman or an interfering minister can nullify years of hard work within a short period of time.”
“……Public servants belong to no caste in the exercise of their functions. My caste is administration and my Bible or Gita is the Constitution of India. Much like electricity or roads are caste-neutral – they serve all even-handedly, an administrator in the public domain is totally caste-less – he is an instrument of society.”
“if one were to summarise the essence of all that I have seen in the course of my career, it is ironic that these could take shape in the form of four laws that govern public affairs in India. Indeed, it might well be that
these are timeless and universal laws of public administration. The laws are as follows:
“1 Administration is conducted for the benefit of the administrators.
2 In a conflict between private interest and public interest, the former shall prevail.
3 The country belongs to the haves and the have nots do not exist.
4 A public servant’s work output and rewards are inversely related.”
‘Our chaos also has a discipline’ someone had rightly said😊
Some interesting opinions from the book
“……….The law of administration that governed the situation, but which I did not recognise then, runs as follow: “Effort put in and rewards received are inversely related”.
“……After all, we receive so much undeserved goodness in our lives, we should also be ready for undeserved brick bats.”
“…….That was an occasion for me to think about the uses of Article 311 of the Constitution, which provides protection to government servants against arbitrary action without due process. Till I was at the short end of the stick, I had hitherto held the view that Article 311 provided an umbrella and cover for lazy, inefficient, and corrupt civil servants who cannot be got rid of easily. However, the authors of our Constitution had the foresight to envisage that vicious and self-seeking civil servants could as well be arbitrary in their dealings with their own officials.”
“………Bureaucrats are to be tamed and controlled, for them to be productive and useful; otherwise they are, by nature, like wild untamed horses – arrogant, lazy and self-willed.”
“…….A government servant, however high he may reach in the system, does not stand much chance to make reasonable savings if he follows the straight and narrow path.”
“…..It is alien to the genius of Indian babudom to be a transmitter of knowledge – the Indian field official’s forte is ‘distributing’ scarce resources and enforcing ‘controls’, feathering his nest in the process.”
“……years of hard work can be destroyed rapidly, one weak chief executive or chairman or an interfering minister can nullify years of hard work within a short period of time.”
“……Public servants belong to no caste in the exercise of their functions. My caste is administration and my Bible or Gita is the Constitution of India. Much like electricity or roads are caste-neutral – they serve all even-handedly, an administrator in the public domain is totally caste-less – he is an instrument of society.”
“if one were to summarise the essence of all that I have seen in the course of my career, it is ironic that these could take shape in the form of four laws that govern public affairs in India. Indeed, it might well be that
these are timeless and universal laws of public administration. The laws are as follows:
“1 Administration is conducted for the benefit of the administrators.
2 In a conflict between private interest and public interest, the former shall prevail.
3 The country belongs to the haves and the have nots do not exist.
4 A public servant’s work output and rewards are inversely related.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2022
Although the book is an autobiographical penetration into the Indian Administrative system, it fares up to be more than that. What's commendable throughout is the intricacies of events, people, and humor that make it an easy read, yet significantly impactful. TSR writes candidly about working his way up from the bottom of the chain to the coveted corridors of power and authority by learning lessons in perpetuity. He captures the essence of his experiences through reflections on circumstances, retrospectively. He starts by saying that the book is an idiom to express his sense of sadness about the ever-crumbling governance in India giving a philippic start. However, each page demonstrates a tingling hope for betterment and his continued effort to achieve it. The most interesting part of the book is its Epilogue where his dreams are laid naked for the reader. I guess, he neither gave up on his country nor his countrymen (gender-neutral usage).
The book is easy on the mind and eyes. It's anecdotal and comprehensive. It's a memoir of a mammoth bureaucrat worth reading!
The book is easy on the mind and eyes. It's anecdotal and comprehensive. It's a memoir of a mammoth bureaucrat worth reading!
March 24, 2017
This book embodies what is wrong with Indian Bureaucracy. Consider the following. First, the story told by TSR Subramaniam is not one that can fit Indian Story into a larger strategic framework, one that can connect the various dots. It is rather one that is transactional, made of one-off events not connected at all with one another. It tells you a story of an administration that is busy fighting day-to-day battles and doing nothing with an eye on long-term.
Second, the book is immodest in projecting self-righteousness of the author. The author gives a standard, even cliched, account of what is wrong with India and Indian governance. But he offers little solutions. Most of all that he has to offer is a self-righteous belief in technical solutions with little consideration of inevitable politics that comes along.
Third, Indian society is much more creative, energetic and progressive than the state apparatus. One expected that a book by former Cabinet Secretary would have ideas to align the state with the society that it governs. On that count, the book disappoints. All that it offers is the illusion of of overarching institutions like Lokpal.
Finally, the book lacks the charm of elegant prose. The humour seems to be forced on the text. It is labouring to go through initial half of the book. The subject matter of the book- Indian Administration- is drab. The writing style makes it even drabber.
Second, the book is immodest in projecting self-righteousness of the author. The author gives a standard, even cliched, account of what is wrong with India and Indian governance. But he offers little solutions. Most of all that he has to offer is a self-righteous belief in technical solutions with little consideration of inevitable politics that comes along.
Third, Indian society is much more creative, energetic and progressive than the state apparatus. One expected that a book by former Cabinet Secretary would have ideas to align the state with the society that it governs. On that count, the book disappoints. All that it offers is the illusion of of overarching institutions like Lokpal.
Finally, the book lacks the charm of elegant prose. The humour seems to be forced on the text. It is labouring to go through initial half of the book. The subject matter of the book- Indian Administration- is drab. The writing style makes it even drabber.
September 16, 2014
This book is a civil servant's memoir of his forty year career in the Indian Administrative Service. The author who started his career in the sixties and retired shortly after the start of the twenty-first century is a talented civil servant who worked his way up from a junior district officer to the highest corridors of power in the Indian government.
The book is well-written and engrossing with interesting anecdotes through out that give not only an insight into the day-to-day responsibilities of an IAS officer at various levels in the bureaucracy but also shows the gradual decay and decline in the value system of officers and politicians during this period.
This memoir shows how the post-Nehru idealism and passion for public service among civil servants in the sixties quickly gave way to the corruption and self-dealing nature of administrators and politicians during the seventies from where on it continued to slip down to the current malaise in the Indian political and administrative system.
The book attempts to also lightly delve into the reasons for this decline and suggests how to potentially stem the rot.
All-in-all a thoroughly enjoyable and insightful read for some one who has experience with the trials of dealing with the Indian bureaucracy.
The book is well-written and engrossing with interesting anecdotes through out that give not only an insight into the day-to-day responsibilities of an IAS officer at various levels in the bureaucracy but also shows the gradual decay and decline in the value system of officers and politicians during this period.
This memoir shows how the post-Nehru idealism and passion for public service among civil servants in the sixties quickly gave way to the corruption and self-dealing nature of administrators and politicians during the seventies from where on it continued to slip down to the current malaise in the Indian political and administrative system.
The book attempts to also lightly delve into the reasons for this decline and suggests how to potentially stem the rot.
All-in-all a thoroughly enjoyable and insightful read for some one who has experience with the trials of dealing with the Indian bureaucracy.
December 2, 2017
The book although seems like a rant gives crucial insights about the state of administration in India. The fact that this comes from the ex-Cabinet Secretary, the highest bureaucrat in India makes the issue sound even more grave.
Yet, on another level, the author has sprinkled his work with a generous dose of humour. I cracked up when a 2 year old 'accidentally' addressed a UN conference in the presence of many dignitaries, making her the youngest to address the UN. Also, his tongue-in-cheek 4 laws of public administration are painfully contradictory to the ideal standards.
- Administration is conducted for the benfit of the administrators.
- In a conflict between the private interest and public interest, the former shall prevail.
- The country belongs to the haves and the have nots do not exist.
- A public servant's work output and rewards are inversely related.
With that said, the book has crucial advice on how a public servant should conduct himself, how policies need to the conceived and implemented. This is a must read for aspirants of the civil services exam in India.
Yet, on another level, the author has sprinkled his work with a generous dose of humour. I cracked up when a 2 year old 'accidentally' addressed a UN conference in the presence of many dignitaries, making her the youngest to address the UN. Also, his tongue-in-cheek 4 laws of public administration are painfully contradictory to the ideal standards.
- Administration is conducted for the benfit of the administrators.
- In a conflict between the private interest and public interest, the former shall prevail.
- The country belongs to the haves and the have nots do not exist.
- A public servant's work output and rewards are inversely related.
With that said, the book has crucial advice on how a public servant should conduct himself, how policies need to the conceived and implemented. This is a must read for aspirants of the civil services exam in India.
March 11, 2018
A memoir by one of the most outspoken and widely known bureaucrat, Lt. Sh. TSR Subramaniam. Co-incidentally, he passed away on the day I started this book. He was a man known for his integrity and vision, amply reflected in the works done by him and mentioned in this book. A very good thing about this book is that the writer doesn't indulge in self ego-pampering and in fact many a times is unequivocally critical, and rightly so, of our administrative set up.
It is a good one time read and reasonably succeeds to introduce the reader to the labyrinth of Indian administrative set up and its functioning.
It is a good one time read and reasonably succeeds to introduce the reader to the labyrinth of Indian administrative set up and its functioning.
January 13, 2023
A story of a man I knew
I read this because it has a bit of story about my father when he was SDM ranikhet. Second I know tsr uncle from childhood. 3 he lived in nodia a city that has given me shelter in a few years of life. Fourth I knew some of the stories and wanted to read them first hand. Fifth this book was recommend by ajit Seth some one who followed tsr as the cabinet secretary government of India. It brought back fond memories
I read this because it has a bit of story about my father when he was SDM ranikhet. Second I know tsr uncle from childhood. 3 he lived in nodia a city that has given me shelter in a few years of life. Fourth I knew some of the stories and wanted to read them first hand. Fifth this book was recommend by ajit Seth some one who followed tsr as the cabinet secretary government of India. It brought back fond memories
September 21, 2018
A good description into the lives of beaueaucrats. Makes one wonder if it's only the politicians who are clumsy with responsibilities for it appears that the beaueaucrats are not far behind.
Can get a little boring, but worth it.
Can get a little boring, but worth it.
June 13, 2019
Journey of 70 years after independence one thinks lot would have changed in these years however going through the journey of TSR one wonders how the systems in India have remained the same.
An honest account by an insider about governance in India .
An honest account by an insider about governance in India .
November 15, 2021
4 decades beautifully weaved throughout the book. Takes you back from the old UP streets staright to Delhi travelling all over the world building an articulate picture of the administrative hierarchy.
November 15, 2021
Too good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2023
Great read specially to civil servants, they can see the view point from the words of former cabsec and stalwarts of beaurocracy!
September 16, 2020
Journeys Through Babudom and Nealand: Governance in India (Paperback) by T S R Subramanian: The author has written about his early days of service in Uttar Pradesh with which I can relate well. There is less political interference and a public officer could do his best to serve the people with the available resources and resources. He has written about his annual inspection journey to villages to see whether the policies of Government were implemented properly and the benefits reached the common people. During his posting in Government of India at New Delhi he has described his period well showing that he was a successful policy planner and which ever department he headed, the policies were people friendly and helpful to the common man.
August 8, 2016
The book by Shri T.S.R Subramanian, a former Cabinet Secretary to the Government of India, gives a ring side view of the decision making and policy shaping processes in the Indian Civil Service. The experiences of the author as a district collector and also when he took over charge over many other responsible positions within the government, gives the reader an insight into the different aspects of administration. The various incidents in this book stresses on the importance of the qualities like integrity, hard work and courage that every government servant must strive to emulate. It is a must read book for anyone who is planning to seek a career in the government service.
November 26, 2014
A candid account of the steel frame and the deterioration it has undergone over the past decades. The author, a distinguished civil servant who served as cabinet secretary of India, also offers various ideas which can bring about positive change if they were to be implemented with sincerity.
April 2, 2017
few important things,
Mr TSR was dm of only 2 districts..is it right to elevate such person to CS & Cab Sec position?
kanpur was a glorious city but brcrts politicians of up milked it dry
despite being called all india services, people pine for home posting e.g. TSR goes back to chennai to head leather board
brcrts value UN posting a lot..why? how about giving a chance to all india services officers to servce abroad 2-5 yrs with good pay?
he streamlined many things while being principal secretary , but were they institutionalised
commendable role in closing down sick PSUs
feeble attempt to defend MSY for mass and arbitrary transfer orders of officers
hides more than tells
Mr TSR was dm of only 2 districts..is it right to elevate such person to CS & Cab Sec position?
kanpur was a glorious city but brcrts politicians of up milked it dry
despite being called all india services, people pine for home posting e.g. TSR goes back to chennai to head leather board
brcrts value UN posting a lot..why? how about giving a chance to all india services officers to servce abroad 2-5 yrs with good pay?
he streamlined many things while being principal secretary , but were they institutionalised
commendable role in closing down sick PSUs
feeble attempt to defend MSY for mass and arbitrary transfer orders of officers
hides more than tells
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews