Questioning the Role of the Indian Administrative Service in National Integration

Dalal Benbabaali

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.- Text

Dalal Benbabaali, « Questioning the Role of the Indian Administrative Service in National Integration », South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal [Online], Articles, Online since 05 septembre 2008, Connection on 07 octobre 2009. URL : http://samaj.revues.org/index633.html