Bureaucrats across India humiliated: What's the thin line between courtesy & humiliation?

Anindo Majumdar is a fairly senior officer of Indian Administrative Service ( IAS) with three decades of administrative experience. So, when he found his office room locked early this week at the directive of the Arvind Kejriwal-led government, he lost his cool.

He lodged a complaint with the IAS Association and lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party government for “humiliating” him. The officer argued he was simply carrying out the order of the lieutenant governor by issuing the acting chief secretary’s appointment letter to Shakuntala Gamlin, someone whose elevation to the top post was fiercely opposed by the Delhi chief minister.

Majumdar’s shame may not be an exception. Bureaucrats across India get humiliated by the political establishment, though most of those incidents go unreported. After all, the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 ensure that there is a thin line between courtesy and humiliation. Have a look: