Chinmaya IAS Academy shares the speech and advice given by Patel for the students who are appearing for Civil Services Exam 2019.
Exactly four months prior to India’s independence, India’s first home minister and great draftsman of political integration- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel gave a motivating speech to the first group of IAS officers. The speech was delivered at Metcalfe House (Delhi). He spoke about the aim of civil service for free India and giving a strong foundation for good governance or Surajya. The day he gave the speech has been finalized as the Civil Service Day. The civil services were actually recognized by the British.
Patel’s advice is motivating and powerful, which can help you in a great way to gain confidence and attain the exams successfully. He told elegantly that our predecessors remained away from common people. They followed a tradition of keeping themselves away. As an IAS officer, it is your duty to treat all individuals in India equally. There should not be any discrimination in terms of caste, creed or language.
After the speech, there have been several successes in India and growth of India is mainly due to the commitment, competence and passion of the civil servants. Here sharing certain guiding principles which will remain as a foundation for people working in the field of civil services in India. It is important to make sure that these guiding principles do not get dried up or forgotten in the future date. The salient principles are impartiality, efficiency, empathy and incorruptibility.
Mahatma Gandhi has advised on empathy and it can be applied to oneself in a scenario of the deprived of the underprivileged in the country. You can see how that particular programme and policy will influence her or him. It is a timeless lesson which remains as an important thinking instrument since civil servants should know the difference between the pros and cons before taking any decisions. They should know what is right and what is wrong before applying the decision. The decision should not be taken for the sake of their personal use.
Efficiency is the second important principle. It is very often we keep saying about the poor execution of good policies. Time and cost would retard the development of nation. It is important for civil servants to remain strong in their actions and thoughts. They should access latest knowledge and information and apply them for enhancing service delivery. Several civil servants in the country have taken efforts to make excellent innovations. They even have changed sleepy institutions into grand center place of important activity.
As the living and work environments change, it is important for the civil servants to completely make use
of each and every chance to prove their working methods. Their main aim should be to accomplish the ultimate motto of enhancing every Indian’s quality of life. It is mainly for people who were not given importance or served adequately. The main key to the change is innovation.
It is necessary to focus on the inherent strengths of our society in order to build synergies. The quality of life can be enhanced by building partnerships with the private sector and civil society. It helps the place to get developed and improved in all terms, thus enhances the quality of service and quality of life. Narendra Modi who is India’s Prime Minister has given a strong statement that inspires each and every civil servants and also normal individuals. His popular statement is reform, perform and also transform. It is the most inspirational tag that helps a person to reach new heights in terms of transformational leadership and efficiency.
The third and fourth important principles are incorruptibility and impartiality. It is also mentioned in Sardar Patel’s speech. He has advised maintaining the extreme incorruptibility and impartiality of administration.
One of the most important forces of Indian administration is the civil services. It helps in bridging several gaps that India has. The speech of Sardar Patel remains relevant till date. He has cautioned that a civil servant should not, must not and take participation in politics. He also added that they should not even involve themselves in communal fights and wrangles. If the person does not respect these principles, he has to lower his dignity and it means he is degrading public service.
As a civil service administrator, the person should be committed and passionate regarding service. He should not show passion regarding the person’s profile or their level of serving. He is responsible to treat and serve all people without any prejudice or bias. He has to especially concentrate on people who have been remained back for the growth and development process. He advised to follow antyodaya principle and take it as a guiding principle.
Incorruptibility is the last principle which every civil servant should be aware of. The civil service professionals have high responsibility to show impeccable integrity. It is well known that corruption could completely change the country and status of people too. The civil servants should ensure to abide by the rules and do not follow any wrong measures that can affect the entire country. It can even create a wrong impression amidst the common woman and man. They are almost like steel frame. It should not be rusted or even slightly bent. If it happens, it loses its importance, value, and respect in the midst of public.
He added that he is happy to see civil servants who are working on a mission to change Swarajya to Surajya and make the best to do construct a harmonious, innovative and prosperous India.
The civil services examination is an important examination that decides the future trendsetters of nation. They need to obey and abide by all rights and duties in order to show respect to their position. As they are given a more respectful and honorable position in the country, they should not misuse any opportunity. They should ensure to give their full efforts and satisfy the public.