Asok Mukhopadhyay

Ethics in Governance: The Indian Perspective

ETHICS AS the science of morals stands for moral principles and rules of conduct. Morals refer to any generally accepted customs of conduct and right living in a society. It is from the total social environment that people derive their attitudes, beliefs, desires, expectations, popular customs and values. These things are not in-born elements of human personality; these are resultants of a host of influences encountered in the social environment which includes ethical environment. Ethics chiefly refers to sets of generally accepted and practised standards of personal conduct. As the collective term for principles of professional conduct, ethics is important in influencing the nature and standards of governance.

Administrative Accountability : A Conceptual Analysis

THERE S_EEMS to be a paradox in the development of the democratfo welfare state. As the state grows more and more powerful in order to serve the people, more and more the people feel to have been pushed into the background by the growing powers of the social service state. As public administration machinery expands and ·becomes more complex, .the need for holding it properly accountable is more acutely felt. In recent times, there has.been substantial agreement among scholars of public administration that the principal problem of govemmental administration tod83 is not one of securing efficiency but one of insuring accountability; some scholars view ~t . as the classic problem of public administrationl. Various expressions like control, responsibility, and accountab111 ty are used to pinpoint the need for insuring subservience of the public officials who, in a democratic political system, must not be allowed to have their own way. Never was administrative accountability so momentous a necessity as in this era. A variety of means are tried in different countries to insure accountability of administrators in government and other public agencies. A conceptual analysis is called for in order to understand the nature and extent of administrative accountability.

It and Administrative Culture in India

The author briefly analyses the changes and breakthroughs brought about by fast developing IT from typewriter age to Internet, EDI and CD. He then examines impact of these technological developments on the administrative culture affecting both structure and nature of administrative functions, and management patterns as reflected from the need to devise strategic information system or information superhighWay, free and easy access to cyber space, and emphasis on team spirit, transparency and free flow of information for good governance.

India's Grassroots Judiciary

With a brief background on tradition of administration ofjustice in India since ancient times of Manu, the author focuses on three judicial institutions at grassroots level in India today, i.e., Lok Adalat, Family Courts, and Nyay Panchayats (he restricts discussion on the last one to West Bengal experience only). While analysing organisation, nature, jurisdiction and import of these institutions, he suggests that these institutions may be given a fair trial.

Politics and Bureaucracy in Urban Governance: The Indian Experience

Giving background of structural patterns of urban governance in India and its broad features, the af:lthor focuses on analysing roles of municipal bureaucracy and the elected councillors to provide an appreeiation of councillor-bureaucrat interface drawing support from findings of some of the well-known recent empirical studies on the subject. Making a comparative assessment of different systems of urban governance vis-a-vis urban politics, he presents advantages of the Mayor-in-Council system based on its success in handling urban politics in Calcutta.

Ethics in Governance: Identifying the Crucial Issues

The ethics of democratic governance is based on three kinds of value systems: ethical values, democratic values and corporate values. Ethical values include a sense of fair play and personal integrity. Democratic values stand for rule of law, participation, responsiveness, transparency. The ethical preparation of the participating individuals and groups in the larger society, positive or negative; unlike the scientific and technological level attained, is the crucial factor in human life that produces welfare and happiness or, alternatively, misery and sorrow. Ethical consciousness about the social consequences of all kinds of decision-making can serve as the monitor in order to check the sharp decline in governance ethics. What is conventionally called corruption is essentially the result of decline in ethical consciousness of the individual, group and societj at large. Rationality must be guided by ethics in governance. In other words, government is to be responsive to the needs, aspirations and choices of the governed.

The RTI Act: A Critical Assessment

It is time to move from a culture of secrecy to a culture of transparency and also to promote awareness about the Right to Information Act, particularly among the masses with cooperation of one and all. Meaningfal participation of people in major issues impacting their lives is now a key component of the democratic governance and such participation. can hardly be effective unless people have information about the way government business is transacted. Nurturing the desire to develop democratic regime is the need of the hour. The RT! movement in India is an ongoing process and to be successful it needs to ally with strategic partners in politics, government, media and peoples organisations.

Management of Social Tension: Rethinking on Politico-Administrative Response

The tensions may erupt in societies abruptly and unplanned, yet the response system to anticipate and contain social tension has to be thoughtfully and meticulously planned, The author has listed various grounds and factors which contribute towards social strife and ugly conflicts. However, he maintains that most of these situations can be managed by an honest, apolitical and reasoned approach: The fast and quick strides in the field of education, science, technology and communications provide us enough strength to ward off social tension, whether it is born out of traditional factors like caste and communalism or modern day perils of globalisation and cultural invasion.

Reinventing Government for Good Governance

SINCE THE early 1980s, two different kinds of pressures on the social and political ideology have been felt throughout the world. On the one side, there is pressure for rolling back the State (that is, government) for the sake of achieving economic efficiency and, on th~ other side, there are increasing demands for greater social and political action on three fronts, viz., resisting environmental degradation, empowering w0men through ·their assured representation on decision-making bodies, and protecting the interests of the socio-economically vulnerable, marginalised sections in society. The proponents of these two views primarily base their arguments on their own concepts of good governance which have gained wide currency and popularity but, for that very reason, have inevitably been traped in ambiguity. Good governance means anything to anybody depending on ones perception of what is good and for whom. it is equated with a range of ideas not always consistent with one another. It may mean less government and it may also mean more government.

Changing Role of the District Magistrate

Tracing briefly ·the evolution and blossoming of the institution of District Magistrate (DM) through East India Company times and the period following when it embodied the imperial government, the author critically analyses the phase of its decline beginning in I 960s ~nd reasons thereof. He then examines the future prospects of this institution keeping in view demands of technology of planning and development necessitating redefinition of its role.