An Indian Scholar’s Bid to Find the Key for Rescuing the Contemporary Seize in the American Governance
Dr. K.C. Sharma- (The reviewer is a political scientist and vice-president of the International Goodwill Society of India, an organization set up by Dr. Nagendra Singh, a jurist of international fame)
The impact of the contemporary geopolitics is being felt worldwide. It appears to have eclipsed, maybe for a time being, the much-cherished American dream. It may have been born just 250 or so years in 1780, but it is a light house and the symbol of a plural society committed to individual freedom accompanied by the possibility of human achievements. The sudden, surprising landslide victory of the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump, has rekindled hopes for the revival of the American dream committed to rescue the system under the seize. In this context, it, perhaps, is the most opportune time to revisit the document published in the year emphasizing the crucial role of the civil services being played in the stability, evolution and progress of any country in the 21st. century. The political success of Trump at the hustings has ushered in opportunities for undertaking massive corrections being suffered and faced by the earth’s only superpower, but also an inbuilt challenge of undertaking corrections.
It may be noted that the challenges have crept in the American systems could be attributed to the end of the USSR during 1990s; but the opportunity was lost. In spite of the end of the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, the defense coalition, NATO, was retained. The US promoted China, which in recent years has become a formidable challenge to the US supremacy. Much to the discomfiture of the US and its western allies, the Chinese have become too ambitious, but the solution, perhaps, lies in revamping the administrative structure. It has been well-documented in a book Civil Services-Challenges & Resolution: India, USA and China (Publishers: Prabhat Prakashan, New Delhi), and penned by Yogendra Narain, a weather-beaten civil servant having a thorough knowledge of the statecraft, the challenges of the governance, and how to induct innovative approaches in a system having a tight regulatory regime that too at the higher echelons of the administration. The 232-page document offers a serious study of the evolution, contribution and the role of the civil services in India, China and the US. With the Republican Party having majority in the American Congress i.e. both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Trump Administration has not only to tackle key issues regarding the geo-politics, but to deliver better governance in a country, where the successive administrations have not cared to improve the country’s highways systems and even the airports during the past three decades.
It is heartening that Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, both self-made billionaires, known to be important leaders of the Republican Party, have already stated that to cut the deadwoods in the top-heavy federal government institutions would be a priority of the new Administration scheduled to be inaugurated on January 20,2025. Ramaswamy, if there were legal impediments in sacking non-performing government officials, the Trump Administration might not hesitate to dismantle the entire department. For Elon Musk, his agenda is clear that the cost of the government administration has to be reduced. He is expected to be associated with the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE.
The multi-dimensional challenges before the new rulers in Washington have to be tackled under a federal regime having a complete decentralization system that too under the well-defined provisions spelt in the basic law i.e. the American Constitution. In the Indian context, the author of this book, Yogendra Narain, who has served as the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha, the upper House of Indian Parliament, and the Defense Secretary, is credited for successful delivering the government’s agenda despite having the colonial mindset under a written constitution. Therefore, in the USA, though its administrative structure is different, the targets m could be achieved by adopting innovative approaches within the boundaries of the established laws. The book helps the system experts to accomplish targets, whether promoting a network of highways across India, or purchasing defense equipment worth billions the US dollars. Within the ambit of the draconian Official Secrets Act, the author and his peers could usher in a transparency regime under the Right to Information Act 2005. It, perhaps, will be in the interest of the Trump’s Administration to seek the expertise of India’s experienced hands, who could propel his agenda within the boundaries of the Constitution.
The Indian Experience – The Trump Administration’s agenda, America First, is expected to be benefitted by sharing the Indian experience, if not by really emulating it. Meanwhile, it has become imperative for the Americans, irrespective of their political ideologies to evolve a system, which could be empowered to counter the growing threats of China. In recent decades, its successive rulers under the umbrella of the Communist Party of China, though rooted in the classical Marxist philosophy, have evolved a formidable capitalist system.
It is advised that the book may be revisited by the Indian and US scholars and policy makers, especially when the forthcoming Trump Administration finally prepares to assault the in-built policy paralysis in the American systems. Its closer study may enable us to understand that the civil services need to be reinvigorated for a clear agenda. Trump is for paradigm changes in the policies, but these efforts cannot be successful by adopting piecemeal approach. For example, the recent removal of an official engaged in the cyclone relief work for discriminating victims of the Gulf of Mexico does not offer any structural improvement in the system.
