Ghost in the record room

Now that an enquiry, a departmental one, though, is getting underway, it should be undertaken with utmost sincerity and seriousness. No attempts should be taken to hide facts or push things under the carpet. We have experienced how lapses of the kind were overlooked or hushed up in the past, to say nothing of reports having been submitted never seeing the light of day. No undue delaying of the process of enquiry should take place on the plea that "a thorough and extensive enquiry is being undertaken through detailed examination of governmental records and interviews of officials etc and hence the delay."

It is not understandable as to why the systems of the neighbouring countries have to be reviewed at this stage when we have a specific case of omissions and commissions on our hands to dispose of. Only after this specific enquiry is over, people responsible are identified, individuals found guilty of the act/s are punished, then and only then we may consider consulting the systems of the neighbouring countries with a view to improving our own.

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It is important to remember that a repetition of the incidents like these will have a dampening impact on the entire civil service, taking into account the possibility that the disclosure itself may have only shown the tip of the iceberg.

The enquiry should be most transparent, swift and subject-specific. Any half-hearted treatment of the issue will leave the rot festering not just for this government but also for future governments.

The missing records issue, if not resolved, could undermine the professional quality of the entire decision making process of our bureaucracy. It will also raise questions in the minds of government officials themselves as to who gets promoted, sidelined or awarded "punishment", why and how? The cause for demoralisation is for all to see.