Casteism still exists in civil service, says officer B Sreejan, TNN | Apr 28, 2014, 02.22AM IST TIMES OF INDIA THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior civil servant and Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University vice chancellor B Ashok has alleged that dalit and backward class officers in the Kerala cadre of IAS still suffer discrimination from a section of higher officials who belong to upper class. In an article written in the latest issue of Kerala Sabdam weekly, Ashok alleged that dalit and backward class officers had to face serious disciplinary action for minor faults, while the upper caste officers went scot-free even after committing serious crimes. In my analysis, only two upper caste officers - Govindan Nair and Amitabh Kant - had to face suspension in the history of Kerala civil service. Nair was an officer of Travancore-Kochi state and had to face disciplinary action before the formation of Kerala. Amitabh Kant paid the price for inviting the wrath of a senior politician, Ashok told TOI. Listing out names of senior civil servants who had to face disciplinary action in the recent times, Ashok said the list was skewed and there were no upper caste names in it. About 10 officers had been suspended in the history of Kerala civil service and several others had to face punitive action. Recent officers who had to face action were J Sudhakaran, K Suresh Kumar, P Subbaiah and P C Sanalkumar. Interestingly, all of them are dalit officers, said Ashok. K R Viswambharan, another dalit officer, is still fighting a case for eligible service benefits, which he had been denied. It is clear that caste alone is the factor that defines disciplinary action against officers, said Ashok. A classic case is the disciplinary action against P C Sanal Kumar. He faced action for travelling abroad without seeking government sanction. A senior IPS officer travelled along with him to the US for the same programme, but only Sanal Kumar had to face the music, said Ashok. Official language department secretary K Suresh Kumar, who was denied eligible promotion as principal secretary recently, said he wont term the disciplinary action as just caste-based discrimination. I had to face two CBI inquiries and three vigilance cases in my career. I was exonerated after probe. But those cases occurred because I chose to fight a corrupt system, Suresh Kumar told TOI. He said in his 25-year-long career, all superior officers rated him excellent or outstanding. I dont think they judged me based on my caste, he said. In his article in the vernacular weekly, Ashok also observed that the upper hand of Brahmin and Nair officers in Kerala cadre is over and Christian officers are calling the shots now. Christian officers enjoy direct support from various Christian denominations. The Catholic influence that grew strong in New Delhi recently added to their power, Ashok said. He found ministers from dalit and backward classes as guilty of not providing enough support to backward class officers, while ministers from upper castes and Christian/Muslim religions try their best to save them in crises. If you ask me whether caste system exists in IAS, I will say all evils in society exist in the service too, said Ashok. Senior civil servant and Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Dr B Ashok has alleged that dalit and backward class officers in the Kerala cadre of IAS still suffer discrimination from a section of higher officials who belong to upper class. In an article written in the latest issue of Kerala Sabdam weekly, Ashok alleged that dalit and backward officers had to face serious disciplinary action for minor faults while the upper caste officers escaped unhurt even after committing serious crimes. In my analysis, only two upper caste officers - Govindan Nair and Amitabh Kant - had to face suspension in the history of Kerala civil service. Nair was an officer of Travancore-Kochi state and had to face disciplinary action before the formation of Kerala. Amitabh Kant paid the price for inviting the wrath of a senior politician, Ashok told TOI. Listing out names of senior civil servants who had to face disciplinary action in the recent times, Ashok said the list was skewed and there were no upper caste names in it. About 10 officers had been suspended in the history of Kerala service and several others had to face punitive actions. Recent officers who had to face action are J Sudhakaran, K Suresh Kumar, P Subbaiah and P C Sanalkumar. Interestingly, all of them are dalit officers, said Ashok. Another dalit officer, K R Viswambharan is still fighting a case for eligible service benefits which he had been denied. It is clear that caste alone is the factor that define disciplinary action against officers, said Ashok. A classic case is the disciplinary action against P C Sanal Kumar. He faced the action for travelling abroad without seeking government sanction. A senior IPS officer travelled along with him to the US for the same programme, but, only Sanal Kumar had to face action, said Ashok. Official language department secretary K Sureshkumar, who was denied eligible promotion as principal secretary recently said, he didnt want to treat disciplinary actions as simple as caste-based discrimination. I had to face two CBI inquiries and three vigilance cases in my career. I was exonerated after probe. But, those cases occurred because I chose to fight a corrupt system, Suresh Kumar told TOI. He said in his 25 year long career, all superior officers rated him excellent or outstanding. I dont think they judged me based on my caste, he said. In his article in the vernacular weekly, Ashok also observed that the upper hand of Brahmin and Nair officers in Kerala cadre is over and Christian officers are calling the shots now. Christian officers enjoy direct support from various Christian denominations. The catholic influence that grew strong in New Delhi recently added to their power, Ashok said. He found ministers from dalit and backward classes as guilty of not provide enough support to backward class officers while ministers from upper castes and Christian/Muslim religions try their best to save them in crises. If you ask me whether caste system exists in IAS, I will say all evils in society exist in the service too, said Ashok
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 18:35:40 +0000
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