If it is claimed that many train accidents in India can be traced to this disinclination to call another official, and inclination to wait for the factor of luck, one may not be inclined to believe it. To explain this further: There is a system of reservation* in the Indian Railway System, under which a lower caste man who is appointed as a lower division clerk, within a few years would overtake many of his seniors, who are from the upper castes. This system has been introduced in the railways to give a chance for the lower castes to improve their lot. But in a language which is so feudal and hierarchical, it may play havoc on the psyche of many persons, who may be mentally injured by a junior suddenly coming into senior positions, which would be more so, because of the sting of the feudal language. The effect may have a domino effect on many persons, who would be wary of doing things, which would put them in the path of an adverse indicant word or usage. In times of emergencies, the whole communication would be delayed, because another program would be running, that reminds the concerned persons to take more care of their own respectability, than of the impending danger.

The same can cause disastrous delays in military operations, wherein one may feel the sting of a lessening of respect, or fear of intruding the domain of a respected person or of an officer, to inform of an emergency, acutely than the pain of an enemy's bullet. Or a reticence to take independent decisions in the eventuality of an emergency. It is not that the subordinate may not be able to take brilliant decisions, but the qualms of creating a feeling that he has overstepped his limits and entered the domain of the higher classes, would pervade. Or the impossibility of being allowed to explain his own version of what had happened and why he did what he did. When Native English speakers read this, they may think that they can understand the feeling; the fact is that they cannot; for the social context is entirely different.

An earthquake: I was in Delhi, when the Indian state of Gujarat was hit by a severe earthquake.  I don't know the exact number, but it is believed that tens of thousands of people died in the quake, most of them trapped under the buildings. What was apparent was that no one was in charge of any rescue attempt in a concerted and persevering manner. Each day's report was of more and more buffoonery, with both political leadership as well as the bureaucratic leadership spending time in useless debates and trying to be impressed by the magnitude of the catastrophe. They seemed actually, to be using the time to sharpen their communicative skills; and also sort of leadership less.

There is, and also was, a disaster management team to handle this sort of things. Forming such a board is easy. But when it comes for the individual members to take the phone and call on the various heads of government departments, including the army chief and demand immediate action, they would definitely develop cold feet. There would be a question of who should call whom, for only certain persons with adequate credentials can call on certain levels of personages. How to address him? Who should respect whom? At the same time, no one would admit to this mental handicap, and would just dilly-dally when the need of the hour is immediate communication and recourse to action.

The whole Gujarat earthquake was a great tragedy; for days on end, no help came. Persons with relatives trapped beneath the buildings, begged and screamed for help, for days, for help that would never come. If the Indian army personnel had just come immediately, and each one of them, just moved one stone at a time, many would have been saved. But, who would talk to the army chief, on a level of equality and dignity and seek a manner to save their fellowmen. And also, another fact remains: which Indian cares for another Indian in dire straits? For, remember that when thousands of Indian women were burned on their husband's pyre, few Indians were bothered. It remained for the young English District Collectors to get shocked by this abominable practice, and demand the right to interfere with this nonsense religious right of the natives.

 To defend themselves against the power of the officialdom, in ancient India, each group of professionals used to form a sort of union. It helped them in negotiating, with authorities. For, where a person cannot go and discuss on an individual basis, a sort of an address of an association, gave him the access. These associations are generally known as guilds. There were separate guilds for each and every profession, which may also be understood, in a slight manner, as caste. And it may also be understood that there was naturally a hierarchy among the guilds. For, naturally the merchant class which had money and infrastructure, dominated over many other guilds. And the communication between the guilds may be affected by the hierarchy in language.

And inside the guilds also, there would be a communication structure, which would be markedly hierarchical, based primarily on economic and other related aspect. A secondary level of hierarchy based on age also would be running on parallel lines, inside each guild. So that the lower level individuals inside each guild would continue to bear the stifling of hierarchy, and lower indicant words. They would also try with persevering nuisance value to wriggle out of this stranglehold, and also to strangle some other person.

Which means, whatever is done to avoid the communication hierarchy and gain access to articulation, ultimately comes stuck again in immovable levels of hierarchy.

One thing that could have reduced the spite and strife between the common public and the bureaucrat, and lead to meaningful utilisation of opportunities is courteous words, like Thank You,Sorry, Please, Kindly, I regret, I apologise etc. These words are in fact an extension of the underlying emotions of the English language.  For these words can be used to any inferior or superior; their usage does not refer to any attitude of inferiority or superiority; just good manners.  And also, these words help heavily in talking with a wide variety of people, including bureaucrats and workers.

But the vernacular or the feudal Indian Languages don't have anything like that at all. There are many words, which may have slightly similar meanings. But these cannot be used to a perceived social inferior. For, all such vernacular words do have a feudal connotation. In the sense, the word slightly similar in meaning to Thank You, or to Sorry, cannot be used to a subordinate or serving person. Most of these terms can be used only by an inferior to a superior. And the reverse is not usually possible as it would give negative impressions, for the meaning of these words are heavily weighed with hierarchy.  And if any superior does use these words to an inferior, it gives an impression of pretended humility or plain mocking, and not any polite manners. Otherwise, the general impression would be that he is either becoming soft and inefficient, or that he is developing insecurity in personality; not that he is being polite and courteous. And it may be understood that in the feudal languages, only the crude, rough, forceful characters, who can instil fear in others, are obeyed. The other polite person may be understood as ineffective.

In this connection let me put this into record here: There are many words and terms in English which, without much effort or conceding of superiority or inferiority, add to the smoothness of communication and manners.  These are words like thank you, please, beg you pardon, excuse me, sorry etc.

A quotation from History: The Duke of Wellington, who had served in India under his brother, Lord Wellesley, declared after he came back to England:

The System of Government in India, the foundation of authority, and the modes of supporting it and of carrying on the operations of government are entirely different from the systems and modes adopted in Europe for the same purpose------. The foundation and the instrument of all power there is the sword-----------------------.

Effect of abstinence: Here I think is the right place to say something about what happens if one does not use the highly suppressing, lower indicant words to and about youngsters, juniors, subordinates etc. in the vernacular. That is, for example, to young boys one refuses to use the lowest indicant word for You, that is in Malayalam: Nee. What happens?  Well, it is very strange social situation. Youngsters used to English situations, and also youngsters of higher social standing will take it in their stride, and may actually feel very comfortable about it. But youngsters, juniors, socially inferiors, subordinates etc. who are used to the vernacular subjugating lower indicant words, would feel a bit awkward and may take a very strange mental understanding of the social environment.  In most cases, they would really question the mental capability of the senior person, and feel that he or she is mentally unfit, not daring, soft and lacking in leadership qualities. And as mentioned elsewhere, in the vernacular, management essentially means the ability to use the correct stinging lower indicant word to the subordinate person, and the appropriate words of obsequious respect to the superior.

As a corollary, one may say that an English speaking man is essentially a softy, compared to an Asian of same social status. He can then only survive in a level of social seclusion, and the moment he is in the midst of these feudal persons, then he is either forced to change his demeanour to that of some level of toughness, or become ineffective. In this regards, I would go into another far away theme, that of the so-called Indian Freedom Struggle.  The fact is that since it was a struggle against the British who always went for judicial actions, for whatever was done against them, the whole impression of the struggle was that of a picnic to all. Along with this, the halo of being a leader or being part of a dynamic  and invigorating activity, in a place known for centuries of monotonous living standards, was essentially exiting. The most funny thing was that if the British themselves transgressed any judicial limits in their need to suppress the rioting or some other forms of anarchy, they themselves were hauled up by their judicial processes. Actually, in a land where the Kings, the feudal lords and other socially powerful characters used much more powerful and effective means to show their strength and power, this sort of buffoonery was taken as a licence for the display of all sort of socially suppressed feelings for adventure.

When the British left India, they had made a wonderful contribution in the field of Political Science to India. That was the bringing in of Democracy. The other deeper and finer aspect of its effects in India may be discussed later. The point that needs to be discussed is that they brought in the concept of the control of the People's Representatives over the Bureaucracy. It was simply wonderful, for a country where the average common man dare not argue, debate, or even communicate from a dignified and equal position with the officialdom. The People's Representatives could put rein on the reckless onslaught of the bureaucratic power on the people.

But the persons who took the mantle from the British simply squandered the opportunities, and within these few years, things are going back to square one. That is, back to the time when the officialdom was all-powerful, with no one to even stand-up with a straight back and argue for decent and humane behaviour to the people of India. The bureaucracy exists in India, as a very powerful, selfish, conceited structure, very sensitive to any action that could be seen as a contest on their prestige. The whole senior, higher indicant part of the languages has been taken hostage by them.

Now the natural development has been that the politicians, who have to put on a struggle among themselves, are made to act out acrobatics by the bureaucrats. The people also see the politician as a hybrid between buffoons and crooks. Everyone is very brave when it comes to criticising, mocking, insulting, ridiculing or taunting the politician. Nobody understands that it is the politician who should be given more sense of security, least of all the politicians themselves. They undermine the power and prestige of each other; at the same time, the bureaucrat stands in the sidelines and watch the passing show, with a glee of juicy delight.

Now comes the real impact of all these years of such buffoonery. The politician is also just another common citizen of India. He suffers all the same insecurities and vulnerabilities that an ordinary citizen does have. In Malayalam, the people are forced to use feudal, words of homage to the bureaucrat. The politician also does the same thing. Things have come to such a pass, that when the politician becomes a minister, he is mentally a subordinate to the bureaucrat who he has to control. Earlier, the minister used to refrain from using the word for You, He, She,Him, His, Her, Hers etc. to, or to refer to a senior bureaucrat. They used to just use the official title, instead of all these words.

For example, to an Inspector General of Police, they would say: I.G, please do this; I.G may please come here; I.G., can take the action on this man; etc. But now they have gone down mentally and without any qualms would say, if the I.G.'s name is Antony: Antony Sar can do what Sar thinks is right; I told Antony Sar to do what Sar thinks is right; etc. And one can imagine what these people have done to the democracy, which was given in a platter to them. Bureaucratic misuse of power goes unchecked and for any and every inhibition to the bureaucracy, new rules and Acts are passed by the Elected Bodies (Assembly*in States, andParliament* in the Centre), so much so that now, any action against a harassing official is either not allowed or is a crime, with terrible consequences. And the politician plays second fiddle to these mutated brutes.

Another thing to note is that nobody worth his name is willing to criticise a bureaucrat, or a police official; they all talk and write vaguely about corruption, and misuse of power, but no one dares to point is finger at a single person individually, unless that man is terribly out of favour, with the powers that be. And in most cases, such persons may be the exception to the rule, in the maze of crooks. But to talk and ridicule a politician, there would be countless individuals. The pomp and pageantry associated with the senior government jobs do give the people a feeling that they are very special people, who are very intelligent, and the whole Indian economy runs because of them; when the fact is that the whole Indian economy runs in spite of them.

At the same time, once a politician become powerful, then the bureaucrat had it. The relationship is not one of communication in either case.

Now, I am going to quote extensively from a report that came in the New Indian Express, about an interview given by the Chief Election Commissioner of India*, to the HARDTalk India program  of BBC. It may be remembered that many Chief Election Commissioners of India had a penchant to give into heroics, from the safe confinements of their statutory office.

The report dt. dec 26 2003.

Lyngdoh flies off the handle

New Delhi, Dec 26: The Chief Election Commissioner is not known to mince his words but in an interview on BBC's HARDT India, two months before his retirement, J M Lyngdoh has let them fly. Calling politicians "a cancer" that may kill the system, he claimed that a vast majority of them were poorly educated, common cheats who cheated all the time.

They were little more than 'zamindars** exploiting the potential, resources of the state', and not a single one was committed to democracy or its basic tenet, individual freedom. Somebody has to raise their voice, 'everybody is flattering them all the time', and it was his duty to do so, Lyngdoh told the show's host, Karan Thapar.

"Because democracy means a whole lot of other things, I mean it's not merely going through the motions of elections. Democracy means basically individual freedom and that you respect individual freedom to the uttermost extent. I can't think of anybody who is that involved in individual freedom,' Lyngdoh said.

He asserted that he had deliberately set out to correct the self-delusion that ' India was a marvellous democracy, the biggest democracy in the world and so on and so forth. All self-flattery, self-blandishment-----It was about time somebody spoke the truth'.

When asked whether his recent reference that 'if you are exposed to politicians  too long, you'll get cancer,' wasn't too vehement, Lyngdoh said the word cancer expressed his views about politicians accurately. 'We haven't been able to find any cure for cancer yet so, in due course, if cancer is cured, we'll have to find some other expression,' he remarked.

The CEC said he felt politicians lacked the basic qualities required of a leader. 'There are very few of them who even know how to talk politely. There are very few who understand basic courtesies.  There are very few who talk to you on equal terms as human beings. Either they have their noses stuck in the air or they're prostrate at somebody's feet and there's nothing in between.

On the criticism over his public snub to District Collector* of Baroda prior to last year's elections in Gujarat-he called him a 'a joker'-Lyngdoh said his anger was justified and he had no regrets. 'Maybe I should have been more aware of the mikes and the media around me,' he said.

This outburst by an Indian bureaucrat might seem mighty brave and convincing. But doesn't the whole theme have a smell of Winston Churchill's* comment in the British Parliament during theIndependence of India Act debate: Power will go into the hands of rascals, rogues and freebooters. Not a bottle of water will escape taxation. Only the air will be free, and the blood of these hungry millions will be on the head of Mr. Atlee*. These are men of straw of whom no trace will be found after a few years. They will fight among themselves, and India will be lost in political squabbles.

Another thing to note is that the comment that has come from the CEC is not a new one from a bureaucrat. Almost all bureaucrats of India will say the same thing. Yet, have you noticed that he has not said much about the bureaucracy, which is definitely a more vibrant Zamindar, to whom no common man can go and talk with any level of dignity? The words  'There are very few of them who even know how to talk politely. There are very few who understand basic courtesies.  There are very few who talk to you on equal terms as human beings.' are equally applicable to most bureaucrats of India.

With politicians, sometimes bureaucrats end up on the wrong side of the hierarchy. It is a strange environment, which they are not generally used to and very uncomfortable with.

And the words: Either they have their noses stuck in the air or they're prostrate at somebody's feet and there's nothing in between; is just a pointer to my contention that in the Indian feudal languages there is only space for either obsequiousness or for reverence, no space for equal dignity.

And when talking about the looting, this man has forgotten to add that he himself is part of the looters, by the exquisite perks he, and along with another army of officials are carrying home, leaving nothing for the Indians.

Now, look at what he has called a District Collector. Naturally, this man would belong to the revered group called the IAS. Many persons have told me that the mediocre and more or less, bull**** exam called the Civil Service Exam (in common parlance) is the best competitive exam in the world. It is natural to believe in the highest terms about all towering personalities of India. The people take on themselves to propagate their own worthlessness, and the superiority of persons who stand on unapproachable pedestals.

The cumulative effect of all this is felt on a very significant area. Though it is theoretically the legislative bodies, which are given the power to make statutory laws, rules and act; in practice, it is the bureaucracy that does it. One of the main reasons, is that the political executives are so busy warding off forays from not only the opposition, but also from the disgruntled elements in their own parties, that they don't usually have time to study any prospective rule or act, that is awaiting parliamentary approval. Nor do many of them have the requisite knowledge in English to understand the various parameters of the new act and how it will correlate with existing ones.

The result are rules written by the mean, arrogant bureaucrats, who are not bothered how the new rules would effect the common man; in many cases they do not even take elementary interest in going into the complexities of the act; creating situations where again the common man is in a very vulnerable position, as not knowing what to do as what the Act says is very confusing, and in many cases simply stupid. It again gives more discretionary powers to the nitwits (the bureaucrats) who hold powers of prosecution.

One of the main reasons for this event is the lack of a decent communication between a rule writing bureaucrat and the people who are going to be affected. The understanding of the common businessman does not come into the picture, when an act affecting them is being written. Even if they are taken into confidence, only those who are willing to concede the required obsequiousness will co-operate. And also, the persons who do co-operate would not present themselves before the officialdom, with an individuality of a person with equal intellectual stature or rectitude. In a majority of cases, it would be a sort of communication between a bureaucrat who pretends to understand and know the finer details, without any actual experience and a common man who effectively enjoys the halo of social importance the proximity to a senior bureaucrat can lend, and is willing to gratify the feelings of the bureaucrat by nodding and concurring to the ideas and understandings of the bureaucrat. The cumulative effect of all this is seen in the tragedy of any Indian citizen who gets trapped and lost in the maze of Indian laws.

In recent years, the salary and other perks of the bureaucrats have gone up astronomically. They can't travel along with other Indians in the same ordinary class in trains. Even a small time official now claims the right to go in first class compartment on public expense. The total of all the benefits that they get monetarily and otherwise would make up for a Kings ransom. But this does not ensure better service to the people. For, as a person goes up higher in the financial bracket, then his indicant group also goes up; so that, an ordinary man would find it impossible to communicate even with a government peon. And inside the system also, the ordinary clerks are heavily paid super citizens, who their seniors can't treat as a serving junior, only as an equal employee who can be made to function, only with an understanding request.

When the British made the administrative systems, there were not an abundance of pompous titles for the various levels of bureaucracy. Now, it is a general requirement to impress the common man. So, all bureaucratic titles are being progressively changed.  Earlier times, what was just an ordinaryTaluk* level officer (here the word officer need not give an impression, that the person who sits in this post has any officer qualities, most probably he would be a crook.) would now be known as an Assistant Commissioner. The incumbent is impressed with his own title, though it really means nothing, as he is way below the commissioner, and not in a hundred years can he become a commissioner. The person who has to see him on official matters is stuck dumb, and he goes down in his indicants, as the same time the Assistant Commissioner's indicant goes up. Moreover to visit an AC, would now require a lot of patience, for now he is a very big person, and access to him is restricted by a sort of self-made crude protocol.

I can give a beautiful story that happened. When the British were ruling India, the land Registration department, in each state, was a very significant one, and it was one of the main revenue accruing departments in the country. The head was known as the Inspector General of Registration. Since, the departure of the British, its significance has come down, and the IG is very below the whole cadre of Indian Administrative Officers. Yet, as the title of a head of a department, and because of its striking quality, it was used by the incumbents with ample pomp and pageantry.

Now, during the British times, below the rank of the IG were the District Registrars.  They were one in each district of the state. It so happened that the scheming bureaucrats in this department were very visibly discussing the possibility of getting more promotion opportunities, and someone suggested the need to have some official grade between the IG and the District Registrars. Actually, not for any need, but just for the heck of it, and also to improve the chance for promotion. What the bureaucrats need, they can get, for they do both the conspiring as well as its execution. One Zonal Inspectorpost was initiated in Trivandrum, the head quarters of Kerala State.

Now, one promotion chance was increased. But then there are others who are left out. So, again, conspiracy, and then execution. Three more posts were created after officially dividing the tiny state into three zones. Now, what happens? All the four officials need separate office, official vehicles, official phones, peons, lower division clerks, upper division clerks, superintendents and whole lot of other paraphernalia.  Earlier a paper forwarded to the IG went straight to him, from the lower levels. Now, a lot of nitwits would sit over it to study, and wrap it in a vicious red tape.

Now, so far so good. Yet, still a nagging feeling of a lingering doubt and misgiving.  As I heard one bureaucrat saying, "the word Zonal Inspectorsounds like the old Sanitary Inspectors". During the British times, there was an Inspector from the Municipality, who would come and check all the latrines, both private as well as public, for any incidence of lack of neatness, which may give cause for infection and epidemic.

So, again conspiracy, and then execution. The name Zonal Inspector was changed to Deputy Inspector General.  Now, it is very formidable title. Everyone is impressed, even though the incumbent may have the sneaky looks of a dacoit.

The reader may bear in mind, that all these manoeuvres were just for the ego satiation of the bureaucrats, though the extravagant higher expenses go from the public coffers. Yet, the people won't be bothered, for no one has the intellectual daring to even think on these themes.

Megalomania*: The average Indian official of any level does achieve an infection of Megalomania, as a sort of natural progression. The impetus for this comes from the language. He, on becoming employed in some position to affect another person's life becomes acutely conscious of this capacity of him. Along with it, comes the highest indicant words and usage, by which he is identified and positioned. And he would easily find that he can use lower indicant words to the common people, with no hesitation, a thing he would never do if he were an ordinary citizen of the country.

He becomes Megalomaniac. He then starts practicing this as a sort of perfected art. He appoints a junior clerk just for the purpose of blocking the access to him, and make the people wait. While his newly designated P.A would inform them that Sar is busy, Sar is in a conference;Sar is in a meeting; with a gravity that would give an understanding that if the Sar can't finish the meeting, then the whole Indian Economy would come to a standstill.

Schizophrenia*: Along with this comes his or her propensity for schizophrenia.

Illustration: Suppose an ordinary man in South Kerala, without sensing the full extent of Sar's importance makes the mistake of addressing Sar with a Ningal, then the infliction would manifest itself with a startling ferocity. In this connection, it may be emphasised that Ningal is a word of polite dignity, when used between the common people. But in the feudal connotation, it lacks the proper level. Hence the outburst of the mental illness. The bureaucrat would immediately go furious, with no proper tangible reason; his eyes may become bloodshot; his voice may tremble; his physical features may also tremble; his words may lose proper grammar; his writing may all go wrong; he would lose his sense of proportion; sometimes he would refuse to look at the common man, who spoke to him, in the eye.

Actually, I do think that persons who exist on the borderline between a feudal set-up and the common people would be slightly vulnerable to mental tensions, which may sometimes have been diagnosed as pure mental imbalance.

The international dealings: The bureaucrats of India have a superiority complex when it comes to dealing with smaller nations and a very obsequious attitude when dealing with mightier nation like UK and USA. Actually for many bureaucrats and politician, and even for many of the rich citizens of India, to consider UK as a great country is very much impossible, as they are accustomed to equate any small thing with insignificance, and hence to be addressed in less respectable terms. It is due to this reason that at one time an Indian Prime Minister had gone to the extent of calling Britain a third rate power.

When Indian Foreign Office bureaucrats interact with the smaller countries that surround its boundary, they do put on a condescending attitude, which the regional Hindi language could make worse. And many of the neighbours like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, etc do not have any affinity for India. Actually, but then in all these countries also, the same type of feudal language programs are running.

In this context, another connected matter can be discussed. Now the international language is English. And the functioning of international relations and inter-national communication is going on without the language adding more impediments to it. But one may contemplate a time when any other country like China, Japan or India coming into international prominence, like Britain or America. Naturally, the bigots in these countries would insist on international communication being conducted in their own national languages. Well, if Chinese, or Japanese, or Hindi, or even Malayalam comes into prominence, the natural tendency would be to use the lower indicant words, and connected package of usages to describe or to communicate with other countries, and their Heads, who are of lower stature. One may now think this unthinkable. But in ancient India, the big emperors used such words to the smaller Kings, and dependant rulers. And remember, the empty headed, pompous, and ill-informed, yet possibly scholarly Emperor of China did sent such a letter to the King of England, on receiving such a letter from him, through the British traders who came to visit him.

Some Indian history writers have opined that King George of England must have been shocked at the audacity and arrogance expressed by the Chinese Emperor in his letter to the former.  For, the Chinese Emperor was addressing a small King, and that, in Chinese language, could have allowed the impolite boldness of expression. I do not know how the Monarch of Britain, and his councillors took the tone of the letter, but it is possible that this letter itself could have given them ample evidence of the underlying contradictions and weakness in the Chinese society.

Yet, if the modern world were to start experiencing such behaviour, and forced to condone it, then it would a very evil day, indeed. And in this context, I wish to say that the concept of the evil empire, though enunciated in many Hollywood films and English comics, have not been fully understood by the English world. This Evil Empire is actually a nation with an Evil Language.

A historically recent example of this enduring inclination to use lower indicant words for perceived inferior foreigners is seen in the reported word used by the Chinese government in regard to the Prince of Wales, during the handing over of Hong Kong to the Chinese government by the British. It was reported by the press that a word which cannot get an exact meaning in English, but may roughly be translated into 'a mere Prince' was used. It is doubtful whether the English native can properly imbibe the social significance of the word used. Yet, to any Asian, the enormity of a lower indicant word is, very much, unmistakably obvious. And it really a foreteller of how China would behave if it was to become the supreme world power.