Himalayan Times (1954)

August 1, 1954

ithii.iulnnmt tliflTfa

S.-ven

THE ANCHAL SYSTEM

XAWAL KIS1IOUE SINHA

An interesting contro-
versy has arisen over the
designation of the, officers
put ipcharge of tlie lo-
west units of administra-
tion known as ' ancals '
which have recently been
created in the Bih.r State
on an experimental basis
should they be described
as 'anchal adhikuris' or
"anchal sewaks'? sThe Go-
vernment have already
designated them as 'anchal
adhikaries'.

Objection has been
taken by some Congress
members of the Bihar
legislature to this de signa-
tion on the ground that
it militates against thrf
conception of a social
welfare State which has
been accepted by the party
in power. In such a State
Government officers come
b fore the people not as
their rulers but their set
va.its they are their
'sewaks' and not-'adhlkarls'
They have there{ori\'urged
the Govt, to change the
d aljni.it'iiin fiom anchal
adhikris' into -anchal se-
waks ' There are others,
howevei, who sa^y what is
tqere in name after afl.
One name is as good as
another.

Form and Spirit
To this the advoca-

tes of the 'sewak' school
letc rt that tlie name
might be immaterial for
evolved human beings who
can distinguish between
the form and spirit an I
can rema n true to the
spirit whatever the form.
The ca-e with the average
men and women t:> whom
very often the form is
of greater Consequence
than the spirit is very
much different. The appe-
llation of 'adh'ikanV, they
aver, is bound io create
the ruler complex in the
minds of tlie Government,
officers who eve already
suffering from the tradi-
tions of the bureaucratic
mentality. To enable them
to get over the psycho-
logy from the very start
it is essentia! to give
them a designation which
would give them an exact
idea of the role thev are
expected to play in buil-
ding up the nation If
they are to ha help d to
develop the approachi of
'sewaks' they must bo
designated as 'anchal se-
waks'.

New QulieS*

The necd/to change
the designation of the
achat'adhikaries' hap also
become urgent b cause of
the new duties which are

baing assigned to them
Formerly they were ex-
pected to discharge only
revenue functions but now
tho duties of Block Deve-
lopment Olficers under the
National Extension Sehe.
rue would also be combi-
ned with them. The.-umal-
gamation of the two func-
tions in the same, officer
would serve to emphasise
the changing character of
the State machinery."

Chief Minister's Appeal

With the evolution of
the conception of a wel-
fare state a great change
has come in the nature
of work a Government
officer is expected to do.
He has no doubt to attend
to the problems of law
and order as of old <but
he cannot stop there and
say that his job is done.
He has to push on and
engogee himself in various
kinds of development ac-
tivities, for the advance-
ment of the people Such
is the demand of the si-
tuation that-he has now
to concentrate his atten-
tion on the latter more
t ian the former. The point
was very' appropriately
highlighted by the Behtr
Chief Minister in his add -
:ess to the District Offi-
corif at Ranchi. _'l hope