WOULD YOU LIKE THE GOOD NEWS FIRST OR THE BAD NEWS ?

 I've been away from my village in Himachal for the last three months and am beginning to feel homesick; the remedy, Neerja tells me, is to write about the latest news from the state. I can ignore her advice only at my peril, so here goes. But since there is both good news and bad news to convey, which should I relate first? I am in a bit of a quandary, like the French Foreign Legion officer who had been besieged for weeks by a bunch of fierce Bedouins. Finally he assembles his men and addresses them:

"Mes braves, I have some bad news and some good news, which would you like to hear first?"

"The bad news first!" is the roar.

" Well, the bad news is that we are out of food. We only have camel dung to eat now."

"What is the good news, then, mon colonel?"

" I am happy to tell you that there is plenty of camel dung to last us weeks!"

See the genius of this approach folks? Always end your spiel on a hopeful note, even if it doesn't do much to alter the state of affairs. So let's begin with the not-so-good news from my state this week since there's plenty of camel dung, if not bull shit, to go around these days.

 The youthful PWD Minister, Mr. Vikramaditya Singh, whose political career so far has been much shorter than his name, made a public statement last week that has caused much confusion in the corridors of power and consternation among the bureaucracy. In an interview he charged IAS/IPS and IFS officers from outside the state (i.e. non-Himachal officers) of showing no concern or interest in the state's welfare, of being interested only in their own power and perks, and of continuing to maintain links with the opposition (BJP) parties. This has created a huge controversy, fractured the council of Ministers and led to strong protests by the IAS and IPS Officers' Associations. For some strange reason the Indian Forest Service chaps have remained silent.

Now, had this been a generic statement, applicable across the spectrum of bureaucracy, the Minister would have been correct in all three assertions. But by singling out only "outside" officers for his accusation, and creating a rift between them and the "insiders", Mr. Singh has revealed his immaturity, ignorance of the structure of the All India Services, political naivette, frustration and perhaps a personal agenda that has not been fulfilled. He has, in addition, done great disservice to his late father, Virbhadra Singh, a six-time Chief Minister and undoubtedly the tallest leader the state has had since the first Chief Minister, Dr. YS Parmar. Virbhadra Singh was successful precisely because he understood the bureaucracy, its skills and deficiencies, and handled it with remarkable skill, like one would a spirited pedigreed horse- with regard but with the reins kept tight. His son has a lot to learn from him.

It is not without reason that Sardar Patel had imposed a 50:50 ratio of "insiders" and "outsiders' for allotment of AIS officers to a state (something Vikramaditya Singh is now implicitly challenging). Officers from outside- the expatriates- bring a new and fresh perspective to the issues confronting a state, they are less influenced by local politics, they are not indebted to any powers within that state and therefore not required to repay any of those debts, they have no extended families to favour, they encourage inter-state integration. All these attributes are supposed to (and do) contribute to a better, objective and unbiased administration, one which functions without fear or favour. If this does not happen (which is quite often) it is not because of the "outsiders" but because of forces which effect both the outsiders and insiders, perhaps the latter even more so. These forces are agnostic in nature- they do not effect just one group or the other- whether it be corruption, lethargy, rent seeking, politicisation or display of power. This is not to deny that there are some expatriate officers who have no attachment to their allotted state and continuously seek to go on central deputation, but these are a minuscule majority and it is neither fair nor factual to tar the entire lot with the same exclusionary and parochial brush. If the Minister had some grievance/complaint against some individual officer/s (which appears to be the case) it would have been appropriate for him to have taken up the matter with the Chief Minister privately, rather than vent his royal spleen publicly.

The unfortunate effect of Vikramaditya Singh's statement is to sow-perhaps unintendedly- another note of divisiveness in a smorgasbord of already existing divisions in the civil services- of caste, region, economic background, political affiliations, etc. Considering that it is these services which are holding the country together in these difficult times, we can do without an additional fracture of morale and cohesiveness. I am sure the late Chief Minister (under whom I have served for more than twenty years) would not have approved of such a statement, and it would be right if his son withdrew his accusation or apologised for it. He is still young enough to say Sorry.

                                  ( Sissu lake and village. Photo by Ankit Sud. )

And now the good news. Sissu panchayat of the sub-district of Lahaul (the other side of the Atal tunnel) has had enough: in a resolution on 8th January, 2026   it has decreed that all tourism related activities in the panchayat are banned till the beginning of March. Though it says that this has been done to preserve the culture, traditions, way of life, rituals and natural environment of the area, I suspect that this is a pushback to the over-tourism that now plagues most of the state. The fragile ecology of Lahaul cannot cope with the 20000 vehicles that cross the tunnel every day, or the plastics, human waste and atrocious behaviour that their occupants leave behind.

                    (Sissu village with Gepan peak in background. Photo by Rahul Sud).

The decision should not be viewed as one which is hostile to tourists, but as an appeal for more respectful and sustainable tourism. For the choice for the tribal residents of Sissu is not an easy one- they have to choose between livelihood and preservation of their way of life and ecology from the destructive footprints of the I-don't -give-a-damn tourist. I am glad they have made the right decision, in favour of giving themselves and nature some recovery time every year. I hope that other similarly placed panchayats will also display the same boldness and foresight and follow suit. It is, of course, too much to expect the state government to show the same sense of responsibility and firmness.