THE NEW MAHARAJAS OF THE REPUBLIC

Step inside an IAS officer’s residence, and you’d think you’ve stumbled into the set of The Crown. Polished marble floors, manicured lawns, imported sofas, and official cars parked like royal chariots — all funded by you, the taxpayer.

No other democracy pampers its bureaucrats like india does.

And no other democracy asks so little in return.

Behind the polished veneer of “public service” lies an ecosystem where colonial privilege meets zero accountability.
They call it the steel frame of India. But what it really is is a gold-plated cage for the privileged.

THE british LEFT, BUT THEIR CLASS SYSTEM STAYED

The irony is almost poetic.

The indian Administrative service was meant to replace the Indian Civil Service, the colonial tool that once governed India.
Instead, it inherited its throne.

The british built bungalows to project power.
Our officers kept them to preserve status.

The same lawns. The same liveried attendants. The same culture of deference.
Only the masters changed — not the mindset.

We didn’t abolish the colonial elite. We naturalized them.

MANSIONS, MERCEDES & MASSIVE ENTITLEMENTS

An IAS officer’s list of perks reads like a billionaire’s wishlist:

• government bungalow in prime real estate zones worth crores.

• Official car, driver, fuel, maintenance — all covered.

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• Domestic staff, security, and sometimes even gardeners and cooks are on the payroll.

• Travel, allowances, reimbursements — limitless and unquestioned.

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And yet, when citizens ask for better roads, clean air, or functioning schools, the answer is: “There’s no budget.”

Of course, there isn’t.
The budget is living in Lutyens’ Delhi.

NO REPORT CARDS, NO REVIEWS, NO RESPONSIBILITY

Private sector employees live by quarterly performance reviews.
Even politicians data-face elections every five years.

But IAS officers?
They enjoy lifetime power without performance checks.

There’s no transparent report card system, no citizen feedback, no measurable accountability.

Once you clear the UPSC exam — at 24 — you’re set for life.
You can mismanage a district, ruin a project, stall reforms, or sleep through your posting — and still retire with a pension, perks, and a padma shri photo-op.

It’s the only job in the country where failure is a permanent position.

THE CORRUPTION PIPELINE: FROM maruti TO MERCEDES

Experts say India’s bureaucracy has perfected the art of invisible corruption.
Not loud or reckless — just quiet, systematic indulgence.

From “facilitation fees” for contracts to “commission culture” in infrastructure, the bribe economy runs parallel to the official one.
Every promotion, every transfer, every tender is another transaction.

The result?
A country where bureaucracy has become a middleman, not a mechanism.

And as the public wheezes through pollution and paperwork, the officers roll up in imported sedans bought with the blessings of “administrative discretion.”

COLONIAL PRIVILEGE DISGUISED AS PUBLIC SERVICE

The defense is always the same: “We need to maintain the dignity of office.”

Translation: “We need to live like kings.”

They justify it by citing “representation of the state.”
But who exactly are they representing — the citizens or the Empire?

These privileges were designed in an era when officers ruled over natives.
Now, they rule over taxpayers.

It’s colonial architecture with indian data-faces — the raj never ended; it simply rebranded.

THE people PAY, THE SYSTEM DECAYS

While bureaucrats enjoy their multi-acre residences, millions of indians live in slums without sewage lines.
While officers sip tea from imported china, children in government schools eat off newspaper scraps.
While IAS officers get air purifiers installed in their homes, Delhi’s citizens cough through 600-AQI air.

And yet, every Independence Day, we’re told this is the price of governance.
No — this is the price of complacency.
The people pay. The system decays.

THE ACCOUNTABILITY VACUUM

The biggest tragedy is that there’s no external audit of bureaucratic performance.
The government monitors citizens more than it monitors its own administrators.

Ask any IAS officer how their performance is evaluated, and you’ll hear the same phrase: “Confidential report.”
In other words, a secret report by a senior officer, rarely reviewed, never disclosed.

This is how mediocrity is institutionalized and corruption is rewarded.

india doesn’t need more “reforms.”
It needs a report card revolution.

THE reality show WE DESERVE: bigg boss — BUREAUCRAT EDITION

Imagine it:
A reality show where top IAS officers live in a bungalow together and justify their expenses on camera.
Weekly eliminations based on citizen voting.

Tasks: handling public complaints, fixing roads, filing RTIs — without bribery.

The reward? Public respect.
The punishment? Reality.

Would anyone survive episode 1?

EPILOGUE: DEMOCRACY OR DECORATED FEUDALISM?

india calls itself the world’s largest democracy.
But every democracy has an aristocracy — and ours wears crisp white shirts and government badges.

The IAS was meant to serve the Republic.

Instead, it inherited the Empire.

Until bureaucrats are made accountable, audited, and answerable to citizens, this “service” will remain a syndicate of privilege.

The british may have left in 1947.
But their spirit lives rent-free — in government bungalows across the nation.