Would you be prepared to signify India’s pursuits overseas? As elitist as it’d sound, the function of the Indian International Service does greater than the on-screen portrayals of Indian diplomats. IFS isn’t just about protocols, it focuses on substantive points and has the privilege to be part of historic developments in Indian international relations. So, what’s the function of an IFS in representing our nation, and how is the lifetime of an Indian diplomat?
T.C.A. Raghavan, former Indian Excessive Commissioner to Pakistan, tells Manas Srivastava of The Indian Categorical what it means to be within the Indian International Service — its challenges, alternatives, and experiences.
Manas: How will you outline the lifetime of an Indian International Service officer?
T.C.A Raghavan: An IFS officer spends lengthy intervals of his/her tenure away from residence in our embassies in numerous nations. There are additionally intervals of service when officers are posted within the Ministry of Exterior Affairs in New Delhi, India. The core side of the lifetime of an IFS officer is that she or he acts as a bridge between India and the skin world — defending and selling the pursuits of our nation.
Manas: What are the qualities and values which can be anticipated from a Indian International Service officer?
T.C.A Raghavan: The qualities and values anticipated from an IFS are the identical as these from any civil servant or anybody working in a big organisation. Being a staff participant and subordinating your private pursuits for the bigger curiosity of the organisation and nation is important.
Particularly for the IFS, having a way of curiosity and curiosity in third nation environments, aside from the atmosphere you’re aware of, is important. One should not simply undertake his or her job and function mechanically.
An IFS officer will typically get posted to a rustic or tradition which she or he is unfamiliar with or has restricted familiarity. Making an attempt to grasp a brand new tradition, and seeing your individual nation and tradition from totally different views, isn’t solely a necessary a part of the job but additionally enhances the efficiency of the IFS.
You could know that in IFS way more do than in different providers, there are sometimes lengthy intervals of your profession the place you could not have an enormous quantity of routine work or day-to-day work. The concept is to create alternatives by having the correct of aptitude. By so doing you develop and create new alternatives for the nation.
For instance, you could be posted in a rustic the place there may be not a lot commerce with India. So the problem will probably be how do you develop new alternatives. There could be nations the place there may be not a lot political interplay. In such a state of affairs, how do you create alternatives and avenues the place your chief and the chief of that nation can have fruitful interactions? It is a problem each professionally and personally. Having the capability to develop potential for the nation and having the ability to see what are your tasks are past the routine is what an IFS officer must be prepared for.
Manas: Indian International Service is typically seen as a royal service. Is it true?
T.C.A Raghavan: I don’t suppose it’s seen or must be seen as a royal service. It’s customary for individuals to speak concerning the ‘good previous days’. However once you go into the main points, the previous days had been by no means nice. Our predecessors’s had tenures way more troublesome than ours. Individuals in international service as we speak have a neater time than as an example I had.It is because situations have improved. Nonetheless, there have been totally different challenges then and there are totally different challenges now. Professionally, it’s a lot simpler to carry out your duties as we speak as a result of the notion and picture of India has modified globally, particularly previously 20 years as a consequence of many causes, together with our financial development. This makes an enormous distinction within the functioning of a international providers officer.
Manas: What’s the function of Indian International Service in making our nation in comparision to IAS or IPS which has an enormous function to play in day by day lives?
T.C.A Raghavan: Whether or not you suppose international coverage is part of your day by day life or not, the actual fact is that we’re part of the worldwide financial system and of the worldwide neighborhood. So how we connect with the skin world is as essential as our home improvement. The times when solely home points mattered have by no means existed. Because of globalisation and different components, what occurs within the exterior world now has a extra direct influence on India in all spheres – economically, socially, politically, culturally and many others. Due to this fact, the IFS is as essential as every other service.
Manas: A number of the most essential areas during which a international providers officer offers are nationwide safety, financial, political curiosity and many others. Which one do you suppose is among the most essential?
T.C.A Raghavan: Every space is equally essential. I don’t suppose we can provide significance to anybody concern over the opposite. There’s a tendency to provide significance to safety and political points, however that could be a short-sighted view. Safety could also be extra essential within the brief time period however among the best methods of enhancing your safety can be by focussing on tradition. Ultimately, you identify higher relations not solely by strengthening safety alone but additionally by strengthening your political standing, cultural cooperation and many others.
Within the Ministry of Exterior Affairs, by and huge, every sector is given as a lot significance as the opposite. Our job additionally values creativity. The cultural sector is way more artistic than the safety and political area. There’s way more you are able to do there.
I see a development in the direction of larger securitisation in our nationwide discourse which isn’t essentially a wholesome development.For instance, in on-screen portrayals of Indian diplomats there may be typically a lot larger stress given to safety or political points during which a international service officer is concerned. That’s what we name extreme securitisation.
Manas: Are you able to recall any memorable episode out of your diplomatic profession that you simply want to share?
T.C.A Raghavan: Usually international service officers have the privilege to witness and be part of landmark developments in Indian international relations. Whilst such occasions are happening, one is aware of that they are going to go into the pages of historical past. The one which I can bear in mind is when PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Islamabad in 2004 for the SAARC Summit. Individuals all around the world recognised it as a outstanding act of statesmanship and of main political braveness. I realised then that this was historical past being made in entrance of my eyes.
I need to level out right here that our function as international diplomats isn’t individually essential. We work in a staff in the direction of a typical aim. So, when a staff works as a single unit and delivers as per expectations, that’s the best takeaway or reward for you personally. That’s what an IFS believes in too.
Manas: What are the challenges that an IFS officer has to cope with?
T.C.A Raghavan: Indian society is as we speak going through many challenges. The best way to preserve social concord and cohesion, the challenges of unemployment, financial improvement and many others. are a number of. All civil servants are is anticipated to seek out options to such issues, and that’s their problem too. An IFS officer has to cope with related challenges.
For our international coverage the central problem has been roughly the identical since 1947 – how do you create an exterior atmosphere conducive to our home improvement? A IFS officer has to continuously take into consideration how she or he can contribute to creating such an exterior atmosphere.
Aside from this, I imagine that the true problem for the international service is the way it manages the nation’s relations with its neighbours. {Our relationships} with our neighbouring nations is a central consider figuring out the way forward for India. So I’ve all the time prioritised it because the foremost problem.
Manas: Does the present examination sample want a change to pick out specialists or candidates with IR backgrounds for the Indian International Service?
T.C.A Raghavan: India has the benefit of choosing IFS officers from an enormous reservoir of expertise; provide is far more than the demand. There’s a lot expertise in our nation that we get a really top quality of candidates after a rigorous examination course of. One doesn’t want a background in IR however a degree of curiosity within the exterior world, their cultures, historical past, society, financial system is significant. Filling the information hole isn’t troublesome, the true X issue is all the time curiosity, and that curiosity has to return from inside. Curiosity concerning the world is due to this fact a prerequisite, information can all the time be offered throughout the coaching interval and might even come later.
In fact, people who find themselves chosen for Indian International Providers ought to have no less than good verbal and oral abilities and so they should hold sharpening these attributes.
Manas: Aspirants typically ask why there are so few seats in International Providers supplied within the UPSC examination.
T.C.A Raghavan: Compared to the earlier years, the variety of seats has elevated now. Some might say that it has elevated an excessive amount of. One should perceive that the scale of the IFS needs to be proportionate to our total world presence and the nation’s necessities. If you happen to broaden an excessive amount of and too rapidly officers might face stagnation later of their careers. The federal government due to this fact additionally has to bear in mind the promotions prospects and motivation ranges and mustn’t enhance the variety of seats irrationally.
Manas: Your recommendation and advice for aspirants and UPSC Necessities subscribers…
T.C.A Raghavan: I hear a story amongst aspirants that if one has to qualify for the UPSC examination, they need to go to a training institute. It is a fable. This false narrative is created by an enormous and unregulated teaching trade which instills within the minds of younger aspirants that teaching institutes will alone assure their success.
My recommendation is that college students who’re aspiring to hitch the civil providers ought to learn extensively and positively not minimise the significance of studying newspapers. One can not simply depend on examination materials, assist books, whatsapp ahead messages, Wikipedia, and such. Aspirants should be absolutely engaged with their atmosphere, have a way of curiosity, and skim knowledge-enriching high quality books and never simply put together mechanically. Studying the examine supplies as per the syllabus could also be a crucial situation to organize for this examination however it’s not a enough situation.
On your solutions, queries and ideas write at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com
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