Directions (Q.1-10): Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below. Certain words/phrases have been printed in bold to help you locate them.
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The former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Chairman Pradip Baijal’s interesting account of his years in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) raises, among other things, several crucial issues in public administration. Of course his book, The Complete Story of Indian Reforms: 2G, Power & Private Enterprise — A Practitioner’s Diary, is better known in the media for some of its “startling revelations” about the 2G scam. In the book, he gives eloquent expression to his pent-up anguish over his maltreatment, especially the alleged unleashing of enforcement agencies against him by those who were annoyed with him for his stubborn stand on a variety of issues. I must say that he sounds credible if one goes by what has been widely reported across the media and on the debate on the state of governance in the last decade. This takes me on a brief journey into the country’s administrative history.
Notwithstanding tribulations and moments of despair and disappointment, an average Indian civil servant, in the first few years after Independence, enjoyed working in a professional ambience that would become the envy of those who followed him. For about three decades — till 1975 to be precise — things were quite hunky dory. Barring a few aberrations, an honest government official could hold his head high and stick to his principles while discharging his duties, even if it meant being argumentative and difficult in the eyes of his political superiors. The Emergency (1975-77) changed all that. From about this point of time, civil servants were perforce required to kow tow to people who belonged to a strikingly different genre and who enjoyed wielding their enormous authority in day-to-day administration. The earlier equilibrium in the polity gradually yielded place to strife and confrontation, and a fear psychosis started developing even among top civil servants. The healthy relationship that had existed earlier between minister and civil servant became a thing of the past. In many States honest dissent even at the highest levels such as the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police was resented, and unquestioned obeisance alone rewarded. There has been no visible change since then in respect of ministerial authoritarianism and hubris. I do not buy the argument that this power shift is inevitable in a dynamic democracy like ours. The sharp and honest public servant should be allowed to have his say although he can be overruled by the political executive in as decorous manner as possible, instead of being targeted for imaginary charges with the aid and abetment of enforcement agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or State Vigilance Bureaus. The perception now is that the back of the bureaucracy has been broken and its political neutrality totally wiped out. It is heartening that a small process of recovery has begun at the Centre, but it may take a long time before its impact becomes measurable. It is against this backdrop that the memoirs of a few senior civil servants, published in the recent past, including the recent one by Mr. Baijal will have to be viewed. Not all the writing may seem distinguished or profound. In fact, Mr. Baijal’s book is disjointed and gives the impression of having been “assembled from different sources” — all his own — in a hurry. Some allowance may also have to be given for bias and factual inaccuracy that inevitably creeps into such accounts.
One principal charge levelled against all such writers, post-retirement, is that they speak too late. This is unfair and uninformed criticism. If ever you have worked in government, you would understand how scary it is to take on a Minister, especially a person who is a political heavyweight and one on whom the very survival of a government depends. The fear of reprisal lasts much longer even after one has hung up one’s boots, given the mystic power of rehabilitation that many politicians seem to possess. To criticise a senior official for taking his own time to recapitulate all that he experienced while in service is preposterous. In public discourse, it is the larger picture painted by them that should count. Mr. Baijal has had more than his share of highs and lows in a long innings, first as a Secretary to the Government of India, and later at TRAI. He no doubt had a few good bosses from the political firmament who valued propriety and decorum. A bright spark like Mr. Arun Shourie believed in his ability and motivated him to be innovative and daring. As against this, there was an equal number who did not swear by principles and who did not fancy the likes of Mr. Baijal.
-Source, The Hindu, Delhi Edition, 30th May
1) Life: After Retirement
2) The Anger Over Service
3) Caged Parrots and the Steel Frame
4) The Crawling Ship
5) New Era of Governance
Q.2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A) It is disheartening that a small process of recovery that began at the Centre, but was unwelcomed by many officials.
B) The Complete Story of Indian Reforms: 2G, Power & Private Enterprise — A Practitioner’s Diary, is better known in the media for some of its “startling revelations” about the 2G scam.
C) Barring a few aberrations, an honest government official could hold his head high and stick to his principles while discharging his duties.
1) Only A and B
2) Only B and C
3) Only C and A
4) All A, B and C
5) None of these
Q.3.Which of the following is not true according to the passage?
A) Some allowance may also have to be given for bias and factual inaccuracy that inevitably creeps into such accounts.
B) From 1977 onwards, civil servants were perforce required to kow tow to people who belonged to a strikingly different genre and who enjoyed wielding their enormous authority in day-to-day administration.
C) To criticise a senior official for taking his own time to recapitulate all that he experienced while in service is preposterous.
1) Only A and B
2) Only B and C
3) Only C and A
4) All A, B and C
5) None of these
Q.4.Which of the following is true related to the post-independence ?
1) The post-independence IAS officers were said to be honest and was proud to work for the country.
2) Post independence, as soon the civil servants got the power, they started misusing it for their personal interest.
3) Post independence, civil servants were not given so much authority to work for the country.
4) Post independent IAS officers were considered to be the ones who worked under the pressure of Political Personalities.
5) None Of these
Q.5.What does the author mean by the phrase “his pent-up anguish over his maltreatment”?
1) His accumulated happiness for the new government led by Modi.
2) He was angry for what he did in his whole service.
3) His accumulated anger over the ill treatment by politicians.
4) His anger for the politicians over the scams.
5) None
Q.6.Which of the following is not the synonym of the word “decorous”?
1) Immodest
2) Blase
3) Canard
4) Clamor
5) All of these
Q.7.Which of the following is not the synonym of the word “abetment”?
1) Credo
2) Daunt
3) Lodge
4) Hinderance
5) None of these
Q.8.Which of the following is the synonym of the word “resented”?
1) Enervate
2) Fetid
3) Drain
4) Glib
5) Begrudge
Q.9.Which of the following is the synonym of the word “despair”?
1) Fledgling
2) Joy
3) Crash
4) Anguish
5) None of these
Q.10.Which of the following is the synonym of the word “wielding”?
1) Bully
2) Twirl
3) Dearth
4) Gauche
5) None of these
Answers :
1. (3)
2. (2)
3. (5)
4. (1)
5. (3)
6. (1)
7. (4)
8. (5)
9. (4)
10. (2)Check More English Reading Comprehension List
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