By B.K Dey Sawian
The Englishman had not only perfected his mastery of picking the right man for the right job but had also become accomplished in identifying the right community for the right task. The Bluchis, Sikhs and Gorkhas were encouraged into their armies, the “Kayyahs’ rendered support to their trade and commerce and the Bengalee Babus were groomed to be the backbone of colonial administration. I recall an evening, when the spirits were high and `tales’ abound. An elderly officer of the erstwhile Indian Frontier Administrative Service, an organization that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had created to administer the North East Frontier Agency and the tribals areas of North Eastern India, describe his experience on how he went about setting up the Frontier Administration in a remote place called Along. There were no roads, no tracts, no bridges and the only way for him to reach his new Headquarters was to be air dropped. An interesting tale of how he was parachuted down and along with him, in quick succession, a Swiss Cottage Tent, his table and chair and, being a Brahmin, his means of sustenance – his cow! What was, however, of utmost concern to him was the pivot of Frontier Administration. It was only when he saw his Bengalee Babu come sailing down with his white dhoti flapping in the air that he sighed with relief, confident that administration was all set to take off and that his given task would surely be accomplished.
The Western World of the 21st Century has gone hammer and tongs to automate their systems both, in the Official and Commercial Spheres. Where Computers have replaced human dynamism in office work. We in the Third World are not to be left behind and the bug of automation of office work has not only crept in but is pushing aside the age-old established system of dusty files” once the preserve of information and decision-making processes. I chanced to live and work in the heart of India, in a work environment, that had also decided to flow with the tide. There were Computers and Laptops galore. Training aids and presentations where channelized through the process of high teach machines. Unfortunately, electricity and power supply was increasingly erratic. Many a times the computers would shut off, the UPS would burn out, and information flow would come to grinding halt. I would very often step out of my stuffy air-conditioned room onto the adjoining verandah to breathe some fresh air and gaze at the vast expanse of the greenery and the water front that lay before me. My thoughts would go back to the tale of the Frontier Administrator and I would look up at the bright blue sky and wonder if every my `Bengalee Babu’ would drop down from the heavens so that I could get on with my daily chores. (The writer was Director BSF Academy, Tekanpur in Madhya Pradesh)