Why Public Servants Need to Be Polite

In Mrinal Mathur’s play Akbar the Great Nahin Rahein, the red-tapism of bureaucracy is sharply critiqued as the reason behind Akbar being stripped of his greatness. As Secretary of Heaven Affairs, in the play he delineated the detailed reason from his red file; one character exclaims, “Even in heaven, there’s no end to these red files”.

In literature, cinema, and academia, a lot has been said on the outcome of bureaucratic action and the delivery of public services. An often-neglected aspect of bureaucratic systems is the way officials communicate with citizens; the language of bureaucracy remains an understudied yet crucial factor in understanding institutional treatment of citizens and public experience. 

Continuation of feudal approaches

While working as a Samta Fellow, I witnessed a deeply troubling instance that revealed the deep-rooted apathy in our public institutions. A government officer dismissed a Dalit disabled woman's request for a wheelchair with a shockingly insensitive remark: "Why do you need a wheelchair? The government has given you free ration – enjoy that." This moment laid bare the indignity often faced by marginalised individuals when seeking basic rights.

In another disturbing case, a judicial magistrate was suspended after reportedly verbally abusing and humiliating a woman lawyer during court proceedings. Such conduct from those in positions of authority reflects not just their superiority complex, but it also reinforces the mismatch of power between the citizens and their servants. 

There have been several such instances across India where officials from either the district administration or the district judiciary have misbehaved with their subordinates or with ordinary citizens. These are not isolated events but part of a worrying pattern that signals a deeper issue in the culture of public service.

Justice Surya Kant, while hearing the termination plea of a woman judicial officer accused of misbehaving with doctors at PGIMER, Chandigarh, rightly observed that "when judicial officers fail to uphold proper conduct, it reflects poorly on the entire institution."

Bureaucrats and judicial officers at the district level are often the first point of contact for citizens and are crucial in delivering public services and justice. When they resort to feudal, derogatory, or insensitive language, it not only violates the principles of dignity and equality but also reveals a lingering colonial mindset.

Therefore, it is essential that grassroots-level officers receive structured and continuous training to shed hierarchical attitudes and engage with the public empathetically, using polite, sensitive, and dignified language. 

Dignified conduct

The role of language and behaviour in public service delivery is critical. Scholar Pratap Bhanu Mehta and Devesh Kapur in their work Public Institutions in India: Performance and Design emphasise the inclusion of emotional intelligence and dignified public interaction for the bureaucrats. 

Several countries have recognised the critical role of language and behaviour in public service delivery and have institutionalised training to promote respectful communication. National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Canada offers  professional development for judicial officers that emphasises cultural competence, respectful communication, and sensitivity toward marginalised groups. 

In Singapore, the Civil Service College provides public officers with courses that reinforce the importance of a “citizen-first” approach. Civil services college in Singapore runs an interesting course titled 'Language of Appreciation at Workplace' to make public officers practice expressing appreciation effectively, meaningfully, and personally as a leader, towards their superiors, subordinates, and colleagues.

In India, the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) includes ethics and empathy training as part of its foundational course for civil servants. It also includes guides on gender inclusive communication for the officer. 

Despite the best efforts from the LBSNAA and judicial academies, the complaints of using inappropriate language by the administrative and judicial officers have not reduced. 

Therefore, it is essential to provide comprehensive training for public servants. This should include a dedicated module focused on the use of appropriate and inclusive language in both courtrooms and official settings. Developing a professional training programme, along with a practical handbook, will play a key role in educating and sensitising public officials and judicial officers to uphold dignity and inclusivity in all forms of public service. 

Rajesh Ranjan is a lawyer and researcher. He regularly writes on law, society, and the constitution. He is also a former Samta fellow and worked and documented the constitutional literacy movement. 

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