The Hindu Business Line : Social intelligence

IN MY previous piece, I had referred to the national seminar on Naxalism organised by the Observer Research Foundation on January 28-29. I am reverting to it to mention two particularly noteworthy suggestions made by participants.

The first is to attune the functioning of intelligence agencies at the Centre and in the States to the need for gathering "social intelligence".

At present, their efforts are mainly focussed on domestic security, threats to law and order, and undesirable activities, open and clandestine, of political parties, organisations, groups and individuals.

Most of the time, agitations and upheavals result from social injustice, discrimination, exploitation, unemployment and corruption or sheer bad governance and non-implementation of welfare and development schemes or heartlessness at the cutting edge of administration.

When long-festering grievances on this score remain unredressed despite repeated approaches to officialdom and the political class, the suffering and oppressed people find taking recourse to violence and militancy as the only means of drawing attention to them.

Intelligence agencies should, therefore, be directed to include it as an important and relevant part of their responsibility to keep those in the top echelons of governments regularly informed of the root causes of incipient and simmering anger so that remedial action is taken in time and further deterioration in the situation avoided.

The other suggestion is about ensuring accountability. At present, employees of each grade consider it sufficient to keep in good humour those of the next higher grade who write their annual confidential reports forming the basis of their career prospects.

Government personnel do not regard themselves as service providers and the citizens as customers entitled to full respect. This mindset makes them indifferent, and even callous.

Obtaining at the end of each year appraisals of their performance by citizens within their jurisdiction with reference to salient parameters and taking them into account in judging their suitability for continuance in service may impart a greater sense of accountability.

In fact, many educational institutions abroad factor the appraisals of professors by students into decisions regarding tenure or even retention.

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