It was 1997. "Effective and Responsive Government'' were the buzzwords in government. Former comptroller and auditor general T.N. Chaturvedi was puzzled: ''I thought a responsive administration was the first prerequisite of independent India.'' With that, he put his finger on the reason why Indian governance had failed to deliver the goods. As M.C. Gupta, Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration, says: ''There is a high, impervious wall between the administration and the people.''

It wasn't meant to be this way. That is why the Indian Civil Service (ICS) was disbanded in 1948 and was replaced by the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The ICS-the steel frame of the British Empire-was not seen as being suitable for the development-oriented tasks in a welfare state. But the IAS didn't dump two legacies of the ICS: maintaining a distance from the public, and an elaborate system of rules and regulations to ensure honesty and accountability. But development schemes required a measure of discretion and flexibility. So the very rules meant to minimise corruption began to be used to block things, and grant favours. The administrative machinery became insensitive, aloof, opaque and corrupt.

Overcentralisation was also to blame. In the 1950s and 1960s the panchayati raj institutions were alive and kicking, dealing with health, education and agriculture. The block development officer was answerable to the panchayats. But these institutions were allowed to atrophy. Many of the subjects were taken away by the state secretariat. Fortunately, panchayati raj institutions are now getting back some of their lost glory.

The problem and the solution were both identified way back in the mid-1960s. The 20 reports that the Administrative Reforms Commission churned out between 1966 and 1970 spoke about the need to focus on the cutting edge of administration. But that was also the time of great political turmoil, and administrative reforms were hardly Mrs Gandhi's priority. In fact her tenure marked the acceleration in the decline of the bureaucracy and quality of administration. The concept of committed bureaucracy (which really meant commitment to the Congress party) completely politicised the bureaucracy. Welfare programmes increased but without the necessary decentralisation, providing tremendous scope for corruption. With the string of nationalisations, the reach of government increased. Says Gupta: ''The edifice of government became overbearing.'' The cutting-edge became blunted and the administration was not able to provide even a patchy service to the citizens. By then everybody had ceased to care.

Fortunately, things are beginning to change. There are bureaucrats who realise that they can make a difference to peoples' lives. Some politicians are also beginning to realise good governance makes for good politics. Less government and more governance is becoming the new shibboleth. If these bureaucrats and politicians come together, there won't be any more questions of the kind Chaturvedi had asked.

India's Governments Down The Years

1947-1952
Interim government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru.
Indian Civil Service and Indian Police replaced by Indian Administrative Service to provide a more development-oriented administration. First batch of IAS recruited in 1948-49.
Constitution of India comes into effect, defining role of legislature, executive and judiciary and sets up a federal polity. Three reports focus attention on need to revamp the administrative system.

1952-1964
Congress Party Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Community Development Programme is launched.
States Reorganisation Commission redraws boundaries and creates smaller states in the west and south

1964-66
Congress Party Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri sets up the Administrative Reforms Commission which submits 22 reports over four years

1966-1977
Congress Party Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Reorientation and politicisation of the bureaucracy starts with Mrs Gandhi enunciating the concept of committed bureaucracy. Large number of poverty alleviation programmes spring up. The Lokpal Bill, with the Prime Minister out of its purview is tabled but lapses.

1977-1979
Janata Party Prime Minister Morarji Desai
Politicisation continues as officers with large scale transfers of bureaucrats seen as Congress loyalists Government revives the Lokpal Bill. National Police Commission set up under Dharam Vira

July 1979-January 1980
Lok Dal Prime Minister Charan Singh

1980-1984
Congress Party Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Economic Administration Reforms Commission set up under L.K. Jha

1984-1989
Congress Party Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. First official acknowledgement that only 15 per cent of grants for the people actually reach the beneficiaries. The third Lokpal Bill is introduced. Concept of market playing a more important role is enunciated.

1989-1990
National Front Prime Minister V.P. Singh. Yet another Lokpal Bill is tabled but lapses with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in 1991

November 1990-May 1991
Samajwadi Janata Dal Prime Minister Chandrashekhar

1991-1996
Congress Party Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. The 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution makes both urban and rural local bodies constitutional entities.

May 15-28, 1996
Bharatiya Janata Party Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

June 1996-April 1997
United Front Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda

April 1997-February 1998
United Front Prime Minister I.K. Gujral

1998 onwards
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Freedom of Information Bill is tabled. Central Vigilance Commission is given statutory status.