Imkong Walling
Dimapur | May 14
By any reasonable observation, the recent row over the state government’s bid to replace the Nagaland Police Chief can be considered as an outpouring of misgivings.
On one hand, there was a public’s perception that the government was trying to remove an upright officer. The government, on the other hand, cited alleged “inexperience” of the incumbent to hold the office of the Director General of Police (DGP).
However, underneath the two clashing narratives, there were many other undercurrents, which either directly or inadvertently, contributed to the controversy.
Anti-incumbency, cadre divides?
While a negative public impression of the government and charges of corruption in the police department regarding ‘appointments’ were obvious, a supposed divide between ‘All India Service (AIS) and state cadre officers’ as well as ‘native and non-native officers’ were doing the rounds.
An extended incumbency at the Ministerial level also likely fuelled the stinging public criticism.
“Yes, preferably we’d want a Naga to hold the post. Yet considering the public’s reaction, the scales dipped in his (DGP) favour,” commented a state cadre police officer. However, he said that the alleged divide between AIS and NPSC cadres is not unique to Nagaland and prevails in the government machinery across the country.
Somehow the balance gets maintained to keep intact government-public interests and job security perhaps, the officer said. “For the sake of the job or each other’s job.”
Ask whether anti-incumbency of the concerned Minister contributed to the backlash, he commented, “Who knows, had it been a new face in place of the incumbent (Minister), it would have passed off as just another government correspondence. To the public, the DGP is the hero and the government the villain.”
An NCS officer, while not ruling out the ‘outsiders versus natives’ factor’, maintained “the divide isn't too big of an issue.” “We get along with our IAS officers pretty well. Bureaucracy is most often diplomacy and I guess we handle it like professionals.”
Commenting on the controversy, the officer said that the general perception was that “the DGP is against corruption so he is being transferred out.” The divided opinions, notwithstanding, the officer posed, “Don’t you think it’s wiser to go with a person who delivers? Just want progress, that's all.” She also expressed regret that the controversy took a rather “tribalistic turn.”
Scarcity and the rules
Such concerns apart, the government’s bid to replace the DGP reflects a dearth of Nagaland cadre IPS officers to helm the top police post in the state. The ‘letters’ cited challenges in the cadre management of the IPS to the shortages and hence, the justification for ‘borrowing’ from outside.
Consequently, ‘request letters’ to the Ministry of Home Affairs for “inter-cadre deputation” are routine affairs.
But why is there a shortage? “A surfeit of non-Naga officers (IPS/IAS) of Nagaland cadre opting out of the state via deputation,” a Naga AIS officer summarised.
“As per the AIS (IPS/IAS/IFoS) rules," an officer “with the concurrence of the State Governments concerned and the Central Government” may be deputed for service under the Central Government or another State or government undertakings.
“Inter-cadre deputation” can be availed after completion of nine years of service in the parent cadre and before reaching the Super Time Scale (15 years).
While the rules state that such deployment in the entire career is allowed for five years, deputation to the Centre can even be extended to nine years. All it needs is a recommendation from the concerned ministry or the department, the AIS officer added. “That’s how so many Nagaland cadre IAS and IPS officers are outside.”
The inter-cadre transfer also occurs as a result of marriage. Other unavoidable factors also contributed to a scarcity situation facing the state today.
The officer cited an incident which reportedly resulted in an exodus of AIS officers out of the north-east - the killing of a woman IPS officer in Manipur in the late 1980’s.
“Thereafter, female AIS officers in the region were allowed to change their cadres to the mainland. This relaxation allowed many such officers to opt out of the region,” he informed.
It was later rescinded, but by then, “quite a lot of officers” who would have by now attained seniority in both IPS and IAS in Nagaland left creating a huge vacuum in the hierarchy.
“It has also created a situation of Nagaland cadre officers becoming Chief Secretary or DGP before attaining the qualifying service length of 30 years," the officer added.
Thus commenting on the current controversy, he said, “Technically, Nagaland government is not wrong in its reasoning. When there are senior Naga officers in other cadres meeting the criteria, the government is only asking for what had been asked before.”
Nevertheless, he said that the government maintaining that Nagaland as a ‘Special Category’ state being an exception to the 30 years rule is actually not there. “It (28 years) is just an exception made on an incidental basis, not enshrined in the rules.”
There are practical implications of such ‘premature’ attainment of top administrative posts. For instance, he said that the state’s top administrative officers would have to deal with counterparts at the Centre, who likely would be senior to them in terms of service length.
Stating that human dynamics matter just as much in official liaisons, he said that processing work also hinges on how freely officers from here “are able to call up batchmates and get things done.” In this front, “States like Nagaland always begin on an uneven platform,” he said.
The situation would worsen in the IAS segment, the AIS officer said, adding, “2007 was the last a Naga (from Nagaland) got direct selection in the IAS.”
