First jhadoo, now yoga: Five reasons why babus are miserable under PM Modi

How often have we compared someone’s lethargy or laid-back attitude to the typical lifestyle of a government employee aka babu? But that was before Modi sarkaar. Ever since PM Modi has taken charge, the country’s babus  have been given a major image overhaul thanks to strict diktats by the PM. From keeping track of their punctuality with a bio-metric roll call system to a longer work hours, the acchey din for babus are a thing of the past. Latest in the long list of instructions to the officials is the participation in the first ever International Day for Yoga to be held on 21 June. The International Day of Yoga is PM Modi’s pet project, after getting the United Nations to sanction it in record time and he is going all out to make sure the maiden celebration will be memorable. Modi himself is expected to perform yoga along with his ministers such as Rajnath Singh at Rajpath in Delhi.  Now it seems that he will make sure the grand event has a sizable turnout. According to a report by The Indian Express, the health ministry has issued a circular asking all officers of the rank of under secretary and above to attend the function starting at 7 am on The International Day of Yoga. Maybe the proposed  week-long yoga workshop for Central Government employees will finally be of help. But 21 June being a Sunday, this idea might not generate too much enthusiasm.  This isn’t the first time that the babus have been forced to give up a holiday to take part in a Centre-level event. Last year, the babus were made to work on Gandhi Jayanti to launch the Swachh Bharat campaign, cleaning their offices, including toilets. Needless to say, trading their files for a jhadoo didn’t go down very well with everybody.  After that was the re branding of Christmas vacation with Good Governance Day , effectively ending another confirmed holiday. This was part of Modi’s plan to link 25 December with good governance in honour of BJP leader and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, whose birthday falls on the day.  But holidays are not the only things the babus have had to let go. Foreign trips, a huge lure of the job, have also reduced drastically, after it was made it mandatory for bureaucrats to submit an ‘outcome report’ after every foreign trip. And if they still go on any trip, even for a study tour, it has to be in economy class with a small delegation as a part of the government’s austerity drive.  To make matters worse, the daily work life of babus has also been affected due to the the 11-point list charted out to to make them work hard instead of hardly work. Work hours and days are not  restrictions for delayed work. Files have to be cleared in days (not weeks like before) and being on leave is no excuse for as one is expected to be accessible on email. Modi himself is in direct touch with several bureaucrats, sharing his number with them as well. And when the PM has you on speed dial, there is no avoiding work. In addition, Modi’s emphasis on the use of Hindi for all official work has troubled many bureaucrats, especially those from south India. So much so that a senior official in the agriculture ministry was sent back to his parent cadre after he failed to take  note in Hindi, says this  Business Standard report.