Forgotten purpose of public service

A true public servant does not command, but serves. This is the purpose and responsibility for which they are appointed, but sadly, many forget it as power often walks with hubris rather than kindness. The ideal of politicians and bureaucrats being "servants of the people" has long been buried beneath a culture of privilege, protocol and pretence. The offices once meant to serve the public have turned into personal seats of authority and entitlement.

The society we live in today is impressionistic rather than real. We prioritise materialistic values — lavish houses, luxurious vehicles and grand lifestyles — which have become the modern metrics of success. This desire for status breeds a dangerous illusion that power and wealth place one above the law. It is within this illusion that arrogance grows and service withers.

Nowhere is this more visible than in the conduct of our politicians. Their convoys of luxury vehicles with flashing blue lights and armed guards disrupt traffic and daily life, treating the very citizens who elected them as obstacles. These elected representatives, entrusted with public service, behave as if they are a class apart — untouchable and unaccountable. The irony lies in the fact that their lavish security and comforts are financed by the taxes of those very people they disregard.

The feudal class, too, continues to wield unchecked power in many parts of the country. In their domains, they act as law and authority combined — grabbing lands, silencing dissent and using intimidation as a weapon. The poor, deprived of protection and justice, are deliberately trapped in fear and submission. For them, freedom is only a word, not a lived reality.

Then come the bureaucrats — once viewed as the backbone of state machinery, now often seen as distant and indifferent. Many enter service with ideals of integrity and duty but soon lose themselves in the comfort of authority. Their offices, meant to be accessible to the public, become fortresses of inaction. Citizens wait in long queues, hoping for redress, while the "sahib" is too busy attending to political guests or personal calls. Nepotism and favouritism replace merit, and public service becomes secondary to personal convenience.

This moral decline is not merely administrative; it has become a cultural reality. The false perception that power is meant to be exercised, not shared, runs through the minds of these officers. Praise is welcomed, criticism is punished, and accountability is viewed as an insult. Such attitudes corrode governance from within and distance the state from its people.

The question remains: when will those in power remember that they are servants, not masters? When will they recall that every office, every title and every privilege they hold is a trust — not a trophy? The day our politicians and bureaucrats choose kindness over hierarchy and service over status will mark the rebirth of the true human within them — one who understands that power has only one purpose: to serve the people.

In the civilised nations of the world, service and purpose remain the foremost priorities of those in power. Their leaders sit among the people, listen to their concerns and welcome criticism with humility and a sense of responsibility. In countries like the UK and Japan, public officials are often seen travelling without convoys or excessive protocol; they believe that leadership is about accessibility, not authority.

Politicians and civil servants are bound by duty to address public grievances and keep their offices open, allowing citizens to meet them freely without unnecessary barriers or delays.

Official vehicles and offices are to be used only for public work and within official hours — using them for display or personal convenience amounts to an abuse of power.

The positions they hold are meant for service, not privilege, as they swore in their oaths to serve the public, not elevate themselves. The revival of true public service begins when those in authority realise that leadership is not about status but about responsibility.