'Civilian' control

Sir, - The government's decision to reorganise the Department of Telecommunication Services in response to an agitation by officers of the ITS is a reminder that the only way to elicit a response from the government to any problem (real or imagined) is to go on strike.

After the brouhaha over the Vishnu Bhagwat episode, a comprehensive reorganisation of the MoD was promised. One and a half years down the road nothing has happened because the Armed Forces are the only organisation in this country which can be trusted not to strike. The Railways Ministry is staffed by technocrats from various railway services. The Indian Telecom Service has now ensured that they are not subsumed by an IAS officer. It is only in the Ministry of Defence that an administrator is deemed essential in preference to a technocrat. When will this country realise that `civilian' control of the defence services does not mean bureaucratic control.

Arun Visvanathan,

Chennai

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