The cardinal principle of British Raj - I

ARTICLE: "To be a gentleman officer two trades are necessary - a good tailor and a good barber". Boris Johnson, please take note.

Pakistan, from 1957 to 1969, was built by Officer Class - both military and civilian. Then the politicians came into play (with intermittent interventions by the Deep State). Pakistan is classified as an emerging economy - soon it may be a submerged economy. I have with me on my table the most influential statistical document (The Economic Intelligence Unit - The World in Figures 2020). Under the rule of politicians, no significant progress has been in any sector.

Since 1600, the East India Company (EIC) virtually monopolized India's trade. They had full control of India. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857 was crushed, the Crown took over and declared India a colony of Britain. They figured that if a company (EIC) could manage India, why should the Crown not take over. At that time the British EIC and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) were the largest companies in the world - dwarfing the present-day companies like Amazon, ARAMCO, etc. The Indian Civil Service was born. The top ranks were manned by the British. Soon, a need rose to recruit local talent as well. While recruiting the local people, the British had one cardinal rule - to create an officer class in all spheres - administration, judiciary, police, railways, revenue etc. The definition of an officer and gentleman, in the British physics was:

1. He should be well bred (i.e., come from an influential and educated family).

2. He would undergo extensive training in his field.

3. Independent thinking and realistic feedback are encouraged.

4. The 'Rules of Business' must be followed, unless specified otherwise.

The officers of the British Raj (British and local) ruled India till independence/partition.

In these preceding 100 years, the other classes were respected but had to be subservient to the officer class. Traders, explorers, manufacturers, politicians, doctors, lawyers. When the last viceroy departed, he left an iron framework which continued in Pakistan for a while. Britain, even today, is ruled by 'Officers' from four institutions - Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and Sandhurst.

The Chinese empire, which dated back to 5000 years, first created the bureaucracy. They were known as 'Mandarins'. They assisted the emperors in managing the 'kingdoms'. The Mandarins (the Officer Class) outranked all others. France is even today run by officers who graduate from two institutions - École de Technical and École de Administration. 40% of France's political, corporate, tech leaders come from these institutions. A solid network.

The US is partly dominated by the graduates of the 'Ivy League' schools and West Point, Annapolis etc.

When General Ayub Khan took over seamlessly in late 1958, his team consisted of military and the civilian officers corps. Occasional politicians were added for window dressing. Once Ayub Khan was travelling in his special train compartment from Lahore to Rawalpindi, at Jhelum he got out on the platform to stretch his legs. A major approached with the usual sycophancy and mentioned he was soon proceeding to the US for training. He was shabbily dressed in his uniform and wearing rubber chappals. Next day at GHQ, Ayub summoned the Adjutant General and directed him to cancel the major's trip and put a directive on his file "NOT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR FURTHER PROMOTION." This instance was narrated to me by a family elder, the late Lt-Gen Attiqur Rehman.

(To be continued)

(The writer is the former Executive Director of the Management Association of Pakistan)