THIS refers to the article `Abusing a legacy` (Nov 30) by Zia-ur-Rehman who has tried to make a case in favour of a bureaucratic tradition which is simply a relic of the past and has no place in this time and age.
His arguments are wide of the mark in the context of the emerging concept of a modern state. One wonders why we should feel nostalgic about a bureaucracy which the Brits themselves have discarded long ago.
Today, Western democracies are serviceoriented. The concept of a state machinery ruling the masses has been dumped forever.
Modern states are being administered as conduits of social services to the people.
A government not responsive to the people cannot survive. The modern state is more like a business enterprise selling goods and services to the consumers.
It promises to have a police force ready to serve and protect the citizens. It is dutybound to offer justice to anyone who seeks it. States that don`t operate on these premises become dysfunctional and become handmaidens of self-proclaimed revolutionaries.
