Changez Khan, Communications and E-governance

By

Amar Nath Wadehra & Randeep Wadehra

Since time immemorial there has been an unambiguous symbiosis between communications and governance, with good governance being sine qua non for the durability of a regime. Be they empires of yore or the modern day nation states, efficient public administration has always been vital to their very existence. As and when governance deteriorated, history tells us, the empire/state too underwent deterioration, often facing complete annihilation. For the governance to be good it must be responsive to the legitimate aspirations and expectations of its citizens. An excellent communications system helps make this possible.

As early as 12th century AD Changhez Khan had realized this. At his death his empire stretched from the China Sea on the east to the Caspian Sea on the west. He ruled his domain from his capital at Karakorum in the central Asian steppes. He is known for pioneering a speedy and effective equestrian communication system across Asia and Europe – the best in those days. It was known as Yam, a system of postal-relay horse stations for fast transfer of written messages – based on the ancient Persian communication system. The Mongol mail system was the first such empire-wide service since the Roman Empire. Additionally, Mongol battlefield communications utilized signal flags and horns and, to a lesser extent, signal arrows to communicate movement orders during combat. All these instruments of communication kept him updated about the various happenings in different parts of his vast empire, thus enabling him to take appropriate decisions promptly – both during war and peace.

The scenario has changed vastly since then. The Industrial Revolution heralded the formation of nation-states – most of them federal in nature. This required a different set of administrative structure – giving rise to the establishment of various institutions and instruments of governance. The inventions of radio and telegraph, and later television, facilitated quick communications. A mindboggling range of discoveries and innovations spanned the period comprising nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Various polities became more complex impelling the governments to upgrade their institutions and instruments of governance. For example, courts of justice – which earlier used to exist only in the capital cities – were set up even in smaller towns designated as district headquarters. Secretariats too had to decentralize similarly. The government reached out to the common man. But, over a period of time, deterioration set in. Corruption, in its assorted manifestations, began to corrode the governmental superstructure.

As a country progresses in different fields people’s expectations for better quality of life rise, making it imperative to bring about necessary improvements in public administration. Obviously, this calls for better trained and motivated personnel to man the various governmental departments and offices. However, of late, there has been a growing awareness that by reducing personal interface between the public and government officials many positives can be achieved. First of all this would result in less friction that arises owing to procrastination, discourtesy and general indifference etc. Secondly, the chances of wheeling and dealing are greatly reduced. Towards this end it becomes essential to put all instruments of e-governance in place. In a pluralistic society like ours, e-governance has an additional benefit – sectarianism and related prejudices would not be able to come into play.

Thanks to the tremendous progress made in information technology e-governance has not only become feasible but also the most effective answer to growing bottlenecks in the traditional governmental structures. Public administration, governed by bureaucratic structures built during the twentieth century, is manifestly proving to be inadequate in responding to the changing requirements of the present times. E-governance offers a paradigm shift from the traditional approaches to governance as it uses electronic communication channels and such instruments as facilitate government services and information, thus vastly improving the quality of various services rendered to ordinary citizens. Gone are the days when bureaucratic red tape and arcane language could keep information under wraps. Theoretically, at least, transparency

1 2 >>