principle of Politics-administration dichotomy:
(i) The conventional view of public administration is based upon the dichotomy of politics and administration, i.e. administration and politics should be kept separate.
(ii) Politics or policy-making is the proper activity of the legislative bodies and administration is the proper activity of administrators who carry out policies. It is opposed to any political role of the civil servants. It visualises the relationship between the administrator and the politician in terms of a neat division of labour: the politician formulates the policy and the administrator executes it.
(iii) The bureaucrat acts as a pure adviser to his political master,presents facts of the case, suggests lines of action and implications of alternative policies.
(iv) It is the prerogative of the political master to decide the policy.
(v) The bureaucrat is expected to implement the policy faithfully, whatever the decision.He is to be anonymous and neutral in the discharge of his duty.He is expected to render impartial advice without fear or favour.
(vi) The doctrine of neutrality and anonymity has been one of the fundamental Weberian models of bureaucracy. It insulates the bureaucrat from any politicisation and makes him professional in his tenets outlook.
(vii) The planners in India too subscribed to the Weberian ideal of neutral civil service. In our country, the Civil Service Conduct Rules prohibit the government employees from active participation in political activities.
(viii) Except for the limited right of voting in secret,a government employee cannot participate in any way in any political movement or activity including election campaigns.He cannot join a political party even as an inactive member or contribute financially to its funds;he cannot express any opinion on political issues;and he cannot stand for election to any legislature.
(ix) An impersonal,strictly rule-bound, neutral bureaucracy was expected not only to provide the necessary administrative objectivity but also enhance the democratic principle of equality and provide protection from arbitrary rule.
