The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c15.s1.53

c15.s1.53

In this way, the dual system of postindependence Indian came into being. On the one hand, there is the government with its widespread professional and rigidly hierarchical bureaucracy administering impersonal laws and regulations; on the other hand, the essentially horizontal arena of Congress—the low degree of professionalization of its organization is significant—taking care of interest groups and their intensely personal conflicts, while at the same time handling national consensus. Though it was only developed in the interbellum period, it is strangely reminiscent of the horizontal, factional system of management by conflict that was both the bane and blessing of the Mughal dispensation. The dual structure was comparatively easy to maintain as long as the English were there and Congress was barred from the government apex. When Congress had to take over the central government, the precarious balance between state and society became intensely problematic.⁵⁵ The horizontal arena increasingly encroached on the vertical organization and process of government, whose bureaucracy had before independence already lost much of its celebrated "steel frame" character. It may well be that new formulas will have to be developed to handle the balance.⁵⁶