On 6 April this year, amid a severe national fuel crisis, oil was being rationed under official supervision at Kurigram’s Saha Filling Station. When a local journalist warmly addressed Assistant Commissioner Ariful Islam as “brother”, the reaction was instant and sharp.
“Why call me brother?” Ariful snapped. “People will think you’re related to me—and worse, everyone will treat me like an ordinary person.” His outburst laid bare an uncomfortable truth: Bangladesh’s bureaucracy views itself as a privileged elite, utterly distinct from the citizens it is meant to serve.
Passing the competitive Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination often instils a deep sense of superiority. Demands to be addressed as “Sir” or “Madam” are routine, though no such official mandate exists.
Once confined to administrative bosses, this ego trip has infected health and agricultural sectors too.
A viral recording from June captured Sirajganj Civil Surgeon Dr Nurul Islam berating a journalist for using “brother”, insisting on being called “Mahoday (Exalted)”.
Similarly, during the Awami League regime, Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Chitralekha Nazneen’s fury over missing honorifics sparked a university professor’s sit-in protest.
Despite recent political upheaval and widespread demands for systemic change, the bureaucracy remains stubbornly untouched by spirit of reform.
Professor Sadik Hasan of Dhaka University public administration department observes that if serving the public is the benchmark, the mass uprising has had zero impact.
Instead of aiding a struggling population, civil servants remain laser-focused on self-preservation: chasing promotions, lucrative postings, elevated allowances, and new pay structures, he said adding, private-sector employees, meanwhile, receive no such institutional zeal.
Former Secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder offers a damning assessment, noting that over the past two years, the civil service has only worsened, paralysing the government with narrow-minded hostility, petty jealousy, and boundless ambition.
Political pledges to rebuild a merit-based, accountable system have evaporated. Rather than fulfilling promises of transparent recruitment, the new BNP administration has backtracked, reliance on contractually re-appointing retired loyalists to key posts, inadvertently igniting a fresh administrative crisis. Far from acting as humble public servants, Bangladesh’s bureaucrats continue to shield their fiefdoms, clinging fiercely to the illusion that they are far above the ordinary people they were hired to represent.
Bureaucracy holds on to benefits amid austerity push
Efforts to reduce state expenditure within public administration have faced strong internal resistance from civil servants.
On 9 July, the Finance Division issued directives following instructions from the Prime Minister to reduce monthly vehicle maintenance allowances for officials from Tk 50,000 to Tk 25,000.
However, the Ministry of Public Administration opposed the cost-cutting measure, citing potential administrative disruption, which ultimately led to the policy being rescinded.
In contrast to administrative officials, 18 cabinet ministers surrendered their security details to conserve fuel and redistribute police resources.
Assessing the reversal, Professor Sadik Hasan of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Dhaka told TIMES that the government’s inability to enforce these expenditure cuts indicates a structural imbalance of authority between the political executive and the permanent bureaucracy.
At the same time, institutional reform initiatives have stalled while demands for increased compensation persist.
Despite the establishment of the Public Administration Reform Commission by the interim government under Dr Muhammad Yunus, key recommendations, including merit-based promotions, structural accountability, and political neutrality, remain unimplemented, with no official roadmap published to date.
Meanwhile, civil servants have continued to lobby for salary enhancements and a revised pay structure, a process that has maintained momentum following the transition to the BNP-led government.
Compounding these reform challenges, former Secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder highlighted growing factionalism and administrative instability stemming from competing internal interests.
The post-transition period has seen a rise in contractual appointments for retired officials who were previously sidelined during the Awami League administration.
Majumder observed that managing these administrative rivalries and enforcing structural discipline remains one of the primary governance challenges facing the current administration.
