yazadjal.com

Sir John Cowptherwaite was the man responsible for the spectacular rise of Hong Kong, post WW II. He achieved this by refusing to intervene in the economy and doing only those things that a government should - nay, must - do. This great colonial civil servant, of the kind that came to India with the ICS just passed away. A tribute to this shining example of a good bureaucrat can be found here.
The critical difference between a colonial civil servant like Sir John Cowptherwaite and the stupid IAS-IPS types we have today is that the former was a laissez faire, free trade, sound money, rule of law man; while the latter are “control freaks”. Sir John wanted the poor people of Hong Kong to be free to earn money, and, with low taxes, also be able to keep that money, to accumulate capital and invest in in furthering their businesses. Our “control freaks”, on the other hand, want the people to be poor and subservient. Sir John was a true “public servant”, while these morons are predators. The best example of “out-of-control freaks” is the current fuss about Mumbai’s nightclubs, where, apparaently, even having a DJ requires a separate “performance license”: this, apart from the 15-odd licenses required anyway to open a pub. Mumbaikars need to protest. And also quote the superb example of Cowptherwaite’s Hong Kong.