Don't Corporatize Trust
- Bruhaspati Samal -
In the quiet village lanes of rural India, where even the reach of roads is uncertain, there exists one institution that has never failed to arrive—the post office. It may not bear the glitz of a private courier or the automation of a modern bank, but its presence is sacred. The red letterbox, the khaki-clad postman, and the familiar voice calling out names with letters from afar—this has been India Post for nearly 170 years. For millions, especially in remote and underprivileged areas, it is not merely a government department but a lifeline of emotion, memory, trust, and service. It is in this deeply emotional context that the recent statements by Union Minister for Communications, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, have caused unrest among postal employees and concerned citizens.
On 2nd July 2025, Mr. Scindia, while addressing the Postal and Sorting Assistants, praised the spirit of “Dak Sewa, Jan Sewa”—rightly recognizing the Department of Posts as a service-oriented institution with a rich legacy of connecting India’s people. However, within days, in an interview published by The Times of India on 7th July 2025, he made remarks that stand in sharp contrast. He proposed to transform India Post into a “profit centre” and announced a planned revamp of its six operational verticals: mail, international mail, parcel, postal life insurance, post office savings bank, and citizen-centric services. He also spoke about exploring the option of leasing certain post office buildings. These statements have sparked justified fears that the government is once again contemplating the corporatization of India Post under the broader ideological push for privatization, typical of the present regime.
This apprehension is not unfounded. The resemblance between Mr. Scindia’s current approach and the recommendations of the Task Force Committee headed by former Cabinet Secretary T.S.R. Subramanian in 2014 is striking. The Task Force, constituted by the NDA government after coming to power, had strongly recommended restructuring India Post into six independent corporate units, essentially converting the department into a set of business enterprises. The rationale was to make India Post financially self-sustaining and efficient. However, the proposal met with countrywide protests by postal employees, trade unions, and other stakeholders, who viewed the corporatization plan as a threat to the department’s service mandate. Due to massive resistance and political sensitivity, the recommendations were shelved. Yet, they were never officially rejected, and their shadow seems to reappear in today’s policy language.
What makes Mr. Scindia’s position particularly curious is that he was also the Minister of Communications in the UPA government in 2008 when Project Arrow was launched. That project, aimed at “Look and Feel Good” modernization of post offices, focused on computerization, improved customer interface, and dignified working environments, all without tampering with the core character of the department as a public service entity. It was reform without rupture. The current line of thinking, however, is more aggressive and aligned with a commercial mindset, where profitability is seen as the goal and service is seen as a cost. This inversion of priorities is deeply problematic.
India Post is not just another government department—it is the largest postal network in the world, with over 1.6 lakh post offices, of which nearly 1.4 lakh are in rural India. Its geographical spread is unmatched, and its workforce, particularly the Gramin Dak Sevaks, are often the only state representatives seen in remote hamlets. To treat such a service giant as a commercial enterprise is to completely misread its purpose. The strength of India Post lies not in revenue charts, but in public faith. It is not designed to generate profits but to generate access. Expecting profitability from post offices in deserts, hilltops, tribal belts, or border villages is as unjust as asking a primary school in a forested region to sustain itself financially. These institutions exist not for gain, but for justice and equity. They are part of the social contract, not market competition.
Once the profit logic creeps in, deterioration of service becomes inevitable. When services are leased or privatized, decision-making is guided not by need, but by market viability. Fees rise, access shrinks, and accountability suffers. The rich get better services, the poor get neglect. This is not a hypothetical fear—it is a lived experience in various sectors that have undergone privatization in India. If India Post is corporatized, it will lose its sovereign accountability, its inclusive spirit, and ultimately, its soul.
It is also important to ask—why this push for corporatization at all? If the goal is efficiency and outreach, the same can be achieved by empowering India Post through investment in training, technology, and better infrastructure. Instead of dismembering it into business units, the government should reinforce its public utility character. The IPPB, while an attempt at modernization, should remain under full government ownership with public welfare as its primary goal. Rather than leasing post office premises, the focus should be on utilizing them as digital service centres for the common citizen—offering everything from e-governance to financial services under one trusted roof.
Mr. Scindia must also be reminded that trust, once broken, is hard to rebuild. The red box of India Post is not just a brand—it is a symbol of reliability across generations. The postman is not a vendor—he is a friend, a guardian, a silent messenger of the state. The letter he carries is not a product—it is emotion, hope, and memory. Any move that reduces this to a mere business transaction will not only erode service quality but irreparably damage the emotional bond India Post shares with its people. Rather, it should be nurtured, not monetized; reformed, not corporatized. If anything, its network and services should be expanded, and its employees respected as essential service providers, not as cost liabilities.
At a time when the world is realizing the value of strong public institutions, India must not let one of its finest fade into a profit-first shadow. Let India Post continue to be the department of the people—serving without conditions, reaching without profit, and delivering with care. For in every red box lies not a business opportunity, but a promise. And a nation must never break the promises it makes to its people.
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(The writer is a Service Union Representative and a Columnist. Mobile: 9437022669)
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