Divya Mittal Quits IAS, Enters Politics: Why Mid-Career Civil Servants Shun Bureaucracy? | Today’s news
Former IAS officer Divya Mittal has announced her entry into politics as an independent, saying she will start her political journey from Uttar Pradesh and strive to be the voice of people whose grievances often do not reach government offices.
Mittal, a 2013 batch officer, retired from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) after a 13-year career on 30 August. Her decision comes months ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.
Read also | Who is Divya Mittal? Ex-IAS officer announces entry into UP politics
Mittal was a special secretary in the revenue department in Lucknow when she tendered her resignation. Earlier she worked mainly as District Magistrate in Deoria, Mirzapur and Sant Kabir Nagar.
During her tenure as the District Magistrate of Mirzapur, she gained widespread attention after tap water was first brought to Lahuriadah, a remote hill village in Halia block, 75 years after independence.
Mittal’s resignation has drawn attention to the broader question of why bureaucrats at the top of their careers choose to quit. Is it because the civil service is losing its charm for a new generation, or is it disenchanted with the work culture? Or is it because of greener pastures that men are forcing them to change their career paths?
Mittal is not the first IAS officer to put in his papers. Earlier this year, Rinku Singh Rahi, a 2022-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS officer, resigned before her. Rahi then cited lack of meaningful work as the reason. However, Rahi later changed his mind and returned to service.
More than a dozen IAS officers in UP have resigned in recent years, many of them exploring other options. A 1993-batch IAS officer, Rajiv Agarwal works as Samsung’s senior vice president (India and Southwest Asia) after his stints at Uber and Facebook.
Amod Kumar of 1995 batch has sought voluntary retirement from service and is said to be working in the corporate sector.
What did Divya Mittal say?
Mittal, an alumnus of IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore and a former Wall Street trader, cited several experiences from her administrative career to explain her decision, including the case of a woman in a hill village who, despite the lack of water at home, sought a school beyond the 5th grade for her village children.
She said the school was approved but construction had not begun three years later, questioning whether the delay was due to a lack of funding, rules or approvals or simply a lack of intent.
Read also | Who is Mandeep K Bhandari? Meet the new CBSE chairman
Recalling another case from her tenure as special secretary in the revenue ministry, Mittal said that a landless person who received government land allotment did not get land despite having the necessary documents.
She claimed that an incorrect report on the matter was subsequently withdrawn after the intervention, but the bid to secure possession was later met with instructions that it had been stopped “from above”.
Mittal said she wants to raise questions about such cases, as well as infrastructure gaps, the condition of roads, deaths allegedly linked to poor infrastructure, concerns about screening and the future of young people amid the rise of artificial intelligence.
She said politics should focus on “intention, justice, concern and mindset” rather than just changes by individual political leaders.
“The goal is not just to change one politician, the policy has to change,” she said.
Mittalová claims that she does not enter politics under the banner of any existing political party. Instead, she said, she would build a platform with citizens who supported her and would not be deterred by money, muscle power or caste and religious calculations.
“I’m not afraid. I’ll keep asking,” she said, adding that she wants to create a platform that cares about the country’s future.
On August 30 Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav alleged that honest officials in Uttar Pradesh were pressured to indulge in “unethical and illegal” activities under the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
“To be forced to indulge in corruption”
In a post on X, Yadav listed several ways his alleged officials were pressured.
He alleged that officials were forced to indulge in corruption through kickbacks, manipulate elections to favor BJP workers, convert transfers and postings into business and facilitate collections through gift cards.
He also alleged that officials were pressured to register false cases against opposition leaders, suppress cases of custodial deaths, facilitate fake meetings of political opponents and extort money through threatening meetings.
The SP chief further alleged that officials were pressured to conceal cases involving atrocities against the PDA (backward, dalits and minorities) communities, extort money from businessmen, suppress cases of rape and abduction and hide alleged encroachments by BJP workers.
He accused the government of pressuring officials to facilitate the movement of goods across state borders, passing off counterfeit products as genuine and ignoring alleged harassment of farmers, labourers, women and youth.
Yadav also alleged that officials were asked to suppress untouchability cases, avoid registering FIRs in temple (Ayodhya) theft cases and protect influential individuals through ‘covering’.
“There are countless other cases where the BJP government is putting pressure on officials to do unethical and illegal acts that even force them to resign,” Yadav said in his post.
“Government and administration cannot function without honest officials,” he added.
These remarks came after Divya Mittal announced her resignation from the service.
Who else resigned?
Other officers who have resigned include Vikas Gothalwal, a retired IAS officer of 2003 batch. According to information available on social media, Gothawal is now an independent consultant on public policy, health systems and governance. Abhishek Singh (2011 batch) resigned to pursue a career as an actor, singer, lyricist and composer.
This trend is also catching up elsewhere. Last year, 1991-batch IAS officer S Siddharth, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Education Department in Bihar, who resigned from his post by applying for VRS on July 17. Siddharth was due to retire in November 2025, but his early departure fueled political speculation.
Read also | An IAS officer who left a post in London for civil service is resigning after 13 years
Others who have entered politics are six retired IAS officers who have joined the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP), led by poll strategist Prashant Kishore. Of the six — who served in various posts in Bihar and elsewhere — two were from the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and four from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
Experts said the decisions are mostly personal or political. Many officials see electoral politics as a natural extension of public service, they say.
“IAS is obviously an elite profession. But once you join, you may feel tired of the functioning of the government. Working in the corporate or private sector seems glamorous to some. But it also depends on what you actually want from life,” said a former IAS officer who did not wish to be named.
From civil service to politics
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections saw high-profile contestants such as former ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu, former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu and former IPS officer K Annamalai, who eventually became Tamil Nadu BJP chief ahead of party ways.
Many former civil servants have become politicians. Ajit Jogi was the first IAS officer to become the Chief Minister. He took charge when Chhattisgarh became a new state in 2000. Since then, many IAS officers and other civil servants have moved from office work to active politics.
I’m not afraid. I will keep asking.
Yashwant Sinha, Arvind Kejriwal, RK Singh, Hardeep Puri, Manu Shankar Aiyar, RCP Singh and S Jaishankar are popular political figures who were also civil servants.
