Syed Ali Murtaza Rizvi’s decision to hang up his boots eight years ahead of time has clearly rattled the Telangana Secretariat, and with good reason. Mr Rizvi is a senior babu with impeccable credentials, heading two sensitive departments — revenue and GAD (Political), and his calling it quits is bound to raise eyebrows. The official explanation cites “personal goals,” but anyone who’s watched Indian babudom for a while knows that’s usually code for “I’ve had enough.”

In Mr Rizvi’s case, “enough” seems to have come after four transfers in just two years, an administrative relay race that would test the patience of even the most stoic babu. Officials often joke that stability is a myth, but when an IAS officer becomes a permanent fixture only on the transfer list, something’s seriously ami

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