Srinagar, July 1 -- By Mohammad Ilyas Bhat

My friend still believes hard work can improve government. That alone qualifies him for anthropological study.

He is an Executive Engineer, one of those increasingly endangered public servants who treats files as problems to solve rather than heirlooms to preserve.

The gentleman spent months pleading with offices, chasing signatures and persuading departments to widen a chronically congested road in Srinagar.

Bureaucracy fought him with its customary enthusiasm. He fought back with persistence, honesty and the naive conviction that public infrastructure exists for the public.

Eventually, the road became wider.

He probably slept well that night. I imagine him driving past that stretch with t...