India’s Bureaucrats – Character Vs Servility!

(Courtesy:  e-mail from Brig PT Gangadharan (Retd))

ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A TOTAL ABSENCE OF ANY MENTION IN OUR MEDIA OF THE 37TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE IMPOSITION OF INTERNAL EMERGENCY IN INDIA (25 JUNE 1975), AND PERHAPS, NO BODY WOULD EVEN LIKE TO RECALL THIS ONE OF THE SADDEST EPISODES POST - INDEPENDENCE, PARTICULARLY THOSE BORN IN SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES WHO MIGHT NOT EVEN CARE TO KNOW ABOUT THIS MOST DEMOCRATIC AND DRACONIAN ERA, YET, AN EMAIL WAS QUITE AN EYE OPENER VIS -A- VIS THE CURRENT SCENARIO, AND WORTH SHARING.

               HAVE A LOOK AT WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE "TALWAR AMENDMENT", AS DESCRIBED BY T N NINAN: 

An important vignette about those days has come out, in a booklet written by N Vaghul to honour the memory of R K Talwar, the trail-blazing chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) from 1969 until his abrupt departure in 1976, at the height of the Emergency. The vignette that deserves a wider audience relates to Talwar’s ouster.

               Mr Vaghul, who started his own distinguished banking career in SBI, recalls that a cement company to which the bank had given a loan became “sick”, with mounting losses. Seeing that the problem was mismanagement, the bank agreed to a restructuring package provided the company’s promoter, also its chairman and CEO, made way for a professional. The promoter happened to be a friend of Sanjay Gandhi.

Sanjay called the finance minister (who, though unnamed, was C Subramaniam; Pranab  Mukherjee was nominally under him as minister for revenue and banking), and asked him to direct the bank to waive the condition on change of management. The minister phoned Talwar, who called for the details of the case, satisfied himself, and informed the minister that the condition could not be waived.

The minister summoned Talwar to Delhi and told him that he had instructions from “the highest authority” in the country. Talwar stood his ground. This was communicated to Sanjay, who called for Talwar. Talwar refused to meet him, saying he had no constitutional authority. Sanjay’s response was swift: Sack Talwar.  

This was easier ordered than done, because under the State Bank of India Act the chairman could not be removed without sufficient cause. So the minister offered Talwar a different assignment, to chair the proposed Banking Commission. Talwar said he would accept and could do that in addition to being the SBI chairman. The minister looked unhappy, so Talwar observed that the minister seemed to be “very particular” that Talwar not continue as the bank chairman.  

The minister admitted that the problem was Talwar’s lack of flexibility on the cement company issue, and said that if he did not resign, he would have to be dismissed. Talwar said he had no intention of resigning, and the minister could decide on dismissal. As Mr Vaghul tells it, Sanjay next asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to look for grounds on which Talwar could be dismissed.  

It turned out that Talwar had sent appeals to many businessmen, seeking donations for the Auroville project to which he was devoted. But no businessman was willing to testify that Talwar had spoken to him or tried to persuade him to make a donation. All that he had done was to forward an appeal signed by the prime minister and the secretary-general of the United Nations (U Thant), recommending the Auroville project for support. The CBI was forced to close the case.

Sanjay now lost all patience, and told the minister to amend the SBI Act so that Talwar could be dismissed without stating the reason. With opposition leaders in jail, Parliament rubber-stamped the Act’s amendment in no time. The minister told Talwar one final time that if he did not resign he would be dismissed. Talwar remained defiant. Finally, on August 4, 1976, Talwar was given 13 months’ leave and asked to hand over charge to the managing director of the bank. Even after arming itself with the required powers, the government could not bring itself to sack Talwar. 

Mr Vaghul records that there was hardly anyone to see off SBI’s greatest chairman that evening, so great was the atmosphere of fear at the time.

UNQUOTE

....AND, ALTHOUGH A LOT OF WATER HAS SINCE GONE DOWN THE GANGES, YET IT IS TIME TO COMPARE THE CURRENT CONDITIONS...

HOW MANY SUCH MEN AND WOMEN COULD BE COUNTED ON FINGERS WHO COULD ACTUALLY STAND UP AND SAY "NO, IT IS WRONG, IT SHALL NOT BE COMPLIED WITH "?

ON THE OTHER HAND, HAVE A LOOK AT THE LATEST FROM THE INDIAN EXPRESS, EXPOSED IN SERIES OF ARTICLES THIS WEEK, IF MISSED BY YOU.

IT IS TALKING ABOUT: Indians Always in Service!

THERE ARE A WHOLE LOT OF BUREAUCRATS & ADMINISTRATORS, WHO KNOW HOW TO MANAGE FIXING THEIR POST-RETIREMENT POSITIONS.  THEY SERVED, SERVED AND STILL SERVING.....

THEY MUST HAVE MASTERED THE ART OF CONTINUING TO SERVE !

(THIS STATUS IS  AS ON : 30 JUNE 2012).

OF COURSE, SOME OF THEM MIGHT BE GENUINE NEEDS OF THE NATION, AND HIGHLY INDISPENSABLE, UNDOUBTEDLY.

Served, still serving...

Indians Always in Service

Part 1 S U Tripathi  Retired from: IFS             Became: Member, UPSC

 P K Mishra   Retired from: IAS, UP                   Became: Member, UPSC

 Vijay Singh   Retired from: IAS, MP                 Became: Member, UPSC

 Alka Sirohi .Retired from: IAS, MP                   Became: Member, UPSC

 Rajni Razdan Retired from: IAS, Haryana      Became: Member, UPSC

K K Paul Retired from: IPS, UT                          Became: Member, UPSC

 I M G Khan Retired from: IPoS                          Became: Member, UPSC

B K Chaturvedi  Retired from: IAS, UP            Became: Member, Planning Commission

 Wajahat Habibullah Retired from: IAS, J&K  Became: Chairman, National Commission for Minorities

H T Sangliana Retired from: IPS, Karnataka  Became: Vice Chairman, National Commission for Minorities

K N Daruwala Retired from: IPS                      Became: Member, National Commission for Minorities

 M K Narayanan Retired from: IPS, TN            Became: Governor, West Bengal

 E S L Narasimhan Retired from: IPS, AP        Became: Governor, Andhra Pradesh

Shekhar Dutta Retired from: IAS, MP             Became: Governor, Chhattisgarh

B V Wanchoo Retired from: IPS, WB               Became: Governor, Goa

N N Vohra Retired from: IAS, Punjab              Became: Governor, Jammu and Kashmir

Gurbachan Jagat Retired from: IPS, Punjab  Became: Governor, Manipur

 R S Mooshahary Retired from: IPS, Kerala    Became: Governor, Meghalaya

 Nikhil Kumar Retired from: IPS, UT                 Became: Governor, Nagaland

 Balmiki Prasad Singh Retired from: IAS,        Became: Governor, Sikkim

 B L Joshi Retired from: IPS, Rajasthan            Became: Governor, Uttar Pradesh

Tejendra Khanna Retired from: IAS, Punjab    Became: Lt Governor, Delhi

Satyanand Mishra Retired from: IAS, MP        Became: Chief Information Commissioner, CIC

 Vijay Sharma Retired from: IAS, UP                Became: Information Commissioner, CIC

Rajiv Mathur Retired from: IPS, UP                 Became: Information Commissioner, CIC

 M L Sharma Retired from: IPS, Rajasthan      Became: Information Commissioner, CIC

 Deepak Sandhu Retired from: IIS                     Became: Information Commissioner, CIC

Sushma Singh Retired from: IAS, Jharkhand  Became: Information Commissioner, CIC

 T Nand Kumar Retired from: IAS, Jharkhand  Became: Member, NDMA

 Jyoti K Sinha Retired from: IPS, Bihar             Became: Member, NDMA

K M Singh Retired from: IPS, Maharashtra     Became: Member, NDMA

 Pramod Deo Retired from: IAS                           Became: Chairman, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission

M Deena Dayalam Retired from: IAAS             Became: Member, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission

Lakshmi Chand Retired from: IAS, UP            Became: Member, National Commission for 

                                                                                                  Denotified, Semi- NOMADIC Tribes

Dr Anupam Dasgupta RetdIAS, Maha.           Became: Member, National Consumer Disputes

                                                                                                  Reddressal Commission

S K Naik Retired from: IAS, Punjab                Became: Member, National Consumer Disputes -do-

Vineeta Rai Retired from: IAS, UT                  Became: Member, National Consumer Disputes -do-

 Vinay Kumar Retired from: IAS, Karnataka  Became: Member, National Consumer Disputes -do-

Suresh Chandra Retired iAS, Maha.                Became: Member, National Consumer Disputes -do-

P L Punia Retired from: IAS, UP                      Became: Chairman, National Commission for SC

 Rameshwar OraonRetired  IPS, J'khand       Became: Chairman, National Commission for ST

 S S N Murthy Retired from: IRS                      Became: Member, Securities Appellate Tribunal

 P K Malhotra Retired from: ILS                       Became: Member, Securities Appellate Tribunal

 S Krishnan Retired from: IAS, Utt'khand      Became: Chairman, Petroleum and Natural Gas

                                                                                                 Regulatory Board

Yashwant S Bhave Retired IAS,Mahara.      Became: Chairman, Airports Economic Regulatory

                                                                                              Authority

Prakash ChandChhotAray Retired  IRS       Became: Member, SEBI

 P K Ghosh Retired from: IAS, Gujarat           Became: Member, Advisory Committee on SEBI Investors’

                                                                                               Protection and Education

 Rani Jadhao Retired from: IAS,Mahara.       Became: Chairman, Tariff Authority on Major Ports

Pradeep Kumar Retired from: IAS, Hary.     Became: Chief Vigilance Commissioner, CVC

R Srikumar Retired from: IPS, TN                  Became: Vigilance Commissioner, CVC

J Hari Narayan Retired from: IAS, TN           Became: Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and

                                                                                                Development Authority

Satyabrata Pal Retired from: IFS                   Became: Member, NHRC

P C Sharma Retired from: IPS                         Became: Member, NHRC

P K Rastogi Retired from: IAS, AP                  Became: Member, TDSAT

Nirmal Singh Retired from: IAS, TN               Became: Chairman, BIFR

Y K Gaiha,Retired from: IRS                            Became: Member, BIFR

Saroj Bala Retired from: IRS                           Became: Member, BIFR

Ashok Chawla Retired from: IAS, Gujarat    Became: Chairman, Competition Commission of India

H C Gupta Retired from: IAS, UP                    Became: Member, Competition Commission of India

Anurag Goel Retired from: IAS, UP                Became: Member, Competition Commission of India

 R Prasad Retired from: IRS                             Became: Member, Competition Commission of India

M L Tayal Retired from: IAS, Haryana          Became: Member, Competition Commission of India

Rahul Khullar Retired from: IAS, UT              Became: Chairman, TRAI

Rajinder Pal Singh Retired from: IAS, AP     Became: Chairman, NHAI

 Ajay Shankar Retired from: IAS, UP              Became: Member Secretary, National Mfacturing Compet Council

Shailendra Pandey Retired from: IAAS         Became: Member (Admin), CAT

Veena Chhotray Retired from: IAS, Bihar     Became: Member (A), CAT

R C Panda Retired from: IAS, Tamil Nadu     Became: Member (A), CAT

Sudhir Kumar Retired from: IAS, Karnat.      Became: Member (A), CAT

D C Lakha Retired from: IAS, UP                     Became: Member (A), CAT

Jayati Chandra Retired from: IAS, UP           Became: Member (A), CAT

R C Joshi Retired from: IAS, Maharashtra    Became: Member (A), CAT

Shankar Prasad Retired from: IAS, Bihar      Became: Member (A), CAT

 Champak Chatterjee Retired from: IAS, TN   Became: Member (A), CAT

R Bandopadhyaya Retired from: IAS, W B     Became: Member (A), CAT

 Khushiram Retired from: IAS, MP                    Became: Member (A), CAT

 Promila Issar Retired from: IAS, Haryana     Became: Member (A), CAT

 R Satapathy Retired from: IAS, Tamil Nadu   Became: Member (A), CAT

K George Joseph Retired from: IAS, Gujarat  Became: Member (A), CAT

Ranbir Singh Retired from: IAS, MP                  Became: Member (A), CAT