Based on the autobiography of
P.Sabanayagam I A S (Retd.)- former Chief secretary of Tamil nadu
P.Sabanayagam, the veteran administrator, decided to publish his memoirs only in 2018, thirty eight years after he retired
from IAS because he felt that Governance today does not believe in truly serving
people. By sharing his life story, he
hopes to inspire the younger generation
of administrators to learn about how he handled various challenges in his life
as an administrator.
After a brief career in the Defence services
during World war II, Sabanayagam was
selected to the first batch of Indian Administrative Service at the dawn of
Indian Independence. He witnessed and participated in the change of the old
guard from the British regime to the birth of the fledgling India. A person who
believed that good governance was sine qua non with good administration, a
requisite foundation for nation building. His memoir titled `Service to the Nation` published by
Notion Press, documents his contribution in various walks of government,
spanning 33 years. `A ringside view revealing the working styles, political
acumen, and political compulsions of many historical figures` with whom he had
the privilege of working closely.
******************
Though Sabanayagam
was born on 7th June, 1922, in Chennai, his date of birth in official records is shown
as 15th August,1922, a date
on which he was admitted to Ewart School in Vepery a few years later. He lost his mother when he was
just 3 years old and was brought up by his father, S.Panchanada Mudaliar, a lawyer by profession who later decided to confine his practice to Hindu religious
Endowment Board. He was a great influence on the young Sabanayagam.
After
completing his schooling from Ewart
school he did his B.A degree from Madras Christian College in 1942 scoring the
highest mark and winning the Ross Prize.
Though he enrolled for his Masters, towards the end of the first year he
applied for a commission in the Defence service. In 1942, the World War II was still going on
and Britain was not doing too well. After his initial training at the Officers
Training School MHOW ( near Indore) he was sent to Deolali Artillery School for
a six month course. In June 1944 he became 2nd Lieutenant at the 10th
field regiment at Chindwara, near Jabalpur. Here he learnt the importance of
looking after the physical welfare of the sepoys under him, which experience
was to stand him in good stead in dealing with subordinate staff in later
years. Within sixteen months after
becoming a 2nd Lieutenant he was promoted as a captain, overlooking
nearly eight seniors ( six of them British) which was a record those days.
There were protests. But his boss Col. Gurney`s response in his defence was `if
anyone can fire a barrage within twenty minutes, having trained the crew and
maintained the guns as efficiently as Sabanatyagam did, I will accept the
protest`.
Towards the
end of his stay in the army, `Sabu`, as
he was popularly known among his army colleagues, became one of the two officers selected to
undergo the Long Gunnery Staff Course for one year in UK on condition that he
should accept the Regular Commission. Since he was keen to get into the ICS, as per his father`s wish, he declined the offer.
Sabanayagam was admitted to ICS in March,
1947. Patel who was then the Deputy PM in an interim government before
independence felt that `ICS was neither Indian nor Civil nor service oriented`
and therefore renamed it as All India
Administrative Service, AIAS which was later shortened to IAS. His training
at Metcalfe House, where the ICS training was taking place, was cut short and he and other trainees were put in charge of handling
refugees. It was a risky job in which a couple of his colleagues lost their
lives. In December, 1947, he was sent
to Madras to undergo a year`s district
training.
His first
job was as the Assistant Collector of Coimbatore District. The collector was F
W A Morris ICS, a senior officer, from
whom he learned how to dispose of petitioners who have grievances, how to
preside over meetings and later how to hear criminal appeals as the District
Magistrate. During this period he was also trained as a revenue Inspector in charge
of a firka( about 15 villages)
supervising the work of the Karnams
and village Munsifs.
After working as revenue Inspector for
two months he appeared for a junior
level departmental examination at Madras which he passed and was posted as
Sub-Collector, Pollachi sub-division. It was the beginning of his career as an administrator. Those days
administrators combined the functions of both judiciary & executive.
As a
magistrate he developed the art of always seeing or visualsing the pros and
cons of every issue before coming to a decision. Sabanayagam believes that all ICS/IAS officers who had
worked as magistrates in those early years
had this experience which contributed to the sound decision making
process as they went up the ladder and manned the highest posts. Unfortunately,
with the separation of judiciary and executive functions, the current officers do not have this
opportunity and are poorer to that extent.
Out of the two important incidents when he was
a sub-collector of Pollachi, the VKP
paddy procurement case taught him the importance of taking a stand,
vis-a-vis his superiors including ministers when he was convinced that he was
administratively right and morally above reproach. In the stamp duty case he showed his firmness in upholding the duties of
the court as a young Magistrate, when he refused to change the date of hearing
to suit C.Subramanian, a leading lawyer of Coimbatore and an important politician who was a member
of the constituent assembly which was drafting the constitution of India. Both
these cases brought Sabanayagam to the
limelight in official circles and the public and his reputation as an efficient
and courageous officer who would stand up to challenges went
up.
In 1952, the
First General election was held in India- adult suffrage- every person,
literate or not, was given the right to vote.. Though Congress lost the
election in Madras , Rajaji with support
from M.A Manickavelu Naicker, the leader of the Commonweal party with six MLAs,
was persuaded to form the government and become the Chief Minister. Much against the wishes of the then Chief Secretary,
Rajaji ensured that Sabanayagam became
his Private Secretary . In this position Sabanayagam came in contact with leading politicians,
industrialists, Secretaries to Government, heads of departments and others. He
also had excellent working relationship with Rajaji in whom he found a wise
statesman who was willing to reason even if it came from a level down below or
accept a forthright dissent from even a junior officer so long as such dissent
was bonafide and in public interest. Though he worked with him for only 18 months, Rajaji developed a liking for Sabanayagam.
It was during this period that Sabanayagam married Savithri. Rajaji attended the wedding and blessed the
couple.
During his
brief stay in Salem as its Collector he opened a bridge across the Cauvery
river near Namakkal which had been completed but was waiting to be inaugurated
for several months by a Minister. The
people on both sides of the river became so happy that when he built a guest
house for non-gazetted staff of Salem district, they insisted that it should be
named after him, a recommendation which K.Kamaraj, the then Chief Minister
readily agreed to. The `Sabanayagam Building` exists even today next to the
Collector`s office.
After Salem, Sabha was posted as Deputy
Textile Commissioner, Handloom of India in mid 1955, his first posting in Central Government
Service, with headquarters in Madras. His efforts to actively promote the Handloom sector resulted
in his becoming the Chief Executive of Handloom Export Organisation
(HEO) as a part of the State Trading Corporation. In trying to promote handloom products in
USA, he was seen walking around the streets of New York, carrying bags
containing samples and meeting the textile importers. This sight provoked
Balaraman, who was the correspondent of the Hindu newspaper in New York, to
wonder, `How come an IAS officer who had been a District collector was walking
up and down like an ordinary salesman!` Sabanayagam`s devotion to his job was
once again noticed by people who mattered. His promotion in USA of `Madras Checks`
or `Bleeding Madras` , produced only in
the East coast of India, and how he fought the local competition selling fake products by
getting the brand patented became a well known case study.
Back home in
Chennai, Kamaraj who was the chief minister of Tamil Nadu ( 1955-63) wanted him
to revert to State government in 1961. He
was appointed as Director of Industries in mid 1961 when R.Venkatraman was the
Minister of Industries in the State. During the three years that he was the Director the department grew. More ITIs,
Industrial co-operatives, Industrial estates and many other facilities were
added. He was instrumental in putting up `Ezhilagam` a modern building where
the offices of the Department of Industries was shifted.
Once again it was time to shift back to Delhi. When he was offered the very important and
prestigious position of the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports (CCI &
E) he was reluctant to go because he felt that his old father whom he was looking
after would not be able to go with him. Kamaraj
was very keen that he should take up the position, for his own good and for the
good of the State.
As CCIE
though he came to know Secretaries in Government of India, top industrialists,
film producers, businessmen, heads of public sector companies, he always
maintained social contacts only to the extent to know what people thought about
government policies. When D.S.Patel a businessman from Bombay who was popular
with bureaucrats in Bombay & Delhi shouted at his Controller using impolite
words for not expediting an application pending in the department, he was firm
with Patel that unless he apologized to the officer concerned his application
would not be processed. Sabanayagam believed that no one, however influential
he may be, could browbeat or abuse his subordinates. When the whole office came
to know of this episode, senior people were emboldened to take fair decisions
without fear. When he found that Minister Manubhai Shah expressed lack of trust
in him with reference to an issue concerning Rupee Trade Agreements, he
preferred to resign from the position as CCIE. According to him, `No Matter
what position you hold, whatever the prestige be, if the person above does not
trust or accept your bona fides and does not trust you , there is no point in
working with such a person. Also if a person whom you trust whole heartedly
betrays your trust, there is no point in keeping him; part ways`.
After
spending seven years in Delhi, including a stint with the Steel ministry, Sabanayagam
shifted back to Chennai, on a special request from the then Chief Minister
Karunanidhi. He was appointed the Chairman of the Tami Nadu Electricity Board
with additional responsibility as a
First Member Board of Revenue.
As the
Chairman of T N E B , while his handling of the agitating Worker`s union earned
him the nick name `Saval sabhanayagam`, he was also in trouble with Minister
Madhavan for taking a tough stand against Dharangadhara Chemical, Tuticorin,
challenging their claim for continuing of the concession of lower tariff for
the electricity consumed by them on the ground it was power intensive industry.
In spite of the Minister`s warning he decided to investigate the matter and
recommended only a partial concession. He also advised the Minister to place
the matter before the cabinet and take a decision, so that no one could doubt
the integrity of the government.
According to Sabanayagam ` even in doing the right thing it is necessary
to go through the procedures meticulously so that no one has a handle to even
criticize`. In due course both the Minister and CM appreciated his advice. His
good work earned him the next promotion
in the service of the State government.
While on a
visit to Delhi to follow up on some projects for the EB, he got the news that
CM Karunanidhi, had passed orders removing Royappa and appointed him as the
Chief Secretary. Over looking three other senior officers. The CM also made him
the Vigilance Commissioner as well as a Development Commissioner. With a team
of dedicated subordinates to whom he delegated powers, Sabanayagam had no
problem in managing not only the three
prestigious positions in Government but also functioning as the Chairman of
Southern Structurals Ltd and the Dairy Board.
` I
continued my open door policy. Secretaries and Heads of departments could meet
me easily. I would occasionally walk around the sections and see the clerks and
peons in the Secretariat working as I used to early in my career as Under
Secretary. Since I had been with Rajaji and close to Kamaraj and thought to be
relation of M.Bhaktavatsalalm, the DMK ministers could not but think that I was
congress aligned. `
Once at the
airport when both Kamaraj and Karunanidhi were travelling to Delhi, he went up
to Kamaraj, wished him and spoke to him. When his detractors tried to give a
political colour to this incident it seems Karunanidhi remarked `Sabanayagam
always remembers and is courteous to old friends`. As Chief Secretary he had
excellent rapport with CM Karunanidhi and all ministers.
At Tamil
Nadu Dairy Development Corporation when he wanted a brand name for the milk being
sold by the Corporation, it was Karunanidhi who suggested the name `Aavin`. As
Vigilance Commissioner he was responsible for ordering the arrest of Mayor
Munuswamy of the DMK in the famous `Muster Roll Scandal` in the Corporation of
Madras when he found that the Mayor was responsible for creating fictitious
muster rolls & bills and appropriating money. When Karunanaidhi was upset
with him for taking action against a party man without consulting him, he explained to the CM
that he had taken the action only to save his name and reputation of the party and
offered to resign if his decision was
not acceptable to the CM. `This was the second time I offered to resign than
give up my principles and morals`.
After a five
year term as Chief Secretary, in 1976 he was posted as Secretary,
Rehabilitation in Government of India, in charge of refugees. When Morarji Desai
became the Prime minister he was shifted to Department of Education &
Culture which also comprised sports, Archeology,
Museums and technical education. Morarji Desai had a reputation of being harsh,
dictatorial and vindictive. Sabanayagam differs. ` Morarji Desai was sincere
and honest in views. He had no time for inefficiency. If anyone had a
reasonable argument and was prepared to put it forth strongly, he would
listen.`
It was
during his term in the Department of Education, that the Distance Education
Programme was drawn up and Annamalai University in the
South became the first to implement the programme. When Janata party was
defeated in the General Election in January,1980 and Indira Gandhi again became
the PM, an opportunity for Sabanayagam to become the much coveted Cabinet
Secretary came up. Unfortunately Indira
Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi considered him as a DMK man. Besides he refused
to curry favours from the likes
of R.K.Dhawan the Private Secretary to Indira Gandhi. He lost the post to
Grewal. Though he was disappointed, he
took the rejection philosophically. Sabanayagam retired from the IAS on 30th
August 1980 ending his official career in the service of the Government of
India.
Sabanayagam`s advice to the young officers is ` As an
officer you don`t have to always submit to the Minister`s orders but can
and should dissuade him in his own
interest and in the public interest. If he still persists, then you have no
alternative but record your objection and then carry out his orders. The danger
that you will be transferred is one you should be prepared for, but not worry.
…. Never sell your conscience. Officers who have compromised have always been forced to face charges later in life.`
Edited version of this article has appeared in the Madras Musings issue
dated 1-15th January,2020.
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