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N N Vohra
PN Haksar passed away a few days ago. The obituary notices have recorded that he was ``among the most outstanding civil servants of the free India''. Undoubtedly, he was an administrator par excellence. However, what may be not so equally well known, he was also an extremely astute diplomat, planner, analyst, thinker and, above all, a humanist imbued with a scientific temperament. Possessed with a profound understanding of the historical factors and forces behind social and political happenings, he viewed the nation's problems with rare insight.
Educated in Sanskrit, Persian, physics, mathematics, anthropology and law, he was inducted into the diplomatic service in 1948 by Jawaharlal Nehru and soon became known for his exceptional ability for resolving intricate issues. Indira Gandhi withdrew him from an ambassadorial assignment in 1967 and appointed Haksar as her secretary; he held this post till his superannuation in 1971. However, soon thereafter, she recalled him from retirement to assist her inhandling the growingly worrisome situation which was developing in Bangaldesh. Haksar served as her Principal Secretary during 1971-73, played a crucial role in dealing with the Bangladesh crisis and, later, in the negotiations leading to the Shimla Agreement.
When Haksar joined the Prime Minister's Secretariat (as it was then called) Indira Gandhi's government enjoyed a tenuous majority and she faced serious challenges on many fronts, including from within her party. In the next few years she emerged as the unquestioned leader of the nation, with an international image. Among the many achievements of her government was the nationalisation of banks, abolition of the privy purses of the princes, far-reaching land reforms, a resounding victory in the Bangladesh war and marked statesmanship in handling the events that followed. In no small manner, it was Haksar's strategic planning which led to these successes.
Haksar was considerably senior to me in age. Though I did not work at Delhi during his time I hadthe opportunity of seeking his advice on many occasions. Among the issues on which I repeatedly sought his comment was the manner in which the extremely adverse impact of manipulative politics on the functioning of the senior bureaucracy could be remedied. Unlike many other well-known administrators, before and after him, Haksar was altogether unwilling to indulge in exciting disclosures. He was averse even to commenting on the influences which led Indira Gandhi to seek the services of ``committed'' officers of doubtful vintage to run government and, in the process, discard him. However, he repeatedly emphasised that the commitment of bureaucracy did not in any way involve subservience to the party in power and that the senior bureaucracy must perforce be fully involved in the serious tasks of nation building, be altogether committed and fully answerable. Haksar was deeply convinced that it was the responsibility of the civil servant to educate the political master to achieve the larger social good.
TheOnion Crisis
Following the British pattern our country has a permanent civil service which enjoys considerable protection. While the public service cadres in the states have been politicised and virtually made defunct, it cannot be said that those who man the senior positions in the Central government are hindered from rendering correct advice and maintaining high integrity. That their overall functioning is inadequate is evidenced by the recent crisis relating to the shortfall and sky-rocketing of onion prices, which became a major political issue in the recent elections.
This episode reflects on the obvious failure of the concerned central bureaucracy in acting promptly and in a fully coordinated manner. From the official accounts so far available it is apparent that the bureaucracy failed to draw any lesson from the onion crop failure in 1997; that timely action was not taken to procure assessments and forecasts of the 1998 harvest, even after the heavy post-monsoon rains this year; that there wasdelay in taking necessary decisions to cancel or defer export commitments and, simultaneously, to finalise time-bound imports. From the reports so far available there is nothing to suggest that the concerned functionaries had timely put up well-considered proposals for policy decisions to contain the problem and that the crisis can be attributed to a lapse at the political level.
There is endless debate about the need to improve service delivery and governmental functioning at all levels. We do not need foreign experts to guide us in such efforts. Much more could be gained, without cost or loss of time, if there is an urgent probe into the gross mismanagement which led to the onion crisis. And this must be followed by the immediate removal of all those who failed in discharging their envisaged roles. While there is urgent need for political functioning being ethical the government cannot deliver unless at least its senior functionaries know their onions.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers(Bombay) Ltd.
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