‘Tallest among all’ for IAS fraternity, TSR Subramanian, a public policy student-expert for India

Thirumanilaiyur Sitapati Ramana “TSR” Subramanian died on Monday morning. He was 79. The 1961-batch IAS officer was the Union Cabinet Secretary from August 1996 to March 1998. “Shri TSR Subramanian distinguished himself as an outstanding civil servant. He also left a mark with his prolific writings and interventions on important public causes. Saddened by his demise. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

Calling him the “tallest amongst all” officers, the IAS Association tweeted, “Extremely shocked to hear. of the demise of TSR Subramanian. He was the tallest amongst all and is a big loss for the IAS fraternity and the nation. Deepest condolences to all family members. We hope and pray that your ideas and thoughts will continue to guide us.”
Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Anil Swarup, tweeted: “Bichde sab bari bari (all left one by one). One of the most outstanding officer T S R Subramanian is no more. Rest in Peace.”

Shri TSR Subramanian distinguished himself as an outstanding civil servant. He also left a mark with his prolific writings and interventions on important public causes. Saddened by his demise. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) February 26, 2018

An Uttar Pradesh-cadre IAS, Subramanian served as the state’s Chief Secretary between 1992 and 1994 in between stints at the Centre, including as Textiles Secretary in the 1990s when the government recommended Genetically Modified (GM) variety of cotton for cultivation — a decision he publicly regretted some two decades later.

As Cabinet Secretary, Subramanian helmed and anchored Indian bureaucracy during the tumultuous years of coalition politics at the Centre. Unstable coalition governments made the top-most bureaucrat serve three Prime Ministers: H D Deve Gowda, I K Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s initial stint.

Former Vice President Hamid Ansari and former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit at Lodhi crematorium on Monday. Praveen Jain

Even after retirement, his voice continued to call out important public policy interventions through regular newspaper columns, including in The Indian Express, and subsequently TV news debates on topics such as the education sector, corruption and other matters of public policy. “I would be very worried about a corporate man coming in and wrecking the system for two years and going away. It would take our legal system 30 years to convict him. So these are the kinds of misuse we have to guard against,” he said during a debate on Rajya Sabha TV last July while discussing the proposed lateral entry into civil services from the private sector.

Born in 1938 in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, Subramanian went to Calcutta University to pursue Masters in Mathematics and then to London to study at Imperial College. A keen student of public policy, he completed a degree in Public Administration at Harvard University later.

Always a champion of the independence of bureaucracy, Subramanian is said to have played a key role which culminated in the Supreme Court delivering a landmark verdict in 2013, saying civil servants were not forced to act upon verbal instructions of the political masters. The apex court also ordered the Centre and states to pass orders on giving fixed tenure to civil servants.

Subramanian was among the 82 former bureaucrats who had signed that petition. Prayer ceremony for Subramanian will be held at Chinamaya Mission, Lodhi Road, in the national capital between 11 am and noon on Wednesday.