Pushed over the precipice

It is here that the impact of the tragedy of the bright 39-year-old IAS officer Sunil Kumar Agarwal, who jumped to his death last week, is felt the most. Shivram and Siddiqui still look bewildered by the extreme step that their boss took.

On the other hand, bureaucrats and technocrats Agarwal8217;s 8220;esteemed8221; colleagues accept his suicide with either nonchalance or despondency, depending on their resoluteness for survival. Those who have internalised the formula for eternal professional bliss believe Agarwal was someone who was maladjusted, non-obliging,vain and reclusive. Agarwal, they believe, was felled by a venal and apathetic political class which has utmost contempt for professionalism and commitment and this is what pushed him over the precipice. Not surprisingly, there are several versions of the circumstances that led to Agarwal8217;s suicide.

One of the youngest officers in the service in his time he was 22 when he cleared the UPSC exam in 1982, and super-qualified with a management degree from Ahmedabad8217;s IIM and a masters8217; from the London School of Economics, Agarwal8217;s initial postings in the dusty districts of Uttar Pradesh were routine. He did an honest and straightforward job, discarding the trappings of an imperial bureaucracy.

But as a senior colleague recalls, the brilliant officer was already beginning to show signs of stress and strain by the late 8217;80s itself. 8220;I think he suffered from manic depression and he would have come to the same end in any other job,8221; says the officer matter-of-factly. 8220;For instance, Agarwal was districtmagistrate in Faizabad around 8217;87-8217;88,8221; says the officer. 8220;This was when Uttar Pradesh politics was being turned on its head for the first time, what with Mandal and mandir.

In a law and order situation, it is the DM and police who are crucial, but Agarwal would sit at home in a crisis saying he did not feel like going to the scene,8221; he says bitingly. 8220;Again, last year, as commissioner of Devi Pattan a new district in Gonda, Agarwal took two days8217; leave when the Governor arrived to address the divisional meeting. It was frowned upon because it is the commissioner who conducts the meeting.8221;

However, there is a roar of protest against claims that Agarwal suffered from a personality disorder and there are many who firmly pin the blame on the corrupt, sycophantic, criminalised political system for driving the young officer to despair and death. UP8217;s politics in the 8217;90s has been marked by sharp caste divisions, instability, unconcealed greed and ambition.

And the largely fawning bureaucracy has beenever-willing to play the game. It was Agarwal8217;s misfortune, they say, that he did not belong to any caste group, nor did he align himself with any politician, or the various cartels within the bureaucracy. It was a recipe for disaster. 8220;Agarwal and I were colleagues in the Khadi Gram Udyog in the mid-8217;90s,8221; says another colleague, several years his senior. 8220;He was excitable and was fired by a zeal to do something good. But soon, I saw him get more and more desperate as he tried to get some semblance of order in the Gram.8221;

Agarwal faced unsurmountable difficulties there he was puzzled by the staff which was highly politicised and worked on its own terms, and to top it, the Khadi Board was crammed with non-official appointees, including politicians and their devotees who freely dipped into the multi-crore budget to distribute among favourites without fear.

8220;Agarwal worked very hard, preparing project and feasibility reports, following up on audits and accounts, much to the distress of the politicalclass. In fact, he had great plans for the Gram and he persisted hard. But he didn8217;t show any signs of breaking down,8221; says the official.

8220;Instead, he told us that to survive, one has to have a positive attitude to help find a way out in moments of disappointment and defeat and, two, that it was important to do the right thing8230;to be logical, to let the head rule over the heart. It is ironical that he became a victim in the end,8221; he says sadly.

That Agarwal survived in Khadi Gram Udyog for two years stupefied many. He shook the structure and upset many plans, and it was not long before the system hit back 8212; an additional chief executive was appointed to the board, reportedly on the express orders of the Governor and allegedly to cut Agarwal to size.

Agarwal who was shunted out as Commissioner, Devi Pattan, on a promotion that came conveniently on time. Colleagues say Agarwal began suffering from anxiety attacks, withdrew into a shell and began hurtling towards a breakdown in the past couple ofyears. Stories about his 8220;instability8221; abound, from the ridiculous to the sublime 8212; that he would toss a coin to decide which office to go to, the field or government headquarters and would sometimes drive off to the countryside to read a book under a tree.

Or the time when as DM of Uttarkashi, he was so moved by the plight of earthquake victims and the callousness of the administration that one day, he literally tore the clothes off his back and began handing them over to the poor.

More recently at Devi Pattan, which witnessed a severe flood, he walked out of a meeting convened by Chief Minister Kalyan Singh on the flood situation in protest against inadequate relief.

He was immediately transferred as Secretary, Revenue, Lucknow, though state government sources allege that all his postings in the past two years were done on his specific request.

Since 1997, Agarwal has spent only six-seven months in any post he was special secretary, Higher Education; then secretary, Industrial Development;commissioner, Devi Pattan; secretary, Revenue; and finally, secretary, Land Development, an appointment just three days8217; old, when he was asked to go on leave.

Five days later, he jumped off the terrace of his wife8217;s family home in Durg, Madhya Pradesh. It was a cold and abrupt end to a short and tormented life.