Opinion Arjun Singh,the CM
A view from the district administration.
For my generation of IAS officers in Madhya Pradesh,Arjun Singh was among the tallest of political leaders in the last 30 years. I first met him in 1980,a few months after he became the chief minister. He was visiting Peetambara Peeth,a temple in Datia district. I took him around,explaining the background of the Peeth and the story of the saint whose seat it had been. I noticed he whispered something to the DIG (Intelligence) accompanying him,who later told me that he was wondering how a Muslim knew so much of the Peeth and its traditions! In the years that followed,I had the opportunity of working in MP while he was CM and of maintaining a degree of social contact till his passing away.
Arjun Singh began his tenure as CM with a challenge to the dacoits of the Chambal ravines. At that time I was posted as collector and district magistrate of Datia,a district faced with the dacoity menace. Detailed joint operations were executed by the MP and UP administrations,and in a span of four years,the dread was gone with most gangs either being eliminated or having surrendered. The CM was in personal contact with the collectors and the SPs,hearing them out (he always listened more than he spoke),making bureaucratic changes wherever required and encouraging and applauding each success. This was a motivated boss who cheered his players from a premier box seat that was located in the middle of the field.
In 1981,he posted me as collector of Raipur. Sumit Bose,the current disinvestment secretary,was the private secretary to the CM then,and he has an amusing story on this posting. Arjun Singh wished to reward me with a good posting. He indicated that he would post me to Sidhi,his home district and constituency,as a recognition of my work. Bose,with just five years of service and all the impulsiveness of youth,said: Sir,Sidhi would hardly be a reward for his good work. That settled the issue,and I was sent off to Raipur,one of the more important district postings.
In his first visit to Raipur after I had assumed charge,he quietly told me,Najeeb sahib,I hope you understand the enormous responsibility you now carry towards the underprivileged and the tribals of this district.
During my three-year stay in Raipur,he was always available on the phone,hearing me out,advising with the minimum of words,assuring of government help on all occasions. Two things he was clear about. There would not be communal rioting under his watch and the district administrations would remain singularly sensitive towards the poor. I remember a tense communal situation in Raipur when a baba passed away,with both Hindus and Muslims making a claim over him. Arjun Singh was clear on the course we were to follow. His sources had told him that this could be an issue for considerable discontent and we should be clear that if there had to be a clash,it should only be between the police and protesters of a community,not between the two communities. When the Adivasis of Dhamtari and Nagri (north Bastar) marched to Raipur,claiming harassment at the hands of forest and revenue officials,Arjun Singh called me to Bhopal. The right of the Adivasi over his land must be respected and issues pertaining to ownership,cultivation and social customs looked at with sensitivity.
I remained in touch with him,albeit frugally,over the 1990s and this last decade. My last meeting with him upset him and I now wish it had ended differently. He had written a letter to the PM advising against granting minority status to Jamia Millia Islamia. While I had nothing against this view,the words purportedly coming from him as reported in the press caused consternation. He reportedly said that making Jamia a minority institution would take away its secular character. I sought time to see him and said I was surprised that he,above all,should feel that if any institution had 50 per cent Muslims,it would not remain secular. He seemed surprised and asked me whether I knew the history of Jamia,and that it was set up on the bedrock of nationalism and secularism. We remained quiet for a while but when I looked up I saw him looking at me with moist eyes. I looked away,and with a quiet namaste bade goodbye.
The other day,as I stood next to his body,my eyes were moist. Whatever his views,policies or politics,he was a big man and,in his passing away,Indian politics is a loser.
The writer,a former IAS officer,is vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia,Delhi
express@expressindia.com
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