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Economic & Political Weekly EPW october 23, 2010 vol xlv no 43 25

S R Sankaran: In Memoriam

E A S Sarma

S R Sankaran, the retired IAS

ofcer, who died on 7 October

was an extraordinary person

who directly touched the lives

o perhaps tens o thousands o

people. As a civil servant he was

deeply involved over the decades

in the abolition o bonded labour

and empowerment o the adivasis

o Andhra Pradesh. He was also

chie secretary o Tripura and atthe centre he was involved with

some major policy issues such as

the nationalisation o coal in the

1970s. Position and power did not

matter to Sankaran, the rights

o the poor did. Post retirement,

Sankaran remained as active as

beore: he was involved with a

number o peoples organisations,he headed a committee o

concerned citizens to mediate

between the government and the

Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh, he

worked withsafai karmacharis to

abolish this antediluvian practice

and he was generally concerned

with the threat to democratic

rights. Two tributes.

Serukalathur Ramanathan Sankaran

will remain a legend to be remem-bered by the civil servants in the

country, as well as by the people o

Andhra Pradesh. Some o us closely asso-

ciated with him during the last our

decades are yet to reconcile ourselves to

his passing.

During the 30-odd years that he served

the state and the centre as a civil servant

in various capacities, Sankarans home

oered an open shelter to anyone in need

o help and solace. He transcended the

rigid barriers o the civil services to reach

out to the needy, the oppressed and the

deprived. His uprightness, sincerity and

compassion or the poor disarmed politi-

cians, inspired young civil servants and

provided hope and succour to millions o

voiceless people. He was a civil servant

with a dierence. More than that, he was a

sel-eacing human being par excellence.

On 7 October, as soon as news o his

demise spread and on the next day, when

his cremation took place, thousands opeople thronged his residence and then

the crematorium nearby, to see him and

pay respect to him. Among them were

many individuals, dalits, their amilies

and their associates to whom Sankaran

provided comort and support when

needed. There were safai karmacharis

or whose cause he devoted a signifcant

part o his later years. There were many

adivasis or whom he always remained a

ather fgure. There were several handi-

capped persons or whom Sankaran was

the abiding source o hope and help. He

brought up many an orphan, helped him

or her to progress in lie and become

sel-reliant.

As a comparatively junior ofcer in

Andhra pradesh, I always wondered how

Sankaran could cut through the bureau-

cratic jungle o rules and regulations to

come to the help o any young colleague

trying to provide relie to a needy person

or serve the larger public interest. He wasa beacon o hope and a source o inspira-

tion or youngsters like me.

When I was the district collector o

Medak during the 1980s, Sankaran

inspired me and some o my colleagues to

conduct a camp or agricultural workers

to make them aware o their rights and

responsibilities under the various laws, so

as to enable them to resist bonded labour,

untouchability, usurious moneylendingand other such practices. I still remember

Sankaran, who was then secretary (social

welare) in the government o Andhra

Pradesh, unostentatiously mixing with

the agricultural workers, sharing ood

with them and sleeping on the oor

along with them, so as to be able to listen

to their concerns and share their experi-

ences frst hand, more as a riend than

as a senior ofcer o the state govern-

ment. The example he set to all o us at

the camp transormed each one o us into

a Sankaran.

What ollowed rom the Medak camp

was truly a miracle. For the frst time in

the state, we could document a airly

comprehensive register o vil lagewise in-

stances o bondagein at least one district,

Medak. We secured the release o several

agricultural workers rom bondage and

arranged their rehabilitation by provid-

ing them with assistance. Cases were

fled against landlords who were ound re-sponsible or pushing the workers into

orced bondage. In some instances, cases

were fled against those who practised

untouchability. By organising the agricul-

tural workers, it became possible or the

administration to enorce the minimum

wage laws eectively. The camp had a

positive impact on the morale o the agri-

cultural workers all around.

Tribal Welfare

Sankarans contribution to governance in

the tribal areas o the state was pheno-

menal. It was during Sankarans term as

principal secretary (social welare) that we

introduced the single line administration

in the tribal areas. The Integrated Tribal

Development Agencies (ITDAs) became the

nerve centres o administration in their

respective areas. They were empowered

sufciently to be able to eectively address

the problems o the adivasis. Teachers

Training Institutes were set up to groomthe tribals as teachers to provide an impetus

to education. The powers available under

E A S Sarma (eassarma@gmail.com) is a ormer

secretary to the Government o India.

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october 23, 2010 vol xlv no 43 EPW Economic & Political Weekly26

the Fith Schedule o the Constitution

were invoked to enorce maximum reser-

vation or the tribals in appointments to

the posts o teachers, as workers in the

Girijan Cooperative Corporation and in a

ew other departments operating in the

tribal areas o the state. A series o devel-

opment measures that covered education,health, agriculture, animal husbandry and

so on were initiated. Despite their short-

comings, the ITDAs in AP stand out today

as a airly good model o tribal administra-

tion at the national level. Sankarans com-

mitment and personal involvement in all

this acted as the single most important

motivational actor to energise the admini-

stration in the tribal areas.

When Sankaran, along with a ew junior

colleagues, was kidnapped by the Peoples

War Group in the orest areas o East

Godavari district in 1987, the incident let

a lasting impression on his psyche. While

he understood the concerns o the adivasis

better than many others, he was not in

avour o any kind o violence, whether it

was committed by an extremist group,

apparently espousing the cause o the

adivasis, or by the State itsel, ostensibly in

the name o maintaining law and order.

Perhaps this was at the back o his mind

ater his retirement rom the government,

when he undertook the daunting but rus-

trating responsibility o leading a serious

dialogue between the government and

the Maoists during 1997-2002. He took

part in the negotiation process in a highly

assiduous and constructive manner, un-

mindul o his deteriorating health. Theseries o reports released on this dialogue

by the Committee o Concerned Citizens

provide invaluable insights into the prob-

lems o the adivasis and the respective

roles played by the state agencies and the

Maoists in the ongoing struggle in the

tribal areas. These reports clearly show

the relentless eorts made by Sankaran to

resolve the deadlock. Whatever be the

reasons, the outcome o the dialogue

seemed to weigh heavily on Sankarans

mind till his demise.

Chief Secretary of Tripura

Beore the East Godavari incident, Sankaran

had been chosen to head the Lal Bahadur

Shastri National Academy o Administra-

tion at Mussoorie. He was considered an

ideal role model or the young civil servant

trainees at the Academy. However, ater

the East Godavari incident, Sankaran

became controversial overnight in the

eyes o the rulers at Delhi. His assignment

was abruptly cancelled.

When I visited Tripura last year, I met

several residents there recalling Sankarans

stint as chie secretary o the state in the

1980s. I Sankaran had remained a bach-

elor with very ew belongings throughout

his lie, so was Nripen Chakraborty,Tripuras well-remembered chie minister,

whose liestyle was equally simple and

spartan. Sankaran once narrated to me how

Nripen Chakraborty preerred to spend a

night sleeping on an uncovered wooden

bench in the verandah o a ramshackle

single-room rest house in a remote part o

the state, so as not to disturb Sankaran

who had already gone to sleep by then.

Sankarans knowledge o Tripura and its

problems was as comprehensive as his

knowledge o Andhra Pradesh. He was

instrumental in resettling many daily

wage construction workers in the south-

ern part o the erstwhile Bihar, when he

ound that they had been orcibly trans-

ported to Tripura by unethical contractors

and orced to work at low wages, under

subhuman conditions.

When Mohan Kumaramangalam was

minister in charge o mines in the early

1970s, Sankaran assisted him in pushing

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Economic & Political Weekly EPW october 23, 2010 vol xlv no 43 27

through the nationalisation o the coal in-

dustry, which ultimately paved the way

or introducing scientifc practices in min-

ing and bringing about a sea change in the

working conditions o the coal miners.

I had the beneft o working closely

with Sankaran on an expert group consti-

tuted by the Planning Commission a coupleo years ago on Development Challenges

in the Extremist Aected Areas. The

fnal report o the expert group carried

Sankarans imprint. The recommenda-

tions contained in the report have ar-

reaching implications or governance, not

only or the extremist aected areas but

also or the rest o the country. The central

government is yet to act on the fndings o

the Expert Group.

Sankaran was deeply concerned at the

diminishing space or democratic and

human rights in the country. On more

than one occasion, he voiced his distress

at this emerging trend.

Ignored by the Government

Soon ater the Congress government cameto power in Andhra Pradesh, in a letter

dated 18 August 2005, I proposed to the

then chie minister a detailed action pro-

gramme or enorcing the constitutional

rights o the adivasis and or promoting

their well being. In that letter, I suggested

that the state government should take

inputs rom Sankaran on what I had

proposed, as he was located conveniently

in Hyderabad not ar rom the State

secretariat. I grossly underestimated the

distance that existed in reality between

Sankaran and the secretariat. The state

government did not fnd much merit

in what I said then. It did not care to

seek inputs rom Sankaran. I consider it

an irreparable loss or the adivasis o

Andhra Pradesh.Ironically, the same government accorded

state honours to embellish Sankarans

fnal journey. Sankaran himsel would

have disliked any such ritual!

I hope that Sankarans ideas will shape

the civil services o this country or a long

time to come. I hope his vision will one

day inuence the minds o the rulers at

Hyderabad and Delhi. For us, Sankaran

will always remain alive.

An Extraordinary Public Servant

K Subramanian

SR Sankaran was no ordinary person

though he always wished to remain

one. In his position and with his

deep involvement in public aairs, especially

those concerning rural poverty, tribal wel-are and the uplit o weaker sections, it

was an achievement or this extraordinary

person to remain ordinary.

He died on 7 October in his small apart-

ment in Amrutha Hills, Hyderabad. He

died in the same private way in which he

had led his lie while in service and, later,

ater retirement.

What was extraordinary about this

ordinary man? It is true that he had held

several senior posts in the state and

central governments and had also risen in

the hierarchy. It is equally true that he was

an ofcer o the Indian Administrative

Service. Truth to tell, among most ofcers

o that category whom I have come across,

there was none who was less bothered

about the IAS badge than SR. For him,

the opportunities oered by the service

were more important than personal gains

or status. And he did not hesitate to use

them to achieve his objectives. It was not

an easy journey and not many may be

aware o the trials and tribulations he

had to ace.

SimplicitySRwas given to the utmost simplicity and

lived with the barest minimum in lie.

When he came to Delhi in the early 1970s

to take up the position o special assistant

to Mohan Kumaramangalam (MK) who was

the then union steel minister, he landed in

our at. His worldly possessions consisted

o one attach case with a broken latch

and a small box which contained his

clothes. He used to buy books and give

them away to riends ater reading them.

It was later in lie, ater retirement, that

he started collecting books. His books and

document collections in his apartment

were always in a shambles!

He was embarrassed by any show o

ostentation and had the utmost disdain

or consumerism. Even so, he did not wear

his values on his sleeves and make his

riends uneasy about their liestyles. He

could mingle with them with ease without

being aected by their living styles. This

is perhaps detachment in the truest sense.In his early days in North Block in the

fnance ministry, he was spotted as the

only ofcer going about in winter in a

khadi bush shirt, while all o us used to

shiver in our tweed coats. He was known

to say that he would change over to wool-

lens only ater the poor in our country

were provided with warm clothing. (He

did change in later years with age and ill-

ness getting the better o him!)

Nobody who had visited his apartment

in Hyderabad would ever know, unless

told by others, that he was a retired secre-tary to the Government o India. Many

members o that tribe live in palatial bun-

galows or gated luxury condos in Noida

or Gurgaon. Until a year prior to his

retirement, SRdid not have any place o

his own where he could lead a retired lie.

Some o his riends compelled him to sign

on a ew documents and arranged or the

ownership o the apartment and also or

fnancing, through withdrawal rom his

own provident und!

SRs commitment to the causes o the

poor and downtrodden was known rom

the earliest days in service. In Nellore

where he was collector or two terms, the

people continue to worship him. In Tripu-

ra where he was chie secretary or nearly

six years, he became a legend. Along with

Nripen Chakraborty as chie minister he

worked or a orm o humane socialism

which would lit the tribal people to

higher levels o welare. Until SR went

there, there was not one senior ofcer,orget a chie secretary, who had ever

visited the tribal people in their dwellingsK Subramanian (subrabhama@gmail.com)

retired rom the Union Ministry o Finance.