COMMENTARY

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
of perhaps tens of thousands of
people. As a civil servant he was
deeply involved over the decades
in the abolition of bonded labour
and empowerment of the adivasis
of Andhra Pradesh. He was also
chief secretary of Tripura and at
the centre he was involved with
some major policy issues such as
the nationalisation of coal in the
1970s. Position and power did not
matter to Sankaran, the rights
of the poor did. Post retirement,
Sankaran remained as active as
before: he was involved with a
number of peoples organisations,
he headed a committee of
concerned citizens to mediate
between the government and the
Naxalites in Andhra Pradesh, he
worked with safai karmacharis to
abolish this antediluvian practice
and he was generally concerned
with the threat to democratic
rights. Two tributes.
S
erukalathur Ramanathan Sankaran
will remain a legend to be remem-
bered by the civil servants in the
country, as well as by the people of
Andhra Pradesh. Some of us closely asso-
ciated with him during the last four
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
offered an open shelter to anyone in need
of help and solace. He transcended the
rigid barriers of the civil services to reach
out to the needy, the oppressed and the
deprived. His uprightness, sincerity and
compassion for the poor disarmed politi-
cians, inspired young civil servants and
provided hope and succour to millions of
voiceless people. He was a civil servant
with a difference. More than that, he was a
self-effacing human being par excellence.
On 7 October, as soon as news of his
demise spread and on the next day, when
his cremation took place, thousands of
people thronged his residence and then
the crematorium nearby, to see him and
pay respect to him. Among them were
many individuals, dalits, their families
and their associates to whom Sankaran
provided comfort and support when
needed. There were safai karmacharis
for whose cause he devoted a signicant
part of his later years. There were many
adivasis for whom he always remained a
father gure. There were several handi-
capped persons for whom Sankaran was
the abiding source of hope and help. He
brought up many an orphan, helped him
or her to progress in life and become
self-reliant.
As a comparatively junior ofcer in
Andhra pradesh, I always wondered how
Sankaran could cut through the bureau-
cratic jungle of rules and regulations to
come to the help of any young colleague
trying to provide relief to a needy person
or serve the larger public interest. He was
a beacon of hope and a source of inspira-
tion for youngsters like me.
When I was the district collector of
Medak during the 1980s, Sankaran
inspired me and some of my colleagues to
conduct a camp for agricultural workers
to make them aware of their rights and
responsibilities under the various laws, so
as to enable them to resist bonded labour,
untouchability, usurious moneylending
and other such practices. I still remember
Sankaran, who was then secretary (social
welfare) in the government of Andhra
Pradesh, un ostentatiously mixing with
the agricultural workers, sharing food
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 rst hand, more as a friend than
as a senior ofcer of the state govern-
ment. The example he set to all of us at
the camp transformed each one of us into
a Sankaran.
What followed from the Medak camp
was truly a miracle. For the rst time in
the state, we could document a fairly
comprehensive register of villagewise in-
stances of bondage in at least one district,
Medak. We secured the release of several
agricultural workers from bondage and
arranged their rehabilitation by provid-
ing them with assistance. Cases were
led against landlords who were found re-
sponsible for pushing the workers into
forced bondage. In some instances, cases
were led against those who practised
untouchability. By organising the agricul-
tural workers, it became possible for the
administration to enforce the minimum
wage laws effectively. The camp had a
positive impact on the morale of the agri-
cultural workers all around.
Tribal Welfare
Sankarans contribution to governance in
the tribal areas of the state was pheno-
menal. It was during Sankarans term as
principal secretary (social welfare) that we
introduced the single line administration
in the tribal areas. The Integrated Tribal
Development Agencies (ITDAs) became the
nerve centres of administration in their
respective areas. They were empowered
sufciently to be able to effectively address
the problems of the adivasis. Teachers
Training Institutes were set up to groom
the tribals as teachers to provide an impetus
to education. The powers available under
E A S Sarma (eassarma@gmail.com) is a former
secretary to the Government of India.
COMMENTARY
october 23, 2010 vol xlv no 43 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
26
the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution
were invoked to enforce maximum reser-
vation for the tribals in appointments to
the posts of teachers, as workers in the
Girijan Cooperative Corporation and in a
few other departments operating in the
tribal areas of the state. A series of 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 fairly good model of tribal administra-
tion at the national level. Sankarans com-
mitment and personal involvement in all
this acted as the single most important
motivational factor to energise the admini-
stration in the tribal areas.
When Sankaran, along with a few junior
colleagues, was kidnapped by the Peoples
War Group in the forest areas of East
Godavari district in 1987, the incident left
a lasting impression on his psyche. While
he understood the concerns of the adivasis
better than many others, he was not in
favour of any kind of violence, whether it
was committed by an extremist group,
apparently espousing the cause of the
adivasis, or by the State itself, ostensibly in
the name of maintaining law and order.
Perhaps this was at the back of his mind
after his retirement from the government,
when he undertook the daunting but frus-
trating responsibility of 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-
mindful of his deteriorating health. The
series of reports released on this dialogue
by the Com mittee of Concerned Citizens
provide invaluable insights into the prob-
lems of 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 efforts made by Sankaran to
resolve the deadlock. Whatever be the
reasons, the outcome of the dialogue
seemed to weigh heavily on Sankarans
mind till his demise.
Chief Secretary of Tripura
Before the East Godavari incident, Sankaran
had been chosen to head the Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of Administra-
tion at Mussoorie. He was considered an
ideal role model for the young civil servant
trainees at the Academy. However, after
the East Godavari incident, Sankaran
became controversial overnight in the
eyes of the rulers at Delhi. His assignment
was abruptly cancelled.
When I visited Tripura last year, I met
several residents there recalling Sankarans
stint as chief secretary of the state in the
1980s. If Sankaran had remained a bach-
elor with very few belongings throughout
his life, so was Nripen Chakraborty,
Tripuras well-remembered chief minister,
whose lifestyle was equally simple and
spartan. Sankaran once narrated to me how
Nripen Chakraborty preferred to spend a
night sleeping on an uncovered wooden
bench in the verandah of a ramshackle
single-room rest house in a remote part of
the state, so as not to disturb Sankaran
who had already gone to sleep by then.
Sankarans knowledge of Tripura and its
problems was as comprehensive as his
knowledge of Andhra Pradesh. He was
instrumental in resettling many daily
wage construction workers in the south-
ern part of the erstwhile Bihar, when he
found that they had been forcibly trans-
ported to Tripura by unethical contractors
and forced to work at low wages, under
sub human conditions.
When Mohan Kumaramangalam was
minister in charge of mines in the early
1970s, Sankaran assisted him in pushing
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COMMENTARY
Economic & Political Weekly EPW october 23, 2010 vol xlv no 43
27
through the nationalisation of the coal in-
dustry, which ultimately paved the way
for introducing scientic practices in min-
ing and bringing about a sea change in the
working conditions of the coal miners.
I had the benet of working closely
with Sankaran on an expert group consti-
tuted by the Planning Commission a couple
of years ago on Development Challenges
in the Extremist Affected Areas. The
nal report of the expert group carried
Sankarans imprint. The recommenda-
tions contained in the report have far-
reaching implications for governance, not
only for the extremist affected areas but
also for the rest of the country. The central
government is yet to act on the ndings of
the Expert Group.
Sankaran was deeply concerned at the
diminishing space for 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 after the Congress government came
to power in Andhra Pradesh, in a letter
dated 18 August 2005, I proposed to the
then chief minister a detailed action pro-
gramme for enforcing the constitutional
rights of the adivasis and for promoting
their well being. In that letter, I suggested
that the state government should take
inputs from Sankaran on what I had
proposed, as he was located conveniently
in Hyderabad not far from the State
secretariat. I grossly underestimated the
distance that existed in reality between
Sankaran and the secretariat. The state
government did not nd much merit
in what I said then. It did not care to
seek inputs from Sankaran. I consider it
an irreparable loss for the adivasis of
Andhra Pradesh.
Ironically, the same government accorded
state honours to embellish Sankarans
nal journey. Sankaran himself would
have disliked any such ritual!
I hope that Sankarans ideas will shape
the civil services of this country for a long
time to come. I hope his vision will one
day inuence the minds of the rulers at
Hyderabad and Delhi. For us, Sankaran
will always remain alive.
An Extraordinary Public Servant
K Subramanian
S
R Sankaran was no ordinary person
though he always wished to remain
one. In his position and with his
deep involvement in public affairs, especially
those concerning rural poverty, tribal wel-
fare and the uplift of weaker sections, it
was an achievement for 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 life while in service and, later,
after 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 of the Indian Administrative
Service. Truth to tell, among most ofcers
of that category whom I have come across,
there was none who was less bothered
about the IAS badge than SR. For him,
the opportunities offered 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 of the trials and tribulations he
had to face.
Simplicity
SR was given to the utmost simplicity and
lived with the barest minimum in life.
When he came to Delhi in the early 1970s
to take up the position of special assistant
to Mohan Kumaramangalam (MK) who was
the then union steel minister, he landed in
our at. His worldly possessions consisted
of 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 friends after reading them.
It was later in life, after 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 of
ostentation and had the utmost disdain
for consumerism. Even so, he did not wear
his values on his sleeves and make his
friends uneasy about their lifestyles. He
could mingle with them with ease without
being affected by their living styles. This
is perhaps detachment in the truest sense.
In his early days in North Block in the
nance ministry, he was spotted as the
only ofcer going about in winter in a
khadi bush shirt, while all of us used to
shiver in our tweed coats. He was known
to say that he would change over to wool-
lens only after the poor in our country
were provided with warm clothing. (He
did change in later years with age and ill-
ness getting the better of 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 of India. Many
members of that tribe live in palatial bun-
galows or gated luxury condos in Noida
or Gurgaon. Until a year prior to his
retirement, SR did not have any place of
his own where he could lead a retired life.
Some of his friends compelled him to sign
on a few documents and arranged for the
ownership of the apartment and also for
nancing, through withdrawal from his
own provident fund!
SRs commitment to the causes of the
poor and downtrodden was known from
the earliest days in service. In Nellore
where he was collector for two terms, the
people continue to worship him. In Tripu-
ra where he was chief secretary for nearly
six years, he became a legend. Along with
Nripen Chakraborty as chief minister he
worked for a form of humane socialism
which would lift the tribal people to
higher levels of welfare. Until SR went
there, there was not one senior ofcer,
forget a chief secretary, who had ever
visited the tribal people in their dwellings
K Subramanian (subrabhama@gmail.com)
retired from the Union Ministry of Finance.