|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No, Minister: Memoirs of a Civil Servant THE job of a civil servant is considered to be very respectable, but it involves many challenges and responsibilities. The book No, Minister by Mahesh Prasad, a retired civil servant, comprises author’s personal observations on bureaucracy, politics and life in general.
The author who was born into an upper middle class family in Lucknow studied at Lucknow University and later at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. He was first posted as District Magistrate at Pauri in 1962 at the young age of 30. During his 40-year career as a civil servant, he held several prominent positions, including the posts of Joint Secretary in the Ministries of Home and Commerce, and Advisor, Planning Commission. He also held Secretary-level posts at the Centre in the Ministries of Finance, Industry, Environment, and Information and Broadcasting. He was also the chairman of a number of UN and inter-governmental bodies. He retired from the rank of Cabinet Secretary as Chairman of the India Trade Promotion Organisation. The author has described several incidents involving prominent personalities. Once Indira Gandhi told him about a non-functional watch that she wore on her wrist. She had emotional attachment with the wristwatch, as it was a gift from her husband. Another incident is about the conflict with the former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi. According to him, the use of an aircraft of a UN-funded project for personal work brought quite a bit of embarrassment to Maneka. The author also recalls his problems with P.K. Kaul who later went on to become Cabinet Secretary and Ambassador to the US. To achieve all these positions, he had used the influence of an unnamed person, who had taken a short lease for extracting sand from the Yamuna River, near Noida. In one of the chapters, the author shares an incident involving a North Korean diplomat who once tried to bribe him. The diplomat gave him a packet full of currency notes after a meeting. Prasad immediately informed his senior about it. Later, the author was awarded a sum of Rs 10,000 for his honesty. Written in a very simple manner, the ease with which this book reveals the facts about unfairness in bureaucracy is remarkable.
|
||
|
|
||
Though
writing an autobiography was never the aim of the author, as he
claims, the pressure put on him by his publisher friend inspired him
to write this book which is aptly titled No, Minister. Here,
the author has tried to throw some light on the workings of the
administration in India and how the administrative officers are forced
to do things that are not within the law. "The career of a civil
servant which may appear to be glittering to outsiders is an eternal
struggle," says the author, adding that "there are those who
are happy saying ‘Yes, Minister’, and so reap the benefits that
come their way. Those who dare to oppose the Minister have to face the
consequences."