Memoir of former Punjab Chief Secretary Rajan Kashyap released

Chandigarh, June 16

“Beyond the Trappings of Office A Civil Servant’s Journey in Punjab”, a memoir by Rajan Kashyap, former Chief Secretary and ex-Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of Punjab, was released by Justice SS Sodhi, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, and Gurbachan Jagat, former Governor of Manipur, at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA), Sector 26, here today.

The book describes the growth story of the state, and important events and leaders who shaped the unprecedented development of Punjab over half a century. The author joined the IAS in 1965 and retired as Chief Secretary in 2003.

In his reflections, Kashyap underlined how things have undergone a sea change in comparison to the past. Batting for a positive approach, he advocated a close coordination between civil servants and the police, a sentiment that was echoed by SS Sodhi and Gurbachan Jagat.

In an interaction, Professor BN Goswamy, who joined the IAS in 1950s and left soon to pursue a career in academics, shared interesting anecdotes on the work ethic of the era.

Brigadier Sukhjit Singh presented an interesting picture of governance in the erstwhile state of Kapurthala, while also emphasising that perfection as such didn’t exist. What was needed was to work harder, he quipped.

Sanjeev Chopra, former director of Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, brought out how civil servants of today were becoming more professional. Quoting former Finance Minister CD Deshmukh, he said civil servants must write about events as they were participants in history.

Former Education Secretary (Government of India) Vibha Puri Das said human considerations must be supreme in the discharge of bureaucratic functions.

Anirudh Tiwari, Director General, MGSIPA, said better human resource management, skill-specific training apart from eternal values of compassion, empathy, justice and fair play were crucial.

The event was compeered by former IAS officer Vivek Atray.