Humane side of bureaucracy

In October 1962, the Indo-China war started. Our jawans were ill-equipped to face the harsh winter. The defence department started requisitioning huge quantities of hosiery items on an emergency basis. I had put up a hosiery machine needle factory in Chandigarh. Our factory was licensed to produce 12 million needles per year. We had to augment the supply to meet the increased demand of the Ludhiana hosiery industry. We started producing 30 million for defence forces, and also for export. Since it was the ‘Licence Raj’ period, production beyond the licensed capacity was liable for prosecution unless on creditable grounds.

I submitted a petition to the industry ministry to enhance our factory’s capacity to 30 million. I sought an appointment with the Industry Secretary, an ICS officer. He had an inflexible bureaucratic attitude and said, ‘You have no business to increase the production. If defence department needs, they can import. And export of needles for earning foreign exchange should not be your concern.’ He asked me to leave his office.

Dejected, as I was walking through the corridor, I saw the board of the Additional Secretary of Industry, also an ICS officer. I gathered courage, entered the office of his secretary, explained my case. I was ushered in. The Additional Secretary listened patiently and said, ‘I will get it examined and if I am convinced, you will get a call for further elucidation.’ And I did get a call. He was convinced and I got the approval. The outlook of one had a narrow rigidity, the other a positive response.

In 1966, Chandigarh became a UT and MS Randhawa, ICS, was appointed Chief Commissioner. I invited him to my new house for tea. Being interested in architecture, he appreciated some of the features of my house. I told him that these very features were being objected to by the architecture department. He called me to his office the next day and in one stroke, gave approval for the house completion certificate. Bureaucracy can be humane.

In 2016, I received an emergency call from a friend visiting Dubai. He mentioned that his colleague died of cardiac arrest and the wife wanted to take the body back to India immediately. Neither hospitals nor the Dubai administration was willing to process the formalities; that day being half working and the next being a holiday. The Indian embassy was also unresponsive. I could only think of contacting Sushma Swaraj, the then External Affairs Minister. I phoned her and explained the situation. She immediately called India’s ambassador in Dubai and also the Air India management. All doors opened. Swaraj was a compassionate leader.

Abraham Lincoln was interviewing people for a certain position. He saw an application which had no references. The candidate said he had no friend to recommend him, Lincoln said, ‘In that case, I will be your friend’. What a great example in public service!