SARDAR PATEL AND THE INDIANADMINISTRATION

(lnaugural lecture in the.'sardar Patel Memoriallecture Series' delivered at the South Gujarat

Universiry Sural on 15 December. 1986)

LP. Singh

. Under the Auspices ofCentre for PolicY Research

UPPAL PUBLISHING HOUSENEW DELHI.IIOOO2

UPPAL PUBLISHING HOUSE3, Ansari Road Daryaganj, New Delhi-ll00OZ

@ Centre for Policy ResearchNew Delhi-r10021

1987

rsBN 81-85024-17-0

Published by B.S. Uppat for Uppal publishingHousq New Delhil10002. phototypeset by EsiBee Printers, Bl7, Sector-8, Noida and printedat Efficient Offset Printers, New Delhi-11002g.

FOREWORD

The formation of the post independence narionout of the loose political structure of India after thedeparture of the British was a crucial phase in the

modern Indian History. Sardar Vallabhai Patelcan truly be described as one of the key architectsof this phase even though Sardar Patel's govern-

mental tenure in Delhi was a relatively shortone.

In the present lecture Shri L P Singh describes

Sardar Patel as "the greatest statesman-adminis-trator of Independent India-" Shri Singh "rarikshim with Ashoka.and Akbar, as a unifier of the

country'.This interpretation of Sardar Patel's role

covered in this brief lecture stands as a testimonyto the emergence of the administrative state inIndia. The strength and weakness of the IndianStates have been of some debate in recent years

and perhaps the debate will occupy more space as

the adequacies and inadequacies of the state inIndia begin to affect our national growth andperformance.

Shri L P Singh s lectu4e will be useful input inassuming both the role played by Sardar Patel andthe evolution of the modern Indian state'

May 1987 V A Pai PanandikerDirector

SARDAR PATEL AND THE INDIANADMINISTRATION

I consider it a great honour to be invited to

inaugurate a lecture series on Sardar Patel, who

has been without doubi the greatest statesman-

administrator of independent Indiq indeed the '

greatest in rnY view that our country has pro-

iuced during the last four centuries. He ranks

with Asoka and Akbar, as a unifier of the coun-

try. That is, the bulk of it, once the political for-

cis set in motion towards the end of the last

century strengthened by imperial policieg and

finally fed by urge towards power, had led inex-

orably to the creation of Pakistan' That the Sar-

dar, ilready past seventy, should have had less

than five years to accomplish his mission makes

the achievement the more remarkable' Akbar,

for instancg had ruled for more than fourdecades; and -the British had taken a hundredyears to extend thcir direct rule over Indi4 and

ititl wittr only paramountcy over a third of itAnd never 6eiote in our history since the

Mauryan bureaucracy, did we have a uniformry.t"- of administratiorl from which no part oftire country was excluded Nor was the countryever before unified as an unrestricted democracy'

Even at the last election under British rute (1946)

only about ten percent of the population had the,franchise.

t

To what the Sardar, the great statesman,achieved as a unifier, and as i principal con-tributor to the building up of the democraticconstitutional structure, he adde{ as a superbadministrator, signal contributions in meetingthe formidable problems created by the violentupheaval accompanying the partitioq and theextraordinary enerry with which he attended tothe complex and sensitive business of the parti-tion council. While consenring the frame of tneadministration in British India built through theexperience of a century and a half, tre nia thecreative imagination and the will to extend it tothe princely states, which had had diversepatterns of administration, far removed. in thevast majority of cases from the system in BritishIndia.

I have advisedly referred to Sardar patel asstatesman-administrator., Even an outstandingadministrator may not have vision; absorption inthe mechanics, procedure, and minutae. and theachievement of immediate objectives tend toshackle the imagination and to limit projectionof vision to the problems emerging on thehorizon and requiring timely preparation fordealing with them. Curzon is an excellent exam-ple. Inspite of his exceptional administrativeabilities he failed to see the progressive growth ofIndian nationalism in a correct perspectivg or todeal with Indian aspirations with sensitivity andimagination Herbert Hoover is another exam-ple. He was perhaps the ablest administratoratrrong the Presidents of the United States duringthe present century; but he failed to appreciati

,i

t

the dimensions of his country's unprecedentedeconomic depression, or to deal with it A states-

maq in contrast, may have ideas and visiorlunderstanding of a country's historical andcultural traditions, and the social forces currentand developing He may have all the right aimsand perspectives; but he may not have masteryof the means, or a sound strategy of action; andhe may not have the gift of getting the best out ofhis instruments-the bureaucracy. It is rare in his-tory to have a combination of outstanding states-manship with genius for administration It wasIndia's good fortung at the most crucial stage ofits modern history to have in Sardar Patel acombination of the vision of a statesman withthe sagacity and practical outlook of an adminis'trator, without which the Indian administrativesystem might not have been revitalize4 and ilsstandards might well have fallen below what thecritical times and the new nation required

Recruitment to the Indian Civil Service andthe Indian Police had been frrst slowed downand then stopped because of the war hndlikelihood of constitutional changeg resulting inwide gaps in those services. In the meantimethere had been considerable dilution of stan-dards as a result of large numbers of ad-hocappointments to the other services; and preoc-cupation with work connected with the war andcivil supplies had caused neglect and dislocationof the normal activities of government Theadministrative structure was therq but in awcakened statq and the administration wasgenerally in a rundown condition. Uncertainty.

about the picture that might emerge from theimpending constitutional changes, and its effecton their own future had tended to affect the zestand self-confidence of the senior civil services.There was, further, the rising tide of com-munalism with ominus potential of violence.Such briefly was the background of the adminis-trative situation which the Sardar as HomeMinister in the interim government faced in1946.

As the year 19.45 advanced and the con-stitutional negotiations were taking their tor-tuous coursq Sardar Patel started thinking ofthe future. The first momentous step he took wagin October of that year, to have a resolutionadopted at a conference of the Congress ChiefMinisters (inspite of opposition initially fromsome of them) authorizing the setting up of twoall-India services, the IAS and the IPS, to suc-ceed the ICS and I.P. The Muslim League's firmthinking was that if India was to remain united itcould only be on the basis of a weak Centre, withits jurisdiction limited to External Affairs,Defence, and Communications,, with no scope insuch a constiutional arrangement for any all-India Adrninistrative or Police Service. If therewas partition the question of such services wouldobviously not aries. Going through the relevantdocuments of the period., one is left with theimpression that by October 1945 Sardar Patelhad corne to the conclusion that with the intran-sigent attitude-of the League partition was pro-bably unavoidable, and that India must havenew seryices, as successors to the ICS and IP,

4,

which, apart from filling the existing wide gapsin these services, would contribute to the unify ofthe country and the strength of the administra-tive structure, and make for a high standard ofefficiency and uniformity.

The Sardar had a deep understanding ofthelessons of lndian history. Regional and othernarrow loyalties, leading to chronic divisiveness,had had free play in periods of absence of a centralauthority or its weakness. He was convinced thatall-India services for general and law and orderadministration would be valuable adjuncts of astrong constitutional authority at the Centre,which however was to be consistent with thefederalism of our Constitution, of which he wasto be one of the main architects.

The contemporaneous documents also indi-cate that Sardar Patel was acutely conscious ofthe historical and cultural factors, and of thedebilitating effect of a long period of subjectionon the moral fibre of the Indian people, whichwere likely in combination to make India a"soft" state, prone to vacillation in criticalsituations or when faced with hard options. Hisexperience of dealing with the Congressorganisatiorl and of the Provincial Ministrieshad strengthened his apprehensions. (l maymention, in passing that a group of civil ser-vants, asked by Wavell to study the relative pros-pects of India and China had reported even in1944 that India would go for softer options; andas is well known many years later, GunnarMyrdal categorized India as a "soft state"). The

Sardar did therefore believe that it was essentialfor independent India's administrativemachinery to have a strong frame. capable ofwithstanding stresses. and of maintaining dis-cipline in administration and peace and order insociety. For decades the ICS and IP had beenreferred to pejoratively as the steel liame ofimperial rule. This was a just enough descriptionof their role as instruments for preserving nritishrule against the rising tide of lndian nationalisrnBut the Sardar conceived of the successor ser-vices in a role fundamentally different in objec-tives and style of functioning but retaining theelement of firmness. They were to be the seryantsof the Indian people, unfaltering in their loyaltyto the country and dedicated to executing withdevotion the laws and policies of lndiangovernments. Hc laid down the broad principleson which entrants to the Administrative Servicewere to be trained. They were to be moulded intopatriotic Indians, not as English country gentle-men oriented to working as agents of imperialruie as had been the aim even for lndians in theICS. They were to have an all-lndia and not aparochial outlook and they were to haveunderstanding of our pasl and of Indian culturehnd social conditions. lt was these basic ideas <lnwhich the IAS training institute was designedand later developed into the Academy of PublicAdministration.

The Sardar, as I shall amplify later, was noproponent of administrative authoritarianisml itneeds to be remembered that he had a majorrole in the enactment of the Constitution includ-

[.

ing the articles dealing with the fundamentalrights. However he did not believe that everyth-ing that had come down from the previousregime needed to be discarded any more than itwas necessary to demolish every edifice erectedin the pasl Four years after lndependence it wassai{ by way of criticism. that with the IAS andIPS the'steel frame' had been continued and theadministrative machinery had not beenoverhauled Administrative machinery, unlike.for instance, an automobile, cannot be sent to aworkshop for overhaulingl Short of a violentrevolution it can only be repaired and improvedadapted to perfbrm new tasks and to serr,echanged purposes. The problems of peace andorder had not disappeared with lndependence;public order had still to be maintained and thelaws enforced without fear or favourt extraneousinfluences and improper interference withadministrative processes and in the execution ofdevelopment and welfare programmes. fromwhatever quarters they came, had to be resistedand only an administration with a strong lramecould do so. To quote from Sardar Patel's ownformulation in 1948: An "all-lndia service. effi-cient, disciplined and contented, assured of itsprospects as a result of diligent and honest worhis a sine qua non of sound administration undera democratic regime even more than under anauthoritarian rule. The service must be aboveparty and we should ensure that political con-siderations either in its discipline or in its con-trol are reduced to the minimum. if noteliminated altosether."

With the new all-lndia services, thestrengthening of the police forces in the States as

enjoined by the Sardar and the reorganisationof the Central Secretariat services carriedthrough under his directions, the administrationworked well enough during the difficult tllties.Communal peace was generally maintained thegigantic task of rehabilitating millions ofuprooted human beings was carried through,and two general elections on adult franchisewere conducted fairly and peacefully. The dwin-dling remants of the ICS and IP, members of the

IAS and IPS and of the Central services, workedwith missionary zeal. Working first in a Statebeset with problems, and from 1956 at the Cen-tre, I can testify from personal knowledge, thatmany public servants felt the glow of a newdawn and strove to the limit of their capacity toprove worthy of the responsibility that had beenplaced on them. They worked with a passionatespirit, which went well beyond the normal call ofduty and discipline; it fired the imagination atrdmade for enterprise and creativity. One felt thatit was rare good fortune to-be alive and workingin that momentous period of our history and tobe in a position after centuries to contribute tothe realization of the country's great destiny.

There wal first, the inspiration liomGandhiji's life and worh which they shared withthe rest of the population. His total commitmentto truth and non-violence had. however, valuetranscending limits of a particular period andterritory. lndeed his attempt to break the chainof violence which had plagued mankind

\

\l

throughout history. his emphasis ou primacl rllmeans in pursuit o1'anl ends whater'c-r' his plc-

cept ol' aparigrah, or noll- ilcqu isitir ettcss alc

bequests to entire humanity and wcre llot lneant

parlicularly lbr the civil scr"*iccs. Par-rtiit Nchru

with his charismatic personalitv atrtl libclirlhumanism. his worlcl-outlook antl r ision ol. lrtiiendly and pcacelul itlternational order' hrs

eltorts to promote scieuce aucl techrlologr ' rtrttl

the scientitic spirit- his comntilnrcut to planrlcd

economic ancl social developrlent. was allothcrimmense source of inspiratiotl^ sucl't iis a p!'ople

can rarell'' have.Howcver" it was Sardar Patcl. who' 50 to

speak was the patron-saillt of the cir'il serr ie cs,

lbr it was he who hacl timc aucl again publiclyrecognizeci their special itrlpot'tutrcc itr tltc Ircrl

scheme of things. and explicitll" placcd trust itlthem. He had recognized thcm its patl l()tlc

lndians alter they had becn described lor

tlecades as mercenary. careerists aur'i litckcvs oi

British imperialism: and he hacl madc thcm l'cel

wauted. The Sarclar saw humau bcings as lhey

are: he knew that whethel it uitr tltc pritlces or

public servants. men of properl) or hr'rnrblc

workers. they had deep down thcir hcarts pat-

riotic feelings which many ol"tl.rem hacl in thcir

material interests kept undiscloseel during alictl

rule. Wirh his open recognition of this lirct he

succeeded in releaslng in thcm :pt'itrg: tll iritt-riotism. Many of those at the higher l*c'ls rvittt-

1ed to purge themsehes. through exceptional

e ttclcttr'ottr, ol'thc t":eling ol gtrill thcr ltirti 'rs 5cr-

vants of a lbreign power' Thc-y were uot obscsscd

wrth question of their status, or driven by per-sonal ambition; it was aspiration for the countrythat-impelled them. Sardar patel's public acknowledgement of the patriotism and dedicationof public servants and his expression of trust inthern, gave them tb6 self-assurance and the elanwithout which they could not have given theirbesl lt is significant that in a meeting held in theCentral Secretariat to pay homage to SardarPatel a resolution was adopted by the gatheringof civil servants to rededicate themseGs to th;service of the country and prove worthy of theconfidence which ttte deceased leaOer- hadreposed in them.

. A-ddyssing the Constiturenr Assembly in1949 the Sardar said "..... As a man of experienceI tell yoq do not quarrel with the instrumentswith which you want to work It is a bad work-man who quarrels with his instruments.... Evervrnan wants some sort of encouragement Nobodywants to put in work when every day he iscriticized and ridiculed in public...." proceedingfurther he enunciated the doctrine of intellectualintegrity of civil seryants and their sharing res-ponsibility with a sharpness which has notiincebeen equalled He said,'Today my Secretary canwrite

_a note opposed to my views. I have giventhat freedom to all my Secretaries. I have toldthem "Ifyou do not give your honest opinion forfear that it will displease your Minister, pleasethen you had better go. I will bring another Sec-

Ttary.... you have agreed to share responsibility".In course of the same speech he observid,"Many of them with whom I have worked, I have

l0

no hesitation in saying that they are as patriotic'

as loyal and 4s sinceri as myself" The compli-

*"ni^uy have been over generoug but.I have

quot"a ii for the effect it had on the minds ofl

civil servants. In his own life time, and in the two

decades after his death the inspiration and

animation received from his personality and

achievementq his public statements and the

principles he had laid down, had an effect on th.e

spirit and outlook of civil servants' wnrcn rs

rarely recognizedit -ui not be easy in the vastly changed

of civil servants, which is

atmosphere of recent years to appreciate the

value of some of these intangibles or how

decisive an element they were in Sardar Patel'sr

contribution to Indian administration in those

critical and formative years' One wonders

whether these, and the rest of the Sardar's

administrative credo and principles to which Irefer later, were only transient influences' I do

not myself think so. Anything of real value

which is put into an administrative system in a

formativjperiod becomes part of that adminis-

tration s ..tltut", which may be pushed into the

background or obscured in an unfavourablepolitical and social environmen! but is not des-

iroyed; with change of circumstances it reap-

pears. lndeed even today there are numerous

men and women in the administration who

function with rectitude and dedication similar to

those of the years immediately followingIndependence. If their spirit of independence

has been dampened and there has been decline

in courage and initiative, the causes are

ll

primarily political.At the heart of administration, indeed of theentire business of goverance lies the proliems ofpow.e.r its proper, skilled and timeiy usg andavoidance of misuse and abuse. power isobviously not the personal properfy

- of tn"wielder, available for untrammiled" use, aswielders of power not unoften p".r*a" in"_-

selves ro believe. This is the point of ifr.ii"turr,,that power

_currupts. Viewed "o.r."tty, lo*.. l, utrust and like any trust it can be i.giti_ut"ty

used only according to the rules and cionJrtionsgoverning it In administration, and the uitui., ofgovernment generally, power has to be usedaccording to the constitution and the laws of theland; -and beyond thesg u."orAi"g io the

Ff^":i-itl{ ac.cepred norms of public "orido"t

ur,4loeaily atso the unwritten moral laws of a socicfy.Looking at our history during the last torty v"u.r.one.is led to think that Sardar. patel standi out asthe person whcl both marle effective use ot, urrO aianot misuse or abuse state power. It is beyond thescope of this lecture to present a pictuie of themisuse and abuse of power, at aifferent levetsand in various spheres, and the grave damagethese have done to the country "urrO tt. ,uf_ferings they have causecl We ai. uti

"nfy too

well, and most of us very painfully, u*u." oi rt ir.But I do wish to refer to ihe extensiv. fuiiu.. ,ouse the powcrs available to protect the interestsof society and the innocenr and the law_abidingor to punish the evildoers. Who can honestlyclaim. that powers rhat could be used ro

"urf ,n.grorvth of 'black money.. and a host of,.._lu*i.

t2

offences, have been adequately used (though oneis happy to note that they have begun to be used

recently), or that action has been taken to checkpolitical corruption? So many powers, legal andadministrative are available to check corruptionin the administration, but they have certainly notbeen used on a scale and with the determinationcommensurate with the dimensions of the pro-blem. Non-use of power is certainly not compar-able in culpability to its misuse or abuse;

nevertheless, it can do great harm. F-or it does

involve failure to discharge a responsibilityentrusted by the constitution or the laws, or. themandate of the electorate. Apart from its directlyharmful consequences non-use of state powersets the general tone, and encourages inaction atall levels of the administration. The Sardar neverfaltered in using the powers he had in thegovernment, and one could add, in the Congressorganisation. There were. for instance^ cases inBihar in which he took action undeterred hy the

temporary damage to the reputation of the Con-gress Ministry which the action was likely tocause. Civil servants, as well as otheis in highauthority knew that no corruption or departurefrom the path of rectitude which the eagle-eyed

Sardar noticed. would be condoned' I vividlyremember the expression of relief on the lhce ofa Minister who was apt to misuse his pow'ers ibrnarrow political and even personal ends' on this

day thirty six years ago when the sad'news of the

Sardar's passing away was received. Evidc'ntly,

he felt that he no longer needed to live in l'ear ofthe Sardars powerful hand coming down on

t-)

him. Such was the just fear and awe of the Sar-dar, the vigilant moral censor of governmentaland political ethics, among those- disposed todepart from the straight path.

Reflecting over the developments in the con-duct of affairs in subsequent years, and theircumulative effect today, one cannot help feelingthat the country seems to have lost one of thevaluable legacies of the Sardar. We have had formany years a generally 'soft' administrationreflecting the character of a 'soft' state. The Sar-dar did not live long enough after lndependenceto 'endow the new state, and its administrativeapparatus, with a durable toughness. We makelaws and regulations in plenty but do not entbrcethem with rigouq they are often allowed to betransgressed with impunity. One notices amongmany of our public functionaries a tendency tomove from passiviry to over-reaction tosituations, and to alternate between failure to usepower and its abuse. In certain parts of the c<_run-try the Arms Act is virtually a dead letter. Evengrave offences against person and property oftengo unpunished. Energetic action in a crisis,followed by a period of complacence only leadsto another crisis, when a steadily lirm adminis-tration backed by a strong political will, andanticipation of likely developments are calledfor. That was the Sardar's way of doing thingsduring those fateful, crisis-ridden iive years. Ihave personal knowledge of a case when irpolitical leader in eastern lndia who wasorganising a separatist movement leading to actsof violence, was called by the Sardar and told rhar

t4

a rnore powerful leader in north lndia had been

detained in similar circumstances, and given a

stern warning. The leadeE went back with the

sobering knowledge that if he did not heed the

warning unrelenting action would follow, and he

stopped his disruptive activities. The point of the

story is the importance of credibility of the

strong will of the state, and effectiveness of itsadministrative machinery. A great deal is

achieved by the moral authority of the govern-

ment, and the influence that goes with it' oftenmaking action unnecessary. But moral authorityis built over a perio4 and is lost if power is

abuse4 and drained away if used only spas-

modically. We have moved a long way from the

Sardar Patel era and have over the years forgot-

ten the experience that should have become an

integral part of our governmental doctrine.The idea of a "committed" civil service,

committed to the current social philosophy ofthe parry in power at the time, and not merely to

carrying out loyally the government's program-

me, was the doctrine canvassed in the seventies'

That idea has no open supporters now but there

is implicit in certain attitudes, and the desire that

civil servants should identify themselves withtheir Ministers. Such an idea would have been

an anathema to the Sardar. There certainly has

to be commitment to the Constitution to whichevery civil servant has to swear loyalry and todedicated service to the people; but this is not

the sense in which the word 'commltment. was

used There are some reports of a civil servant

being expected on the pain of a disagreeable

l5

transfer, or worse, to tashion his advice or actionto suit the wishes or interest of a Minister or aMinistry and one of the consequences is fre-quent changes of the incumbents of even keyposts. A return to the. Sardar's concept of thecivil service-and I use the word in tire broadsense whlch inlcudes the police and thosd in thete^chnical and p-rofessional b ranches- is neces saryif the administration is to prove caphble of cop-ing with the multitude of problems which thecountry is facing. Considerations extraneuus tothe requirements of the law and the publicinterest ought not to be imported in the minage-ment of the civil services, or civil servants deflec_ted from a non-partisan course. This certainly isnot the position today.

May I pause here for a moment and refer tosome instances which bring out two balancingelements in Sardar Patel's attitude towards thesenior civil servants. He had a tussle with LordMountbatten in 1946 in the appointment of aparticular Indian of{icer to the post of HomeSecretary but he did not hesitate to replace thatofficer after a couple of years, when hi did notprove entirely equal to his responsibilities. Inanother case the Sardar as Miniiter of Informa-tion and Broadcasting sent away the Secretary atalented Indian civil servan! who had procras_tinated in giving effect to an order of the Sardarappointing a_ Mgslim poet and literateur to a keypost under the Ministery. But on the other sidgthe Sardar's harmonious relations with civil ser_vants and his sensitivity towards their feelings isexemplified by his distress when H.V.R lengar.

l6

the Horne Secretary, feeling hurt because of

some mis-understanding requested . to be

uiio*"d to proceed on leave' The Sardar is repor-

;;; h";; remarked that never in his life had

he come across an ofhcial working under him

*iro t uO asked to be relieved out of dissatisfac'

tion with his orders' In the event lengar was

r"*r"i"a. Also in the other fwo cases to which I-tt*"-."f"."d, the offrcers were moved out with

J""!i"""' The Sardar demanded efficient service

u"a"Jit"iptine from civil servants' but also

ir"ut"a thern with courtesy and consideration' In

iilir *uv he got the besi out of them' Such a

tufu"""A attiiude is as sound today as it was

then, but is not generally in evidence'

The functions of the executive branch being

regulated by the Constitution, laws and statutory

-i"r, ut. enmeshed with those of the judiciary' Itir*

"oi o"ry to deal with most of the cases under

the laws made for administrative purposes

i""f"Oi"g those for maintaining peace and order'

;;;;;t a'lso the function of reviewing the legality

oi executive actions' It will not therefore be out

;i ;h* to touch upon the Sardars attitude

towards the judiciary. There can be no better tes-

tl.otty to his unqualified respect for tho

;Gpi"a"""e of thi judiciary than what H'J"

Kania thrn Chief Justce said in the course of

tris oUituaty tribute: "By his death the Judiciary

it"t -r"t,

"'great chamiion of its freedom and

i"J"p""o""i"' It is well known that at the time

o] u ortu"g. in the:aititude towards. high judicial

upp"i"t.i"ts. What happened during the seven:

'17

ties.is only too well kngwn. But even in a recentpolitical or legislative control". It is within mypersonal tnoWledgg first as Chief Secretary of aState and later as Union Home Secretaf, thatthe p-olicy laid down firmly by the SaJur"io tfrelate forties continued to Ui followed till towardsth^e later part of 1970, when there was indicationof a change in the attiruderowards t ign luAi.iutappointments. What happened during-the seven-ties is only too well known. But eve]n ir, ,"""ruspeech before the Supreme Court Bar Associa_tr.on the present Chilf Justice of India spoteabout the inaction of the Government in makingappointments to the High Courts and the Suf,reme. Courl neglecting or not respecting thereactions of the Chief Justices of tne Higtr iourtsand the Chief Justice of India with ihe resultthat there were large numbers of vacancies inthose courts, while the arrears were mountingHe proceeded to observe that the governmentnot communicating the reasons for disasre+Ten[ "may conceivably give rise to ,uspi-"ionthat extraneous factors have played a partin fherejections..... Moreover, if - sulh practice

--is

allowed to^p-revail we might witness the sorryspectacle of those wishing to be appointed judgeior promoted to the higher eChelons of itejudigia_1y running about ihe corridors of powerand lobbying the executives."

The Sardar's aim was to establish a firm butyrr_ugTinjrrration and this required u, i.,J"p"rr_n€nt Judlciary manned by persons of abilitv andcharacter. It is not eno.rgh that there .t o,itO U"no interference by the eiecutive in judicial pro-

l8

ceedings; independence of the judiciary requires

u ,.rri" of security' self-respect and self

urrururr". among judicial officers' The state ofaffairs described by the Chief Justice of Indi4and the feeling that a judge can be transferred

from one High Court to another even if such

transfer is not recommended by the Chief Justice

of India in the interest of judicial administratiorldo not make for an ideal judiciary' Also, if there

is unconscionable delay in disposal of cases, the

effectiveness of the executivq for instance of the

police is greatly reduced arrd the citizen loses

Lope of gelting redress against injustice' One. can

*.it imaginJ what the Sardar would have

thought oi situations as in Delhi and Gujarat inwhich the Bar felt called upon to go on strike to

have a deserving person appointed as Chief

Justice or a Judgi' On the question of lobbying

by aspirants to high judicial appointments' to

*hi.tt the Chief Justice of lndia referred I am

remainded of Sardar Patel's reaction to a senior

judicial ofltcer in Bihar having invoked the help

tf u tvti.titter in the Central Government in

support of his representation. The Sardar not

oniy turtted down the representatior\ but asked

the State government to convey to the officer that

the way lie had attempted to advance his claimhad stiengthened the Sardar's judgement about

the officeds total unfitness for ever being

elevated to the High CourLHis principles and methods of administra-

tion-the Sardir would not have approved of the

words'administrative philosophy-were exem-

plified in his own way\gf conducting affairs'

l9

illumined occasionally by a pithy remark H.V.RIengar who had wofked as Home Secretary withthree successive Home Ministers described to mein a personal talk their diverse methods. One ofthern, with a subtle intellecl revelled in hisdialectical skill and pointed our the flaws inevery course of action that was proposed Butwhen requested to decide what should be done,he would tell Ienger, "Do, as you had initiallyproposed". Another Home Minister, with excep.tional accomplishments in a learned profession,had such an open mind that he found it imposs-ible in some cases to close it for months. IJngerwould return intellectually humbled ar rhe costof some of his timg in the first case, and with afeeling of helplessness in the second. In contraslthe Sardar with whom he had worked earlierwould listen intently, go to the root of'the matterinstantly, and either approve the proposed solu-tion with just a nod" or give another, and a soun-der solutiorl with the fewest words. And toreproduce the subsfance of what Iengar told mghe could then go forward to act with the feelingthat the strength of the whole nation was behindhinr" and that the Sardar would stand by himwhatever might come.

The Sardar's capacity for taking what hasbeen described by some who had close associa-tion with him as, lightning decisions was theproduct not only of the nafural endowments of anadministrator of geniuq but also of the detailedknowledge of rnen and affairs, acquired by pro-digious industry over the years and kept uptodate by a variety of means. The Sardar lived in

I

an age when computers were not in wide use; butthe working of his mind is comparable to that ofan advanced computer with access to first-ratesoffw,are. In administration, decisions have oftento be taken quickly; in lndian administration"with its extensive responsibilities in matters ofdevelopment and economic managementgenerally, and for providing social services,speedy decrsions have particular importance.And yet, the decisions have to be sound Thelesson from the Sardais life is that it is of vitalimportance for administrators, particularly at thehigher levels, to systematically equip themselveswith material relevant to their sphere of woriqbut develop the capacity to discriminate betweenthe important and the unimportant An eye forthe signilicant detail, but not getting lost in thepursuit of minutae for its own sake is the markof an able administrator.' There was so much else in the Sarddfsstyle of functioning which reflected his concep-tions of how administration should be carriedorl and which Could well be treated as Sutras-touse an expressive Sanskrit word-to guid,e lndianadministrators even today. The Sardar had apowerful precise and piercing intellect with acapacity to take infinite pains in the pursuit ofnational tasks. But he was not an intellectual. Itis far from my intention to under-estimate, inthis academie community, the importance ofintellectuals-of persons devoted to pursuit ofknowledge and dealing in ideas. As in academiclife so in administratiorL one has to assembleand analyse the relevant facts, and be prepared

2I

to accept the conclusion to which the analysis'leads. But there are some major differences bet-ween the two. A scholar has generally far moretime to collect data than an administrator. whohas often to take a decision on whatever materialhe can get within a short time, beyond which adecision cannot be postponed There is alsoanother signilicant difference: in academic workonce the test of intellectual rigour and internallogic has been mel the matter ends; but inadministration the tests of practicability andpublic acceptance have to be meq even if viewedfrom a purely logical angle the proposed deci-sion is flawed Critical situations had to be metand time was running oul More than any oneelse in that momentous period of our history theSardar realized, that there is, in the words ofShakespeare "a tide in the affairs of men whichtaken at the flood leads to fortune". Hisdecisions in the cases of Junagadh arldHyderabad are examples.

The Sardar's sight was set on action; timeand again he emphasised the importance ofimplementation, without which even excellentplans and programmes could prove sterile. Hehad ideas, and was given to deep reflection onthe country's Droblems, but he was not anideologue-a trader rn ideas for their own sake.He had a vision of India's future as a strongand stable natiorl democratic and secular, with aunited and prosperous people. And he workedon the practical plane with passionate zealtowards fhe realization of that visio4 b-ut he wasnot a visionary. He was a realisg who looked at

22

things with an eye unclouded by sentiment orillusive idealism. He is reported to have

remarked *It will be folly to ignore realities;facts take their revenge if they are not facedsquarely......." He was rooted in principles, butflexible in the choice of methods, which he wasprepared to adapt to the requirements of a situa-tion. I shall presently provide some illustrations.

The Sardar was close to the people, as yougentlemen and ladies in Gujarat know very well'He was a son of the soil,, who graduated intonational politics through organising movementsof peasant resistance, and industrial labour, andas a municipal administratoi. It is not widelyknown, in other parts of India that having dis-tinguished himself at the Bar examination inEngland built up a very flourishing practice as a

Barrister and adopted a western style of life, oncehe joined Gandhiji, he not only gave up his legalpractice and discarded the western style of lifebut took a yow not to own any personal property

-a vow that he kept to the end dying withoutowning even a house. With such a background itwas, natural for him to be close to the people,

sensitive to their needs and problems, and withdeep concern for their wellbeing But he was nobeliever in populism with all the puriouselements that go into it-a lesson for politiciansand administrators.

Rhetoric in public speeches, and cir-cumlocutiorl particularly in official writing are

among our national characteristics. The Sardarwas not an orator or a man of letters; at a univer'

,/1

siff function he described himself as a graduateof the university of life. Both in speech and inwriting he was brief, incisive and direct Andthere could never be any doubt that he wouldstand by his word Even Liaqat Ali Khan, apolitical antagonist before partition could sayafter his death that "... he always meant what hesaid and he said what he meant". It has been myexperience that trust in his word is a far greaterasset of an administrator than cleverness orelegant expression. Something of the Sardar'swqy of working rubbed off on the civil servantswho had opportunities to see his mind ai *ort 1trealise that I am holding out the Sardar's exam-ple of brevity in a lengthy speech! My onlyexcuse is the embarrassment of riches, which hiscontributions to administratio4 accomplishedand initiated and his many dimensional per-sonality held).

The Sardar has sometimes been describedas a man of "blood arrd iron". and wholly inaptlycompared to Sismaick He was certainlv a -a.tof iron in the struggle for Independence and itsconsolidation when it came. Watching the Sar-dar during the critical months of l94t-4g, withthe vast carnagg and movement of uprootedhumanity in the western part of Indi4 aggressionin Kashmir and the problems of Hyderabad"General Bucher, the British Commander inChief saw something "rock like in hisdemeanour" reminding him of "the pictures ofRoman Emperors". He could not be deflectedfroni 'his principles or pursuit of the basicnational pnrposes. But he was wholly averse to

J

t

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?rt

blood-shedding unless the'circumstances, such

as the security of the country in Hyderabad orfacing aggression in Kashmir, made use of the

ar-ed forces unavoidable. Save in the exceptional circumstances of Hyderabad and

Junagadlr" he secured integration' leading tomergBr, through persuasion, adroit handling and

co.,.t"ont dealings with the princeq .appeal totheir patriotism as lndians, and offer of generous

and honourable treatment He did not take

recourse to intimidation, but if with the power ofhis personality -and moral authority he was held

in awe he could not help it A cruder method ofdealing with the princes might well have led toconflicts, with the danger of the country'sBalkanisation in the still unsettled conditions.

He did not want government servants to be

rigid or authoritarian in their relations withciiizens; he wanted them to be imbued will sym-

pathy and compassion I quote his own words: "[shall now say a word to those government s€r'

vants to whom has fallen and will continue tofall the implementation of the many measures ofcontrol and of regimentation of everyday affairsof the citizen which we have to enforce. Thepowers which they wield, if lehtlV used can

tring ttre nation heavy dividends' but abused

"atr 6.ittg not only harm but disrepute' They will

veri often find that a kind word, a sympatheticg"ti.tt. and an attitude of understandingloupled with honesty and integrity, will

-enablethem to do their work much quicker and much

better than sriobbery a sense of superiority and

such other departures from rectitude. No one has

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done more to see that the services get their justrights, due meed of credit, than myself Itherefore make a call upon them to do their partof natiolal duty.... lf the legislature and govern_ment place such large powers in their handqthey also place on them responsibility for usingthem properly..,.... Let thenl thereforq so conductthemselves that every action of theirs brines asmuch good to the nation as possible wit-houtlnJunng anyone except the evil doer," These areprecepts of even greater validity in the presentconditions than they were in 1950. ln the courseof the same address he had expressed his viewsabout the need for compassion in these wordg"we always speak of India's culturq of Indiancivilization, but do we ever pause to think thatthe relief of the pooq natural among neighbourqcharity to the helpless and kindnesJto the down-trodden have been the shining virtues of thatculture and civilization?" To describe a man whocould offer such advice to government servanrsand talk so feelingly about compassion, as only aTT of iron is a grossely unfair, and simplisiic,delineation of a rich, many-faceted personality.

The Sardar had chosen to concentrate hisenergies on the country's internal affairs. But theclariry of his vision and uncanny foresight evenin regard to external security are indeediemark_able. He advised against the Kashmir problembeing referred to the United Nations or offer of aplebiscite under UN auspices. His fear oi such acourse bringing in international politics intooperation in a manner prejudicial to ourinterests, proved only too true. Sheikh Abdullah

t

Ihimself told me in November 1950, when I wason a private visit to Srinagar, that all his pre'blems had their root in the uncertainfy createdby the reference to the United Nations and thatwhile he had the greatest respect and affectionfor Mr. Nehru he would prefer Sardar Patel tohandle Kashmlr a{airs and to cut the tangledkhot by his direct methods such as those he hadadopted in certain other cases. As recorded in V.Shankar's 'Reminiscences of Sardar Patel' theSheikh had earlier spoken to the same effect tothe Sardar himself. The Sardar had alsocautioned the Prime Minister about the dangerswhich China's occupation of Tibet presagedAnd on the policy adopted towards Nepal toothe Sardat's advice, not accepted in 1950, waslater proved to have been absolutely sound Hethought that no attempt should be made toexport democracy to Nepal, that sponsoring amovement for democracy from lndian ,soilwould be ill-advised and that India ought toextend friendly help in promoting reconciliationof the main elements in Nepalese life, so that agovernment in keeping with that country's his-torical and cultural traditions, and suited to theexisting conditions, could come into being. Thepolicy followed in 1950 proved a failure within a

few years and had to be reversed in the sixties,and completely changed in early seventies.

Time often provides a far better test ofstatesmanship and administrative genius, thancontemporary judgement In the Sardar's casehis monumental achievements were acclaimed

27

Ieven in his life time.'But in the cases I have justmentioned it was left to history to prove thewisdom of his views. I may also add an instancerelating to internal affairs. Some twenty yearsafter thd Sardals death Jayaprakash Narayanmade a public statement as follows: "Rajaji onceunburdened his heart by publicly confessing to awrong he had done to Sardar Patel. I find myselfin a similar situation; the dominant feelingwithin me today is one of self'reproach becauseduring his life I was not merely a critic but anopponenl of the great Sardar."

It is only rarely in a country's history that acolossug such as Vallabhbhai Patel makes hisappearance; and it was our great good fortunethat he was there at a crucial period in Indianlife. How one wishes that we had today a leader,cast even in a less heroic mould" who could turnthe tide of corruptioq indiscipling violence andlawlessness, disunity and disruption, which nowmark the national scene.

Wtrit t have said may be of little valug but in.....-preparing this lecture I have myself derived greatinspiration and felt immeasurably enriched

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