Very few officers of the Indian Administrative Service could claim a career as distinguished, vast and varied as that of K M Chandrasekhar, who served as cabinet secretary from 2007 to 2011. Even fewer cabinet secretaries can write a memoir as lucid and insightful as this one. The landscape he had traversed during the four decades in civil service is dotted with experiences of diverse hues and dimensions.
Beginning as a sub-collector in Devikulam in Kerala, he went on to become commerce secretary before getting posted to Geneva as India’s ambassador to WTO. On returning from Brussels, he was appointed revenue secretary and then the cabinet secretary in the UPA government, led by then prime minister Manmohan Singh.
The memoirs of retired bureaucrats are often marred by a larger-than-life portrayal of themselves. This book, however, is free of that blemish and stands out as unbelievably ego-less. Even in the recollections of the incidents where the author had played key leadership roles, he manages to steer clear of elevating himself ‘by slandering others’. This is not to say that he shuns contentious issues, focusing only on the milestones of his professional life. Tumultuous events such as the terror attack in Mumbai and its administrative fallouts, the shadowy realms of the 2G Spectrum scam, the coal scam, allegations on the conduct of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, all make it to the pages of the book.
The narrative brings out the complex nature of Indian bureaucracy with its inter-ministerial, inter-personal and inter-agency whims and weaknesses. The author looks back at his journey as a great learning experience, narrating every incident with perspective and meaning. In the last chapter, he has summed up his credos in life in aphorism-like statements which, taken together, would explain his value system and validate the simple life of a civil servant with integrity. “There will be occasions in your life when you are vested with great authority,” he writes, adding, “Authority is to be exercised with discretion, wisdom, humility and maturity,” summing up his guiding belief in life.
Among other things, the book perfects the art of telling the truth without indicting others. The narrative is racy enough to engage the reader, and yet gentle tone offers the opportunity to reflect.Chandrasekhar’s lucid prose that shuns embellishments and avoids harsh tones, makes it evident that he has taken his time to write the memoir––it comes over a decade after he demitted the office of the cabinet secretary. He seems to be in no hurry to tell the story of his well-lived life, one he narrates with a sense of self-assuredness.
Having been a player, often a catalyst and sometimes a witness to a critical period in contemporary history, the author offers invaluable insights into what makes present-day India. The book certainly qualifies to be called a modern classic and a tour de force.
As Good as My Word
By: K M Chandrasekhar
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 312
Price: Rs 599