‘Serving’ Bureaucrat

With the death of Anita Kaul, former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer on 10 October 2016 in Delhi, democratic forces have lost a crusader. The public generally comes to know about the contribution of some bureaucrats to democratic causes only when they resign in protest. Kaul showed how much could be done by remaining at one’s post. She inspired a number of dedicated IAS officers to continue to find ways to serve the people while remaining in service.

As S Chatterjee, president of the All India People’s Science Network observed, “The person who first mooted the idea of the literacy movement to us in the People’s Science Movement (PSM) was M P Parameswaran (MP). Many of us were sceptical but MP assured us that there were people in the administration, who too were committed to it. In December 1989 the PSM organised its first meeting about the literacy movement, in Delhi. There, Anil Bordia, the then Education Secretary in the Government of India mentioned that all help would be given. Amongst others, we were advised to contact Anita Kaul in Bangalore, a young IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre. Subsequently, I met her only a few times but it was very clear that she wanted speedy action time-bound results and did not waste time in unending discussions. The advice that she communicated was that the different branches of the PSM should identify those activists who would deliver within a prescribed time-frame and there should be no short-cuts. Essentially, her attitude was similar to what Bordia had expressed, ‘Tell us what you will do and also what you want us to do. We will do our part and you do yours’.”