The student who ranked second in the 1968 IAS exam recalls CMs, Governors and memorable assignments
ALLAHABAD is my home town, where my father, HCP Tripathi, was an advocate who later became a judge. I vividly recall a teacher coming to our house to tutor my elder brother and sister. I would sit alongside and began to pick up his lessons. The teacher was amazed and gave me a test. I was only six years old but he cleared me for admission to Class VI.Thus, hav- ing skipped five classes at the outset, I ended up topping the MSc examination at 17. I had taken physics with special- ization in electronics. I became a teacher in Allahabad University at the age of 18 and my students were older than me.
In 1967, I could not foresee many prospects in my field in India and want- ed to go to the US for further studies. But my parents were averse to it. So, at the age of 21, I appeared for the 1968 IAS examination and was ranked sec- ond. Yogendra Narain, Prabhat Kumar and BK Chaturvedi were my seniors in Allahabad University.
I had an inclination for study and after MSc I got an LLB degree. Whenever I joined a new department or ministry, I would habitually probe and learn about the department from top to bottom.
My first posting was as Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Lucknow. In those days, young officers were traditionally posted in hill districts and I was sent to Almora as Collector and District Magistrate. I was there from 1974 to 1976.The most important assignment of my life was to successfully organize the Mahakumbh Mela of Allahabad in 1976-77 as its offi- cer-in-charge.This gigantic task had to be completed within 45 days. Arrangements had to be made for the stay,bathing and passage of about 3 crore people. On any single day, for 15 days, about 50 lakh people camped at the mela site. A total of a crore and 32 lakh peo- ple participated in that Kumbh.
I worked with many Chief Ministers from different political parties: CB Gupta, Charan Singh, TN Singh, Kamlapati Tripathi, HN Bahuguna, VP Singh, Sripati Mishra,Vir Bhadra Singh, ND Tiwari and Kalyan Singh. All of them were stalwarts.Things went nicely as regards governance of the state till the time when Kamlapati Tripathi was Chief Minister. All the Chief Ministers till then were good arbitrators who never let any dispute snowball into con- troversy or war. Whenever anything went wrong, they summoned every- body and settled the matter.
The scenario changed when Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna took over. He introduced the culture of individu- alism. He started to build up his own image and always acted in a hurry.VP Singh was a brilliant CM. He was Sushil Chandra Tripathi: perceptive insight known for driving things very hard. He was a solo operator and did not enjoy party backing. He also tried to develop the state.
I rate ND Tiwari the best CM. I have yet to meet a politician more knowl- edgeable than him. He was averse to risk and was a positive and constructive leader. I consider it a misfortune for the country that he never became Prime Minister. I also worked with Mulayam Singh Yadav and found him to be good to get along with despite being preju- diced against English and an urban lifestyle.Although he carries a lot of bag- gage, he has remarkable commonsense. Of late, he has changed completely.
Kalyan Singh is endowed with amaz- ing understanding of the people and their problems without being highly educated. He is never ready to compro- mise with his pride. After the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations, the state was unable to pay the hiked salaries to its employees.The entire government machinery was in a fix. He took a bold decision on his own and the problem was solved.The BJP would have gained a great deal politically if he had stayed on in office.
WhenVP Singh was Chief Minister, I was Managing Director, UP Industrial Development Corporation from 1982- 82 He was reluctant to meet any indus- trialist individually so we would arrange a meeting in a large hall and exchange ideas and discuss problems.
I also worked as Principal Secretary to three Governors – Moti LalVora, Mohd Safi Qureshi and Romesh Bhandari. Vora was very hard working. He used to work till 1 am but get up at 4 am. Though not a visionary, he was simple and honest. I too had to work very hard with him under President’s Rule!
I rate ND Tiwari the best CM. I have yet to meet a politician more knowledgeable than him. He was averse to risk and was a positive and constructive leader. I consider it a misfortune for the country that he never became Prime Minister
