More girls should join the IAS as it really gives you the feel of the wonderful world that India is. Being a brilliant student, I had two career options: teaching or the IAS. Yet, I feel that it was destiny that brought me into this service.
Ours was a small family. My father was a civil surgeon in Srinagar, where I was born in 1946. After Partition, my father shifted to Jamshedpur, then in Bihar but now in Jharkhand. My father served Tata from 1949 to 1994. Tata allotted him a plot on lease and he opened his own clinic. I, the eldest daughter, have two sisters and a brother.
My schooling was completed in Sacred Heart Convent, Tatanagar. I passed out from Class XI with a first division and joined a BA course in Loreto Convent with history and political science. By then I had decided to appear for the IAS exam. In 1966, I came to Delhi, took admission in MA (political science) in Hindu College, and started preparing for the IAS exam. While I was taking the final year MA exam, I appeared for the IAS too.
I still recall having spent Rs 80 on the form for the IAS exam. While I was trying to shape my career, my parents were looking for a suitable match.
At the time, stories about the freedom movement were afloat and, immensely influenced by Nehru and Gandhi, I could feel the sense of awakening and freedom in society. My father, too, was a great follower of Gandhi. While serving as a surgeon in Srinagar, he used to go to Lahore to listen to Gandhi’s speeches. He always told stories about Gandhi and I grew up with that.
‘I never regretted that I was not selected
for Cabinet Secretary despite the fact
that during the selection process I was the
seniormost serving officer in the country’
Limited opportunities existed for girls. They could go into either medicine or teaching. But I was confident of making it to the IAS. After I topped in MA first year in Hindu College, I started preparing for the IAS. I frequented Sapru House Library at Mandi House. Our teachers at Hindu College were very good – they brushed up my knowledge. I stood fifth in the IAS exam.
My father heard about my result on the radio but could not call me because of the poor communication network those days. Even I learned of my success only after I saw the newspaper the next day. My father threw a party in a club to celebrate. Back at Hindu College, I topped in MA Political Science the same year. It was a very important year of my life. Such is destiny! My family was thinking of my marriage and I joined the IAS at the age of 22.
The entire batch at Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy at Mussoorie was below 24 years. The advantage with young blood is that they can be trained and moulded as per the requirements and challenges of the service. We were taught law, public administration etc. We travelled across the country, saw the big plants of Steel Authority of India Limited and big dams. It was the introduction of India to me. This can only be possible in the IAS. No other service gives you so much opportunity to interact with the society.
After completion of the training in 1969, I was appointed Joint Magistrate under training in Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, due to lack of facility for district training in Delhi for officers of the Union Territory cadre. I was sent for six months’ training under a District Judge and learned the working of the courts.
On my return to Delhi, I was posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Lajpat Nagar. Delhi. In those days, that area witnessed lots of demonstrations and we had to wear helmets. After two years there, I was shifted to the Delhi Government as Under-Secretary. AN Jha was Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and Vijay Kumar Malhotra was Chief Metropolitan Commissioner. For the first time in my life, I came face to face with files. Half the Delhi government offices ran from old Secretariat and half from Alipur Road.
In 1970, I was married to the son of my father’s friend – Vineet Nayyar. He was a 1960-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre. My cadre was changed to that of my husband’s. I found it difficult to manage my grown-up daughter and another three-and-a-half years’ one. Vineet was posted in the World Bank and was serving the Delhi government. We agreed that our life had become miserable and it was simply not possible for both of us to be on top. One had to sacrifice. It is practically not possible for both husband and wife to work and manage a family simultaneously. That perfection is not possible in life. I did not want to have a scattered family and so I chose to sacrifice.
I took leave without pay in 1977 and went to join my husband in the US. While I nurtured my family, I paid the price for this leave in my career. But I am happy as a woman that I had a contented family and a happy married life.
I came back to India in 1985 and joined the Haryana government. Vineet, meanwhile, had resigned from the service but was lucky to have been chosen for the advertised post of Chairman and Managing Director, Gas Authority of India Limited. I also served the Haryana government as Resident Commissioner, Haryana in Delhi and as MD, Haryana Breweries – producer of the famous beer, Rosy Palkin. The moment I joined, I made it clear that it was not the job of the government to produce beer. On my suggestion, Haryana Breweries was sold to Shaw Wallace.
When I learned that the Lok Sabha was looking for an IAS officer, I met the then Speaker, Shivraj Patil. He agreed to take me on deputation and I joined as Joint Secretary, in charge of questions, Parliament library, delegation and conference. I served the Lok Sabha for two years. After that I joined as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance, and Additional Secretary and Member Secretary, National Commission for Women (NCW). In the NCW, I came to know of the plight of women in the country.
After that, I joined as Additional Secretary, Adviser, Planning Commission. From there, I moved to Department of North-Eastern Region as Secretary and then to Ministry of Women and Child Development as Secretary. Arjun Singh was my Cabinet Minister and Renuka Chowdhury, Minister-in- Charge. As Secretary in this Ministry, I was able to bring about two things: setting up of a commission for children and making an Act for prevention of domestic violence. I used to say that more and more people should join the IAS and provide good governance to the nation.
I never regretted that I was not selected for the post of Cabinet Secretary despite the fact that when the selection process started I was the seniormost serving officer in the country. There are many pressures and considerations regarding the kind of work a Cabinet Secretary does. No Prime Minister can ever afford to have a woman Cabinet Secretary. They never superseded me, they extended the term of BK Chaturvedi as Cabinet Secretary. I feel it was destined. Had God desired me as Cabinet Secretary, none could have changed His will. In my entire career, I never faced any political interference.
I have admired Indira Gandhi right from the days when I was posted as District Collector at her home, 1 Safdarjung Road. She used to smile and wave. She was a charismatic and daring leader. I still have her smiling face before me. When we used to smile and ask for photographs, she never disappointed us. I have high expectations of Rahul Gandhi and his young team and think he will deliver and make India a happy nation.
There is no retirement in my life. Vineet, who is working in Pune as CEO with Mahindras, and I have set up a Vidya Foundation and we are coming up with two schools – in Noida and Pune. Vineet is building the schools from his savings. I am managing the affairs of Vidya Foundation.
