When you are in a position of power, you should not betray the trust. That was my motto throughout my career. As a BA student in Kanpur, I did not have any idea about the IAS. Then my father, HN Mishra, who was Vice-Chancellor of Kanpur University, sent me to Allahabad to do MA (Political Science) in 1954. I stayed in AN Jha Hostel, known for producing the cream in both academics and sports, where my hostel mates were preparing for the IAS exam. I followed suit and cleared the exam in 1956.
In the Academy we were nicknamed the “all-bad-boys” because we were from Allahabad. Training was completed in Metcalfe House and I was allotted PEPSU (Punjab and East Punjab Union) consisting of Patiala, Kapurthala, Jind, Barnala, Sangrur and Malerkotla. Commrade Ram Kishan was Chief Minister. My first posting was at Barnala as Sub-Divisional Magistrate.
In 1966, Haryana was born. Without being asked, I was allotted the Haryana cadre. Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma was Chief Minister. I was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Hissar. Rao Birender Singh became CM after Devi Lal and his group toppled Sharma’s government. When Devi Lal wanted to have his political opponents arrested on flimsy grounds, the Chief Secretary sent me a message to arrest a particular leader. I refused as the old man had not done any wrong. The Chief Secretary called me thrice, but I did not yield. The next morning, I got a message to hand over charge and proceed to Chandigarh as Labour Commissioner.
During my posting in Hissar I came in contact with Devi Lal, Bansi Lal, Bhajan Lal, and BD Gupta. When Haryana politics became volatile in 1968, I came to Delhi and was posted in the Home Ministry. Haryana went to the polls and Bansi Lal became CM. I sent a congratulatory telegram and he telephoned and asked me to return to the state as Principal Secretary. He told me to meet him the next day at Gulzari Lal Nanda’s house on Tughlak Road.
I had been in Delhi hardly a month and suggested he choose someone else as the Home Ministry might not relieve me so soon. He went to Chandigarh and shot off a letter to Home Minister YB Chavan. The latter called me and said, “I can’t say no to Bansi Lal.” I pointed out that the government of Haryana was shaky. He told me not to worry and that I could rejoin at the Centre whenever I wished.
The young state needed a lot of development work. Bansi Lal was very tough, ruthless, impulsive and development-oriented. One day, he announced that the bridge on the Ghaggar river would be inaugurated by Indira Gandhi. I thought it was a gimmick as the bridge was not even planned. But he fixed the date and made everybody work to meet the deadline and the inauguration took place.
I fondly recall an incident during my posting in PEPSU as Deputy Secretary. On the first day in office, I was reading a PG Wodehouse. Suddenly, I realized somebody was standing behind me. Turning around, I saw Pandit Jwaharlal Nehru and Pratap Singh Kairon. Nehru asked what I was reading and I told him. He talked to me for half an hour. Later, when I was Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Agriculture University, Nehru visited and asked if he had met me earlier. I said, “Yes, sir…PG Wodehouse.” He recollected the meeting at once.
My minister, Lal Singh, had been my
peon before. I called him, saying that
I wanted to meet him. He came and sat
on the floor, to my embarrassment
When Bansi Lal became Defence Minister, I moved with him as Principal Secretary. One day, he called me and said Sanjay Gandhi wanted Dhirendra Brahmachari to fly to Mantalai (Jammu) by a certain route. I suggested that the advice of Air Chief Marshal H Moolgavkar be sought. Moolgavkar advised that he could fly only along the predetermined route. Another time Sanjay Gandhi wanted to build a residential colony near an ordnance factory. The proposal was sent to General TN Raina, who opposed it. Bansi Lal sent me to convey this to Sanjay Gandhi, who became furious. He called the notes stupid and the functioning obstructive. He said the Delhi Development Authority Vice-Chairman Jagmohan was ready for the project. I reasoned with him, saying the colony could not be built there. If any mishap occurred, my neck would be on the block. I made the mistake of assuring him I would send the proposal again. He replied that we would again come up with stupid answers.
Two days after the fall of the Indira Gandhi government, I attended the wedding of the son of Dr KP Mathur, personal physician of Indira Gandhi. In the changed political scenario, everybody wanted to avoid him. But I met him and he said, “I owe you an apology.” I was touched by his gesture.
When the Janata Party came to power, Devi Lal became Haryana CM and, in his very first press conference announced that he would send me to jail. Innumerable inquiries were set up but nothing was found against me as I never let Bansi Lal do any wrong. I kept going on medical leave or with half-pay or without pay. One day, I thought enough was enough and went with my brother to meet Devi Lal at Sauna tourist resort where he was camping. He was sitting on a charpoy under a tree. The moment he came to know I had come, he called for me. He seemed happy to see me and asked me to return to Haryana as his Principal Secretary. Showing willingness, I asked if he still trusted me despite his pronouncement that he would have me handcuffed. He replied that the inquiries had revealed that I had done good work for Haryana. When I asked him to consult his Chief Secretary, he said I was not to worry. He told me to join immediately and bring my luggage later.
When I reached Chandigarh to take up the assignment, I found that Devi Lal was in hospital. By that time, he had become a virtual prisoner of his sons, Sahib Ram, Om Prakash Chautala and Ranjit Singh. I met him in the hospital and, as I was coming out of his room, Sahib Ram confronted me and said he wanted to speak to me. I asked him to get an appointment from my private assistant as I was not free for the next 15 days. The Chief Secretary, Isha Dass, used to take instructions from him.
Ranjit Singh also came to me and said that it was he who had suggested that I be brought back. He added that his problem was that every proposal he sent to the secretariat came back unattended. His hint was clear but I told him to have me removed by the CM and not interfere in the administration. If his problem was genuine, I would look into it.
One morning, Devi Lal called me. Chautala had been caught at the airport with smuggled goods and the CM wanted to resign. He asked me to call a press conference. I said he need not resign. He should tell the world that Chautala was no longer his son. This is what he told the press and the Chandigarh newspapers said that Devi Lal had set an example by disowning his son. I have never spoken to Chautala till today.
Devi Lal was a good human being. He was not vindictive and never punished even his enemies. He kept humanitarian considerations in mind. Bansi Lal, on the other hand, was a “Yaron ka yaar and dushmanon ka dushman.”
The Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, was against my appointment as Principal Secretary to Devi Lal. He asked Devi Lal why he had appointed me. Devi Lal replied that it was his prerogative to appoint who he liked. After Bhajan Lal toppled Devi Lal and became CM, he too appointed me his Principal Secretary. Again, Desai objected and asked Bhajan Lal to remove me.
Bhajan Lal told me about this and asked me to choose any department. I chose Social Welfare, where I was faced with a peculiar problem. My minister, Lal Singh, had been my peon before. I called him, saying that I wanted to meet him. He came and sat on the floor, to my embarrassment. I requested Bhajan Lal to shift me again and he did.
Indira Gandhi once wanted me to take over as Chairman of the Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). RK Dhawan did not like me and asked the Tourism Minster not to move the file and Chief Minister Bhajan Lal not to relieve me. I met Mrs Gandhi and informed her that Dhawan did not want me in ITDC. She then asked me to come to the Prime Minister’s Office as Joint Secretary. The hint was enough for Dhawan to hurriedly get my file okayed for appointment in ITDC. As Joint Secretary in the PMO, I would have been senior to Dhawan and perhaps this was the message she conveyed to set him right.
When Chandrasekhar became Prime Minister, he appointed me his Principal Secretary. He also decided that Morarji Desai be awarded the Bharat Ratna. President R Venkataraman refused to confer the award on him on the ground that he had earlier been given the Nissan-e-Pakistan. He considered Desai a hypocrite. So a Joint Secretary of the Government of India went to Mumbai and conferred the Bharat Ratna on Desai. The press was told that the award was given to him at his residence due to his ill health.
My biggest achievement is that I have never taken any job in a routine manner. I have always been busy building up institutions. I have set up Punjab Agriculture University, Moti Lal Nehru Sports Complex, Haryana Tourism, Suraj Kund Handicrafts Mela, National Institute of Fashion Technology and National Handloom Corporation.
Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, PN Thapar (Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agriculture University) and Mangat Rai (Chief Secretary, Punjab) influenced me immensely. I learnt passion for work from Bansi Lal and Pratap Singh Kairon.
