Sad luck for Nirupama Rao! Her diplomacy just did not work on home turf. The search for the new Foreign Secretary has just started though there are nearly seven months to go before Rao retires. She was supposed to retire in December 2010 but got an extension till July 2011. And the probable list of candidates is long.
According to South Block insiders, Rao sought – unsuccessfully – the appointment of her husband, Sudhakar Rao (who retired as Chief Secretary, Karnataka) as Chief Information Commissioner of India. Next, she wanted her term as Foreign Secretary to be extended, like that of the Cabinet Secretary, to four years. South Block (where the Prime Minister also sits) gave the matter much thought but finally decided against it. There are already too many issues cropping up among IFS officers. So, keeping in mind the many visits by heads of state scheduled for the remainder of this year and early next year, Rao was given an extension.
Lalli thumbs nose at Meira
Lok Sabha TV has been functioning sans a head. Now, it does not behove a premier channel whose business is public service broadcasting to have anything less than a Director – or, in modern parlance, a CEO. The Lok Sabha Speaker, Meira Kumar, made a sound decision by asking for LD Mandloi, DDG, Doordarshan, to head the TV channel. Mandloi, a former Acting DG of Doordarshan and a celebrated Hindi writer, was an ideal candidate from the reserved category.
But BS Lalli, CEO, Prasar Bharati, refuses to let Mandloi go. Not because he values this highly competent staffer but in sheer defiance for authority, a trait he is known for. He has apparently stated, “I do not bow before political authority.” Paradoxically, he has also said that Meira Kumar was once a junior bureaucrat and he goes by seniority! Living in his own shell, Lalli is already facing umpteen serious allegations but seems to be hell-bent on inviting more.
Nambiar’s London dreams
The Civil Aviation Secretary, M Madhavan Nambiar, retires in November and, following in the footsteps of other retiring bureaucrats, is seeking rehabilitation. He set his sights on a chosen post quite some time ago and pushed his candidature for it. This prestigious post is that of Director of the Nehru Centre in London.
Nambiar wanted to replace the current Director, IFS officer Monika Kapil Mohta, as his daughter works in London. The Nehru Centre is controlled by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations under the aegis of the Ministry of External Affairs. Nambiar persuaded the ICCR president, Dr Karan Singh, to recommend him for the post but his London dream was squashed by External Affairs Minister SM Krishna.
Glitz and grime at Doon
Doon School just held Founder’s Day and it was a star-studded affair. President Pratibha Patil was the chief guest, and Education Minister Kapil Sibal and the King of Bhutan also attended. Nearly 5,000 former students and guests were at the three-day celebration. But, along with the razzmatazz, some serious issues bubbled just beneath the surface. There has been a running controversy that the school is becoming the playing ground of the super-rich and out of reach of civil servants, army officers and other professionals. It has been hiking fees year after year. Alumni have sought access to auditors’ reports justifying these hikes but the school board is not playing ball. Its chairman, chosen by the Indian Public Schools Society, is businessman and Max India founder Analjit Singh.
One alumnus, former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, wrote to Analjit that even though the Board may not be covered under RTI, it should accede to the request to open up its books to public scrutiny in the interests of modern democratic practices. But Analjit still wouldn’t budge, providing more grist to the mill for those who say his attitude reflects the “new” Doon School – an institution more interested in money and autocracy than the values of its founding fathers who promoted transparency, accountability, selflessness and character-building in the spirit of Tagore.
