from today's Assam Tribune, a piece I wrote -- but so many pages are
unwritten, so many stories untold, so many voices unheard. and I would never
use the word bureaucrat for him, as some on this group are doing, for he was
far above all this pigeon holing: an amazing human being. sanjoy hazarika
Ashok Saikia: an officer and a gentleman
By Sanjoy Hazarika
Ashok Saikia left on a journey from where he will not return. Many of whom
who knew him will be filled with the overwhelming sense of loss at the
sudden departure of one of Assam's – and India's – brightest and best. Born
in Titabor in the year of India's independence, Ashok da schooled at his
home town and Shillong before going to Ramjas College in Delhi where he
studied history and first knew the Kauls, who were part of Atal Bihari
Vajpayee's extended family. And the poet-politician and the young scholar
who went into the IAS (batch of 1971) got on well. It was there too that he
formed lifelong friendships with people like Arun Jaitley and Virendra
Kapoor.
Ashok Da rose through the ranks, starting as an Additional Deputy
Commissioner in Darrang, as DC in Karbi Anglong and then served as Education
Commissioner in Assam, in the 1980s. He had a stint in the Atomic Energy
Commission in Mumbai and was joined by a young IFS officer from Assam,
Jaimini Bhagwati, son of the late BC Bhagawati.
Ashok Da was one of the best sources for reporting in that troubled time in
Assam: in my book, Strangers of the Mist, I recount how the "boyish-looking
bureaucrat" told me how successive governments in Assam had failed to meet
basic needs in the Bodo areas, especially in the appointment of teachers and
how 5,000 posts were lying vacant since 1974. He managed to fill 700 of them
during the AGP time where he was highly regarded for his integrity and
efficiency – those qualities were his hallmark through life, his badge of
courage and cleanliness.
Under the first AGP regime, he was asked to investigate the Statfed scandal
when contractors cornered about Rs. two crore in supplying grain to fair
price stores and supplied rotten grain. When he starting digging too deep
and found his work blocked, he complained but was told at a state cabinet
meeting to keep quiet since the money was "for the boys," an euphemism for
ULFA.
Outlook wrote a piece on him in July 2000 which described him as epitomizing
"the faceless bureaucrat." I could not disagree more. Ashok da was fearless,
not faceless. He was caring and fiercely protective of those close to him.
And although he wielded enormous clout in the Prime Minister's Office, as
one of the triumvirate of Brajesh Mishra and Shakti Singh who virtually had
access 24x7 to Shri Vajpayee, he never misused that power. He only used it
to help those who needed help but did not have access; the person who needed
treatment for cancer but did not have the funds – the stories are legion.
Another journalist described him as "mild-mannered, unassuming;" clearly,
they didn't have an idea of what they were talking about – when it came to
asserting his views, Ashok Da was anything but mild and unassuming.
One of his favourite places was Vietnam where he was among the first
international consultants flown in by the UN to work on development
projects. His office was full of his photographs of rice fields and
Vietnamese countryside. Armed with a master's degree in social
administration from the London School of Economics, he used his knowledge to
test ideas out there and also in India when he virtually held the
"portfolios" of agriculture and poverty alleviation in the PMO, apart from
the sensitive job of official postings.
I've sat through many conversations in his office in the PMO when he would
cajole, admonish or persuade someone to take up an assignment or tell him or
her why the job of their choice was not for the taking. And he did it with
cheer, although he would tell me, "I've got gout, blood pressure,
everything, I'm not sleeping well and I'm on call all the time." I would
say, "Take a break, tell the old man you need to get away." And he would
just smile and chuckle.
When the NDA government was defeated, he took an assignment with the Asian
Development Bank in Manila , where he traveled extensively, enjoyed his work
and a more relaxed lifestyle. He took early retirement this year, planning
trips; there were assignments for the asking. I planned to visit this week
to get his counsel on some ideas.
That was not to be. Had he had continued in service, Ashok Saikia, IAS Batch
of 1971, would have officially retired on New Year's Eve.
Ashok Da, also known as Roon, married Ranjana (Bhonti), daughter of the late
KP Baruah, former Finance Commissioner of Assam. As children growing up in
Shillong, my brother and I were often in the home of Bhonti's parents; our
fathers were close friends. Her sister Baby is married to IPS officer
Shankar Baruah and brother Milan (Rontu) is a close friend, having studied
in the same class at school.
He was blunt: he abhorred the so-called insurgencies of the North-east and
their violence. Yet, he would take time to meet privately with Naga civil
society leaders to listen to their concerns. He was also an amazing systems
man, in terms of his ability to process requests, come up with solutions or
alternatives; but he was also a deeply caring husband and father, who was
delighted by the news last week of his elder son's promotion and plan to
move to Bangkok.
There are many gaps in the telling of his story, for the stories are
endless. I can only cast my small net and catch a few.
This loss goes far beyond his family and circle of friends. To me, he
symbolized all that was good about Assam, in his generosity, openness,
kindness, integrity and firmness. We have lost a redeemer, a karmayogi, and
as the dozens of messages which poured into my mobile this morning asserted
– a good human being.
