He was above all a fine human being. I knew him and may be he also knew me a
little though he knew Anwesha very well and was one of our well wishers. I met
him a few times in Assam and Delhi. But for last couple of days his memory is
disturbing me again and again.There is a profound sense of loss.
By the way your piece in the Assam Tribune was beautiful and very moving.
Regards,
Paresh Malakar
----- Original Message -----
From: Sanjoy Hazarika
To: [email protected]
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 12:34 PM
Subject: Re: [asom] A dynamic Assamese bureucrat is lost
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.
