My Times: A Civil Servant Remembers

This book reads like a memoir which spans the period from recently-independent India to the globalization era of the 1990’s. What makes it all the more interesting is that it has been narrated by a person who has been in the midst of it all and actively participated in the progress of India’s maturity and growth. The author reflects on the various issues that faced our nation and the manner in which attempts were made to solve these problems or not to solve them. He has covered an amazingly wide range of subjects, topics and issues: Origin of the Naxalite Movement in North Bengal, Problems of sharecroppers and the Rural Poor, Green Revolution, Public Distribution System, Pernicious Role of underhand political contribution by Business Groups, Company Law Perspectives, Growth of the Capital Market, Lowering of Ethical and Moral Values, Corruption, Difference between Politicians of Yesteryears and Today, Change in the Bureaucratic Order, Tourism, Public Finance, Development Planning including the inevitable Transition to Indicative Planning, the Problems of Interface between the Politicians and Civil Servants and the growing nexus between Crime and Politics. His narration besides being corroborated by history also gives the impression as seen, witnessed and experienced by a sensitive and a perceptive individual. A reading of this book reveals just how much an individual is capable of performing and contributing in bringing about a sense of coherency to a mismanaged system. A “must” for anyone who wishes to contribute one’s mite to social development and progress of India.