knowledge has no horizons

"World has witnessed many being victimized simply for being sincere, and in this list is added the IAS officer Umashankar" is the statement that I heard my friend poetically say, who once happened to take him for a ride in a bike to a village near Melur, Madurai district, for the inspection of newly built houses for Adi Dravidas. Of course, no one with conscience would find the statement hyperbolic, as he was obviously known for the dedication to the desk, whatever it be – either his career as an additional collector in Madurai, or as the first collector in Thiruvarur (the district in which the sitting Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was born), or as the managing director of ELCOT, or as the managing director of the government-run and the “yet-coming” Tamil Nadu Cable Television Corporation or as the Director of Small Savings, and he earned a good name in all of these.

He proved himself to be a man of sincerity right from his career as an additional collector in Madurai. His bold exposing of cremation shed scam in 1995 that involved Selva Ganapathy, the ex-minister in the AIADMK regime and the current MP of Rajya Sabha representing DMK gained him a place in Karunanidhi’s heart. This, in turn, resulted in appointing him the first collector of the newly born Thiruvarur district in ….Wherever he goes, his thirst for innovations and his quest for sincerity follows. He made Thiruvarur to be the best district in India in E-Governance. After a setback for a span of five years during the AIADMK regime, he was then elevated as the Managing Director of ELCOT, where he poured a new blood implementing innovations in taking tenders, thus becoming a model for others to follow.

Besides, he was the brain behind the nine information technology parks and special economic zones (SEZs). That, thus a man known for his sincerity was suspended on the grounds of having produced a fake community certificate, which reads, the Tamil Nadu government claims, as Hindu Adidravidar instead of Christian Adidravidar caused many to raise eyebrows in surprise and shock. What acted behind such a man’s suspension, obviously as one expects, requires a flashback.

That, having appointed the Managing Director of ELCOT, he started inquiry into the causes of loss of properties worth a several hundred crores, and this was said to be disturbed the sleep of “the South” (Junior Vikatan 28-07-2010), then was he transferred to DIC; Days passed by, and there came a rivalry between Karunanidhi and his family and the Maran brothers over the issue of publishing the survey that projected M.K.Stalin as Karunanidhi’s next political heir with support from majority of people, finally claiming three innocent lives; Karunanidhi opted to be on the side of his sons, while at the same time analyzing the possibilities of putting an end to Summangali Cable Network run by Maran brothers; Coming to his mind was Umashankar IAS when he was cudgeling his brains over the issue, and then came the State Cable Corporation with Umashankar as the head of it; is the flashback to be taken into consideration.

Umashankar continued his “usual” work, and nothing went wrong until the “parted” families became “united”. His recommendations to nationalize Sumangali Cable Corporation and to take action against the sitting central minister invited the wrath of the brothers at the time and the wrath continued fuming. Now he is under suspension, albeit on the grounds of fake certificate as the government claims.

Leave that as it is. The government came with the reasons for suspending Umashankar, and the questions that one seeks to clarify are that which state government is given with the powers of doing any such thing and under what provisions? If the fake community certificate is real concern of the government, what it did for around 20 years (he served the office from August, 1990, and the certificate was issued to him 1985), does the government want to question the credibility of UPSC (Union Public Service Commision) that granted him IAS cadre after checking with all the certificates, including his community certificate? And finally whom to satisfy the action being taken?

UPSC is provided with the power of taking action against the accused, in the case of certificate being a fake one. Everyone is sure to share with Umashankar his surprise of suspension without issuing him even a notice. Government is to guide the people a devise welfare plans for them. But preferring [Karunanidhi] people’s welfare to that of general public and the officials working for them would force one to lose faith in democracy. The man who boasts of “working” for the public cause for over a half century should have known it.