Ihad some associations with TN Seshan, the legendary Chief Election Commissioner, civil servant and administrator who passed away aged 86. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to him by recounting some anecdotes during my brief association with him when he was peaking in his career and I was a junior officer working in the Special Protection Group (SPG). My first encounter with Seshan was in 1987 when he was Secretary (Security) and in that capacity he oversaw the working of the elite SPG which was responsible for the security of the Prime Minister and his family members.
Ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meet (CHOGM) at Vancouver (Canada) in 1987, I was asked by my Director to accompany Seshan to Vancouver for carrying out the Advance Security Liaison with the Canadian authorities. I was hesitant knowing Seshan’s mercurial temper (I also wondered if he would make me carry his briefcase). However, when I met him at Delhi airport he greeted me warmly saying that he would catch up with me on the flight to Tokyo enroute to Vancouver. The Japan Airlines flight descended on Tokyo International Airport and I could spot Mount Fuji from my window. Tokyo was a transit halt and there was a little time left to catch the Canadian Pacific flight to Vancouver.
Embassy officials were present to receive Seshan. I was excited at the possibility of some quick shopping at the airport as an array of attractive items were showcased in the duty free shops and I was tempted to buy some for my 3-year-old son and 9- year-old daughter. It had to be a quick job as the next flight was to leave and my companion was a man who could explode any time. I window shopped but didn’t buy anything as the zeroes in the Japanese Yen frightened me into thinking that prices could be exorbitant. Seeing me coming back emptyhanded, Seshan quipped, “you didn’t buy anything for your children?”.
I said I didn’t because the costs were prohibitive. He thundered, “you must buy something for your children and Tokyo is the best place. So what, if things are expensive?” We boarded the huge Canadian Pacific aircraft which had only a handful of Japanese students travelling to Vancouver. I was slightly nervous as the flight was to cross the International Date Line and navigate throughout over the mighty Pacific. In the plane, I asked for strong pegs of whiskey and got knocked off. Because of an almost empty plane, I made a makeshift bed by pushing back the hand rests and started preparing to sleep. Then, I noticed Seshan walking merrily towards the economy class.
He came straight to me and said, “Mukharji, I have come to see if you are at ease or not. If you want you can come to the first-class section where I am seated. I can get you a seat there and you would be more comfortable.” I was touched by his concern but politely declined the gesture as I was slightly inebriated and wanted to sleep at the earliest. But I was touched by the thoughtfulness of the man. On arrival at Vancouver, we were received by the Consul General of India (CGI) and a senior SPG officer who was already in Canada. We were straight driven to the Pan Pacific Hotel where Seshan was ushered to his deluxe suite. He immediately asked the receiving team, “Where is Mukharji staying?” The officials said that they would soon arrange a room for me and that he should settle down.
He was livid and said, “Mukerji, you rest in my room with your baggage, till they find a room for you. But you people should have already arranged a room for him as he must be equally exhausted after the long flight”. He strongly admonished them, expressing his unhappiness. In his official dealings, Seshan was crisp, to the point and a perfectionist. Once, when he was Cabinet Secretary, he came to the PM’s residence at Race Course Road for a Cabinet meeting. At the entry point there was a traffic snarl with cars carrying Ministers causing a jam. Seshan alighted from his car and looked for the nearest SPG officer who was facilitating entry of the Ministers with the help of the Delhi Traffic Police.
Angrily and at the top of his voice, he said “Call the CP here and ask him to end the jam immediately”. He added, “Tell him this is not a request but an order”. Such was his authority that the traffic chaos soon dissipated and order was restored. Once I was sent by my boss to Seshan’s house. He was dressed in a spotless top and white dress akin to a lungi. He made me comfortable inside his drawing room and asked his wife to serve some homemade eats. I was overwhelmed by such simplicity from such a senior man. His wife served me. I realized then that the Seshans were childless. Yet he had been so thoughtful when insisting that I buy gifts for my children at Tokyo airport. On his passing away, the obituaries have been many but equally some say that he died unsung. I don’t believe so but at his cremation, there was a conspicuous absence of many people. This happened at the last rites of Field Marshal Manekshaw too in 2008. I guess this is true about legendary public servants who live long after a fickle public has forgotten their contributions to the country.
(The writer, a retired IPS officer, had served in the SPG)