 Guns were booming in Europe heralding the onset of World War I
in 1914. Chidambara Gounder and his wife, from an agriculturist stock, in a village called
Senguttampalayam, tucked in near obscurity in Coimbatore District near Pollachi were busy
sending their son Subramaniam, aged about four then, to the nearby thinnai palli
koodam. Bag full of books and a brass tiffin-box full of "ragi kali" with
"pullichai keerai kadasal" the boy set forth for the school by walk. This was a
daily routine, rain or shine with a single-minded steadfastness. Little did the parents
foresee that this boy of theirs will one day be waging a war of his own against hunger and
be a harbinger of a revolution in the country on the food front called the "green
revolution" which will be as potent and far reaching as its distant cousins - the
French and the Industrial, as Union Minister for Food and Agriculture in an independent
India.
This single-minded and steadfast pursuit of
scholastics saw Subramaniam through to doing B.Sc in Physics at the Presidency College and
later on Law at the Law College, Madras, after a good grounding in the high school stages
in Pollachi. He was a brilliant scholar right through. The preoccupation with education
did not, however, prevent him from getting into nationalistic movement around 1932 as a
student of Law and later on as a budding lawyer. He drew inspiration from another lawyer
who had already left a lucrative practice in Salem and made his mark as an all India
Congress leader - Rajaji. Reading about Rajaji and his works, he modeled himself to be the
later day statesman of caliber known for his sharp wit and benevolent wisdom. He would not
have imagined in the 30’s that soon he was to be under the personal tutelage of
Rajaji, much less being his protege in the political arena. It was not difficult for CS to
follow Rajaji’s simplicity and adopt a sense of equanimity, as he was already
conditioned in spirituality and morality by the unique exposure he had from his paternal
uncle Swami Chitpavananda, who founded the famous seat of learning on the banks of Cauvery
in Thirupparaithurai near Kulithalai.
A caste-less society that was the
shibboleth of politicians was not a mere slogan sans action for CS. As an up and coming
lawyer he married a girl from the Balija Naidu community who was one of the early
graduates among women in that community. She was nearly 13 years younger to him. This
created more than mere flutter - an upheaval! The family and community shunned the
marriage and including the couple there was just a crowd of 10 to witness this marriage.
Despite being one of the very few women graduates then and coming from a well-to-do
family, she was quintessentially a homebound lady keeping a low profile. A trait continued
even when she was the wife of a minister in State and union governments and also as the
wife of the Governor in later years. This perhaps helped CS raise a fine family of two
daughters and a son and bring them up well in spite of his being in public life since his
prime years.
Having functioned successfully as minister
for Finance, Education and Law in Rajaji’s cabinet, his services were drafted as
union minister for Steel and Heavy Industries under the premiership of Nehru in the early
60s. With his pragmatic approach, these industries had a new lease of life to see better
days in the very near future. During Lal Bhadur Shastri’s tenure, as PM, he was
shifted to Food and Agriculture which many felt was a demotion, without realising that
belonging to an agriculturist family nothing could have been closer to his heart and
capabilities than the food-front. This also incidentally was high on priority in the
agenda of the government, thanks to food shortage and mounting population. CS addressed
himself to this task right from day one and went about it in a systematic and planned way.
He made a declaration in 1966 in the parliament that he will make India a surplus state in
the matter of food production in about 10 years’ time. The right communists and
rightists elements in the Congress who studied his action plans which included importing
of hybrid seeds (wheat from Mexico and rice from Philippines) and fertilizer tried to pull
the rug from under his feet virtually accusing him of trying to "sell" the
nation to foreign interests. With Nehruvian impatience and intolerance (he imbibed a lot
of Nehru’s qualities during his long association with him) at "nonsense",
such as these baseless apprehensions and charges he told, unequivocally so, Lal Bahadur
Shastri that if there was a better man to do this job, he was quite prepared to move over.
Lal Bahadur Shastri convinced CS to continue, realising perhaps that he not only knew the
business but also meant it. That was the story and glory of ushering in efforts for the
Green Revolution.
The Green revolution, as an achievement in
the years to come, was no flash in the pan involving mere import of seeds. It was an
edifice well architectured with various other contributory factors that started with
setting the Indian Council for Agriculture Research the apex body for agriculture
research, in order. Hitherto members of ICS were the Director Generals of the ICAR. CS,
the pragmatist, saw to it that this was changed and an agriculture expert was put at the
helm of affairs. Dr. B.P. Pal, a world renowned agriculture scientist was the first such
technical head. Similarly, ICAR, which was hitherto pursuing exotic research, was made to
take to research on matters known to Indian agricultural conditions. The scientists, who
also had a lackluster approach, were enthused with better working conditions and congenial
atmosphere where their involvement was improved. Lab to land concept combined with
numerous demonstration plots helped farmers being convinced of the efficacy of hybrid
seeds and other improved agriculture methods. All these orchestrated into an effective
action plan, which coupled with help and aid from abroad in the shape of imported seeds,
fertilizer and expertise in certain areas made farmers achieve a quantum leap especially
in wheat and rice production. He foresaw however that increased production would bring in
its wake the twin problems of fall in price and storage. This was the genesis of
agriculture price enquiry commission (to determine the minimum price for food crops) food
corporation (to step in to do procurement when price falls) ware housing corporation (to
stock food grains). The green revolution was achieved well before the date set by him and
the ‘doubting thomases’ and detractors at long last realised it was better to
import seeds and fertilizer for a short while than importing food grains forever even
under benevolent schemes like PL48. As a concomitant to this revolution agriculture in
India acquired a status as an industry.
He had the unique distinction of serving as
minister under the premiership of Nehru, Shastri and Indira Gandhi - each known for
his/her own style of functioning. That CS not merely survived but flourished with all the
three, is no indication that he was "flexible". In fact, he had his own way of
purpose oriented approach which all the three knew and respected.
It was late in the afternoon on 6th October
‘99 that I had an appointment with him more to meet this "great" under the
provocation of doing the write-up than to collect details, as what he is and what he has
been is universally well known. When I was led into his expansive bedroom he was seated on
a chaise lounge, dressed in dhoti and a half-sleeved mull jubba. The rudraksha cum tulsi
mala he was wearing stood out in all its brilliance and brightness like his lively pair of
eyes through the dark library-framed glasses. He had a headphone watching with rapt
attention the wide screened muted TV. The first of election results was just then dripping
in. He signalled me to be seated and also to be quiet for a while. The news of Dr.
Manmohan Singh losing was what was going on then. CS was pensive, as he removed his
headphone with "a good man". Dr. Manmohan Singh and many other current day big
names in bureaucracy and public life like P.C. Alexander, Venkitaramanan, Dr. M.S.
Swaminathan, have had their baptism in his benign hands. It was no surprise that he looked
simple, as he was so even in the gubernatorial position as Governor of Maharashtra. During
his tenancy of the Raj Bhavan, in Mumbai, expenses came under his personal scrutiny and in
many areas where it was on a lavish scale, it was ruthlessly cut to realistic ones in tune
with the general economic condition of the country. It was almost a "repeat" of
his mentor Rajaji who in a similar position was found washing his own clothing in the
"vice-regal" tap!
He was in the midst of books and sheaves of
paper that he worked on when he was with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan of which he is the
International President. He has published the materials for the fourth volume of his
memoirs "Hand of Destiny". It was indeed nice of him to have spent some time
with me which was mostly on the fall in values all round. To my rather blunt question if
he saw any redemption for this, his was an emphatic ‘Yes’ for a reply. The
spiritual mooring in our country, according to him, is deep-rooted and cannot be
dislodged. Simultaneously with creating awareness among the citizens to their rights and
duties, he felt that men and women in public life should be self-disciplined, especially
the bureaucrats. For they are fortunately placed and should have the disposition to guide
the ministers in proper discharge of their duties to the people at large who elected them,
rather than indulging in feathering their own nests. He was also of the firm view that the
future of the country is in the hands of young boys and girls who must be imbued even at
the school stage with religion and morality. It is relevant to mention here that very
recently on the occasion of Gandhiji’s birthday he got the CM of TamilNadu agree to
use the CD ROM on Gandhi produced by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in all government schools
which are soon to have computers installed in their premises.
For a man who will complete 90 years of age
in the very first month of the next millennium, his optimism is robust and infectious.
Synchronising with this his activities for the cause of public has made him a busy beaver
as ever. Thanks to Yoga, regular food habits and a disciplined life, he looks a very
picture of health and cheer. May he live long, like his alter ego and another Bharat Ratna
Dr. M. Visveswariah who lived beyond 100 years to see the dream of his life -
resuscitation of human values realised.
T.L.Raghavan
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