583. The Home Minister

Gurchander was elected to be the Chief Minister by the legislators belonging to his party. But, the dominance of other leaders in the party created difficulties for Guruchander in selecting his cabinet colleagues and allocating portfolios to them.

After prolonged deliberations within the party forums and among the senior leaders of the party, the cabinet formation was finalized.

Some of the leaders who were expecting cabinet posts were disappointed. Among those who got cabinet posts, some did not get the portfolios they had asked for.

However, those who were given berths in the cabinet realized that they needed to make some compromises, if they wanted to retain their cabinet posts, grudgingly accepted the portfolios given to them and assumed office.

"It is customary for the Chief Minister to hold the Home portfolio. But you remained firm in your demand for the Home portfolio and got it. This is a significant victory for you" Satish, a supporter, told Home Minister Ganeshbabu.

"What do you think? I could have made a claim for the Chief Minister's post. But I think the time is not ripe for it. If I have the Home portfolio, I will be able to do things favourable to our supporters in the party, keep our rivals in the party at bay and strengthen our faction. That way, it will be easy for me to climb the throne, when the right circumstances develop" said Ganeshbabu, feeling euphoric.

"Is there not a practice of the Intelligence Chief giving a report to the Home Minister, on a daily basis, highlighting the important information gathered by the department?" Ganeshbabu asked the Director General of Police (DGP).

"Yes, there is" said the DGP.

"It has been a week since I assumed office as the Home Minister. The Intelligence Chief made a courtesy call on me the day I assumed office. But, after that, he never reported to me."

"I don't know about it, sir. As you are aware, though the Intelligence Chief is my sub-ordinate officer, he functions autonomously. I cannot interfere in his functioning. I won't be able to question him. It will be appropriate, if you can summon him and ask him about it."

Ganeshbabu did not want to share with the DGP that he had summoned the Intelligence Chief a couple of times, but that he ignored the minister's summons, realizing that if he did, he would only be sharing his humiliation with the DGP.

"Ok. I will take care of it" said Ganeshbabu.

Chief Minister Guruchander warmly received Ganeshbabu, who entered his cabin.

"The Intelligence Chief doesn't respect me. He doesn't give me the daily report, as required. I had summoned him twice, but he ignored my summons. I suggest that you replace him immediately" Ganeshbabu told the Chief Minister, in a demanding voice.

"If I replace him with another person, the new person will also act in the same way!" said the Chief Minister, smiling.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"It was my directive that the Intelligence Chief report to me alone, and not to any other minister or the DGP."

"Why? Is it not customary for the Intelligence Chief to report to the Home Minister?"

"Yes. But, it is also customary for the Home portfolio to be held by the Chief Minister. With that custom having been broken by my ceding the home portfolio to you, I thought it appropriate to change the other custom also!" said Guruchander.

"But why?"

"Mr. Ganeshbabu! It is the Chief Minister's prerogative to allocate the portfolio to the cabinet ministers. But, because of the factional pulls in our party, I could not do so. I had to accept quite a few compromises. But, unless I know what is happening in the country through the daily reports given by the Intelligence department, I won't be able to run the government effectively. That is why I made this arrangement."

"If the Intelligence chief submits the reports to me, I will definitely share them with you" said Ganeshbabu, climbing down from his belligerent stance and striking a conciliatory note.

"Of course, you will. But I think, from the point of governance, it will be better that I receive the report directly from the Intelligence Chief and share with you what is relevant to your department, rather than you receiving the report from the Intelligence Chief and deciding what parts of the report are to be shared with me" said Guruchander, in a firm tone.

"In future, if you become the Chief Minister - I know that you have that ambition - and the Home portfolio is held by another minister, you will find this idea useful!" he added, with a smile. 

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 59

Managing Intelligence Operations

Verse 583 (in Tamil):

oRRinAn oRRip poruL theriyA mannavan
koRRam koLak kidandhadhu il.

Meaning:

There is no way a king can succeed, if he does not gather intelligence on the happenings in the country, using surveillance and taking action as per his assessment of the situation revealed by such intelligence.

 

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'uLavuththuRai' by the same author.) 

Verse 584 (Soon)
Verse 582

582.The King's Friend

"How are you, Your Majesty!" asked Narheeran.

"I was fine, till a moment ago!" quipped King Makutapathi.

"Sorry. I seem to have come at a wrong time" said Narkeeran, somewhat taken aback.

"Stupid fool! Shall I not feel hurt, if a dear friend addresses me 'Your Majesty'?" said Makutapathy, laughing and putting his hand on Narkeeran's shoulder, by way of showing his affection for his friend.

"Thank God! For a moment, I was upset thinking that I came to meet you at a wrong time. Though we are childhood friends, the fact remains that you are the king and I am an ordinary citizen."

"Friendship comes first. Wealth, position, power and social status can only rank below friendship. This is what our teacher taught us in Gurukulam*. Have you forgotten it?"

"Well, when I was in Gurukulam, I never focused on learning. Having got as my classmate the crown prince of my country, I didn't consider education important to me. Now, let me come to the purpose of my visit. Though I am your friend, I shouldn't be wasting the precious time of the king. My daughter's marriage has been fixed. I came here to hand you the invitation for the wedding. My wife and I extend our warm invitation to the king and the queen."

Narkeeran looked at his wife, who was standing a few feet behind him. Taking his cue, she advanced a few steps and stood next to her husband, holding a tray on which were some flowers, marriage invitation, and tiny cups filled with sandalwood paste and saffron powder. Narkeeran and his wife held the tray together and presented it to the king and the queen standing near him.

The king picked up the invitation and both the king and the queen, following tradition, applied a peck of sandal paste and saffron powder on their foreheads

"I am very happy, Narkeeran. I am sure that you would have chosen a worthy gentleman as your daughter's bridegroom" said Mukutapathy.

"The practice of parents choosing the match for their siblings seems to have ended with our generation. The young lads and lasses of today prefer to choose their life-partners, by themselves" said Narkeeran, with a sigh.

"I am sure that your daughter has selected a good person, suitable to her. Otherwise, you wouldn't have given your consent for the marriage!" said Makutapathy, looking at Narkeeran's wife with a smile.

After Narkeeran and his wife took leave of the king and queen. Queen Thilakavathy asked her husband, "You told me a few days back that Narkeeran's daughter was in love with a merchant. But you talked to your friend, as if you were not aware of it!"

"I got that information through our intelligence service. How can I tell my friend that I spied on his daughter?" asked Makutapathy, laughing. 

"You spied on the family members of your friend! This is atrocious" said Thilakavathy, shocked by the king's reply.

"Thilakavathy! Our enemies can infiltrate among people close to us also. After infiltrating, they will use the contacts in various ways. They may try to get confidential information about me and my regime, or cause harm to our country by manipulating their contacts to perform seemingly innocuous tasks, designed to cause some kind of harm to our country, or by using their friendship in some other undesirable ways. What if the merchant who loved Narkeeran's daughter had a motive of learning some secrets about me or my regime, by getting close to Narkeeran? I was able to confirm that he was a good person, with no ulterior motives, only by having our intelligence service spy on Narkeeran's daughter and ascertain facts about her lover. Only through surveillance, a king will be able to identify who is good, who is wicked, whether there is any infiltration etc. It is the job of the spy to look at everyone with suspicion, till the time that person is cleared of all suspicions" explained the king.

"I don't know whether it is a coincidence, but when you have been talking to me about your intelligence set up, the Intelligence Chief has arrived at your doorstep to meet you. I will retire to the queen's quarters. Hopefully, you won't ask him to spy on me!" said Thilakavathy, mockingly.

She smiled at her husband and withdrew from the room.

"Come in Intelligence Chief" Makutapathy welcomed the Intelligence Chief, who was standing at the doorsteps of the King's room. "Give me the updates" he said, after the Intelligence Chief entered the room.

"As per your instruction, we put the Queen's brother under surveillance. I have confirmed that the foreigners he met are traders, not spies" said the Intelligence Chief.

"What a relief! You have taken a heavy load off my chest, by dispelling my concerns!" said Makutapathy, 

*Gurukulam is a system of education followed in ancient India, in which the students stayed at the teacher's home and learnt, while also doing service to the teacher in various ways.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 59

Managing Intelligence Operations

Verse 582 (in Tamil):

ellArkkum ellAm nigazhbavai ejnAnRun
vallaRidhal vEndhan thozhil.

Meaning:

It is the duty of a king to learn (through spies) what all happens, amongst all men, quickly, on a continuous basis.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'naNbarE AnAlum' by the same author.) 

Verse 583 (Soon)
Verse 581

581. The Humiliated Minister

"Your Majesty! As per your wish, you have stepped down as the king and crowned your son. I will serve your son with the same sense of loyalty with which I served you" said Viswarupan, the Minister.

"Minister! I find a contradiction in your statement" said King Gunavarman,

"What is it, Your Majesty?" asked the Minister, perplexed.

"Now that my son has been crowned, he is the king now. But you addressed me 'Your Majesty!'" said the King, smiling.

"How else can I address you, Your Majesty! Perhaps I should address you 'Your Super Majesty!" said Viswarupan, smiling.

"In that case, hereafter you will be the Super Minister!"

"What do you mean, Your Majesty..er..Your Super Majesty?" asked Viswarupan, feeling perturbed.

"You called me 'Your Super Majesty' because, I have been superannuated as the king. Since you are going to be superannuated, you will become Super Minister."

Viswarupan kept quiet, not knowing what to say, while the king's court was stunned into silence, realizing that something was amiss. 

Gunavarman's son Ilamaran, who had just been crowned the king, attempted to say something to his father, but was signaled to be silent by Gunavarman.

Gunavarman told Viswarupan, "Viswarupan! You also need rest. From now onwards, sit at home and enjoy your retirement. The new king has decided to appoint Poet Nalkeerthi, who wrote the book of ethics, 'An Moral Code for the Mortals,' as the new minister."

Feeling humiliated by the king making the announcement in the court, in the presence of several dignitaries and officials present there, Viswarupan left the court, with his gaze directed at the ground. The king didn't attempt to stop him.

"Father! Why did you relieve Viswarupan of his position as the Minister?" Ilamaran asked his father, when the two were alone.

"For the same reason that I stepped down as the king and crowned you the king. Like me, Viswarupan has also become old!" replied Gunavarmar.

"You could have conveyed your decision to him in private and allowed him to step down honourably. Why did you make the announcement in the court, in front of several people assembled there? He was visibly upset. He felt humiliated."

"I didn't intend to humiliate him. If he felt that way, what can I do about it?

"You said that I had appointed Nalkeerthi as the new minister! But, I didn't. Why did you say so?"

"A king has to be well-versed in the concepts of ethics and morality. For this, he should read books on this subject. You are young. It will take several years for you to read such books and equip yourself with the concepts outlined in those books. I thought that having a person well-versed in this subject as the minister will help you learn these concepts in a better way and in a shorter time. Nalkeerthi is a scholar and an authority on the principles of ethics. He has written a book, presenting his knowledge of the subject in a simple way. That is why I appointed him as the minister, on your behalf" explained Gunavarman.

Ilamaran was not satisfied by his father's explanation, but decided not to discuss the matter further.

"Your Majesty! I am sorry that I have to bring a disturbing development to your notice, at a time you are still grieving over your father's demise" Manikantan, the Intelligence Chief, told King Ilamaran.

"Tell me. Though the period of mourning for my father's death is not over, the responsibility of governing the country is always with me" said King Ilamaran.

"The king of Kanva is making preparations to invade our country."

"Is this information reliable?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. For the past few years, the intelligence gathered by my men have been accurate."

"I appreciate your efficient functioning. Let me convene the Advisory Council to discuss the issue and take a decision."

"Your Majesty! I need to discuss a matter with you" said Manikantan, hesitatingly.

"Go ahead!"

"Do you know the whereabouts of our former minister Sri Viswarupan?"

"You are the Intelligence Chief. You should give me information!" said Ilamaran, smiling. 

He then added, with a sigh: "I don't know where he went, after leaving the court, angry and humiliated. I took a lot of efforts to trace him, without my father's knowledge. But my efforts were not successful. I understand that he had left the country. But, why are you asking me about him now?"

"It is Sri Viswarupan who has been sending me intelligence reports about the developments in Kanva country."

"What do you mean?"

"You should pardon me, Your Majesty! This was an arrangement made by your late father. At the time you were crowned, our country was facing threats from Kanva country. Your father felt that we should have an effective intelligence gathering system operating from Kanva country. He decided that Sri Viswarupan would be the right person to monitor the intelligence gathered by our men operating from Kanva. He staged a situation of Sri Viswarupan being humiliated in the open court, leading to his exit as a bitter man. This drama was enacted with the full knowledge and co-operation of Sri Viswarupan. It was the late king's intention that every one including you should believe that Sri Viswarupan was estranged from the king so that he could pose himself as an enemy of our country and spy for us! Your father shared this secret with me alone, since I was the Intelligence Chief. But he enjoined me to not reveal the truth to you, during his lifetime. With your father having passed away, I now feel free to reveal the truth to you" said Manikantan.

"My father had provided me with a minister well versed in ethics and morals to guide me in governing the country in accordance with the rules of morality and an excellent intelligence structure led by an able person to help me protect the country from the enemies. What a great legacy has my father left for me!" said Ilamaran, overwhelmed by mixed feelings of joy, gratitude and sorrow.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 59

Managing Intelligence Operations

Verse 581 (in Tamil):

oRRum urai sAnRa nUlum ivai iraNdum
theRRenga mannavan kaN.

Meaning:

Intelligence operations and highly regarded books –

a king should consider them his eyes.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'amaichcharukku nErndha anubavam' by the same author.) 

Verse 582
Verse 580

580. The Saboteur

Muthuswamy stopped Mukilan, who was about to fall at his feet.

"These practices would be considered appropriate in the political party you earlier belonged to, not in ours!" said Muthuswamy, smiling.

For a moment, Mukilan wondered whether Muthuswamy was subtly pointing out that Mukilan had defected from another political party. 

But, he immediately told himself that Muthuswamy was not a person, who would resort to such jibe. He would have made that remark casually.

"I am contesting from this constituency, as per the desire of our leader. I wanted to get your blessings first" said Mukilan.

"You will always have my blessings. I will campaign for you and work for your win. Start your election work immediately" said Muthuswamy.

Mukilan bowed to Muthuswamy and took leave of him.

Nathan, a long time supporter of Muthuswamy in the party, who had been sitting in the room and watching the scene, told Muthuswamy, "Sir! The party leadership has been unjust to you. Many in our party, including me, were anticipating that you would contest the election from this constituency and become a minister, after winning the election. The media had also been carrying reports to this effect. But our leader chose to give the ticket to this chameleon, who had joined our party only recently!" in a tone of indignation. 

"Our leader knows what is good for the party. He also knows that I don't crave for any position."

"Don't campaign for Mukilan, sir. He doesn't deserve your support."

"Why do you say so?"

"I got this information from a source in our party headquarters. Originally, our leader had intended to give the ticket to you. Mukilan misrepresented to our leader that if you contested from this constituency, people belonging to certain castes won't vote for you, and that it would result in our party losing the seat and persuaded the leader to give him the ticket, claiming that belonging to a particular caste gave Mukilan an advantage."

"Your information is correct!"

"You know about this already!" exclaimed Nathan.

"Some of my friends in the media sounded me on this. Even before the party formally announced the candidature of Mukilan, I had been anticipating this development.

"You could have talked to the leader and got the ticket for you."

"You know pretty well that I don't seek any favour for myself from the party. If the party or our leader gave me a position or responsibility, I would accept it. That has been my outlook."

"This is not fair. That man had the temerity to ask for your blessing and support, after cunningly snatching the opportunity from you. This is adding insult to injury. But, you blessed him and offered to canvass votes for him! You command the support of all sections of people in this constituency. But, for getting the ticket for himself, Mukilan presented a false picture to our leader that you won't get the support of certain caste groups, in our constituency. Why should you campaign for a person, who sabotaged you? If you refrain from campaigning for him, people will understand that he doesn't have your blessings and decide not to vote for him. Only when he loses the election, he will learn the bitter lesson that he can't succeed through sabotage and mend his ways. Our leader will also realize his folly" said Nathan.

"No, Nathan. I offered to campaign for him, only after knowing that he had grabbed the opportunity from me, through sabotage. He acted as per his nature. I will act as per my nature" said Muthuswamy, placidly.

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 58

Compassion

Verse 58 (in Tamil):

peyak kaNdum nanjuNdu amaivar nayath thakka
nAgarigam vENdubavar.

Meaning:

Those who desire to cultivate the loveable trait of urbanity will, even after seeing poison being poured, consume it and remain placid.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'paRi pOna vAyppu' by the same author.) 

Verse 581
Verse 579

134. The Precedent?

"Mr. Sekar, After your disgraceful behaviour, we cannot allow you to continue to work in our college. Resigning your job is the only honourable option you have" said Pazhani, the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the college.

"To err is human. Please give me another chance" pleaded Sekar.

No way."

"Sir! In the past, you have given a chance to people who have erred, to redeem themselves."

"Whom are you referring to?"

"Mr. Gopal."

"Mr. Gopal?" 

Pazhani smiled and looked at the other two members of the committee - the Principal of the college and the Secretary of the Management Committee.

The other two members smiled back at Pazhani.

It happened five years back. 

Complaints were received from several students against Gopal, a lecturer.

"He doesn't teach well."

"He leaves out several topics. Only after we referred the text-book, we realized that he had not covered some topics in the classroom."

"Some times, he just reads from the book, but doesn't discuss the points read out by him elaborately."

"He starts discussing a topic but gets stuck in the middle. It is not clear whether he has trouble recalling the other points or he is unable to discuss the topic further. He just abandons that topic at that point and proceeds to the next topic."

When complaints on the above lines were received, the Principal summoned Gopal and asked for his response.

Gopal asserted that the complaints were not true.

The Principal directed two senior professors to look into the issue.

The Professors tested Gopal's knowledge of the subject, by asking him questions on the subject he was teaching. Gopal could not answer some of the questions.

They also observed Gopal's class, by sitting in an adjacent classroom, without Gopal's knowledge. They then gave a report that the allegations made by the students in their complaints were true.

The Disciplinary Committee examined Gopal. When they confronted him with the findings of the senior professors, Gopal admitted that he had been having a problem.

Driven by a complacent attitude about his knowledge of the subject, Gopal had been lecturing in his classes without preparing himself, by reading the text-book or other books on his subject. Since he had not been referring to the books for several months, the knowledge he had gained over the years through studies and teaching began to slip away from his memory gradually. He attributed his failure to recall some points some times to a temporary lapse of memory. He became aware of the problem, only when he was examined by the senior professors.

"I had been negligent in preparing myself for classes, due to a misplaced sense of overconfidence about my ability to teach, without refreshing my learning through reading. It was a grave lapse on my part. I will ensure that this won't happen again" pleaded Gopal.

But the Disciplinary Committee was not inclined to allow him to continue to work as a lecturer.

"Sir! Please give me another chance. Please grant me leave of absence for one year, without pay. I will devote this period of one year to update myself on the subject, by reading books and practicing to give lectures on the topics. Let the senior professors examine me again at the end of one year. Take me back, only if they certify that I have thorough knowledge of the subject and that I am competent to teach" appealed Gopal.

The college accepted his request and gave him leave of absence for one year. 

As promised, Gopal equipped himself with thorough knowledge of his subject, during the one year break he was given. The senior professors thoroughly examined him, tested his ability to teach, by asking him to take mock classes and gave a report, certifying his knowledge and competence.

The college took him back as a lecturer.

It was this case that Sekar referred to.

Pazhani laughed out loud and told Sekar, "Mr. Sekar! There is no need for us to be talking to you at length. The nature of your misonduct and the nature of the lapse on the part of Gopal are entirely different. Mr. Gopal allowed his knowledge to dissipate by being complacent and lazy. He regained his knowledge by taking a break for one year and studying the subject thoroughly. You committed an offence by trying to sexually assault a girl studying in your class. The college peon who happened to witness this forcibly removed you from the scene and saved the girl. Since the girl's parents requested us not to bring this matter to the knowledge of the outside world, we refrained from filing a police complaint against you. We want to give you an honourable way out, by accepting your resignation and relieving you. But you are trying to evade punishment by citing a precedent that has no similarity to your misconduct. Are you going to resign, or do you want us to dismiss you? Give us your decision quickly."

Thirukkural

Section 1
The Path of Virtue

Chapter 14
Possession of Propriety 

Verse 134 (In Tamil)

maRappinum oththuk koLal Agum pArppAn
piRappu ozhukkam kunRak kedum.

Meaning:

If a Brahmin forgets the Scriptures, he can regain the knowledge by learning. But if a person violates propriety, he will lose his stature.  

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'iraNdu thavaRugaL' by the same author)

Verse 135 (Soon)
Verse 133

579. The Punishment

A high level enquiry into the allegations against Masilamani, who had been suspended from his position of the General Manager of the company, was conducted and the report submitted to the Managing Director Raghavan.

Raghavan had to send his recommendation to the Chairman of the company, on the action to be taken on Masilamani 

A few senior executives of the company were discussing the matter among themselves.

"Intoxicated by power, Masilamani acted arrogantly and did things to hurt people who worked under him! Now he is in the dock. I think that he should be sent to jail" said Mukundan.

"He didn't commit any wrong. The charge against him is that he failed to see the fraud committed, right under his nose, by some people working under him. It was sheer negligence" said Dorai.

"If he he were to detect the negligence of someone working under him, what would he say? 'How do I know whether it was negligence or a deliberate act? If you commit a wrong, you have to face the punishment, whether your wrongdoing was intentional or unintentional' and punish that person. A lot of people including you and I have been victims of his merciless behaviour. Even for a trivial thing like a typo in a letter, he would make hell and humiliate the person in front of others, as if that person had committed a grave irregularity!"

"What you say is true. He has punished people, who committed small mistakes, with unjust punishments like transferring them to another department and in some cases, with disproportionately severe punishments like recording adverse comments in their personal files leading to the denial of increments and promotions to them. If he perceived the mistake to be severe, he would punish the person mercilessly by transferring him to a far off place, suspending him, demoting him etc. Let us see what punishment is going to be awarded to him!"

"Mr. Raghavan. A fraud has been committed. But you have recommended that Masilamani be reinstated as the General Manager!" asked Kanakalingam, the Chairman of the company.

"The only charge against Masilamani is negligence. The fraud was discovered during the internal audit. We have identified the culprits, dismissed them, handed them over to the police and with the help of the police, even recovered the money misappropriated by them. Masilamani did not knowingly commit any wrongdoing. He is going to retire in two years. We may reinstate him in his old position, but curtail his powers. We may appoint another General Manager and entrust him with all the powers. Putting him back in his position, with all his powers stripped off, will make Masilamani a dummy. This will be an adequate punishment for him" said Ragavan.

"Masilamani showed no compassion to others, He awarded disproportionately severe punishment even for small mistakes. in many cases, you have intervened and reduced or annulled the punishment given by him. So, why are you showing mercy to such a person?"

"Sir! In dealing with Masilamani, I have adopted the same approach, as I had, with people affected by Masilamani's merciless approach. If a person has not committed a wrong intentionally, he should be shown mercy. This is my approach. If I can't show mercy to Masilamani, just because he has not shown mercy to others, it will mean that Masilamani determines what approach I should adopt! How can I allow it?" said Raghavan.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 58

Compassion

Verse 579 (in Tamil):

oRuththu ARRUm paNbinAr kaNNUm kaNNOdip
poRuththu ARRum paNbE thalai.

Meaning:

Being compassionate and tolerant even towards a person, who follows the practice of punishing people without showing them any mercy, is most admirable

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'pOdhumA indha dhandanai' by the same author.)

Verse 580
Verse 578

578. Alternate Accommodation

"Sir! There are two hundred huts there. These people have been living there for twenty years. If you ask them to vacate now, where will they go?" asked Purushothaman, a resident of that area, and a popular man in that region.

"The government has ordered the removal of all structures constructed on water bodies. I am an official obliged to execute the orders of the government" said Selvanathan, the government official. 

"You have provided them accommodation at a place about forty kilometers from here. How will these people commute to the city for their work, from such a far off place?"

"The government can provide accommodation only in a place where there is government land. I have forwarded your request to my higher officials. The Secretary has assured me me that he would check whether the government could find land at some other place. Wait for a week. A satisfactory solution to the problem may be found."

"Sir! There are only two hundred huts here. Can you not recommend to the government to permit the people living in them to continue to live in this place?" pleaded Purushothaman.

"I can't recommend a course that is not lawful. Even if I do, the government won't consider it"  said Selvanathan, firmly.

After Purushothaman had left, the junior official, who was in Selvanathan's room asked him, "Sir! Has the Secretary told you that he would consider locating the hut-dwellers in a better place?"

"No, he didn't. But, I have an idea" said Selvanathan, smiling.

"Sir! Our application for approval of building construction is still pending" said Kishore, the Public Relations Officer of Kuber Industries

"You have constructed the building without first seeking approval from the government. Now, you want us to regularize the construction. How can we approve this?" asked Selvanathan.

"Sir! It is only an extension of the existing factory building. Since we needed space urgently to house the new machines bought by us, we did the construction, in anticipation of approval from the government. The construction has been made as per the rules and the norms. The government, in the past, has given approval for such actions to some companies."

"Well. If you believe that you are entitled to get the government approval, then you can approach the courts and get a court order directing the government to give you approval!" said Selvanathan.

"Pardon me. sir. I didn't mean to say that we are entitled to get the approval. We are only making a request for approval" said Kishore, upset by Selvanathan's blunt reply.

"Giving approval to a building constructed without seeking prior approval from the government is as per the discretion of the government. If your building plans, structures etc. are as per government rules and norms as claimed by you, I may recommend your case for approval. But, it is up to the government to decide on giving the approval."

"Please send the file to the Secretariat with your recommendations. We will follow up with the Secretariat and get the approval" said Kishore, feeling relieved.

"I can do that. But there are some issues relating to your company, about which I have to mention in my recommendation."

"What issues, sir?"

"We allocated land to you in Porur, for construction of houses for your employees. But, you have not utilized that land. It still remains a vacant land."

"We will construct, sir. But, it will take some time."

"I think you may not be constructing the houses at all. Your employees commute from various parts of the city. They don't prefer to live in Porur. Your employees' union has suggested to you that instead of constructing houses for the employees, the company pay them house rent allowance and transport allowance to cover their commuting expenses. You have also accepted that suggestion and signed an agreement to this effect with the union. Am I right?"

"Yes, sir. But how did you...?"

"The government knows every thing, Mr. Kishore. The agreement you have entered into with the union has been filed with the Labour department, which is another wing of the government!"

Kishore remained silent, not knowing what to say.

"Since you are not going to use that land for the purpose for which it was allocated to you, I suggest that you surrender it to the government. We sold the land to you at a concessional price. We will buy it back from you at the same price. Even if you don't surrender the land voluntarily, the government can take back the land any time, since you have not made use of it for the declared purpose, within a reasonable time. If we take back the land, by issuing an order, you may not even get any compensation from the government. But, if you surrender the land now, it will strengthen your application for building approval" said Selvanathan.

"I will discuss this with our Managing Director and get back to you" said Kishore and took leave of Selvanathan.

After Kishore had left, the junior official asked Selvanathan, in surprise. "Sir! The government has not asked about the unutilized land!" 

"No one at the higher levels of the government might have thought about it. We are also part of the government. So, we also have responsibility! Doing only what our higher officials ask us to do is a reactive approach. Our higher officials asked us to remove the huts in Porur and we set to do accordingly. But when I empathized with the problems of the people getting relocated and thought how we could help them, I remembered about this land lying vacant for several years. It is not right on the part of Kuber Industries to keep the land allocated to them unutilized. If we make them agree to surrender that land and then recommend to the government to use that land for relocating the hut-dwellers being displaced, the government will definitely agree. In fact, the government will use this opportunity to claim that it has acted in the interests of the hut-dwellers and try to earn some credit! As far we are concerned, we can feel satisfied that we performed our duty correctly, while also adopting a humanitarian approach!" said Selvanathan.

"I have a lot of things to learn from you, sir!" said the junior official, with excitement.

Thirukkural

Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 58

Compassion

Verse 578 (in Tamil):

karumam sidhaiyAmal kaNNOda vallArkku
urimai udaiththu ivvulagu..

Meaning:

The world belongs to those who do their duty unfalteringly,

while being compassionate.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'mARRu idam' by the same author.) 

Verse 579
Verse 577