Gangadhar Sahoo is a senior officer of the Odisha Administrative Service. Besides his official identity, he is also a diehard rationalist. Having had his graduation from the Ravenshaw College and post-graduation in Political Science from the Utkal University, he had the advantage to be initiated in the dialectics of eminent thinkers like Rousseau, Voltaire, John Stewart Mill, Aldus Huxley, Bertrand Russell and such other host of eminent avant-garde thinkers of the glow. He is now the State Nodal Officer of MDM Programme and EX-Officio Joint Secretary, School & Mass Education Department. Being in administration, an officer is bound to function within the lakshman Rekha drawn by different Acts, rules and Government guidelines. But being in public service, he has tried to work as a rationalist administrator in the sphere of governance and public dispensation. He has taken some exemplary initiatives to remove superstitions, social taboos, dogmas, prejudices and predilections from the society by trying to administer and deliver not as a typical bureaucrat but as a humanist, rationalist public servant. In an interview to The Pioneer, Sahoo opened his mind to Sugyan Choudhury.
You are known as a rationalist administrator. What exactly you mean by rationalismIJ
To me, rationalism is a way of life, a branch of philosophy and an approach to society. Precisely, it’s my conviction on science, scientific temper and humanism which define my rationalistic outlook. Rationalists do not believe in any supernaturalism, miracles, religion and theocratic order. For me, it is the man who has contributed to the comfort of human beings, progress of civilisation, advancement in science of technology and growth of knowledge. No supernatural entity has any role in the creation, preservation and progress of man and his society. Human beings, the present homo-sapiens are the products of evolution; so also the present society. No outside force gave us liberty, equality, fraternity justice, democracy, etc., which are the solid values of a progressive society.
When and how were you inducted to such kind of thoughtsIJ In your family and personal life, don’t you practise the age-old ritualsIJ
I was curious, analytical and inquisitive from my childhood. I was religiously obeying the rituals like fasting in Ganesh Puja but getting acidity. I was honouring the elders’ advice of visiting temple and offering milk and coconut but observing how the priest was cheating and wasting the milk. During childhood, I was a witness to one Buffalo Bali (animal sacrifice) in my village to propitiate the village deity. It was horrifying. I could not sleep. I developed a kind of phobia. My questioning mindset got a spark when I chanced to go through a book named Abraham Kavoor written by Prof Dhaneswar Sahoo. The book was with my friend Krupasindhu Mishra, OAS, a very good orator on Ramayana. I read it twice and between the lines. I got strength and felt relieved. I also availed ample opportunities to come in contact with the writings of Rousseau, Voltaire, John Stewart Mill, Aldus Huxley, Bertrand Russell as a student of Political Science. We also interacted with some of the great teachers in the university, who encouraged us to imbibe freethinking with a questioning mind. Nowadays, I am opposed to any kind of superstitious practices, rituals, traditions which are unhealthy for human beings and society.
How do you combine your rationalist ideas with your onerous governmental responsibilitiesIJ
That’s what many people are curious about. See, both administration and rationalism have their roots in the Indian Constitution. All the Acts, rules, regulations are supposed to be in conformity with the provisions laid down in the Constitution. So also, the source of rationalism lies in the Directive Principles of State Policy. Article 51A”h” states, “It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop scientific temper, humanism, spirit of inquiry and reform.” So, I think by advocating for scientific temper, fighting superstitions, talking about secularism and reform, I am very much within the ambits of the Constitution. I feel I am positive in implementation of Government programmes with a human interface free from dogmas, superstitions and prejudices.
Would you like to share some of your experiences in your tough administrative careerIJ
Yes. I can pretty well remember two experiences vivid in my mind. One, when I was posted as Sub-Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Nilgiri of Baleswar district in 2009. After a few days of my posting, I got the information that in a village near the headquarters, people had called a tantric from Anandapur to catch the evildoer responsible for the death of three villagers. The three persons had been brought to hospital at the last stage. They were suffering from water-borne diseases but were under the treatment of a village quack. So failing to know the reasons, the villagers doubted evil design and called the tantric to catch the evil spirit sender. I apprehended law and order situation and threat to the life of the man. The villagers had sealed the village. So, I called the police, doctor, CDPO, my officers, media and Sudhansu Kumar Dhada, a rationalist friend of mine, and proceeded to the village. The site was reverberating with horror, Haribola and Hulahuli. The air was filled with the smoky fragrance of Jhuna and incense sticks. One young man as Kalisi was dancing to the tune of drums, thundering with head bouncing and chest beating. He led the mass towards the hut of an old man. I followed the Kalisi despite being deterred even by the police. When the Kalisi reached the hut and named the house owner “responsible” for the death of the villagers, the mass turned to a mob; the young guys raised their lathis to beat him to death. Without any second thought, I rushed and took the old man to my custody, reminding the mob of the consequence of touching me or that so-called accused old man. The mob threatened me with fatal blows if I would rescue the old man. I did not care. I rescued the man, held a meeting thereafter and educated the villagers. I also took the young Kalisi into confidence and extracted the truth that he was acting to take revenge on the old man since he sold the paddy land to another man even though he was prepared to buy it.
And any second oneIJ
Yes, I was posted as Sub-Collector-cum-SDM in Khordha in 2010. I got to know the inhuman obscurantist practice of “Bali” (animal sacrifice) going on in Bhagavati Temple of Banpur during Durga Puja. With the help of a High Court verdict, local NGOs and likeminded friends, I could fight and stop animal sacrifice. lakhs of innocent goats, buffaloes lose their lives for satisfying the superstitious beliefs of man. It is no logic for a rationalist like me.
What are your suggestions to inculcate rationalistic vibes to galvanise governanceIJ
I personally believe every Government servant should behave secularly. I do believe superstition is a barrier to progress and development. All government servants should imbibe the values of scientific temper and reform. Even in the school curriculum, in the training module for AWW, doctors, midwives, nurses, teachers, police officers, administrators, the values of scientific temper and reform should be added.