An iconoclast by birth but an IAS officer by choice, Kalyan Ray had joined the Orissa cadre in 1965. An unusual bureaucrat, with an open mind and a clear heart, an ardent follower of Raja Rammohan Ray, he dismisses the oligarchic social order of our Indian society overburdened with cumbersome rituals and a repugnant caste system. He had his post-graduation in Economics from the Calcutta University. He worked in various capacities including as Principal Secretary in departments like labour and Employment, Food and Civil Supplies, Tribal and Rural Development, Public Enterprises.
Ray had done a course in Financial Management from the Strathclyde University, Glasgow, UK. He has published a number of books and articles on socioeconomic matters. His publications include A Search for Demand: The Missing link in Economic Development (1984), Globalisation or ColonisationIJ (2004) and Why Bureaucracy FailsIJ (2011).
In an interview to The Pioneer, Ray spoke to Sugyan Choudhury from his Bhubaneswar residence.
When did you exactly develop progressive ideasIJ
I have to give a little idea of my family background to explain this. I come from a family of educationists. My father was a Doctorate from the london School of Economics in 1930. My mother was a graduate. My maternal grandfather was an Electrical Engineer from Birmingham. My paternal grandfather was a lawyer. My parents and grandparents did not generally believe in rituals, except for functions like marriages and funerals, which are more social in nature. At that point of time, educated Bengali families had by and large rationalistic attitude at the personal level although socially they practised religion. I did not have the problem of observing any ritual or subscribing to any blind belief. I had read children’s editions of Ramayana and Mahabharata. Even as small boys, I and my younger discussed that the stories are highly inequitable. There is no reward for merit and the only way to success and prosperity lies in being on the right side of gods by observing rituals. According to these stories, the social value system is already laid down by the gods through their earthly agents, the priestly class. Simple commonsense says the value system laid down at a particular point in history by a particular group of people cannot be binding for all times. There is need to enlarge the value system to make it more inclusive. Knowledge is available only to a questioning mind and not to a person who accepts things blindly.
I am an iconoclast by nature and do not suffer from undue adulation for people in power and position. This also includes religious pontiffs and god men. I have also learnt a lot from my interaction with common people, who have not lost the human touch, which is a rare commodity among the so-called educated class. Man to man, the common man is certainly not inferior to his educated and richer brethren.
What’s your personal commitment to equality and human dignityIJ
While working as a Sub-Divisional Magistrate, I had to deal with a contentious issue. A poor woman had been subjected to serious harassment by an influential police officer. The police department went all out to save the officer and started spreading canard against the lady. I took up a magisterial inquiry on the complaint of the lady. There was a lot of pressure on me from different quarters to give the officer a clean chit. During my inquiry, I found the officer guilty of severely harassing and molesting the lady. I made my report accordingly and the officer was punished.
Indian society is basically feudalistic with lots of built-in inequalities due to the well-entrenched caste system and blind beliefs. In such a society, you are either above somebody or below somebody. The concept of equality does not exist. Bureaucracy is a prime example of this. Bossism is one of the dominant features of bureaucracy. I have always stood up against this. I have tried to work as a leader of a team, rather than a boss. I have broadly considered people working with me as a part of extended family.
I remember meeting a Minister in the Janata Government of 1977-80, in whose Ministry I was working as a Director. I had occasion to work earlier as Deputy Secretary in a Ministry headed by him. Since it was our first meeting after he had taken over charge, I told him that I had earlier worked under him. He told me that the word is ‘with’ and not ‘under’. I do not think that I could have expected such graciousness from a bureaucratic boss. To some, it may seem trivial, but it did not seem trivial to me. The Janata Government was a great experiment in democratising the administration, but it did not last.
I have written number of books and articles on inclusive economic development. The present pattern of development is only for the rich and powerful.
After retirement, I am working as chairman of the Institute of Human Rights Education. We are trying to educate children on their rights and duties as citizens of the country so that they can lead a life of dignity and self-respect.
Of all the best thinkers of the world, whom do you rate highIJ
It is not possible to make any such comparison. However, I was greatly impressed by the works of George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) and HG Wells (1866-1946) on the social aspects and equality of men. Socrates (470 BC-399 BC) is of course the acknowledged pioneer of freethinking. Writings of John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) are of great importance in development of Parliamentary democracy in India. Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was a great and influential freethinker of the Twentieth Century. His ideas continue to be in the forefront of free and rational thinking. Abraham Kovoor (1898-1978) was an important rationalist thinker in India in the last century. In the early Nineteenth Century, Raja Rammohun Roy (1772-1833) was a great thinker with a powerful vision. He was undoubtedly the father of Indian renaissance. Gopal Krishna Gokhale (1866-1915) was a powerful political thinker, whose ideas Gandhi carried forward in the freedom struggle.
Of all the administrators/rulers of India, whom do you hold in the highest esteemIJ
Till the British established their Government in this country, Indian people were ruled rather than administered. India was under foreign rule for several centuries before the British rule. Warren Hastings was the first Governor General, who inducted Indians in Government service.
lord William Bentinck continued the policy of bringing Indians into the public service. lord Bentinck was a great social reformer. In 1829, he put a stop to burning of widows alive in the name of religion. Incidence of widow burning had assumed alarming proportions due to property disputes. The decision was not a popular one. Indians were opposed to it as interference in their religion. Englishmen were opposed to it as it may pose a threat to the Empire. It required great courage on the part of Bentinck to prohibit such gruesome practice. The practice of female infanticide could be prohibited by law only in 1870 during the Governor Generalship of lord Mayo.
lord Bentinck introduced English education against opposition from his advisers, except lord Macaulay. This gave Indians a window to the world and led to Indian renaissance. lord Ripon introduced the system of self-governance in local bodies. This enabled Indians to prepare themselves for democratic self-governance at the State and national levels. He was encouraged in this by the great liberal British Prime Minister William Gladstone. In Independent India, the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru tried to inculcate the scientific spirit among the people. He also created the educational and economic infrastructures for economic development.
What is your vision of Odisha and IndiaIJ
Economic developments, both at the State and national levels, have so far bypassed a majority of the people. Only the vocal sections have gained. There is an urgent need for an inclusive development policy.
Casteism must go. Caste names should be abolished and everybody should adopt a caste-neutral name.