My Tryst With Manipur : A Memoir :: Book Review

Rajendra Kshetri *

My Tryst With Manipur :: Book Cover :: Pix - TSE

Jarnail Singh and Manipur. Made for each other. This is what instantly comes to my mind after I finished reading, at one go, his memoir "My Tryst with Manipur".

From day one of Manipur, an erstwhile princely state, becoming a part of Indian Union's administration on the fifteenth day of October Nineteen Forty Nine, the once-upon-a-time Sovereign Kingdom in South-East Asia have had more than her share of bureaucrats, civil servants and administrators from mainland India. The tiny State, once a Shangri-La, had the fortune and more often than not misfortune of having administered by 'Babupara Babus'.

Sixty Nine Years down the line, hardly have had we come across books/accounts/reports/dairies/monographs/memoirs detailing their encounters and experiences in Manipur. So much unlike the British Colonial administrators- the McCullochs, the Browns, the Pembertons, the Hudsons, the Johnstons and the Grimwoods. What is/are the reason(s)? What could be the reasons(s)? Is it because these Civil servants who came to Manipur and even those who are sons of the soil have no story to tell? No encounters/experiences/worth sharing/penning down? No Flair for writing? Or simply because they don't want to?

Be that as it may, the fact of the matter is civil servants come and go having served in different parts of the State under different capacities. Some, very few in that, wrote their memoirs. Most don't for reasons best known to them. Jarnail Singh, a Jat Sikh, is one of the very few civil servants, perhaps the first, who have decided to pen his memories. It is his will and passion for writing coupled with his love for Manipur that makes his 'Memoir' an interesting and compelling read.

An Indian Administrative Service Officer of 1974 batch (Manipur Tripura Cadre), Shri Jarnail Singh, born and brought up in the land of five rivers, joined Manipur administration first as a sub-divisional officer in 1975. Later, he went on to become Chief Secretary of Manipur (August 2004 to July 2008), had a memorable stint of eight years at Prime Minister's Office, served under four Prime Ministers.

An Advisor to the Chief Minister of Manipur on "Infrastructure and Power" for five years (2012-2017), Shri Singh spent, all in all, some twenty three years in Manipur having learned Manipuri language, married a Manipuri Lady, mingled and interacted with common ordinary people of both the hill and valley areas.

Who better to write, then, on/about Manipur administration/administrative transformations/measures undertaken, initiated and implemented in Manipur than her own son-in-law, Jarnail Singh? So he writes "Punjab is my Janmabhumi, Manipur is my Karmabhumi. Manipur has been the theatre for my work"(p.xv).

For an academic like me, who had/has no access whatsoever to know what actually transpired inside the four walls of state administration, but interested nevertheless, this 'Memoir' gives a 'ring side' or otherwise view of the decisions taken at the highest level.

Spread over 26 chapters (some of them read more like diary entries), the author gives a vivid recollection of how he landed, for the first time, in the land of "friendly and smiling" people (p.6). People matters. More so personalities. So he did not miss mentioning his first meeting with MK Priyobrata, the first Chief Minister of pre-merger Manipur (p.13). As is wont with Punjabis/Sardarjis, sense of humour is evident all through the pages (e.g. p.18, p.34-35).

For instance, the author's stay at the house of Thuyeng Village Chief, recounted with subtle sense of humour, where his 'spoiled' 'blue toothbrush' was used as a decorative piece by the Chief's son, takes us into the simple traditional life of village folks, untouched by the process of modernisation. It brings back memories of how I enjoyed thoroughly and laughed my heart out while watching the Hollywood blockbuster of early eighties- "God must be Crazy" at Bombay's New Empire.

"My Tryst with Manipur" lets the reader have a peep on some bizarre incidents taken place in the state administration like the scuffle in the Meitei Mayek meeting when opposing parties came to blows (p.31). 'Corruption' is one major issue that has been plaguing Manipur's administration and therefore finds a prominent place in the book (p.37-40).

Innovation and Innovativeness are always key elements in the art of good and effective administration and both are not found wanting in Jarnail Singh. Introduction of Hydrams at Ningchou Village is a case in point (p.52-53). Electrification of Karang Village in Loktak is another which, in his own words, is "the most satisfying moments in my service"(p.96).

Among other Contributions and there are plenty to mention, Jarnail Singh's major, I should say game changing contributions towards development/improvement of the State's administration lies undoubtedly with his Conceptualisation and successful implementation of 'Manipur Public Servants' Personal Liability Act 2006 ; Computerised Personal Information System and streamlining of Pension payments (Chapters 16,17 & 20).

It is not for nothing that he was given the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration for the year 2007-08. It speaks volumes of Shri Jarnail Singh as an Administrator par Excellence deservedly recognised by none other than the Prime Minister of the Country.

Here is an administrative account from the pen of an Indian Administrative Service Officer laden with personal experiences and encounters. More than that, this is a book, gem of a book that could/should guide any serving/aspiring bureaucrat for the over-all development /inclusive growth of a conflict-insurgency ridden state like Manipur.

Written in his trademark witty, humorous and observational style, which makes the 'Memoir' an absorbing and compelling read, the book brings back to life all his bygone experiences of 'Sanaleibak' Manipur.

Shri Jarnail Singh has been, till now, remembered as the best Chief Secretary of Manipur, a no-nonsense Officer, a Bureaucrat with impeccable integrity. He will now be best remembered, after "My Tryst with Manipur", as the Administrator who loves Manipur, the land and her people specially the under-privileged, marginalised, downtrodden and poorest of the poor.

There are two kinds of people in the world. One sees problems in every solution and the other solutions in every problem. This 'Memoir' offers ample proof, if one is ever needed, that Shri Jarnail Singh belongs to the latter.

When Jarnail Singh bade farewell (to Manipur) first on a rainy Imphal evening of July 4, 2008, to be greeted by two rain-soaked women admirers and later on in March 2017, little did he know that Manipur shall beckon him again. Sooner than Expected.

A Must Read for Everyone who Longs For a Better Manipur to Live In.