NEW DELHI: Indian home secretary Madhav Godbole’s decision to go on leave preparatory premature retirement raises many questions about the place of bureaucracy in the country’s power structure. Godbole reportedly had differences with internal security minister Rajesh Pilot on how to handle the Kashmir problem. His view reportedly was that there should be no talk with militants and he frowned upon the move to rein duct Farooq Abdullah as chief minister of Kashmir. In other words, Godbole was in favor of harder measures to suppress the militant movement for freedom not only in Punjab but also in Kashmir. Many observers see in Godbole’s views as colored by Hindu fundamentalism.
In fact in India it is the likes of Godbole whose views prevail notwithstanding at temporary setback in the face of the political intervention by pilot and his ilk. No wonder, several senior Indian 1.A.S, and LP.S. officers on retirement have joined the BJP in recent years. In fact, most police officers even in service tend to go by the political views of the BJP on major issues con fronting the country in Punjab, Kashmir, Assam and other states.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 2, 1993
