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Recently a Subdivisional Officer was upbraided by various superior officers on what eventually turned out to be a
complaint by the local MLA against him to the Minister hailing from the same area. The admonishing of the SDO was not preceeded by any kind of inquiry for ascertaining the truth of the matter (though the MLA in question
in private conversation told the SDO that he had made no complaint at all). It would, therefore, seem that in this instance the commercial principle was in operation that the customer is always right.What are junior officers supposed to do? In the old days the advice used to be: be tactful. By tact was generally meant the adoption of a supine posture and recognition of the principle that might is
right. My definition of the term has always been different. Accordingly, my advice to junior officers is: do not subvert your principles or the truth, come what may; if to that the virtue of patience can be added, so
much the better . |
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THE SERVICE LUNCH |
The highlight of the month was undoubtedly the Service Lunch organised on the spacious lawns of the Magistrate's
Bungalow at 1, Thackeray Road, Calcutta. The ambient mood was one of festivity and gaiety (enhanced possibly by some spiritual libations). The surroundings were historic, for it was here that Sir Philip Francis, a
member of Warren Hastings' Council, and after him William Makepeace Thackeray, lived; and it was here also that Sir Philip, according to prevailing legend, fought a duel with Warren Hastings over a beautiful
woman. With this redolence of history and the ambience of colourful shamianas
and garden umbrellas, Members of the Service and their families who attended the Lunch appeared to have enjoyed themselves greatly .Our Chief Guests were His Excellency the Governor, Prof. S.
Nurul Hasan, his sister, Begum Rizwanul Hasan and his cousin, Begum Lalji. Our Guests of Honour were the Hon'ble Chief Minister, Shri Jyoti Basu and Smt. Basu. We also had two Special Guests, namely, Shri S.V. Krishnan
(former Chief Secretary) and Shri Chaturvedi Badrinath of the Tamil Nadu Cadre (1957), who happened to be on an official visit to Calcutta. While inviting His Excellency the Governor, we promised him
a true Bengali Lunch. And such a Lunch was served. His Excellency seemed to relish the chutney, while the First Lady was much impressed by the sukto. His Excellency's comments on the specially ordered
misti doi were also favourable. The latter item was |
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