Abhas Chatterjee
| Abhas Chatterjee আভাস চট্টোপাধ্যায় | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Indian |
| Ethnicity | Bengali Hindu |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Spouse(s) | Milicent Chatterjee |
Abhas Chatterjee (Bengali: আভাস চট্টোপাধ্যায়) was an Indian civil servant, social worker, intellectual and patriot. He quit the services in 1992, because he could not stand Laloo Prasad Yadav's bullying tactics any longer and devoted the rest of life in social work among the tribals.
Career
In 1966, Abhas stood first in the IAS entrance and subsequently joined the Bihar cadre. In the service he acquired the reputation as an officer of exceptional capability, intellect and integrity. During the regime of Laloo Prasad Yadav, he had strongly protested against the interference in administrative affairs and bullying the bureaucrats.[1][2][3] He refused buckle to the political bullying and hence refused several promotions. When the fodder scam broke out, he alleged that the active involvement of certain district magistrates can't be ruled out.[4] In January, 1992, he resigned from the services, disgusted and disenchanted with the system. He had developed a firm conviction that the State in India is working all the time against the nation. In his classic resignation letter, he had written,
| “ | The powers that be in Indian politics are least bothered about nation building. They have little concern about what happens to this country in future, where this nation lands up in the end. Behind the smoke screen of slogans and rhetoric, what has been going on in this country is not a grand ceremony of nation building, but a macabre dance of nation destruction.[5] | ” |
During the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement, he controversially participated in the kar seva. In 1994, he delivered a speech at the Mahajati Sadan in Kolkata under the auspices of Purvanchal Kalyan Ashram, where he outlined the concept of Hindu nationhood. The lecture was later compiled into a book titled The Concept of Hindu Nation by the Voice of India.
Social work
In the late seventies, he came in contact in the Sawansis, an endogamous weaver clan of Munda society in the village of Jipsudih, near Ranchi. After retiring from the services, Abhas involved himself with the community and acted as their supervisor of the weaver's society.
Personal life
Abhas married an Oraon woman named Milicent. Their only son Pathikrit died in an accident while bathing in the Damodar during a college excursion.
References
- ↑ Chakravartty, N., ed. (1995). Mainstream, Volume 34, Issues 1-26. p. 5.
- ↑ Rebels with a cause, India Today, 15 October 1994.
- ↑ Goel, Sita Ram, ed. (1997). Time for Stock Taking - Wither Sangh Parivar. New Delhi: Voice of India. p. 48 (footnote). ISBN 81-85990-48-4.
- ↑ "Corruption Down The Line". Outlook. February 28, 1996. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ↑ Saradindu Mukherji (March 31, 2008). "Humiliated and Broken". The Pioneer. Archived from the original on June 15, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
Further reading
- Nanda, Meera (11 July 2009). "Hindu Triumphalism and the Clash of Civilisations". Economic and Political Weekly 44 (28): 101–114. JSTOR 40279263.
- Lal, Vinay (2003). The History of History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-567244-5.
- Elst, Koenraad (2001). Decolonizing the Hindu Mind. Rupa & Co. ISBN 8171675190.