S. R. Sankaran
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S. R. Sankaran (1934–2010) was an Indian civil servant, social worker and the Chief Secretary of the State of
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
, known for his contributions for the enforcement of Abolition of Bonded Labour Act of 1976 which abolished
bonded labor Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the pe ...
in India. One among the seven civil servants held hostage by the
People's War Group People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Altenr ...
in 1987, he was the chief negotiator of the state government in the negotiations of 2004 to end naxalite violence in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. He was a mentor to the ''Safai Karmachari Andolan'', a social initiative propagated by
Bezwada Wilson Bezwada Wilson (born 1966) is an Indian activist and one of the founders and National Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), an Indian human rights organization that has been campaigning for the eradication of manual scavenging, the c ...
to eradicate
manual scavenging Manual scavenging is a term used mainly in India for "manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or sewer or in a septic tank or a pit". Manual scavengers usually ...
in India. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
, in 2005, for his contributions to society, but he declined the honor. His social welfare activities earned him the moniker, People's IAS officer.


Biography

Sankaran was born on 22 October 1934 in
Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...
, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu in a
Tamil Brahmin Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...
family. He graduated in Commerce with honours from
American College, Madurai The American College, often referred to as American College, is one of the oldest colleges in India, located in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded in 1881 by American Christian missionaries. The red-brick buildings, in the Saracenic style, ...
, coming first in the examination, and joined there as a lecturer when he was inducted into
Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...
in 1956. One of his earlier postings was as the Sub-collector of
Nandyal Nandyal is a city and District headquarters of Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Nandyal mandal in Nandyal revenue division. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, Nandyal ...
in Kurnool district in 1959. Later, he served as the District Collector of
Adilabad Adilabad is a city which serves as the headquarters of Adilabad district, in the Indian state of Telangana. Telugu is the native language of Adilabad. Adilabad is famous for its rich cultivation of cotton. Hence, Adilabad is also referred as " ...
,
Khammam Khammam formally (Khammam Mettu) is the city in Khammam district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It is the headquarters of the Khammam district and Khammam mandal also. It is located about east of ...
and
Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the List of cities in ...
before moving to the Union Government as a special assistant to
Mohan Kumaramangalam Surendra Mohan Kumaramangalam ( ta, சுரேந்திர மோகன் குமாரமங்கலம்) (1 November 1916 — 30 May 1973) was an Indian politician and communist theorist who was a member of the Communist Party of I ...
, the then Minister for Steel and Mines. While at this post, he assisted Kumaramangalam to push through the nationalization of coal mines during 1971–73. He returned to the state as the Principal Secretary for Social Welfare with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, a post he held for two different periods. During his first tenure as the Principal Secretary, he established ''Integrated Tribal Development Agencies'' for single-line administration of tribal areas and introduced ''Special Component Plan'' and ''Tribal Sub Plans'' to ensure adequate provision of budgetary resources to be earmarked for the financially weaker sections of the society. Under these schemes, he addressed the issues such as religious conversions, atrocities against women and education for dalits; he set up dedicated schools and hostels for dalit people which eventually developed into the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Schools and after bifurcation of Telangana State those schools are called as Telangana Social Welfare Residential Schools in Telangana State. He also toured the villages to inspire the villagers to break free from bondage and contributed to the enforcement of the 1976 Abolition of Bonded Labour Act. It is reported that Sankaran's efforts were disapproved by the ruling Chief Minister and he was asked to proceed on leave when
Nripen Chakraborty Nripen Chakraborty (4 April 1905 – 25 December 2004) was an Indian Communist politician who served as the Chief minister of Tripura state from 1978 to 1988. Nripen Chakraborty was involved in the Communist movement in India for six decades. ...
, who was the chief minister of
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
during that time, invited him to join Tripura state administration as the Chief Secretary, a post he held for six years. After his stint in Tripura, he moved to the Union Government, superannuating from service while holding the post of a Secretary at the
Ministry of Rural Development Ministry of Rural Development may refer to: * Ministry of Rural Development (Cambodia) * Ministry of Rural Development (Hungary) * Ministry of Rural Development (India) * Ministry of Rural Development (Malaysia) Ministry of Rural Development may r ...
. During this period, he worked for the rehabilitation of the victims of
Karamchedu massacre Karamchedu massacre refers to an incident that occurred in Karamchedu, Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh on 17 July 1985, where brutality by Kamma landlords against Madigas (Dalits) resulted in the killing of six Madigas and grievous injuries ...
of 1985 when 6
dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...
s were killed in clashes with the upper caste communities. Later, he was held captive by the
People's War Group People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Altenr ...
in 1987, after they abducted him and six of his colleagues while they were touring
East Godavari District East Godavari is a district in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Its district headquarters is at Rajahmundry. As of census 2011, it became the most populous district of the state with a population of 5,151,549. In the Madras Pre ...
but was set free later, along with the others. On his retirement from service, he returned to Andhra Pradesh when the
Naxalite–Maoist insurgency {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Naxalite–Maoist insurgency , image = Naxal Left-wing violence or activity affected districts of India 2018.svg , image_size = 300px , caption = Naxalite active z ...
was gaining momentum and he organized a social forum under the name ''Concerned Citizens Committee'' in 1997 which protested against the fake encounter killings of the insurgents as well as the militancy of the insurgents. He was appointed as the Commissioner of the ''Panel on food security'' in 2003 by the
Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
where he served for two years. On his return to Andhra Pradesh, the state government appointed him as the chief negotiator for negotiations with the militants in 2004. He mediated two rounds of talks between the government and the militants but the talks were not fruitful as the government insisted on total disarmament; however, this was the first instance the Maoists agreed to talks with the government. After the failure of talks with Naxal groups, he was involved with the activities of ''Safai Karmachari Andolan'', founded by
Bezwada Wilson Bezwada Wilson (born 1966) is an Indian activist and one of the founders and National Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), an Indian human rights organization that has been campaigning for the eradication of manual scavenging, the c ...
, and served as a mentor to the organization. Under his guidance, the initiative worked to free a majority of the manual laborers in the State handling human excreta till their number dwindled from 1.3 million to 300,000. Sankaran, who contributed a chapter, ''Administration and the Poor'', to the 2002 publication, ''Dalits and the State'' by Ghanshyam Shah, died on 7 October 2010,at the age of 75 in Hyderabad, succumbing to a cardiac arrest. His mortal remains were confined to flames at Punjagutta crematorium the next day, his niece lighting the funeral pyre, in the presence of thousands of people.


Awards and honors

The Government of India awarded Sankaran the civilian honor of the
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
in 2005, which was later refused by him. In 2011, a year after his death, the Government of Andhra Pradesh installed his statue in front of the office of the Department of Social Welfare, the first instance a civil servant was honored by the government with a statue. On his birthday (22 October) in 2013, C. H. Hanumantha Rao, a former member of the
National Advisory Council The National Advisory Council (NAC) of India was a unconstitutional body set up by the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to advise the Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. Sonia Gandhi served as its chairperson for much of th ...
, released the first of the two-volume publication, ''Marginalisation, Development and Resistance: Essays in Tribute to SR Sankaran'', which detailed his contributions for the welfare of the marginalized communities. When
Malavath Purna Malavath Poorna (born 10 June 2000) is an Indian mountaineer. On 25 May 2014, Poorna climbed Mount Everest, aged 13 years and 11 months, the youngest Indian and the youngest female to have reached the summit. Purna climbed Mount Elbrus, the high ...
, a
tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
teenager, summitted
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
in May 2014, thus becoming the youngest female to summit the highest peak in the world, she carried a photograph of Sankaran and
B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served a ...
, in honour of the services rendered by them towards the cause of
Dalits Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...
. Vikrama Simhapuri University has instituted an annual award, ''S. R. Sankaran Gold Medal'' for the best outgoing student in the Department of Social Welfare, in his honor and the National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad has a chair-professorship on rural labour, ''S. R. Sankaran Chair'', named after him.


Trivia

* It was reported that Sankaran, on his appointment as the Chief Secretary of the
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
, arrived
Agartala Agartala () is the capital city of the Indian state of Tripura, and is one of the largest cities in northeast India. The city is governed by the Agartala Municipal Corporation. The city is the seat of the Government of Tripura. It is located on ...
with a small suitcase as his only piece of luggage and, instead of waiting for his official receivers, hailed a
rickshaw A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...
to proceed to the Circuit House which housed his would-be office. * He was a bachelor, reportedly by choice. * He was a vegetarian and known to have donated a considerable part of his earnings to the financially compromised people. * He participated in the campaign against
Aadhaar Aadhaar ( hi, आधार, ādhār, lit=base, foundation, bn, আধার) is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by the citizens of India and resident foreign nationals who have spent over 182 days in twelve ...
biometric system, alongside
V. R. Krishna Iyer Justice Vaidyanathapuram Rama Krishna Iyer (15 November 1915 – 4 December 2014) was an Indian judge who became a pioneer of judicial activism. He pioneered the legal-aid movement in the country. Before that, he was a state minister and poli ...
, citing that the system should be implemented after ascertaining its usefulness and the methodology is fully explained to public. * Sankaran was once selected as the head of the
Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) is a civil service training institute on public policy and public administration in India. The academy's main purpose is to train civil servants of the IAS cadre and also con ...
,
Mussourie Mussoorie is a hill station and a municipal board, near Dehradun, Dehradun city in the Dehradun district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is about from the state capital of Dehradun and north of the n ...
which trained
Indian Administrative Service officers Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
but the selection was subsequently cancelled, reportedly fearing he would propagate his ideals at the institution. * As the Chief Secretary of Tripura, he once forced the retreat of
Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...
when they entered the State without approval from the State Government.


See also

* Telangana Social Welfare Residential Schools *
Bezwada Wilson Bezwada Wilson (born 1966) is an Indian activist and one of the founders and National Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), an Indian human rights organization that has been campaigning for the eradication of manual scavenging, the c ...
*
Nripen Chakraborty Nripen Chakraborty (4 April 1905 – 25 December 2004) was an Indian Communist politician who served as the Chief minister of Tripura state from 1978 to 1988. Nripen Chakraborty was involved in the Communist movement in India for six decades. ...
*
Karamchedu massacre Karamchedu massacre refers to an incident that occurred in Karamchedu, Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh on 17 July 1985, where brutality by Kamma landlords against Madigas (Dalits) resulted in the killing of six Madigas and grievous injuries ...


References


External links

*


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sankaran, S. R. 1934 births 2010 deaths People from Thanjavur district Indian Administrative Service officers Social workers Tripura politicians Social workers from Tamil Nadu