SM Vijayanand-Saw Corruption as a Youth, Vowed to Always Have Integrity
Two incidents that occurred in his early life profoundly influenced SM Vijayanand’s 36 years as a civil servant in Kerala
The first was when he was a small child and accompanied his father on a visit to a local police station to get an order of the High Court implemented. When Vijayanand and his father entered the man’s office, they weren’t offered a seat. When his father inadvertently placed his hand the the official’s desk, the man was angered and demanded that elder Vijayanand take his hand away. Those snubs taught Vijayanand the importance of treating everyone with respect and compassion.
“My father’s dignity was questioned,” Vijayanand recalled.
“In those days, people didn’t understand the concept of dignity that now is common parlance in development. Now they regularly consider that dignity of the injured is the most important concept, but I’ve been preaching it for the last 20 years.“
“In that moment (with my father), the word ‘dignity’ didn’t occur to me, but I felt that this behaviour is something which I will not do in my life.”
When Vijayanand was in his early 20s and preparing for his IAS exams, he had another experience that was equally as formative. A neighbour was building a structure too close to his family’s property line—a violation of norms, if not encroachment. A senior planning official visited the property and confirmed the building was too close, but then a bundle of currency was passed to the inspector and suddenly the building was found to be compliant.
“That sunk into me a kind of revulsion against corruption and misbehaviour,” he said.
“And then there was a whole progressive ideology of government being for the people, and those kinds of things, they all gelled together.”
Vijayanand began to put his philosophy into practice after earning a post-graduate degree in English literature from the University of Kerala and passing his civil services exams as a 1981-cadre officer in Kerala. He is recognized as one of the architects of Kerala’s democratic decentralization initiative of the 1990s and served 11 years in Kerala government, rising to Chief Secretary.
Vijayanand was also the the originator of an ombudsman’s office for local government, a function that had never existed in India previously. The ombudsman hears any resident’s complaint of any resident, no matter how large or small, and has great power to resolve those problems.
Drawing on that early experience of seeing his father disdained, Vijayanand adopted an open-door policy toward his constituents. From 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. or later, six days a week, anyone with a problem could come to his office and seek redress. He treated all, rich or poor alike, with respect and dignity. One particular encounter stands out in his mind decades later.
While he was working as a District Collector, he got a call at home on Sunday, his one day off work each week. A poor woman had come to his office and was asking for help. Vijayanand reluctantly agreed to come into the office and meet with her because she had traveled a long distance and at some expense by bus.
The woman explained that she was a widow, leaving her young daughter and son without income. The family were hungry and she was desperate for a food ration card. This was before the food distribution programme created by the National Food Security Act. Sensing her sincerity, Vijayanand provided her with the card and she returned to her village.
A few months later, the woman returned to his office and begged him for a ration card for her neighbour who was also suffering from hunger. Again, Vijayanand provided the card.
More time passed and a young woman about 18 years old came to his office. She asked if he remembered the woman whom he gave the ration card to along with her neighbour. He did.
Just before she died, the woman had told her daughter,
“There is a young collector in Kollam who you can rely on. You can trust him if you need anything.”
Vijayanand was taken aback by the impact his actions had had on the family.
“That really touched my heart. It was one of the best tributes I’ve ever gotten in my life,” he said.
“This is what I tell young people that civil service is means; it’s about trust.”
His advice for young IAS officers or those considering entering civil service is to consider the tremendous impact they can have on poor or marginalized residents.
“A lot of people feel disappointed and ask ‘what have you achieved in life?”
Vijayanand said,“‘No, you have achieved so many things that you don’t remember, little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love’. That is what I would tell them.”