partap singh kairon university of michigan 1929

The latter was rechristened as Haryana Agriculture University after the birth of Haryana. He narrated to me two instances that had enabled him to overcome hurdles in the way of ensuring sound infrastructure on the PAU campuses at Ludhiana and Hisar. Prominent among such individuals was Thapar.

The bureaucrats would rather devise ways to see that the state's interests were not sacrificed to serve politicians' vested interests. In this era of a politicised bureaucracy, not many bureaucrats would refuse to act on the whims of politicians or serve their vested political interests. Thereafter, on the last day of his visits to the university, he would call me for a chat, which revealed different facets of his personality. Our first meeting established a close rapport between us. While explaining the reasons behind the exodus of scientists, he pointed out that they had failed to come up to the standards he had laid down for performance and research work. Smilingly, he asked: “Are you afraid of your wife?” Without waiting for my answer, he ordered a cup of tea for me. When I entered the drawing room, I found a Johnnie Walker bottle on a table with Thapar sitting on a nearby sofa.

On his next visit to the university, Thapar invited me for a chat in PAU’s Sutton Guest House which served as his camp office. As The Tribune's correspondent at Ludhiana, I filed a story, which the paper front-paged under the headline “Exodus of scientists from PAU”. While still in its infancy, PAU lost some of its scientists. Among such events were my interactions with a distinguished ICS officer, the late P.N.Thapar, who was appointed PAU's first Vice-Chancellor (1962-1967) by Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon. Some events remain etched in one's memory.

Partap singh kairon university of michigan 1929