In the seething mass of bureaucracy, Jiji Thomson cuts a unique figure. fwd explores the many facets of this dynamic personality as he talks about life in the public domain
An able administrator, a humanitarian and a sports-lover. Jiji Thomson, the Chief Secretary of Kerala, an IAS officer of the 1980 batch, Kerala Cadre, has been all of these and more. A dynamic personality, his career has been one dedicated for the betterment of the people. His achievements include conducting the National Games in Kerala and the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, social initiatives like the community marriages conducted in Alappuzha or the revival of the Kalpathy Ratholsavam, and more recently executing Operation Anantha to improve the sanitation of the capital, Thiruvananthapuram. The team at FWD is in conversation with this stalwart administrator as he shares his experiences on his career as an IAS officer.
Could you describe your formative years? Were you always a brilliant student?
I was raised in an ordinary family. We were seven children. My father was in the army and was a teacher before that. My mother was also a teacher. We stayed in our humble abode at Sasthamangalam. Since my mother was a teacher and my father, a strict disciplinarian, we were raised with the importance of academic brilliance. This was the foundation for all of us to be outstanding in our academic pursuits.
How did your journey as an IAS officer begin?
When I was in my seventh grade in Model High School, the Social Studies teacher posed a question on my ambition in life. I told her I wanted to be a teacher. Upon listening to this, she advised me to become an IAS officer. I kept quiet because I was afraid to ask what IAS was all about. When I got back home, I asked my brother, what IAS was and he told me it was something not meant for us. To my curiosity I got an explanation that, it requires us to read and speak good English. This was the spark and I found that, one of our neighbors had The Indian Express and he would lend it to us for an hour. And thus, the journey began.
What kind of skills do you think are needed to become an IAS officer?
I realized I needed good general knowledge, so I took part in quiz, elocution and essay competitions. Every time I won prizes, it would be an incentive to perform better. These competitions were the training ground for my IAS exams. My involvement in student politics also helped me, though I later decided that politics was not for me. I was working for Malayala Manorama when I wrote my UPSC examination.
Could you describe the influence of Swami Vivekananda in your life?
In my fifth grade, I took part in an elocution competition and we had to memorize the first five paragraphs of Swami Vivekananda’s Chicago Speech. The prize from the contest included some of his books. I used to read it along with his life history. Finally, I got the complete works of Vivekananda and today, I have a library in which there is a full-size painting of him. Servant leadership, application of knowledge in the layman’s life, comparative religious tolerance are the best picks for me from the life of Swami Vivekananda.
You’ve been renowned for your cultural initiatives like the community marriages in Alappuzha nd Kalpathy Ratholsavam in Palakkad. Tell us about that.
Whenever I go to a place, I never go with a set idea. I’m open to people’s suggestion and whatever is the need of the place, I’m ready to address it. When I was the sub-collector in Alappuzha in the 1980s, I met an elderly woman who sought assistance in getting her five daughters married. And that slowly increased to 142 girls and boys and it became the biggest community marriage at that time. Similarly, when I was posted at Palakkad, a former minister told me that the Ratholsavam at the temple was not being conducted and something had to be done to revive it. So I organized a music festival by calling the best musicians and got sponsorships from corporates to revive the Kalpathy Ratholsavam. All these were initiated with simple steps, but when I reflect on each of them achieving certain scale and continuity even after my tenure, I can only say that, all those initiatives were emotionally connected to the people of those regions and I only had to play the role of an enabler or a catalyst to help them achieve their needs.
Your involvement in the successful execution of the National Games brought you to national prominence and later earned you the nick name of “The Sports Administrator of India “. Could you tell us a little about that?
My first attempt to organize a sports event was in 1984 when we organized the Nehru Boat Race in Alappuzha. Then, in 1987, I was asked to take over the organizing of the National Games in Kerala. There wasn’t any infrastructure then but we were able to get everything ready in time and the Games was a success. This caught the attention of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and I
was invited to move to Delhi to be at the helm of SAI (Sports Authority of India). It all started with organising small events. With simple steps and god’s desire or will, I was blessed to be there at the right place at the right time.
But you politely declined it. What was the reason for that?
Yes. We had a wonderful Chief Secretary by the name of V. Ramachandran. He advised me to do my District (Collectorship) first before going to Delhi. And when I did visit Delhi, I noticed that everyone was senior to me. I was suddenly being catapulted to a position above these people and I knew it would not go down well with them. So I told Madam (Margaret) Alva that I would like to go back and do my District first, in line with what my Chief Secretary had insisted.
You did go to Delhi after that. In fact, in 2010, you were a member of the select committee established by the PMO to ensure a successful Commonwealth Games. Could you share your experiences of that project?
It was one of the most challenging jobs that I had done. I was in-charge of catering and transportation. I had no experience in catering. We called a global tender and short-listed an Australian firm called Delaware.For that, I had to go to Australia to negotiate the terms and assured them that they would not have to grease the hands of anyone in India. They agreed with the condition that the kitchen equipment be arranged from a company in London.
However, the London company declined to participate and we had to buy their equipment. There was also the question of how it could be brought to India and the only cargo flight big enough to bring it was a Russian Cargo Plane called Antonov An-124, which is the biggest in the world. A decision had to be taken and nobody was willing to sign on any paper. I was in-charge and I took the decision to bring it to Delhi in two sorties. It was a decision made out of the set procurement procedures. My conscience was clear and I was ready to give explanations to any authorities, in the event of being questioned, as the country’s pride & reputation was more important than the safety of my individual career.
You also got a lot of fame and credit for traffic management during the games. Could you explain what you did?
Traffic management was a huge challenge. We needed 2000 cars and we had to negotiate with Tata and they provided it free of cost. Then, the challenge was getting drivers – we got school bus drivers to drive the cars to the venue. Exclusive lanes marked as ‘CWG 2010’ were created which could be used only for the Games’ purposes. We also roped in students from Amity Business School to escort the athletes as they could speak English.
In the concluding ceremony, the president of the Commonwealth Games Federation said that the 2010 Games would be remembered for three things – the meticulous security provided, excellent catering services and the best transport arrangements. I felt very happy as two out of three were handled by me.
Recently, you were the Director General of SAI. How do you see Indian athletes performing at the global level, say the Olympics?
Archery, shooting, boxing, wrestling, badminton and an outside chance in hockey. These are six games from which we can get medals. From these six games we can get a maximum of 72 medals and if we can get at least 20 medals then India can get into the top 10 countries.
While executing the role of SAI Director, you have crusaded for individual talents, why did you do that?
This was for Dutee Chand the athlete who was banned under the pretext that she had failed a dope test due to a condition called Hyperandrogenism. Getting into the details I realized that it is not
her fault, but a natural ailment. The logical base for my support to her fight in the International Court of Arbitration of Sports in Lausanne, Switzerland was simple. If Usain Bolt gets an extra ordinary edge in the race due to the extra ordinary length of his legs, and it is not an undue advantage for him against his fellow competitors but a natural advantage, the same logic could be applied in Dutee Chand’s case as well. This was a landmark judgement in International Sports. Though the logic was simple, the journey for Dutee Chand as well as for all of us was frustrating, challenging but as any war goes, we decided to pursue it till the end and our perseverance brought us the ultimate success.
Do you wish that you had continued as a sports administrator?
My greatest ambition was to take India to the tenth place in world sports. If sense prevailed, they should have allowed me to continue in sports till the year 2020. I would have loved to have done it. Even though the position was not very glamourous, I was prepared to take it. I don’t think any administrator has taken the pains to understand the basics of sports in the country like I have. I may not be a great sportsperson, but I’m a true sports lover. I understand the travails and hardships the athletes go through.
More recently, as the Chief Secretary of Kerala, your Operation Anantha has grabbed headlines. Tell us more about that.
In April 2015, Trivandrum city was under-water due to the flash floods. I was travelling in my car and we were floating in the water. It was then that I received a phone call from a stranger. He spoke at length about the depressing scenes due to floods and implored me to take some action. I was able to empathize with him, because if I were in his situation, even I would have responded the same way. The next day we called the engineers and went to inspect the site. We found that there were encroachments that were blocking the drainage system. We recorded videos of the whole place and showed it to the Cabinet. The Chief Minister asked me to take action and I agreed, on the condition that there should not be any interference which was understood and agreed by all. And thus, we began the demolition of the encroachments.
Sometimes officers are caught in the crossfire of politics. In your own case, the Palmolein incident was most unfortunate. How did you handle that situation?
It did cast a shadow upon my career. Even today I’m not out of this case. As a government servant and I am obliged to carry out a Government Order. When Cabinet takes a decision and instructions are given to be implemented, it has to be implemented. In my authority as the MD of the Civil Supplies Corporation, I had given my comments about the order before initiating proceedings as per the cabinet decision.
I did go through challenging times as my integrity and reputation were being questioned. The firm belief and faith, as well as the unconditional support lent by my family, a clear conscience and an undying commitment to the country was what helped me face the odds with courage.
Do you feel you were made a scapegoat in the entire incident?
Yes. Absolutely. This is the risk every civil servant has to face. This particular incident brought me closer to God. To this day, I can tell you that I have not maligned my intellectual integrity or reputation on any matters. And I will walk out of the Secretariat with the belief and pride that I carried out my job to the best of my ability. I’ve always stood by the downtrodden and for the causes of the people.
There are whisperings in the corridors of power that there is a book in the offing on the Commonwealth Games. Is there any truth in that?
After the end of the Games, I had called up my private secretary and started dictating my experiences on the Games. He felt that this would create problems and told me that I should finish it after my retirement. I’m working on it and hope to bring it out soon because I feel certain things are happening in this country that have to be highlighted to trigger path breaking administration reforms in the Sports Management of this country.
What kind of a legacy do you want to leave behind?
I always say that a good civil servant should be like Janus – the Roman God who has two faces, one in the front, and the other in the back. He can look at the future and the past. A civil servant is like this. With one face he should look at what the statute says, what the rules prescribe and act according to that. At the same time, he should also understand that the rules are framed by us for the welfare of the ordinary people. If they don’t get benefitted by it, then he must find a way to ensure that they get benefitted. It could be by articulating the interpretation of some rules, maybe by amending it or replacing it with a relevant rule. Irrespective of how that is being done, people’s issues should be resolved. All through my 36 years of service, I’ve tried to do this. I’ve tried to be on the people’s side. I have no regrets and I’m very happy to leave that as my legacy.
All these were initiated with simple steps, but when I reflect on each of them achieving certain scale and continuity even after my tenure, I can only say that, all those initiatives were emotionally connected to the people of those regions and I only had to play the role of an enabler or a catalyst to help them achieve their needs.
Interview: Mathew Antony Text: Anish Shankar
Photos: Jinson Abraham Styling: Lakshmi Babu
Makeup: Subi Ganesh
Assistant Photographers: Arun Menon, Dennis Antony & Nived P S
Location: The Golf Club, Trivandrum & Kerala Government Secretariat