Bureaucratic Balance

Dr P. K. Mishra Recalls Two Incidents

While referring to the book on Shri R. V. Chandramauli, Dr P. K. Mishra recalled two incidents from his field career—as SDM Tharad in Banaskantha and later as Collector Mehsana.

As SDM Tharad, at a time when illegal transportation of cattle to slaughterhouses was in news, he once stopped a cattle truck for verification. To his surprise, the driver came rushing and offered him ₹20—the prevailing “rate” for letting such vehicles pass. Dr Mishra recalled that it was the first and last bribe ever offered to him in his career.

After five years on deputation to the Government of Odisha, he returned as Collector, Mehsana, in early months of 1980. His first three months were dominated by the Siddhpur communal riots, and he spent more time at the Siddhpur police station than at the district headquarters. Once peace returned, there was a demand to cancel the traditional annual religious fair. Instead, the administration decided to hold it at a different site, respecting it as a customary right of the people. The fair passed off peacefully. It could be Kartiki Purnima fair of November 1980.

I was a keen observer of public events. 

Gujarat was under President’s Rule from 17 February to 6 June 1980, after the Congress (I)’s sweeping victory in the January 1980 Lok Sabha elections. The Janata Party government headed by Babubhai Patel was dismissed and the Assembly dissolved, paving the way for fresh elections. The Siddhpur communal riots thus occurred during President’s Rule, when the State was under direct Central administration.

It was a dispute in Siddhpur concerned the Rudra Mahalaya complex, a medieval Hindu temple site partly converted into a mosque. On Friday (14 March), a Hindu priest led followers in singing bhajans at the site during Friday namaz, triggering stone-pelting, arson and market closures. Retaliatory stabbings in April (8) led to another wave of violence. Curfew was imposed, arrests made and police deployed to restore order.

The dispute was eventually sought to be settled by placing the Rudra Mahalaya complex under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as a centrally protected monument. The proposed arrangement was to preserve the existing structure while allowing neither community to conduct religious rituals or gatherings within the complex, with an alternative site to be provided for a mosque. This approach sought to remove the disputed site from active religious contestation and prevent a recurrence of communal tensions.

The 1980 Gujarat Assembly elections were held (27& 30 May) against this politically charged backdrop, following a period of President’s Rule. The Congress (I), led by Madhav Singh Solanki, returned to power with a sweeping majority, winning 141 of the 182 seats; the Janata Party won 21 and the BJP 9. 

Dr Mishra’s recollection illustrates Gujarat’s distinctive administrative approach: firmness in maintaining law and order while finding practical and locally acceptable solutions to sensitive communal issues.