A Meritocrat For The Times

To be sure, embassy officials and Indian diplomats in Delhi were surprised to see Saran, a 1970 batch officer, supercede a group of seniors to bag the top diplomatic job. Till then the front-runner had been Dilip Lahiri, India’s ambassador to France. In fact, even when Saran was called to Delhi to discuss foreign minister Natwar Singh’s visit to Nepal, he didn’t have firm indications that the foreign secretary’s post would be his.

Saran’s appointment marks a radical departure from the hallowed tradition of the seniormost Indian diplomat moving to the top post in natural progression. The ‘seniority principle’ extracted a price: seniors would often have few months to retire; officials consequently stepped into the office of foreign secretary at a frequency which sacrificed continuity and gave them little chance to put their individual stamp on the country’s foreign policy. A senior diplomat points out, "After J.N. Dixit demitted office in 1994, Saran will be the eighth foreign secretary in only 10 years. We might have had more if Salman Haider and K. Raghunath had not been given extensions. At some stage we had to ask ourselves: are these short tenures and extensions good for the system?"

Unlike many of his predecessors, Saran will have a two-year tenure, due as he is to retire in September 2006. It would seem the Manmohan Singh government has tacitly accepted the suggestion of S.K. Lambah, appointed to recommend administrative reforms in the foreign service, that the foreign secretary should have a tenure of at least two years, and that "merit and experience in core foreign policy areas" should be the basis for his appointment. But neither Kanwal Sibal nor his successor and current incumbent Shashank was awarded a two-year term.

In naming Saran, the government has cast aside three batches of ifs officers—1967, ’68, ’69—comprising 10 officers who could have theoretically made the cut. The list would grow were you to add the names of those from the 1970 and ’71 batches who will now retire while Saran is in office. Saran’s appointment has some wondering whether only those who have two years in service will now qualify for the top post. The Lambah committee had only suggested a two-year tenure, which could either result from the years of service the contenders to the post have at the time of appointment or through grant of extension, as Sibal was expected to get. Should Saran’s appointment become a precedent with the government, then a dozen more officers may not be eligible for consideration to the post of foreign secretary at the time they retire.

Barring the cabinet secretary, no other secretary has a two-year tenure. There has been tremendous reluctance to grant a two-year tenure to the foreign secretary due to the fear that it would set off copycat reactions in other ministries. As a senior diplomat points out, "How do you say, for instance, that the foreign secretary is more important than the agriculture secretary or the HRD secretary? The IAS lobby will work overtime if this two-year term for the foreign secretary were to be done through a decree. " Adds another diplomat, "Political leaders are often reluctant to provide a fixed term because the appointee tends to become independent and stops currying favours."

But such voices are countered by those who argue that the foreign secretary needs a two-year tenure as he has to realise the foreign policy vision of the political establishment through practical strategies on the ground. This isn’t possible in eight or nine months, they claim.

But supercession of 10 officers, and of those who’ll retire during Saran’s tenure, has stoked controversy in the service. "Saran’s appointment is a clear violation of the seniority principle. It has caused heartburn," remarks one diplomat. Yet, this view is in a distinct minority.

The heartburn could have been severe and pervasive but for the nature of choice. For one, the Manmohan Singh government can’t be accused of promoting someone who shares its ideological orientation. The erstwhile Vajpayee government had itself been inclined to choose Saran on its return to power. In the list of secretaries to the Government of India, Saran is listed as Secretary EAA (Europe, America, Africa) as on April 7, 2004. The website also says he "is yet to join". How could Saran have been simultaneously ambassador to Nepal as well as Secretary EAA? It seems the idea was to promote and park him in Delhi till Shashank retired, and then appoint him to the top slot.

Also, there is consensus in the service on Saran’s brilliance and competence. Says former foreign secretary A.P. Venkateswaran, under whom Saran worked in the early ’80s, "Unlike most choices made by the government, this is an eminently suitable choice. Saran is truly outstanding and can be expected to discharge his duties with great skill and team spirit." Even those who have worked with Saran more recently lavish praise on him. Says M.P. Gavai, director, investment and trade promotion, who worked with Saran in Jakarta, "He appreciates boldness on the part of his officers, leads by example and gives a lot of latitude."

Others say Saran’s defining features are that he sets very clear goals, is very good with follow-up, and is a driven person who hits the ground running. Former foreign secretary Muchkund Dubey rates Saran as one of the most competent officers he has known. "He really deserves the post. He volunteered to go to Myanmar (few officers do that)." Adds C.V. Ranganathan, a former envoy to China, "He is very good at the languages and a very friendly and open personality. He enjoys a good reputation amongst his peers."

Though in New Delhi last week, Saran wasn’t willing to talk to the media about his life and family. From Bihar, his father Raghunath was the first Indian President Rajendra Prasad’s personal physician in Patna. His son is a graduate in ocean engineering and currently doing his Master’s in the US; his daughter is a science graduate at Amherst, Massachusetts. Saran took to golf on his posting in Indonesia. In Kathmandu he stayed fit playing squash. He loves to play the sitar, though he hasn’t found time to spend on his passion for music recently. And it will now have to wait for another two years perhaps.