: Reading A Book: How To Interpret Startling Revelations? #WorldNEWSAll I honestly believe no one is better qualified than the distinguished diplomat himself to set the readers doubt at rest. Recently

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Reading A Book: How To Interpret Startling Revelations? #WorldNEWSAll
I honestly believe no one is better qualified than the distinguished diplomat himself to set the readers doubt at rest.
Recently I happened to read a book THE INDIAN PRESIDENT – An Insider’s Account of the Zail Singh Years authored by a distinguished career diplomat K. C. Singh.
The book eminently reveals some interesting anecdotes and the frosty relations between president Giani Zail Singh and the young prime minister Rajiv Gandhi from the year 1985 till the former concluded his controversy-ridden presidency in July 1987.
What intriguingly captures my attention is a series of startling revelations that seemingly sit oddly with the gravitas of a true civil servant like the author himself.
A member of the civil services is under inviolable obligation to observe impeccable integrity, allegiance to the constitution, impartiality and transparency in discharge of his or her duties. Such qualities must not only be observed but must also be seen to be observed.
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Some events documented by the author in laudatory terms prima facie seem to be inconsistent with what is expected of a senior official posted in the highest constitutional office of the land.
As a reader I would like to highlight couple of his anecdotes that arouse my curiosity about the role of a civil servant ensconced in the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
In the book the author narrates the way he manages to facilitate the entry of two visitors in the precincts of the presidential house without being frisked owing to immunity conferred on him.
To any discerning mind, it appears to be the dilution of the sanctity bestowed upon a civil servant holding some particular status in the hierarchy. The author proclaims that he uses his own peacock-blue fiat car to ferry the two gentlemen to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Readers tend to believe that this furtive act is not strictly in the scope of his official duties. It appears to sound ethically inappropriate.
The author’s seemingly vicarious pleasure emanating from the possibility of dismissal of the government subtly tends to mirror his disguised ambitions, albeit the plan fails to materialize.
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The author candidly displays his political proclivity and recounts as follows
“In a political standoff at the highest level, there are really two options. One is to stay committed to one side and do your best. The other, as happens more often, is to keep a foot in both camps and hedge your bets. My crossover from being an advisor to playing the political game was a factor of my temperament”.
By his own account, he was privy to the meetings held between the president and visibly a handful of disenchanted elements in the Congress party.

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