Madhavan's tips for treading the straight path

CHENNAI, DEC. 13. The autobiography of the former CBI Joint Director, Mr. K. Madhavan, will be released in Kochi on December 30 by the Union Minister for Law, Mr. Arun Jaitley.

Called ``CBI Diary Kurripugal'', the book written in Malayalam, Mr. Madhavan's mother tongue, is being published by the Mathrubhumi group.

Mr. Madhavan said he had a dual purpose in writing his memoirs. ``To let the people know how things work in the CBI. Secondly, to convey to the young readers, particularly, the young officers, how it is possible to maintain a straight path and still succeed.''

In the book, he talks of the significant role played by his father, the late K. Vasudevan Nair of Salem, in preparing him for bigger challenges. ``He is one of the most principled persons I have come across. He taught me the value of integrity and more importantly, boldness in standing for a cause. Certain incidents that happened in my childhood where he advised me in a particular way, I have narrated in the book. At that time if I had got the wrong advice, almost goading me to become a coward, maybe I would have been a different person. But then he always said `Yes, you have acted rightly.' ''

Other important features of the autobiography, are accounts of Mr. Madhavan's early years in the CBI, where he was ``groomed in an environment of honesty, integrity and hard work,'' and his own experiences in the agency; he has analysed the conduct and the roles of some of the officers he had interacted with.

Mr. Madhavan said he has spoken about how he resisted the pressures that were occasionally sought to be brought upon him. ``I have touched upon, to the extent it was relevant to the biography, the manner in which politics often crosses swords with thorough, independent, investigation.''

However, the book will not contain details of his ongoing probe into betting and match-fixing as the Board of Control for Cricket in India's anti-corruption commissioner. ``It is an ongoing probe. Only when it becomes history, will I be able to write about it. In news there can be a mistake. In history there should be none.'' His future plans include publishing the book in English.

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