With Malice Towards None: The Chronicle of an Era , the English rendering of the autobiography of administrator and art patron M.K.K. Nayar titled, Aarodum Paribhavamillathe , was released at an event here last week.
Serialised in Kalakaumudi , the original work had won the appreciation of readers for being an honest record of the political and administrative events around India’s Independence and in the period that succeeded it. The book was released by poet and former Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar.
Nayar, famous for his contributions to a fledgling Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited (FACT) and his support of art and literature, was an insider of the Nehruvian circle as an IAS officer from the 1947 batch. His proximity to, and adoration of the political reforms commissioner and constitutional adviser V.P. Menon helped him keenly observe the volatile political set up that helmed Delhi upon Independence.
The book, being a political chronicle, throws light on several personalities and events that shaped the destiny of India. For instance, his account of the bitter spat between Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhai Patel is revealing.
In late 2013, veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani quoted from the yet-to-be published translation to assert his party’s point on what they thought was an unfair treatment meted out to Patel by Nehru. When in 1948, the Army pulled out of Hyderabad and the political situation worsened there, Patel wanted the Army to be dispatched immediately to quell trouble. Nehru, “who was usually calm, peaceful and good-mannered, lost his self-control and said, ‘You are a total communalist and I shall not accept your advice’.” That was the last Cabinet meeting he attended, Nayar wrote.
Nayar, a staunch admirer of Patel for his unconditional support to the civil services, cited a Nehru communiqué to the Home Ministry upon the death of Patel in which he asked immediate return of the Cadillac car used by Patel to the Foreign Affairs Ministry as an instance of the great Panditji not being able to rise above petty acrimony. A second memo asked officers who wished to attend the funeral to do so on their own, wrote Nayar.
Published by Prism Books, this is the first complete translation of the autobiography in production. Gopakumar M. Nair, who translated the book a few years ago, had worked under Nayar at FACT.
