The man with the clues

From diplomacy to deal-making, crosswords to the corporate world, Naresh Chandra was a problem-solver

Former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam confers the Padma Vibhushan to Naresh Chandra, former Cabinet Secretary and India's Ambassador to US. File photo.

My first substantive interaction with Naresh Chandra was in 1993 when he was Senior Adviser dealing with the aftermath of Ayodhya, in Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao’s office, after a distinguished career in the civil service spanning 36 years, during which he had served as Chief Secretary of Rajasthan, Union Secretary for Water Resources, Defence and Home and finally as Cabinet Secretary. I was Director in the Ministry of External Affairs heading the newly created Disarmament & International Security Affairs Division. The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) had been concluded after long negotiations lasting nearly a decade and India was among the original signatory countries. I had put up a note to Foreign Secretary J.N. Dixit spelling out the obligations that the CWC would entail for different ministries and the chemical industry. to my surprise, he asked me to brief the Senior Adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Chandra’s table had no papers or files other than a newspaper with a half-finished crossword. He listened patiently and asked a few pertinent questions. The reason for his involvement soon became clear when four years later in 1997, India publicly acknowledged that it had pursued an active chemical weapons programme and was now planning to destroy its arsenal and dismantle the programme as required by the CWC. The inter-ministerial coordination that I had been pushing for automatically fell into place.

As I got up to leave, he asked about the state of play regarding the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) negotiations in Geneva, another of the subjects I was looking after. After listening, he said, “Let me know if there are any major developments. Just call my office and come over.” I began briefing him periodically thereafter.

In the second half of 1995, as the CTBT negotiations were moving into a decisive phase, Rao set up a small group into which I was inducted. Chandra coordinated it and others included R. Chidambaram (Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy), A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (Secretary, Defence Research and Development Organisation) and Deepak Bhojwani (Private Secretary to PM). By this time, he was Governor in Gujarat and would fly down for the meetings. Chandra’s work and involvement with India’s nuclear programme, including during this period, is now well-known.

In 1996, he was appointed Ambassador to the U.S., a position he held for nearly five years, overseeing the most intense and productive engagement between the two countries. His first year was marked by growing differences on the CTBT negotiations which the Clinton administration was pushing for; then came India’s nuclear tests in 1998 when the U.S. imposed sanctions followed by the intense engagement with the 18 rounds of talks between Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh, together with expert-level talks. Chandra handled it with characteristic aplomb, appearing on TV channels, engaging the Congressmen and the Senators and addressing the think tanks.

When Alok Prasad (Joint Secretary looking after the U.S. desk) and I travelled to Washington for talks with our counterparts, Chandra would insist on accompanying us to our meetings, an unforgettable gesture from a person nearly 20 years our senior, but one that enhanced our standing in our interactions. Riding with him in the car introduced me to crosswords, his old passion. I would struggle with the

Financial Times crossword and he would say, “Read the clue”, followed by “How many letters?” — and as I spoke, pat would come the response. A postgraduate in mathematics, his knowledge of Western literature, musicology and classics was unparalleled.

Boardroom avatar

After returning from Washington, Chandra took on a new avatar, as one of the most sought-after board members in the corporate world. After I retired from government, one day he called, “Can you take some out time from your writing and lecturing? If so, I want to suggest your name for a board position in one of the companies where I am the chairman.” I promptly agreed and thus began a new learning. Once again, I saw the ease with which he would employ his vast experience and negotiating skill in the boardroom, addressing issues with a practical common sense and a problem-solving approach.

Chandra enjoyed the fine things of life — his superb selection of ties, his shoes from Church’s, good single malts, an occasional cigar, all of which he shared generously, while holding an audience spellbound as he recounted stories from an endless repertoire.

Naresh Chandra was large man, larger than life for he lived it to the full. I will miss a guide and teacher. I have pulled out my crossword manual and dictionary which he had presented me, for now I will have to solve this cryptic alone.

Rakesh Sood is a former diplomat and currently Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation