Nitin A Gokhale - Manohar Parrikar: Brilliant Mind, Simple Life

MANOHAR PARRIKAR

MANOHAR PARRIKAR

Brilliant Mind, Simple Life

NITIN A. GOKHALE

BLOOMSBURY INDIA

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First published in India 2021

This edition published 2021

Copyright Department of Information & Publicity,

Government of Goa & Nitin A. Gokhale, 2021

Photographs Department of Information & Publicity, Government of Goa

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ISBN: 978-93-90077-62-5 (print); 978-93-90077-64-9 (Ebook)

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To

All friends,

family and followers of

Manohar Parrikar who keep

his memory alive

It is nearly two years since Manohar Parrikar passed away, on 19 March 2019, battling cancer. The dominant memory that his friends, family and people of Goa have of Parrikar is not of the cancer patient but that of a brilliant mind, excellent administrator, popular politician and a simple human being. That he didnt let adversity dampen his spirit or his zeal to work for the development of Goa was evident till the very end.

In December 2018 for instance, a frail looking Parrikar, a tube inserted in his nose and barely recognisable as a handsome but simply attired Chief Minister, visited the site of the construction of the third bridge over River Mandovi. Even as the deadly disease was gnawing away at his vitals, Parrikar was more concerned about the completion of a bridge that had been conceptualised as soon as he became Chief Minister of Goa for the fourth time, in March 2017.

Many of his political opponents had criticised the visit, terming it variously as a photo opportunity, as a tamasha, but Parrikar was unfazed. For him, nothing could come between him and the welfare of the people of his beloved Goa. For nearly three decades, Parrikarthe first IIT-ian to become Chief Ministerrode the states political arena like a colossus. Whether in power or out of it, Goas political discourse since the early 1990s revolved around this engineer-entrepreneur-social worker-politician. As I have always said, Parrikar was a simple man, but not a simpleton.

His elevation as Indias Defence Minister in November 2014 was a pleasant surprise. Prime Minister Narendra Modis choice to head the vital ministry was an inspired decision. Parrikar had already built a reputation as an honest, hard-working and innovative administrator. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) however, needed more than an honest politician. So why did Prime Minister Modi choose Parrikar? He did so because Parrikar had a technical and analytical bent of mind and had the ability to quickly grasp the intricacies of the MoDs functioning.

Throughout his 28-month stint in the South Block, Parrikar did not disappoint. He not only grasped complexities of defence procurements but personally led changes that have resulted in transparent and simpler defence acquisition procedures. Many of the innovative ideas that Parrikar proposed have been gradually incorporated in Indias defence purchase policies since then.

That political compulsions forced him to go back to Goa after a short tenure as Defence Minister is something that will forever remain a regret for those who watch the defence sector in India but even in the limited time he spent in the MoD, Parrikar has left an indelible mark. I, for one, learnt immensely from our brief but very close association during his time in Delhi. As you will read in subsequent pages, we did not know each other until January 2015 but some common interestsmilitary matters and a fondness for reading, for instancebrought us very close.

So it was with great pleasure that I agreed to a proposal from the Government of Goa to write this biography of Manohar Parrikar. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was very clear on what he wanted: An overview of Parrikars immense contribution to nation-building and, more importantly, his service to the Goan society.

Without help from Parrikars friends, political colleagues, ordinary citizens and, of course, his close associates, this would not have been possible. It is impossible to name all the people who came forward with their memories of and opinions about Parrikar, but some deserve special mention. Foremost is Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, in many ways Parrikars immediate political successor; Upendra Joshi, his close aide during Parrikars stints both as Chief Minister and Defence Minister (Joshi continues in that role even with Sawant); the Parrikar family, especially his elder sister Jyoti; close friends from his early days in Mumbai and Goa RSS; many industrialists, military officers, Department of Information, Government of Goa for the collection of photographs and bureaucrats. I cant thank all of them enough.

Neelanjana Banerjees diligent recording of interviews with people across the spectrum has enriched this book. Without her contribution, the book would have remained an incomplete work. The ever reliable team of Paul Vinay Kumar, Jyoti Mehrotra and Rajbilochan Prasad at Bloomsbury, my publishers, as usual put up with my erratic schedule and delivery of manuscript with great patience. My grateful thanks to all of them.

Looking back, the time I spent with Parrikar in Delhi wasnt enough to grasp the magnitude of his journey from a social worker to Indias Defence Minister. If I knew he was going to depart so soon, perhaps I would have devoted more time to understand his philosophy, his principles and what drove him to be such a workaholic. Alas, that was not to be. It was only after I interacted with his legion of followers, friends and family that a somewhat complete picture of this extraordinary man emerged. This book is not a chronicle of the man better known in Goa as Bhai but an attempt to capture the essence of Manohar Parrikarthe man, the politician, the technocrat who loved his country and the people of Goa intensely. His rather early departure was a loss not only to countless friends like me but to the nation as well. His contribution and his memories will, of course, remain forever etched in our memory.