Friday, July 25, 2014
Rameshwar Nath Kao, spymaster and the first head of R&AW.
Source : Quora.com
Career:
In 1940 he was commissioned in Imperial Police and alloted UP cadre. At the Police Training College, Moradabad he was uncomfortable with his British colleagues, who had merely passed their senior Cambridge and were too boisterous and crude for his liking. On June 3, 1947 he was deputed to Central Intelligence Bureau. That time the organisation had few Hindus and was stuffed heavily with British and Muslim officers. At independence IB had lot of empty desks. Kao was chosen by Nehru to handle the charge of VIP Security. It was during this assignment, when Queen Elizabeth appreciated his good handling of the job. At a reception in Bombay Kao dived and caught a bouquet that was flung at her, fearing that it might be a bomb. She could not restrain remarking in humour ‘Good Cricket’. After 1962 debacle and then the failure to predict ‘Operation Gibraltar’ (1965), Kao, who was Deputy Director IB then, and K Sankaran Nair came up with a blueprint to set up a new agency devoted exclusively to external intelligence. The name of the new agency was chosen by Cabinet Secretary, DS Joshi as R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing). Kao never liked it to be called RAW. R.N. Kao along with 250 of his chosen colleagues from China and Pakistan desks and the DG (Security) of IB were transferred to the new agency. After 1971 war Kao was promoted to the rank of full secretary. The meticulous work done by Kao and his colleagues at RAW was visible when within seven years of its formation Bangladesh became an independent country and Sikkim, 22nd state of India. Pt. Nehru, whom Kao accompanied on foreign trips and Mrs. Gandhi knew him closely and thought well of his professionalism. Kao built R&AW into a competent and aggressive foreign intelligence agency. Kao had unlimited access to M a d a m Gandhi. She r e p o s e d c o m p l e t e faith in him. “Normally, Kao’s was the last appointment of the day with Mrs. Gandhi, when all her other engagements were finished”, remembers a politician close to Gandhis. Victor longer, long-time Kao associate said, “Intelligence is the only government business that depends upon the spoken word. Sometimes, you can understand signs and body language. Kao had that rapport with Mrs. Gandhi”. After nurturing RAW for 9 years, Kao retired. He was due to retire in 1976 but Mrs. Gandhi insisted on giving him an extension. When Mrs. Gandhi came back in 1980, Kao was appoint as Security Advisor. He did valuable and quiet work during this period--engaging Americans and Chinese. He oversaw both IB and R&AW, coming close to the position of an intelligence Czar. He was the first to float the idea of a special security unit for the Prime Minister. During this tenure as National Security Advisor, he helped the process of internal re-organisation of RAW, leading to the establishment of Research and Analysis Service (RAS). It was also around this time Kao began working on internal security issues to counterbalance- Pakistan’s moves to exploit Punjab troubles. During Reagan administration when Mrs. Gandhi visited US Kao had gone ahead of her visit secretly to prepare the ground. He knew elder George Bush, then Vice- President very well since the days when the latter was head of the CIA. They jointly d i s c u s s e d M a d a m Gandhi’s visit with President Reagan. K a o helped in smooth transition of power in the wake of assassination of Mrs. Gandhi in 1984s. When Rajiv Gandhi sent subtle hints to the old guard to leave room for Arun Nehru and Arun Singh gracious Kao did not wait for a moment.
Personality:
Kao has been described as a suave, brilliant, loving and caring, self-effacing and superbly dedicated personality. His colleagues who called him Ramji with veneration admired his judgement of men, matters and events, tremendous vision, great humility and mental generosity. He hated pomposity and never made a public statement. Whenever he was asked about some sensitive issue his reply used to be ‘These matters will go with me to the funeral pyre’.
Kao was a fiercely private man and was rarely seen in public. He never allowed himself to be photographed. Once during a marriage function of Shargas, his relations, in Lucknow Ratan Sharga took a photograph of him while enjoying community feast, Kao felt strongly annoyed and made enquiries about the photographer. In view of sensitivity of Kinship he remained silent. On another occasion in 1996 he happened to attend a function in New Delhi, organised to commemorate 25th anniversary of Bangladesh liberation. Kao Sahib was seated in one of the backrows. A Bangladeshi national, who spotted him stood up and came to him saying:
“You should have been sitting in the Centre of dais. You are the man who made 1971 possible’.
Kao replied, ‘I did nothing. They deserve all the praise’. Embarrassed at being recognised, Kao quietly left the hall. Kao was a consummate conversationalist, a patient listener, listening each word with care and never gave impression that he was not listening. He knew Persian, Sanskrit and Urdu so well and could speak fluently all these languages. In his conversations he mostly spoke in Urdu with Lucknowi accent, though he spoke good Hindi also. He would never give affront in conversation. Kao Sahib was tall, handsome, elegant but shy. He was always dressed immaculately, with fetish for cleanliness.
Retirement Years:
Kao lived in utmost grace. He was self-effacing, never spoke to the media but kept in touch with old contacts from Moscow, London, Tehran and Beijing. He never sought gubernatorial assignments or any role. He maintained a lively interest in the world around him till his last moment. He was a voracious reader of Indian newspapers but disliked their superficiality and fragmented character. He invariably reacted to good, thoughtprovoking articles. Kao had tastefully done up iron sculpting, Gandhara paintings and loved the hobby of raising horses . A few months before his death at the instance of a retired IFS officer he recorded his memoirs. After personally correcting the transcripts he deposited these with a prestigious NGO of New Delhi with which he was closely associated. He wished that these be published 30 years after his death. Kao passed away in the early hours of 20th January, 2002 and was cremated at Nigambodh Ghat cremation grounds. There were none of the trappings of a VIP funeral that the capital accorded to much lesser men. On this one of his admirers said, ‘He lived inconspicuously and left this world inconspicuously.’
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Why do we shout when we are angry ?
Recently in one of the children magazine i read this short story. I felt it is the story /Message that everybody should know.
This is my gentle effort to all the readers to make them know something about themselves
This one is a lovely mail and you should read it….. A good one too……..I am sure you will like it.
A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?'
Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.'
'But,
why to shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the
saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why
do you shout at a person when you're angry?'
Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint.
Finally
he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts
distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to
hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to
shout to hear each other through that great distance.'
Then
the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't
shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very
close. The distance between them is very small...'
The
saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens?
They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other
in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at
each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they
love each other.'
MORAL: When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other
Would request everyone to practice the same.
Happy reading :-)
This is my gentle effort to all the readers to make them know something about themselves
This one is a lovely mail and you should read it….. A good one too……..I am sure you will like it.
A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?'
Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.'
'But,
why to shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the
saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why
do you shout at a person when you're angry?'
Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint.
Finally
he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts
distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to
hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to
shout to hear each other through that great distance.'
Then
the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't
shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very
close. The distance between them is very small...'
The
saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens?
They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other
in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at
each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they
love each other.'
MORAL: When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other
Would request everyone to practice the same.
Happy reading :-)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Do you need to fail?
This is the question always I ask for my self? I hope everybody would have asked this question to themselves some point of time or they would have asked others?
If i ask myself or anybody about their top five moments of their career/life when it took leap forward - I feel failure was always on the list. For some it was a project gone bad. For some it was the loss of a job.And for others still it was the failure of a larger system, like an economic downturn, that required them to step up.
This where I learned the concept of fixed mindset and growth mindset. Let me explain this further:
If you believe that your talents are inborn or fixed, then you will try to avoid failure at all costs because failure is proof of your limitation. People with a fixed mindset like to solve the same problems over and over again. It reinforces their sense of competence.
Children with fixed mindsets would rather redo an easy jigsaw puzzle than try a harder one. CEOs with fixed mindsets will surround themselves with people who agree with them. They feel smart when they get it right.
But if you believe your talent grows with persistence and effort, then you seek failure as an opportunity to improve. People with a growth mindset feel smart when they're learning, not when they're flawless
If you have a growth mindset, then you use your failures to improve. If you have a fixed mindset, you may never fail, but neither do you learn or grow.
After understanding/reading this, when i think about growth mindset,the name that click my brain is Mr.Big B (Amitabh Bachan).He has seen all the ups and downs of his life/career. But he used all those to grow/improve, whether it is failures in the beginning of his career or in the middle of his career or his production house ABCL.
He was never afraid of failure and that really one of the example of Growth mindset.
A growth mindset is the secret to maximizing potential.
This is just an open discussion.
If i ask myself or anybody about their top five moments of their career/life when it took leap forward - I feel failure was always on the list. For some it was a project gone bad. For some it was the loss of a job.And for others still it was the failure of a larger system, like an economic downturn, that required them to step up.
This where I learned the concept of fixed mindset and growth mindset. Let me explain this further:
If you believe that your talents are inborn or fixed, then you will try to avoid failure at all costs because failure is proof of your limitation. People with a fixed mindset like to solve the same problems over and over again. It reinforces their sense of competence.
Children with fixed mindsets would rather redo an easy jigsaw puzzle than try a harder one. CEOs with fixed mindsets will surround themselves with people who agree with them. They feel smart when they get it right.
But if you believe your talent grows with persistence and effort, then you seek failure as an opportunity to improve. People with a growth mindset feel smart when they're learning, not when they're flawless
If you have a growth mindset, then you use your failures to improve. If you have a fixed mindset, you may never fail, but neither do you learn or grow.
After understanding/reading this, when i think about growth mindset,the name that click my brain is Mr.Big B (Amitabh Bachan).He has seen all the ups and downs of his life/career. But he used all those to grow/improve, whether it is failures in the beginning of his career or in the middle of his career or his production house ABCL.
He was never afraid of failure and that really one of the example of Growth mindset.
A growth mindset is the secret to maximizing potential.
This is just an open discussion.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Speech by Chetan Bhagat at Symbiosis ...must read... Amazing Insight!!!
Don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.
There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.
"Life is one of those races in nursery school where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same is with life where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die. ……………….
One thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. Life is not meant to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? …………….
It's ok, bunk a few classes, scoring low in couple of papers, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, fall in love, little fights with your spouse. We are people, not programmed devices........." :)
"Don't be serious, be sincere."!!
There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.
"Life is one of those races in nursery school where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same is with life where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die. ……………….
One thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. Life is not meant to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? …………….
It's ok, bunk a few classes, scoring low in couple of papers, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, fall in love, little fights with your spouse. We are people, not programmed devices........." :)
"Don't be serious, be sincere."!!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Idli, Orchid and Will Power
Recently I started interest in reading novels. I started reading the book called “Idli, Orchid and Will Power” the autobiography of Vithal Venkatesh Kamat.
Though I have not yet finished the book but it is really impressive. The book has all the ingredients to guide us. So I thought of sharing some of the points which I felt that everybody should know:
1. Financial Dignity: In today’s world where credit card is given/ issued at a phone call, value of money is losing its importance and many people started believing in EMI’s and loan without bothering whether they have the capacity to repay the loan or not. This book shares what is mean by financial dignity and how much respect a person get s when they are not indebted to anybody.
2. Preparedness: Another important thing that really impressive is the preparedness to accept the things as they are and facing them. There was a situation when President of India arrives and stays in his hotel, and when food is ordered which was not in the list and how VV Kamat faced the situation and turned it around was really fabulous
3. Networking: This is one thing that really surprised me. Today we are seeing many networking options like Orkut, Face book etc., but VV Kamat realized the importance of networking and showed what it can do..so a must read for everyone
These are some of the points which I thought of sharing. There are many books which tells us abt 7 habits, or 7 techniques..but here it is the life and how you face them.
Here some good traits of entrepreneurs were demonstrated which are really thought provoking. But sad part is that online edition is not available.
This book is available in various Indian languages like Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil.
Though I have not yet finished the book but it is really impressive. The book has all the ingredients to guide us. So I thought of sharing some of the points which I felt that everybody should know:
1. Financial Dignity: In today’s world where credit card is given/ issued at a phone call, value of money is losing its importance and many people started believing in EMI’s and loan without bothering whether they have the capacity to repay the loan or not. This book shares what is mean by financial dignity and how much respect a person get s when they are not indebted to anybody.
2. Preparedness: Another important thing that really impressive is the preparedness to accept the things as they are and facing them. There was a situation when President of India arrives and stays in his hotel, and when food is ordered which was not in the list and how VV Kamat faced the situation and turned it around was really fabulous
3. Networking: This is one thing that really surprised me. Today we are seeing many networking options like Orkut, Face book etc., but VV Kamat realized the importance of networking and showed what it can do..so a must read for everyone
These are some of the points which I thought of sharing. There are many books which tells us abt 7 habits, or 7 techniques..but here it is the life and how you face them.
Here some good traits of entrepreneurs were demonstrated which are really thought provoking. But sad part is that online edition is not available.
This book is available in various Indian languages like Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Hi All -- My experience
hi All..
Now I have about 5.5 years of work experience..and each year, each day has been learning experience for me and believe me ..I am enjoying each and every moment whether it is success or learning. The reason why I used "learning" as I have not seen or felt like failure.Where I have felt it as a success it is learning for me..and in the process of achieving success I have not left any stone untouched..i have used all the stones...
But recently I started analysing myself with the people around as to see what is that I should do to climb and climb in my career..yes..there are some good things that I learned...as how I should be and how I should not be..
Both the aspects are very encouraging and it gave me new perspective in my thinking. During some discussions, one of the senior person rightly quoted saying there are only two sets of resources (human resources)..either good or bad...and there is nothing in between...which is actually true..A person who falls in bad category..only god can help him.
I see the people who fall under bad category has some of different traits which makes them different from others.They can be as under :
1) Lazy ---Relaxed approach
2)unnecessary discussions -- like discussions on religion, politics etc., which are of no use
3)Always trying to avoid main topics..
4) No idea what to do...always looking for directions to do..(this behaviour is accepted in the first three years of job)
5) Not ready to take the suggestions from others
6) Not ready to correct themselves
These are some of the things which makes resource as bad...and even one person of this nature can spoil the team of good 15 people.
A good employee is one who is not disruptive. Not good enough? You say you want something more proactive? How about this, a good employee is a person who is slow to judge, who sees the world in gray rather than black and white, and has genuine concern for one’s fellow man.
In sum, a good employee is a person who is decidedly disinclined to say, “I am doing this for your own good.”
I am not saying I am good..and I am continuously trying to be good and sure will achieve..
Now I have about 5.5 years of work experience..and each year, each day has been learning experience for me and believe me ..I am enjoying each and every moment whether it is success or learning. The reason why I used "learning" as I have not seen or felt like failure.Where I have felt it as a success it is learning for me..and in the process of achieving success I have not left any stone untouched..i have used all the stones...
But recently I started analysing myself with the people around as to see what is that I should do to climb and climb in my career..yes..there are some good things that I learned...as how I should be and how I should not be..
Both the aspects are very encouraging and it gave me new perspective in my thinking. During some discussions, one of the senior person rightly quoted saying there are only two sets of resources (human resources)..either good or bad...and there is nothing in between...which is actually true..A person who falls in bad category..only god can help him.
I see the people who fall under bad category has some of different traits which makes them different from others.They can be as under :
1) Lazy ---Relaxed approach
2)unnecessary discussions -- like discussions on religion, politics etc., which are of no use
3)Always trying to avoid main topics..
4) No idea what to do...always looking for directions to do..(this behaviour is accepted in the first three years of job)
5) Not ready to take the suggestions from others
6) Not ready to correct themselves
These are some of the things which makes resource as bad...and even one person of this nature can spoil the team of good 15 people.
A good employee is one who is not disruptive. Not good enough? You say you want something more proactive? How about this, a good employee is a person who is slow to judge, who sees the world in gray rather than black and white, and has genuine concern for one’s fellow man.
In sum, a good employee is a person who is decidedly disinclined to say, “I am doing this for your own good.”
I am not saying I am good..and I am continuously trying to be good and sure will achieve..
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Building the Nation
Hello hello hello…
I am not here to give any election speech not any speech which has no logic
Time of elections and time for electing our leader. In our life time we can elect our Member of Parliaments probably 6 to 8 times (taking average age to be around 70 years). Can we miss this opportunity? Well my answer would be NO! Thanks to the initiative of Jagore.com.
Suddenly we listen the words like corruption, ramarajya (the reign of Rama, has become synonymous with a period of peace and prosperity), which were forgotten before elections by our leaders.
Would like to bring or refresh our own history which has been forgotten by us and by our leaders in form of small story..(don’t tell me yet another story !!)
Let me take you to the times of King Dileep, who is great grandfather of King Rama.
His Ministry has some of the intelligent, educated people who are always to protect their king and kingdom.
One day, King Dileep started discussions on the financial statements. And the discussion started on how/ where to use the reserves which are piling up. And the entire board room was divided into two groups. One group thinks that reserves should be spent on defense system. They feel number of soldiers should be increased and should be provided with latest weapons and state of the art training to fight against the army.
Other group was completely against the idea of spending for defense system. This group is under the believe that if reserves are spent on basic amenities , infrastructure and education. They started giving examples to the king as to how these things can make the citizens of a country into knowledgeable persons and loyal. And inturn each citizen will protect their country as their own. Their theory was based on the assumption that we should have army but at the required level to protect against the invasion not for invading others.This group feels that though if our country is poor, enemies may not dare to attack us because of fear from the people who are so loyal to their king and who are well educated.
After hearing all these, King Dileep has shown interest in the second group. Based on this, he started formulating many policies which are for the benefit of society. He ensured that education will reach at all the levels and ensured education should be in a way which imparts good attitude among all the citizens.And suddenly within 3 years, education system has started giving good results .
Poverty has came down, many industries flourished and again the money spent in all the three years has started giving the returns and broad room has seen very less criminal cases.
Due to this all the enemies of the King, started requesting for the friendship as to how a country can progress so quickly in such a less time. And hence enemies became friends and trade between countries began and increased.
Would be great if our leaders understand this and leads us to the path of development and corruption less world. Well.. I do not want to question anybody. Just want my friends to elect the leader who is good and less corrupted.( Less corrupted because it is very hard to find who is not corrupted…)
I am not here to give any election speech not any speech which has no logic
Time of elections and time for electing our leader. In our life time we can elect our Member of Parliaments probably 6 to 8 times (taking average age to be around 70 years). Can we miss this opportunity? Well my answer would be NO! Thanks to the initiative of Jagore.com.
Suddenly we listen the words like corruption, ramarajya (the reign of Rama, has become synonymous with a period of peace and prosperity), which were forgotten before elections by our leaders.
Would like to bring or refresh our own history which has been forgotten by us and by our leaders in form of small story..(don’t tell me yet another story !!)
Let me take you to the times of King Dileep, who is great grandfather of King Rama.
His Ministry has some of the intelligent, educated people who are always to protect their king and kingdom.
One day, King Dileep started discussions on the financial statements. And the discussion started on how/ where to use the reserves which are piling up. And the entire board room was divided into two groups. One group thinks that reserves should be spent on defense system. They feel number of soldiers should be increased and should be provided with latest weapons and state of the art training to fight against the army.
Other group was completely against the idea of spending for defense system. This group is under the believe that if reserves are spent on basic amenities , infrastructure and education. They started giving examples to the king as to how these things can make the citizens of a country into knowledgeable persons and loyal. And inturn each citizen will protect their country as their own. Their theory was based on the assumption that we should have army but at the required level to protect against the invasion not for invading others.This group feels that though if our country is poor, enemies may not dare to attack us because of fear from the people who are so loyal to their king and who are well educated.
After hearing all these, King Dileep has shown interest in the second group. Based on this, he started formulating many policies which are for the benefit of society. He ensured that education will reach at all the levels and ensured education should be in a way which imparts good attitude among all the citizens.And suddenly within 3 years, education system has started giving good results .
Poverty has came down, many industries flourished and again the money spent in all the three years has started giving the returns and broad room has seen very less criminal cases.
Due to this all the enemies of the King, started requesting for the friendship as to how a country can progress so quickly in such a less time. And hence enemies became friends and trade between countries began and increased.
Would be great if our leaders understand this and leads us to the path of development and corruption less world. Well.. I do not want to question anybody. Just want my friends to elect the leader who is good and less corrupted.( Less corrupted because it is very hard to find who is not corrupted…)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
