Renowned constitutional expert, jurist and academic scholar of politics, Padma Bhushan Dr Subhash C Kashyap passed away on Thursday. He was also the Secretary General of the seventh, eighth and ninth Lok Sabha of the country from 1983 to 1990. He had taken over the post of Secretary General after Avtar Singh Rikhi. Now this post may be reserved for the retired IAS cadre, but till the time of Dr. Subhash C Kashyap, this post was for the Parliament’s own services (Lok Sabha Secretariat Service).
Dr. Kashyap came to Parliament as a section officer in 1953. Even at that time, everyone respected his erudition. Even the then Secretary General MN Kaul used to seek legal advice from him many times, whereas Kaul Saheb himself had been in Parliament since the time of the Constituent Assembly. The post of Secretary General (General Secretary) of the Lok Sabha is equivalent to the Cabinet Secretary.
Sweet and polite Dr. Kashyap
Senior journalist Trilok Deep, who worked in the Lok Sabha Secretariat during his time, says that three years after joining Dr. Subhash C Kashyap, I got appointment as an assistant in the Lok Sabha. Then Dr. Kashyap was the section officer there. Therefore he had to work. Soft-spoken Dr. Kashyap used to talk to everyone. Never boasted about being an officer. Although I used to watch the Private Members’ Bill (PMB) in the Lok Sabha at that time, I used to meet him daily in the conference room. At that time GV Mavalankar was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. He was also very learned and soft spoken. But strict in matters of discipline. Dr. Kashyap had cordial relations with all the members of the Lok Sabha, from Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru. Many times Nehru and Mavalankar used to talk to him directly, because Kaul Saheb was very strict.
Balram Jakhar made Secretary General
According to Trilok ji, he remained in the Lok Sabha Secretariat till 1965 and after that Sachchidanand Hiranand Vatsyayan Agyeya appointed him to the Times Group’s weekly magazine Dinman. Therefore he left the Lok Sabha Secretariat, but even after that he maintained relations with Dr. Kashyap. Even when he became the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha on 31 December 1983, he used to meet him often.
He was appointed to the post of Secretary General in the Lok Sabha by the then Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar. Both are high level scholars and constitutional experts. Often, whenever Lok Sabha Speakers needed advice regarding the Constitution, Dr. Kashyap was often remembered. However, in the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Lok Sabha, so many controversial bills came up and events changed so rapidly that only an expert could handle the Lok Sabha.
Seventh Lok Sabha controversies
Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister when Dr. Kashyap was appointed as the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. Sikh extremism was at its peak in Punjab during his tenure. Amritsar DIG Avtar Singh Gill was murdered on 25 April 1983 on the Darshani Deodhi of the Golden Temple. After this, the morale of Bhindranwale and Khalsa terrorists became high. Indira Gandhi had to do Operation Blue Star. On one hand his step was greatly praised, on the other hand it was strongly condemned. The then President Giani Zail Singh was also unhappy with this action. According to sources, the Prime Minister had not taken him into confidence. Two Sikh MPs, angry at the insult to Darbar Sahib, left the Parliament. Captain Amarinder Singh, the Congress Lok Sabha member from Patiala and Devendra Singh Garcha, who won the Lok Sabha from Ludhiana on behalf of the Congress, had also resigned from the membership of the Lok Sabha and the Congress Party.
Rajiv Gandhi’s mistakes
In protest against Operation Blue Star, famous journalist and then Rajya Sabha member Khushwant Singh returned his Padma Bhushan award. In such a situation, it was not within the power of the Speaker alone to handle the Lok Sabha. At that time the role of the Secretary General in the Lok Sabha had become more important. After this, the entire country was stunned by the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards in the Prime Minister’s residence on 31 October 1983. After this, Indira Gandhi’s son Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister and the formation of the new Lok Sabha in December 1984. All this happened during the time of Dr Kashyap. But the eighth Lok Sabha was also very noisy. Especially when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi overturned the Supreme Court’s decision in the Shah Bano case. After this, due to opening of lock of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, terrorism in Punjab, rebellion of VP Singh etc., this Lok Sabha also remained in ruckus.
VP Singh’s hurry
In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, VP Singh formed the government with the support of BJP and Left parties, but his tenure as Prime Minister was surrounded by controversies from the very first day. Frightened by Chandrashekhar’s displeasure and BJP’s threat, VP Singh took a decision which set the country on fire. By accepting the recommendations of the BP Mandal Commission, the Prime Minister created such an upheaval that even he could not have anticipated. On August 7, 1990, Dr. Kashyap was aware of the impending crisis after VP Singh accepted the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. He took voluntary leave from the Lok Sabha Secretariat on 20 August 1990. But after resigning from the post of Secretary General, Dr. Kashyap did not sit quietly at home. He started writing and started giving lectures in many international institutions. Wrote many books.
Dr. Kashyap passes away in Delhi
Born on May 10, 1929 in Chandpur town in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh, Dr. Subhash C Kashyap completed his studies from Allahabad University. He taught at Allahabad University for some time and also practiced law in the High Court. Dr. Kashyap also did freelance journalism. He used to write in many newspapers and magazines. He remained active even after taking leave from Lok Sabha. He was often consulted on legal matters. From Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to the current Prime Minister, he was also a fan of his legal and constitutional expertise. At the age of 97, he died on June 4 due to cardio-pulmonary arrest. He was still associated with the Delhi-based Center for Policy Research (PCR). Dr. Kashyap was also associated with the high level committee that was considering the possibility of One Nation One Election. In the year 2015 he was awarded Padma Bhushan.
With Dr. Lakshmimal Singhvi
Dr. Kashyap’s closest friend was Dr. Lakshmimal Singhvi. He used to have a lot of meetings with them. Due to his support, Dr. Kashyap’s pen became popular in Hindi also. He also read a lot of novels, stories and poems in Hindi literature. Dr. Kashyap often used to go to meet Singhvi ji at his residence in South Extension. Although Dr. Laxmimal Singhvi was two years younger than him. But he was also an expert in law and constitution. In the third Lok Sabha election in 1962, Dr. Lakshmimal Singhvi won the election from Jodhpur as an independent and in 1998 he was sent to the Rajya Sabha. Meanwhile, from 1991 to 1997, Dr. Lakshmimal Singhvi was also the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom. He died in 2007, but his friendship with Dr. Kashyap was unmatched.
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