Sukh Ram's memorable gesture

Chiranjit Parmar

Pandit Sukh Ram, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 94, remained popular with the people of Mandi despite his arrest and conviction in corruption cases. Back in 1969, he was the Agriculture Minister of Himachal Pradesh. At that time, horticulture used to be under the Department of Agriculture. I was the Horticulture Development Officer for Kangra district, with the headquarters at Dharamsala. Una and Hamirpur were then part of Kangra district.

Sukh Ram was on an official visit to Kangra. He was staying for the night at the PWD rest house at Jwalamukhi. His late wife, whom we, the residents of Mandi, called Panditayaniji, was with him. She was very hospitable. Whenever any person from Mandi went to Sukh Ram for work, she would offer the visitor food or tea.

On that day, Sukh Ram needed information pertaining to horticulture in the district and asked me to meet him. I went to the rest house and gave him the details.

The minister was about to leave for his next destination and so his luggage, bedroll, suitcase, etc. had been packed. During those days, when ministers and officers used to go on tour, they took their bedrolls along with them.

His wife came into the room and said to him, “The watchman of the rest house is asking me to open the bedroll. He says a bed sheet is missing from the room and he wants to check if it has been packed in our bedroll.” Looking a bit angry, she asked, “Does this watchman suspect that we are taking away the bed sheet?”

Sukh Ram remained calm after hearing her complaint, even as I looked on. He said he had no issues if the watchman opened the bedroll. He told his wife that these chowkidars were lowly paid employees and a bed sheet meant a lot to them; if lost, the watchman might have to pay for it. The minister allowed him to check the bedroll to his satisfaction. Can such a gesture be expected from today’s politicians?

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