‘The Collector’s Mother’ traces journey from extreme poverty to IAS

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Book Excerpt: Journey to becoming IAS triumphs poverty

Bishnupada Sethi, principal secretary in the Odisha government, gives a vivid account of a poverty-stricken family. Sethi tells in his book – The Collector’s Mother – that even extreme poverty and hardships cannot stop a mother from dreaming a better life for her son. Mother’s one question, asked to her son, set the young man on the path to defy all odds to join the coveted IAS club. Sethi writes in the book that one day his mother asked: “Can you become a collector?”

An excerpt from The Collector’s Mother, published by BluOne Ink, here gives glimpses of odds that Sethi fought on way to becoming an IAS official.

Twenty-seven years of deprivation is a long period of time. My siblings and I were growing up and needed food and care. We did not have adequate clothing and would shiver during winter.

My sisters were forced to drop out of school to handle household chores while my parents went out to earn a livelihood. My elder sister sacrificed her education so that I could continue mine. My father had to travel to Balasore regularly to attend to the court case.

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The neighbours became less virulent and received no support from Pal and others. As we were already living in dismal poverty, they felt their objective had been achieved. They tried to have a normal relationship with us after more than two decades, and we consented.

In 1999, under Section 59 (1) of the Odisha Land Reforms Act, the case came for hearing before Ashwini Kumar Vaishnaw, the then collector of Balasore, against the order of an additional district magistrate. As my father belonged to the scheduled castes, any transfer of his land would be valid only when the sub-collector gave permission.

This procedure was not followed during the second land transfer. The additional district magistrate observed that Adaita Pal had taken permission to buy land from my father on 31 December 1970. After his sudden death, his son Gadadhar Pal used the same permission letter to buy the two plots of land in 1972.

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The court said that the permission granted in favour of selling land to a person is non-transferrable and lapses after their death. To come to this decision, it took the courts almost three decades. It was a momentous moment in my parents’ lives to get legal possession of their land. In their fight for what was their due, they had been pushed into the abyss of poverty.

They had struggled to make ends meet or provide food, clothes, and education to their children. In this difficult journey, they remained steadfast in their belief in the supreme power and never lost hope of getting justice. My parents’ struggles and sufferings had a profound impact on me.

I wanted to grow a strong man and take revenge on all those who had wreaked havoc on my family. My family followed a pescatarian diet, but I insisted that I be allowed to eat meat. My mother gave in to my demand, but my father was unhappy with the decision.

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But now, looking back, my outlook has changed. I feel I did not need to seek any revenge. Those who wronged us also suffered. Advaita Pal died a sudden death. Gobind Pal suffered from illness and died a painful death. The others languished in poverty and survived on government doles. Instead, I became instrumental in getting much-needed assistance for their sustenance. Bhanu’s family abandoned him in old age. He committed suicide. His wife, too, was abandoned by her children. She suffered from asthma and died in pathetic condition.

The dispute in Bada Baya’s family continued over generations. Bada Baya pushed his father to his death. He faced ill treatment from his children in old age. He was bedridden in the later part of his life and died after a prolonged illness.

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Bada Baya’s mother was also mistreated by her family. They would not give her food and make her hungry for many hours. Kukhia was married off in Bengal. She committed suicide by drowning. She died a dreadful death. None of our neighbour’s children studied well. All the children failed and dropped out. They were forced to migrate to other states in search of work.

On the other hand, it is a delight to see the families who supported us in our difficult times prosper.

(The excerpt has been shared with prior permission of the publisher, BluOne Ink)