What happens when an officer takes fair but tough decisions in public interest which may go against the high and the mighty? What happens when he takes such decisions again and again? Here’s the story of Tukaram Mundhe, an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer who has been handed nine transfers in 12 years of his service because of his uprightness and devotion to duty.
An angry mob of more than 5,000 had laid siege to a stretch of the road and surrounded a handful of bureaucrats and QRT (Quick Reaction Team) members. They had gathered to protest against the deaths caused by a speeding truck and refused to allow the authorities to remove the bodies and clear the road. They wanted the driver responsible for the deaths to be handed over to them.
One of the trapped officers was Tukaram Mundhe, the District Collector of Solapur. He tried to pacify the mob by promising quick and strict action against the truck driver. Even as he tried to reason with them, a section of the crowd started pelting stones at the officers present, among whom were the SP (superintendent of police) and the sub-divisional magistrate of Solapur. The 10-member QRT could do nothing but wait for reinforcements, as they were hopelessly outnumbered by the mob. And there was no hope of the additional force reaching before two hours.
Around 6pm, as the mob grew restive, the QRT tried to hold them back by resorting to lathi charge, and firing in the air but without success.
By now, it was clear to Tukaram and his colleagues that they were going to get lynched by the mob if they didn’t take any action swiftly. “I got a feeling that we all were going to be killed,” says Tukaram.
While the officers were still wondering what to do, Tukaram shouted “Fire” to the QRT. The officers were at a loss, since it’s the SP who gives orders to QRT. “I’m the DM (district magistrate), and I’m taking the responsibility. Fire,” Tukaram recalls telling his colleagues.
The ORT fired a few shots at the protesters and within minutes the mob disappeared. By 7pm, everything was back to normal. The IG (Inspector General of Police) and a few ministers visited the place an hour later. The injured were hospitalised. Tukaram and his colleagues prepared a report of the incident by next morning and sent it to be shared in the monsoon session of Maharashtra State Assembly.
The July 25 incident was just a day in the life of Mundhe, a 2005 batch IAS officer, who is now the CMD of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML). In his 12 years of service, Mundhe has seen it all – he received death threats for acting against the sand mafia, came close to being demoted for displeasing his political bosses, and got transferred nine times.
Here’s the story of a dynamic officer who believes in doing what’s right and is ready to face consequences for his actions.
Childhood in farms
Tukaram was born in Tadsonna, a small village in Beed district of Maharashtra. Agriculture was the mainstay of this village of 2,000 people (now 5,000). Son of a progressive farmer couple, Mundhe and his brother attended the Zila Parishad school (up to 10th standard) in the village. Tukaram’s family was indebted to moneylenders (sahukaars).
Mundhe learnt his first lessons of truthfulness, honesty and integrity while at home.
Mundhe’s inspiration to become an IAS officer came from his elder brother who was the first graduate and civil servant from Tadsonna. When his brother went away for further studies, Mundhe was just eight years old and had no option but to support his father on their 25-acre farm.
He recalls,
I took the third standard examination and started ploughing the fields after that. I helped in sowing seeds and watering the plants as well. There wasn’t enough food to eat at home, because the land wasn’t cultivated. Somebody had to work in the farms. So, I started doing it.
Mundhe used to stay on the farm (except during the monsoon season). He would start his day with early morning work on the farm followed by school and then back to the farm until evening. This routine continued till 10th standard. Unlike the well-off kids, he couldn’t afford to play after school or during vacations. Because of power cuts, he had to wake up at 2am (when power supply would resume) to water the plants and vegetables.
He sold his vegetables in the weekly market. He says, “From fencing, to digging wells, to sowing seeds, to working in the farms day and night and even during floods, to selling farm produce in the market, I’ve done it all.”
The best part was that Mundhe never blamed his family for what he had to face. He was well aware of his family’s situation and its struggles. He adds, “My mother was doing it, my father was doing it, so I was naturally inclined to do it. And I don’t think I did it grudgingly. I did it willingly. That discipline, indebtedness and way of functioning came into my life pretty early. I was very focused from the beginning, in my work and study.”
The lot of Mundhe’s family improved with time, especially after his brother cleared the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) exam. Although his brother had studied in the Marathi medium, he took spoken English classes in Aurangabad to support himself. Tukaram says,
We have gone through a lot of hardships and perhaps that’s what makes us more grounded as compared to others. It hurts me a lot when I see any injustice. Some people may say that I’m too sensitive or arrogant. There’s very thin line between being firm and being arrogant. I’m very firm about a lot of things. It has come to me because of my background, my experiences of life.
Tukaram went to Aurangabad after his 10th standard. It was a cultural shock for him, coming as he was from a village. He didn’t know about cinemas and saw his first movie at the age of 16. He didn’t even know about newspapers as they didn’t get them in his village. He had imagined TV to be a totally different thing in his mind.
Tukaram chose science stream in 11th and 12th because his brother said so. Later on, when his brother asked him if he wanted to become a collector, Tukaram said yes without even knowing what it meant. He says, “I knew that I’ll try honestly. I opted for humanities as it’ll be helpful to write the civil services exam.”
Mundhe graduated from Government College of Arts & Science, Aurangabad in History, Political Science and Sociology in 1996. He then went to Mumbai’s State Institute of Administrative Career, a state-run coaching centre to prepare for the Civil Services exam. Simultaneously, he enrolled for his post-graduation as well.
Mundhe first appeared for the Civil Services exam in 1997 and cleared the preliminary exam in the first attempt. However, he couldn’t qualify the Main exam.. He scored around 870 in the Main exam. Next year, the result was same though his score read 970 this time. In 1999, he cleared the Main exam but could not make the final cut.. He scored 150 marks out of 300 in the interview and 1,035 in the Main exam.
In the meantime, Mundhe finished his post-graduation and cleared JRF-NET, which made him eligible for a monthly grant (of Rs 5,000) for research in Political Science. Subsequently, he registered in Pune University for research in nuclear policy. The scholarship helped him become financially independent.
After three attempts at the Civil Services exam, Mundhe appeared for the State Civil Services Exam (MPSC) in 2001 and cleared it with ease. He got a class-II post in finance.
Since the selection procedure was quite lengthy (it took almost three years), Mundhe joined as a lecturer in a private college in Jalgaon. He taught there for two months before taking up contractual lectureship in 2001 in a college in Mumbai (Ismail Yusuf College).
In 2003, Mundhe received a letter from MPSC announcing December 2004 as his joining date. He then decided to quit teaching and start preparing full-time for UPSC (research was still going on).
Source: yourstory
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