By Anil Raturi
Reminiscing, I recall the first time I set my eyes on the phenomenon called “Ramkrishnan Sir”– formally known as Mr Sankaran Ramkrishnan, IPS, of the 1973 batch allotted to the West Bengal cadre.
It was December of 1987 when, as a young IPS officer trainee, having completed the Foundation Course at LBSNAA Mussoorie, I reported at SVP National Police Academy, Hyderabad, for my professional training.
At dawn, the Drill Instructors (who came from various paramilitary organisations) ushered us, the 40 batch of Regular Recruits, to fall into squad formation for the morning report. I first saw him as he stood silhouetted against the glimmer of the morning light. He was a towering figure of 6 feet and two inches, unbending and ramrod straight. In the sparkling uniform, his deportment reflected the great pride he felt in the uniform that was adorning him.
He was designated Assistant Director, Outdoor (ADOD) for our batch. Which implied that he would supervise our training in drill, physical fitness, riding, firing, unarmed combat and all other related activities that were concerned with the task of instilling the ethos of the uniform within the trainees.
Our batch of more than a hundred trainees came from an assorted background of academics. Mostly engineers, some doctors, a few management or science postgraduates, and some rare specimens like me, from the liberal arts.
We were young men and women freshly drunk with our success in the arduous All India Civil Services Competitive Examination, selected to man senior positions of the internal security establishment of our great nation. As members of a prestigious service, in the days to come, we were expected to lead and supervise the Police Forces of the Union and various States of India. Those were challenging times for India’s security leadership. Terrorism in Punjab was at its peak. Naxals had proliferated in Andhra and its adjoining States, while insurgency in the North-East had still not been reigned in.
Consequently, in the call of duty, many IPS officers had lost their lives.
The circumstances made it imperative that the professional training of IPS officers should be suitably arduous. The dictum was that the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle!
The academic acumen of the trainees was very high. Therefore, the indoor subjects of Law, Management, Forensics, Crowd Management, etc., were easily grasped by them.
However, to most, it was the outdoor schedule that seemed daunting.
It was here that “Ramkrishnan Sir”, our ADOD, came into the picture.
Rain, hail, or shine, he invariably reached the parade ground at 5 a.m. every single day of our training! He drove the outdoor instructors and trainees alike to the limits of their physical and mental endurance!
He meticulously supervised our turnout, drill, PT, arms training, cross country, etc.
The trainees struggled to keep up with the demands of the rigorous training.
In those trying times, many a trainee loathed the sight of the ADOD. The uncompromising disciplinarian that he was, he obviously drove himself even more than the trainees.
It was only natural then, that, the ordinary trainee did not relish his presence on the parade ground.
He had become the symbol of our “torment”!
Then, after 44 weeks of sweat and tears, injuries and healing, one glorious morning, our batch marched out from the hallowed portals of our alma mater — the National Police Academy!
In the subsequent years, we assumed our individual destinies and many of us rose to formidable professional heights.
During nearly four decades since then, each one of us has carried within us the spirit of “Ramkrishnan Sir”.
Something indefinable, a quintessence, a symbol that signifies the unrelenting human pursuit of excellence! A spirit that is ever stretching for a meticulous eye for detail and punctuality. Esprit de corps that only men in uniform can understand!
In hindsight, we feel singularly blessed to have had him as our ADOD.
For he pushed each one of us to find and unleash our own individual potential!
Beneath his formidable and exacting professional persona, the discerning could also feel the simplicity and gentleness of his humanity.
Recently, I had the occasion to meet this living legend once again. A man who has inspired a generation of IPS officers!
I was happy to note that age has been kind to him. He is still as erect and gentle as he had been!
Tolstoy once said, “There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.”
Perhaps he was thinking of men like “Ramkrishnan Sir”, who are imbued with goodness, simplicity, truth and greatness– all at once!
(Anil Raturi is a retired IPS officer and former DGP, Uttarakhand)
