Remembering Gopi (from Nitin Desai)

I first met Gopi when I joined the Planning Commission in 1973. He was at that time D.P. Dhar’s Special Assistant according to the plate on his door. But he was actually much more than that – more a political adviser than just an assistant particularly as the 73-75 period was a difficult one for the government with the oil crisis, the Railway strike, the JP movement, the problems with the food economy, major policy failures like the takeover of the trade in foodgrains and so on. DP Dhar became the lightning rod that attracted much of this criticism within the government because no one dared to criticize Indira Gandhi. Gopi articulated a response that met the criticism headlong and even tried to spell out a left agenda for the beleaguered government.

Gopi built a network of young professionals working in different parts of the Planning Commission as a sort of ginger group to orient the work on the ambitious Fifth Plan and to support D.P.Dhar with drafts of speeches and policy briefs for discussions with government colleagues. I became a part of this group and that was the beginning of a much valued friendship. Gopi gave me an opportunity to work on matters of high policy that otherwise would have never come my way. More than that he helped me to work out how a left agenda could be tailored to fit with India’s complex politics.

It is true that this left experiment of the early seventies failed and was abandoned by its principal patrons. Gopi too moved away from this and I think his stint in Moscow was partly responsible for the change as he saw there the weaknesses of a Statist socialism. When he came back and worked in Rajiv Gandhi’s office the shift in views was clear. We worked together briefly in the Finance Ministry towards the end of Rajiv Gandhi’s Prime Ministership and stayed in touch through our divergent career paths thereafter. We all changed with the times (only obstinate fools don’t!). But one dimension of Gopi’s thinking remained constant – the belief that economic policies that try and cut loose from internal or external political realities will sooner or later fail.

Gopi’s intellect, his sterling honesty and integrity and his dedication to public service are of course what many will always remember. But those of us who got to know him and Kakki as friends also remember their hospitality, particularly when we visited Moscow. Gopi was the most informal diplomat I ever met – I remember walking into his Moscow flat with the chief guest, Prof. Bachurin, who was the Deputy Chairman of Gosplan, with both of us carrying bags of raw vegetables from India.

Rest in peace Gopi. You touched many lives and will be remembered fondly by a legion of friends.