Syed Amir Khasru

Above all, Amir Khasru lived his life on integrity. It is explained better by the relief programme "Food-for-Work", which he had started and considered as the proudest achievement of his work life. He started it in 1973 while in Relief Ministry. This relief programme helped millions of victims of the 1974 famine, when he lobbied for and got more relief in millions of tons of wheat valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, than what was offered in cash from donor countries and international relief agencies like FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations). Till then the relief was given mainly as free cash handouts. But Food-for-Work programme employed the victim on public works projects like canals, embankments, roads. End of day, he or she received over 2 Kg of wheat, half of which they usually sold to buy lentil, vegetables etc., to feed their starving family and children. Amir Khasru started this programme on the simple principle of integrity. This is best described in an incident during his field trip to a Food-for-Work project in a village in 1974. The local official-in-charge told him that he did not have enough projects to employ all of the victims in his area. Amir Khasru's reply was instant and simple, "Put him (recipient of relief) to do any work ... he can even dig, fill and again dig the same hole for the day... that is better for his integrity and self-respect, instead of getting something (as relief) for doing nothing...".

Amir Khasru lived his life with the same standard of integrity. Couple of incidents explains it all too well. In late 1970s government reduced the allocation of petrol to govt. car from 2 to 1 gallon per day. Amir Khasru was already then a govt. Secretary. Yet he planned his travel each day in such a way that his car would use no more than the allocated one gallon. Then in 1983, Amir Khasru decided to leave service several years before he was due to retire. He was then a Secretary running a ministry -- the top position that all civil servants aspire to reach and remain as long as possible. He left for one reason and no other -- to keep his integrity. He made this decision in one single day -- when events earlier in the day convinced him that he could continue only if he compromised his integrity. He consulted 1-2 friends on this decision. But nothing they said told him that he could retain his integrity the same way. So he left quietly, immediately and at the peak of his career -- only to keep his integrity intact.

Amir Khasru's loyalty to his friends and relatives was unique. It was never affected by long distances in time or place. One such story begins in 1940s when he stopped going to school. He was a student in class eight in Barisal. There was no parent or guardian present to look after his welfare and send him back. He only had some school friends like Ajit, Ashit and Shubash who cajoled and convinced him to go back. From there, he went to graduate with scholarship. During partition of 1947, these friends migrated to West Bengal. For next 25 years, he had no contact with them due to the difficult relations between Pakistan and India. After Bangladesh was born in 1971, he took initiative to search, find and contact each of them. He traveled to Calcutta only to meet them. His visits became cause for their reunion. He invited and hosted them on visits to Dhaka. This continued till 1994 when he remained well. He had the same unwavering loyalty and support for his other friends and relatives during all his years. There was never a person who came to him for help and did not return with some direct or indirect help if he was in a position to oblige.

The third quality of Amir Khasru was his courage or simply put -- guts. Never did he hesitate for a moment to stand for what he thought was right. Never could any powers or threats dissuade him. This is specially difficult for a civil servant in service to political and civil superiors. An event that illustrates it was during the famine in 1974. He faced intense political and other pressures as Secretary of Relief to reverse the relief policy back to cash handouts that served the interest of those vested parties. He was directed to scale down the new programme of Food-for-Work, if not close it down. His stand was again simple -- he said to his superiors that he would immediately ask to be transferred, if this happened. He said he was even prepared to put in his letter of resignation if he was forced to reverse the relief policy. Fortunately for him, if not for the famine victims in need of relief, his then superiors supported him. The easier and more traveled road is to compromise and to adjust. But Amir Khasru chose the less traveled and more lonely path by choice to stand with guts for his convictions every single day.

Amir Khasru passed away leaving behind what remains a mystery to this day. What was there in this person's formative childhood years that helped to imbibe these values in him, which he practiced to such lengths in his adult years. He had no role model to speak of while growing up. He was like an orphan very early with one younger sister. His mother passed away when he was about four. His father was a lawyer who lived in Calcutta for independence movement related political interests in 1930-40s. His maternal grandmother brought him up till he went to Presidency College in Calcutta. So he was completely a self-made man who left us with unanswered question of what helped him bring about these values. Meanwhile, his life is an illumination that says that these three qualities can also be there in others who do not necessarily benefit from an upbringing or a role model.

Amir Khasru has now left for another world. He was never a public figure. Rather he shied away from limelight because he believed that was the proper role for a civil servant. So he declined the rare invitations like to write a treatise on and to speak of Food-for-Work to global audiences from the podium of F.A.O. Now he lives in others in their memories of him. Those memories are much about these same three qualities of his integrity, his loyalty and his courage that his friend spoke of. For those among the living, perhaps there could be a few lessons from the remembrances of these three qualities of Amir Khasru. Or perhaps they may relate to and feel less alone knowing of these qualities illuminated by Amir Khasru in a real life in the real world. For Amir Khasru, that would make him feel more happy about his life. He may also feel less alone in the struggles he faced for standing up for his qualities.