An honest, open, and direct personality – is what could be used to describe one of the outstanding bureaucrats in the country today, IAS officer Manjunath Bhajantari. An officer who never minces his words and speaks his mind, Mr. Bhajantari is taking Indian bureaucracy to another level, a level which reminds people of how Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first home minister of independent India, had described the IAS as the steel frame of the government machinery.
Indian Masterminds interacted with Mr. Bhajantari to know from him about the recent Deoghar ATC incident that had sparked a controversy. We now present his views on the incident, and also take a close look at his life and journey into the civil services.
EARLY LIFE
Born and brought up in a small village in Karnataka, Mr. Bhajantari witnessed a financially strained childhood. As a little kid, he would see his father Hanamantappa leave his village home in Karnataka for the adjoining forests every morning, only to return a few hours later with a huge pile of logs of wood, in the early Eighties.
His father would then go on to sell the logs at the Sureban village market in Belgaum district (renamed Belagavi in 2014). This was the only means of earning a living for a family of nine persons. Even though the parents of the officer and his six siblings were semi-literate and were knee-deep in an acute financial crisis, they left no stone unturned to provide the best education to all their children. They were determined to send them to schools, no matter the cost so that their kids could study and make something of themselves.
EDUCATION
With a strong mind to give their seven children the best education, the parents encouraged them to study hard. They were admitted to government schools nearby where all of them started doing well.
Mr. Bhajantari, especially, was exceptionally good in academics. This came to notice when his school teachers spotted his talent in mathematics while he was in class 5. His educational graph rose and he soon secured admission in the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Belgaum. He studied with full vigor and zeal and made his parents and siblings proud when he became the class 12 boards topper in the Hyderabad zone, which comprised 63 schools.
Once out of school, he prepared for his engineering entrance examination without any coaching. His academic excellence bore fruits and he passed the exam with flying colors. His score helped him in joining his first choice of college, IIT Bombay, in 1997.
WORKED FOR BIG FIRMS
After completing his studies and graduating in computer sciences engineering at IIT Bombay, the officer started receiving well-paying job offers from multiple agencies. However, he declined them all and started working with a start-up to create text-to-speech software, the kind we now see being used in various web applications.
Unfortunately, the start-up eventually folded up as the investor apparently backed out. Mr. Bhajantari subsequently took jobs with prestigious organizations such as Reliance and Infosys and started earning well.
JOINED CIVIL SERVICES
A few years down the line, the officer felt that working in such jobs wasn’t his heart’s calling. Even though the pay was good, he felt he was meant to do something else in life. That’s when he decided to join the civil services and started preparing for UPSC CSE.
He gave his first attempt at UPSC CSE in 2009 and cracked it the same year. He qualified for Indian Police Service and received his home cadre, Karnataka. It was one of the rare occasions when his father, who wanted him to serve his home state, and Mr. Bhajantari were not on the same page.
The officer wanted to serve in other states as well, therefore, he took the UPSC examination once again in 2010. This time, his interview score of 193 out of 300 was less than the 204 he scored a year earlier, but he still qualified for the IAS and secured the Jharkhand cadre.
THE ATC CONTROVERSY
Having a successful run of more than a decade in the Indian Administrative Service, the officer is currently posted as the Deputy Commissioner of the temple town of Deoghar in Jharkhand. He bears a straight-to-the-point attitude, for which he is praised many a time by the administration and his people.
Only recently, has he been in the news for plain-speak and standing up to BJP parliamentarians Nishikant Dubey and Manoj Tiwari over alleged violation of rules and regulations at the Deoghar airport on August 31, and posing some uncomfortable questions to them.
In a tweet dated September 3, 2022, the officer posed a few questions to them. The tweet read, “Hon’ble MP Sir, Few questions. 1. Who authorized you to enter ATC Room? 2. Who authorized your two children to enter ATC Room? 3. Who authorized your supporters to enter ATC Building?”
For the unversed, the spark erupted after the Deoghar police registered an FIR against the two BJP MPs, Dubey’s two sons, the Deoghar airport director, and others for allegedly ‘forcefully’ taking clearance from the Air Traffic Control (ATC) for the take-off of a chartered flight from the airport despite the absence of ‘night take-off or landing facility’ there.
Referring to the incident, Mr. Bhajantari told Indian Masterminds: “When your parents, family members or my family goes to the airport, they have complete ‘trust on the system’ that nobody is fiddling around with the system. If that trust is let go, I feel it is the biggest crime against society.”
The matter soon escalated when, on Dubey’s complaint, the Delhi police lodged an FIR on September 3, invoking sedition charges against Mr. Bhajantari and Jharkhand police officers for allegedly compromising “national security”. The charges included criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy.
FEARLESS PERSONA
While the investigation into the matter is still on its course, one thing which is extraordinary in the entire ordeal is the officer’s bold post and fearless attitude. His firm stance on the Deoghar ATC incident is both refreshing and welcoming.
“These are difficult times for babus (bureaucrats),” said a senior IAS officer from Bihar, in an interview with the media. “Challenges have grown and so have the expectations. No wonder many bureaucrats are blamed for playing it safe and doing nothing to invite any reprisal. Manjunath, clearly, is showing a different temperament.”
As for Mr. Bhajantari, he is clearly touched by the support he has received from all quarters. “I am very much overwhelmed by the affection and support from across the board, for the decision taken purely for the safety of people. This incident proves that nobody needs to be cynical. Society supports you if you do right things with pure heart,” he told Indian Masterminds.
Currently, as the Deputy Commissioner of Deogarh, the officer is being credited for various path-breaking initiatives. His project of connecting with the common public through video calls to hear their grievances and ‘Dinner with DC’ wherein he reaches out to villagers once a week, has dinner with them, and collects feedback on the implementation of government programs, has garnered immense praises.
During the infamous cable car ropeway accident that occurred in Deoghar in April, Mr. Bhajantari stayed put at the spot for close to 48 hours, personally overseeing the rescue operation. People in Deoghar describe him as a non-confrontational officer who is known as much for his enthusiasm for going above and beyond as for his bright and expressive eyes. He may be gaining attention on the national stage for challenging Members of Parliament, but in Deoghar, he is seen as a non-contentious officer.
