A multifaceted personality, a diligent student and researcher, a successful civil servant, and a prolific writer and painter. She is 1989-batch Indian Revenue Services officer Dr. Sudha Kumari, who is currently posted as the Principal Commissioner, Income Tax, New Delhi.
In her career of more than three decades, she has not only played a crucial role in increasing the tax collection in India but also changed the face of Income Tax department. Her achievement in the field of art and literature is no less. She has published her collections of paintings, poems, satires, and opinion pieces, all of which have been well received by the readers. She is also a columnist and writes for a daily Hindi newspaper.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, she talked about her literary works and artworks, and shared her most memorable moments as a Revenue Officer.
EARLY ACHIEVEMENTS
Dr. Sudha hails from Bihar and did most of her education there. She says that her father and brother pushed her towards studying economics and opting for civil services as a profession. She completed her M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Patna University. It was a paper on “Rate of Growth of Bihar Economy during the Plan Period” that got for her the doctorate. She is also a recipient of Junior Research Fellowship of University Grants Commission of India and her research paper ‘Women workers in unorganised sector in India’ was presented in All India Conference of Labour Economics in Patna and was published in Yojana in July, 1989.
‘I FEEL USEFUL AS A TAX DEPT BUREAUCRAT’
She served in Delhi, Gujarat, Bihar and the Northeast region in various capacities as an officer for Income Tax department. For many years, tax collection in Northeast region was almost nil. With her efforts, tax collection increased in there. Revenue grew from nil to 50 million in Mizoram in 2018. She also played a crucial role in prosecution of 142 cases of tax defaults in 2018. The officer was a member of the committee constituted for TDS Prosecution in 2018 by the CBDT, New Delhi.
She shared one of her most awarding experiences as a bureaucrat from 2016 when she was posted in TDS, Income Tax. There was a huge gathering of top taxpayers and senior officers, and she had to speak in front of the gathering. She presented her department as the bread winner for the government and, also, talked about how taxpayers are contributing to nation building brick by brick. She also emphasized that paying tax is a good investment and it comes back as better amenities to the taxpayers.
“After my address, many people requested to come and speak on the mike and said that they had never heard this kind of words before. They also pledged to keep supporting the country by paying taxes. It was a very moving experience for me,” Dr. Sudha said.
She also emphasized that the tax department contributes a lot in collection of revenue for the nation and, hence, by being a part of it, she feels very useful.
INHERITED LOVE OF ART FROM MOTHER
Dr. Sudha reminisced that while her father pushed her to study, it was her mother who encouraged her towards art and literature. She has been an avid reader since childhood. “I read all kinds of books. Unlike many, I started with novels in Hindi and English, including the works of Rabindranath Tagore and Munsi Premchand. Then I moved to reading books which are supposed to be for children, but, I think, it is for everybody. Reading them can enrich your thoughts on different levels,” she said.
While studying, she was drawing and writing, too. She started with water colours and then shifted to oil and digital paintings. In 2017, while she was posted in Guwahati, she published her first book, Happy World of Paintings, a rich collection of her oil paintings, water colours, digital paintings and craftworks. The topics vary from landscape, flora and fauna to humanity.
She also organized two solo painting exhibitions at State Art Gallery and Artists’ Guild in Guwahati and, also, participated in group art exhibitions of her department in Guwahati and Delhi. She published the second volume of Happy World of Paintings in 2018.
A SUCCESSION OF BOOKS
It was in 2017 again that she published a Hindi poetry book called Deshraag.
One of the poems in the book Raajasva Geet had been composed into a beautiful song and released in 2017 on the completion of 157th year of the Income Tax Department. It didn’t stop here. The Tide, Parishkrit aur Sukhee Vataavaran, Rupaye ka Bhraman and O’ Matribhumi were also released consecutively. O’ Matribhumi is a Hindi poetry book with paintings and sketches. It contains short and crisp poems that are emotional, nature-centric and patriotic. This book has poems for all ages.
In most of her books and paintings, Dr Sudha depicts human emotions, compassion and love for people and nature. She believes that art and poems are the best way to express one’s thoughts and send a message to anybody.
