It’s not every day that one comes across an IAS officer who passionately loves philosophy. Not only is philosophy the first love of 2011-batch Rajasthan cadre IAS officer Haulianlal Guite, but he also loves to introduce himself as a philosophical author. He even says IAS was never his dream, he always wanted to be a philosopher.
So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that his first book, Confessions of a Dying Mind: The Blind Faith of Atheism, is world’s first philosophical novel on God and the first philosophical novel to be written by an Indian Civil Servant since John Stuart Mill published On Liberty in 1858.
Indian Masterminds caught up with Mr. Guite in his present posting in Manipur as DM of Noney district, to know more about the writer, the bureaucrat, and the man behind both.
THE WRITER
Mr. Haulianlal Guite’s first book, Confessions of a Dying Mind: The Blind Faith of Atheism, was published in 2017 and launched by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in New Delhi.
In addition to his book, he has published 2 peer-reviewed articles: Covid-19 and the Compromises with Liberty, which explores the question of how much liberty the state can take away during public health emergencies; and Measuring Deracination: A Quantitative Framework for Forced Migration, wherein he presents a testable, quantitative conception of forced migration.
The officer is also penning his second book, subtitled How Social Media Changes Everything, which will be published by Bloomsbury Press.
For him, writing is the ultimate antidote to work stress. “An IAS officer is expected to be jack of all trades, and master of one or two. Time management is critical to making this happen. The 9-6 job is just a part of one’s life. I make it a point to read some book or article in my free time, not much but consistently, so they all build up over the months and years to ultimately crystallise certain ideas, which then become the raw material for books.”
ABOUT HIS BOOK
Confessions of a Dying Mind is a nonfiction novel. It is world’s first philosophical novel on God. The book explores the nature of science, religion, evidence, and even love. It makes use of the latest findings of modern science and the most solid theories in philosophy.
The title, ‘Confessions of a Dying Mind’, alludes to the story of the main protagonist, Albert Dyers – an atheist who undergoes a life-transforming near-death experience. The book is presented as a series of novelized discussions between Mr. Dyers who is in a coma and experiencing the effects of a Near-Death Experience; and a mysterious Mr. Walker, either a figment of his imagination, or a divine figure sent by some force unrevealed, or a distillation of his own inner contemplations, to teach him the meaning of life, religion and all the rest.
What makes this book distinctively different from others is that all the arguments and questions are presented through stories woven into the plot line of the novel itself. The book achieves its essence without using complex or unnecessary jargon, so that the educated lay reader without philosophy background will be able to understand them – with a little reflection and thought.
Mr. Guite says that he has always been fascinated by the idea of God and the possibility of his non-existence.
“I explored all the arguments for and against God’s existence, and ultimately came to the realisation that much as life itself, the conclusion is far less important than how we arrive at it. The search for God is the ultimate exercise in intellect, and even if we come up short, it should stimulate us to finer pursuits. I put down in words those ideas that occupy my thoughts in this area, and hope others can carry on the journey where I have left off. “
THE BUREAUCRAT
Mr. Guite won for Ajmer the ‘2015 Municipalika Award for Best Smart City Initiatives’ for his innovations as the Commissioner of Ajmer Municipal Corporation. During the first wave of the pandemic, he was a part of the state team tasked with ensuring supplies remain uninterrupted, and, also, served as Rajasthan’s Nodal Officer for Manipur and Nagaland to ensure people from these states, who were stranded in Rajasthan, reach their homes safely.
“It was the first professional award I won as an IAS officer, and because I felt I was fully deserving, it was richly rewarding indeed. We were the first municipality in Rajasthan to go solar, to digitize records, to start e-office, to start IT payment for public utilities (example, in property taxes). I felt the freedom afforded to me then was one of the best moments in my career so far.”
THE MAN
He says he never wanted to become an IAS officer. “Family and social compulsion made me sit for the civil services exam. I’m the only IAS officer from the Guite community. I do not regret becoming an IAS though. As an officer, I help many people in the here and now, and change lives, often for the better. Whereas philosophers impact lives only in the long run; their influence are real (if at all) only in the larger scheme of things.”
He became an IAS at the age of 23 after cracking CSE 2010 with AIR 33. He says now that “ambition, will power (a never-say-never spirit), and self-confidence” saw him through.
In his free time, he likes to watch films (especially Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres), play chess, and drive. Taking joy rides, visiting villages, indulging in conversations and small talk, and day dreaming are his ways to de-stress and relax.
And although he has written a novel on God, he is not too religious in the traditional sense. His take on God is somewhat different.
“Much of personal and sexual morality, for example, appears outdated to me, and consent should be the driving force. God is the other, everything we are not, and too almighty to be that concerned with human affairs. The book is a reflection of the self-doubts and anguish that have bothered me down the years.”
