PAVAN VERMA
CIVIL SERVANT SAVANT



Diplomat and Author, Pavan Verma speaks on matters of importance.

When Pavan Verma asked where I would like to conduct this interview - home or office - I opted for his office - wanting to have a legitimate excuse to drive up that majestic sweep of road from India Gate to South Block where the Ministry of External Affairs has its offices and where Pavan Verma as Joint Secretary (Africa), sits, five days a week. His schedule is so tight that the hour he gave me was a truly gracious gesture - but that is really, what defines the man: his erudition and his plain, old-fashioned niceness.

 Has Delhi been your focus of interest in your literary pursuits?

Yes - and increasingly so. It's an amazingly fascinating city in terms of it historical legacy and its sheer survivability, especially now - when against every odd it continues to be one of our most buoyant and fast-growing cities. Out of my seven published books, three deal with Delhi. Currently I am editing a book called "The Millenium Book of Delhi" to be published by Oxford University Press and sponsored by the Home Ministry - so that makes it four.

 You have written a definitive commentary on the Indian middle class. Would you say that the growth of this class has been too rapid - are we heading for a meltdown?

I don't think we are heading for a meltdown or a confrontation but I believe we are heading for a crisis. The middle class, who, incidentally, is praiseworthy for its dynamism, entrepreneurship and its ability to survive, is also totally self-engrossed and unable to see any priorities apart outside its own. What the West terms 'social capital' which is care, concern, obligations, community welfare and so forth, is unknown to the middle class. Thus, the gulf between the privileged and under-privileged will increase…and will result in a crisis. Worse, we will have failed to build a civil society. We may be the world's largest democracy but we are running woefully short of citizens - which I think is the main problem to be addressed.

 Do you really think that the middle class will assume responsibility to effect the change that is required?

I think that this responsibility will be forced upon them because things will start breaking down. I can quote instances and examples where this is happening in other parts of the world.

 Would you agree that corporate India should set the example that the rest of India can follow?

Yes…and this should not be left to their instinctive generosity. I believe government should devise policies that will provide incentives and rewards for corporates who want to be involved in issues of larger social concern. Those who do get involved should derive pride from their contribution; should become role models to inspire others and should contribute to the government's effectiveness in tackling the larger problems in society.

Scholar, Diplomat and the author of seven books, Pavan Verma has a rich range of interests that include Urdu poetry, the Hindu scriptures and the socio-economic phenomenon that is the Indian middle class. Or "The Great Indian Middle Class" as he has called his definitive book, published by Penguin, India in 1999. It is this work, more than any other, that has established him as a savant - and has earned him the label of 'expert' in the field of social reform.

- SHANTA BHALLA