Former bureaucrat, author Madhav Godbole passes away in Pune at 85

PUNE Madhav Godbole, former Union home secretary and retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS), passed away due to cardiac arrest at his Pune residence, family members said. He was 85.

He is survived by his wife Sujata, son Rahul, daughter Meera, daughter-in-law Dakshina, son-in-law Mahesh, and grandchildren Aditi, Manan, Gaayatri and Taarini.

Godbole took voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service in March 1993, when he was Union home secretary and secretary, justice. He had earlier served as secretary of petroleum and natural gas and urban development with the Government of India and chairman of Maharashtra state electricity board, and principal finance secretary of the Government of Maharashtra. He also worked with the Asian Development Bank, Manila, for five years.

Godbole was the Union home secretary when Babri Masjid was demolished, which prompted him to seek voluntary retirement. He held several high positions in the bureaucracy. The Pune-based former top bureaucrat has written over 20 books, including The Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir Dilemma: An Acid Test for India’s Constitution.

In his book, Godbole has written that besides the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, former prime ministers Rajiv Gandhi and VP Singh also failed to take timely action when the mosque was under serious threat. “If the political initiative had been taken at the Prime Minister’s level, the Mahabharata of this Ramayana could have been avoided,” Godbole wrote in the book.

Known to be a fearless and outright officer, Godbole had multiple times offered his remarks on crucial files during his tenure. The remarks were sometimes contrary to the view of those in power. Due to this, he also invited several controversies.

In the recent years following his retirement, Godbole was active in public policy and governance and penned several essays and articles in various newspapers.

Godbole also served as chairman of several government committees, including the Enron power project, good governance, and Management of India’s International Borders.

He earned an MA and PhD in economics from Bombay University and an MA in development economics from Williams College, USA.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar condoled Godbole’s death saying, “Godbole was an honest officer who handled various important positions at Centre and state effectively. At times, he was not afraid to air his views contrary to those in power.”

In 2005 when Maharashtra was facing one of the worst power crises, the state witnessed a verbal spat between Pawar and Godbole, who had chaired the energy review committee. Pawar had blamed the Godbole committee for its “obstructionist” attitude concerning the revival of Enron’s 2,400MW Dabhol power project, Reliance-Patalganga and Ispat-Bhadravati proposals. Godbole had countered the charge saying Pawar has not bothered to check the facts.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in his condolence message said, “The state has lost an efficient officer. Godbole was known for his deep knowledge about economic and social issues and offered his counsel to political leadership on various occasions.”