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The year 2008 will mark the 125th birth anniversary of Sir Mirza Ismail a great
Mysorean, an Indian who made us proud, a quintessential political conservative, a
remarkable person in public life, who believed that persons entrusted with overseeing the
welfare of people should in fact pursue that aim! The postal department can have no
excuses for not scheduling a function in Sir Mirzas beloved Mysore to release a splendid
stamp. Surely between now and 2008, the department should be able to complete their
formalities.
Mirza Ismail was the Dewan or Prime Minister of the erstwhile native state of Mysore
for 15 years. He was appointed Dewan in 1926 by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar. Within
a year of the great Maharajas death, Sir Mirza retired from Mysore and moved on. My
grandfather Nagavar Madhava Rao, who joined as a young probationer in the Mysore
Civil Service in the 1920s, referred to the Krishnaraja-Mirza period as the golden age of
Mysore.
Sir Mirza was committed to the progress and development of Mysore. His memorable
insight into government behaviour was: No amount of income is of any avail if the
government is incapable of spending it wisely. Sir Mirza had three broad focus areas in
his vision for Mysore. The first was the development of its human capital. In town after
town, he pushed for the opening of schools for boys as well as girls. He would convince
wealthy people to make philanthropic donations promising to name a building or a wing
after their loved ones. He insisted on well-stocked public libraries being set up in all
reasonable-sized towns. He was a strong supporter and patron of the Central College in
Bangalore, of which he was an alumnus as well as Maharajas College Mysore and the
Indian Institute of Science. Womens education was passionately embraced by his wife.
His second area of interest was physical infrastructure. He was a supporter of irrigation as
a necessary foundation for Indian agriculture. Writing in 1954, he noted that huge
irrigation works at a staggering cost are taken up with alacrity but sufficient attention is
not being paid to minor irrigation works which would yield a quick return at a
comparatively small cost. Sir Mirza was proud that Mysore had been a pioneer in the
introduction of electricity. He extended this further setting up hydro-electric stations at
Shimsha and Jog. He was bold enough to go in for rural electrification, albeit in a

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fully-paid economically sensible manner. He persuaded Sir M. Visveswaraya to chair a

committee which led to the construction of the Chamaraj reservoir at Bangalore which
can supply nine million gallons daily should monsoons fail for three years. But he left
behind prophetic words for his successors: the administration would be well advised to
look ahead and prepare a scheme to ensure at least double the present supply.
His third commitment was to the industrial progress of Mysore. He was able to start or
help to start some 25 different industries. He was no doctrinaire conservative. He dealt
head-on with criticisms of being a state socialist arguing that in an environment where
private capital is shy, the states temporary control of an industry with the aim of
encouraging ultimate private control was the correct course.
Light taxation, minimal interference in the lives of its people and a commitment to an
environment where people could aspire to progress and prosperity...these were the
hallmarks of Sir Mirzas Mysore. Mahatma Gandhi was pleased by what he saw and he
referred to Mysore as Ramrajya. Lord Willingdon, the Mahatmas political opponent,
wrote to Sir Mirza saying Youre a wonder. Go on and all luck go with you.
From Mysore, Sir Mirza went to Jaipur where his achievements included cleaning up and
beautifying Jaipur, laying the foundation of a new university, a new medical college, and
so on. Cecil Beaton gave him the ultimate aesthetic compliment. Sir Mirza is the
arch-enemy of corrugated iron sheets, brass bands and of almost everything else that is
crude and vulgar... The main thoroughfare of Jaipur has been named M.I. Road.
Moving from Jaipur to Hyderabad, Sir Mirzas luck ran out. Not only was the Nizam
unrealistic, but he was under the control of (in Sir Mirzas words) that wretched band of
foolish Muslims called the Ittehad-ul-Muslameens....They were bent upon moving heaven
and earth to see me out of Hyderabad. A Shia by birth, he consistently supported
Sanskrit learning, Hindu Mutts and Christian institutions because in his own words one
pleases the Almighty even more by serving other faiths than ones own. Paradoxical as
that may sound, I believe it is, nevertheless true, for to serve other faiths calls for
something more vital than passive tolerance. Hindu fanatics had tried to pressure the
Maharaja of Jaipur to get rid of his Moslem Dewan. The Maharaja to his credit, refused.
The Nizam was obdurate and lost a good advisor in difficult times.
In forgetting the likes of Sir Mirza, it is we the Indians of to-day who will stand small and
tarnished. I rest my case with the postal authorities.
The writer is chairman and CEO, Mphasis. Write to him at jerryrao@expressindia.com

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