An interesting snippet of information was contained in a recent lecture by West Bengal governor M K Narayanan on R Venkataraman: Copy-book President. Narayanan said RV — as he was popularly known — did not disagree with Rajiv Gandhi’s initiative in 1988 to take the President on board about an operation against Sikh extremists in Amritsar. But RV “quickly came to grips with the finer points of the Operation, putting forward his views, without in any way violating constitutional propriety,” says Narayanan. There is a hint that his views were slightly different from the government’s.
Interestingly, RV also had strong views about ‘predatory capitalism’, that, he predicted, would have greater sway in the period ahead. Narayanan said the former President had told him that it was extremely important for those in authority to understand and appreciate the fundamental complexity of managing the affairs of a large country like India.