 "A file photo of Raghuram Rajan")
Almost two weeks after RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has announced his intention to return to academia after completion of his term in September, controversy surrounding his second term does not seem to be waning.
In an interview to The Indian Express, Rajan’s parents said that he may have stayed on if the government had reacted on time. “I feel if the government had responded promptly when the attacks started, possible he wouldn’t have come to this decision,” R Govindarajan, Rajan’s father and a retired senior Intelligence officer, said.
“The personal attacks (on him) hurt”, his mother Mythili said, adding, “Let anyone question his policies, or style of functioning. But isn’t it unfair attacking someone personally, questioning his patriotism?”
Rajan was repeatedly targeted by BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, who questioned his policies and attacked him with barbs like “not mentally fully Indian”. He also lashed out at the RBI governor’s interest rate strategies and said that he had almost killed small and medium industries with higher rates. The series of accusations were spread over weeks, with Swamy also seeking the immediate sacking of Rajan.
After being silent over the issue for weeks after Rajan’s decision, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday finally spoke out in support of the Governor. “Raghuram Rajan’s patriotism is no less than ours… Those who speak such language are doing great injustice to him,” Modi told Times Now in an interview.
The statements by Rajan’s parents seem to indicate that it was a case of too little too late. Rajan announced his decision earlier this month on June 18. The PM’s statements have come almost ten days after Rajan decided to not serve another term at the central bank.
“It doesn’t matter even if he did not get timely support from the government. He may be hurt, but it won’t affect him in any way… he would just stop talking to that person,” she added.
‘Fearless Raghu’
Mythili said she was hurt by the ‘patriotism’ attack as Rajan has had to live without his parents in India when she and her husband were posted in England during the Sikh riots. She described him as fearless during those tough times.
“During the Sikh riots, my husband was posted in England. I had to be with him, leaving Raghu and his younger brother alone at our Delhi home. As we heard the news of Indira Gandhi’s assassination and the attacks on Sikhs, I asked my younger sister to come and stay with them in Delhi. On her way, the train was attacked as there was a Sikh youth on it. It was Raghu who went and brought her home. After she reached home, Raghu left again, for IIT, where he and his friends had been busy hiding as many Sikh youths from attacks as they could, as the IIT hostel was the safest place.”
She also revealed a softer side of Rajan, saying that he used to wrote poetry as well and was an avid reader. The Governor was “often surrounded by girls in school”, his mother said, adding, “Had I allowed him to study Economics in St Stephens, he would have entered politics like leaders we see in JNU these days. That was the age.”
