CHENNAI: IAS officer P Sabanayagam served as chief secretary to three stalwart-chief ministers and led the state bureaucracy with military discipline, said
Tamil Nadu chief minister
MK Stalin, addressing the birth centenary of the iconic officer in Chennai on Saturday.
Known for his integrity, courage and leadership, Sabanayagam is a university from whose life and service young IAS officers could learn a lot, said Stalin. When DMK government was dissolved in 1976, Sabanayagam was tasked with identifying and shifting out ‘pro-DMK’ bureaucrats in the state. He, however, resisted the move saying officers serve only the government of the day and not any political parties, said Stalin.
In his autobiography, Sabanayagam had narrated how former chief minister M Karunanidhi conjured up programmes to uplift the poor and created infrastructure for education and employment, said the chief minister, adding: “Sabanayagam has earned a place for himself in the history of India’s governance and that his role cannot be avoided at all.”
He was chief secretary to C Rajagopalachari, K Kamaraj and M Karunanidhi, said Stalin, and added that even after he moved to the central services, he played crucial role in bringing projects and schemes for Tamil Nadu.
On Saturday, who’s who from industry and politics offered their felicitations through video messages. Among those present were former union finance minister P Chidambaram, a host of state ministers and serving and retired officials.