Abid Hussain, the economist, career bureaucrat turned diplomat who died at 85, was not just a successful professional, with captivating oratory skill, but one of the initial campaigners for economic reforms in India.

As Secretary of Commerce in the Rajiv Gandhi Government, the tall man with flowing hair and immaculate mannerisms, used his persuasive skills to push for reforms in trade and industry. His common refrain that we Indians deserve a better deal than butchering our chins with the same brand of shaving blades every morning or being driven around by the same car always drew big cheers from audiences.

Free thinker

A free thinker, Hussain, who served as India’s Ambassador to the US (1990-92), was a quintessential Hyderabadi at heart. He grew up and studied in the Nizam’s Hyderabad. His drive and ambition took him places, and for the most part of his later life he lived in New Delhi.

Hussain, a Padma Bhushan, comes from a large Hyderabadi family steeped in liberal and secular thought. His brother, Mr Irshad Panjathan, is a noted mime artiste. The family circle comprises of Government servants, scientists, artists, journalists and in many senses represents typical Indian diversity, while being highly contemporary. His one-liners such as “Brain drain is better than having brains in the drain,” on the flight of youngsters to the US and the UK due to lack of opportunities back home, are unforgettable.

Making a mark as the Collector of Visakhapatnam district in the early 1950s, Hussain traversed a wide path, leaving a mark in several areas such as administration, diplomacy and various UN and cultural and academic bodies. His alma mater, the Nizam College (over 125 years old), honoured him at the centenary celebrations as one of its most outstanding students. He served in the Ministries of Commerce, Heavy Industries and also in the Planning Commission. His reports on small scale industries and trade reforms are widely regarded.

Controversies

Controversies also dogged Hussain. The Abid Hussain Committee report, for example, on the revamping of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, with its string of 42 laboratories, stirred up quite a debate in the scientific circles. In fact, a fellow Hyderabadi and well-known scientist, Dr P.M. Bhargava, turned out to be a bitter critic of his recommendations, even though the two agreed on many other things.

He made an impression on audiences not just with his natural wit but also through the harsh realities that he conveyed through his remarks. For example, in the 1990s during the rise of the Asian economies, The Economist had come out with an issue on India’s economy and growth with the picture of a caged tiger. Hussain used to say, “Even when the cage door was opened the tiger was refusing to come out,” referring to the latter phase of the former Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, and the then finance minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, when the economic reforms slowed.

His experience and pleasing persona endeared him to the Gandhi family. After his tenure at Washington, Hussain was made the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation by Ms Sonia Gandhi and was involved in academic activities. He often came to Hyderabad in recent times to chair sessions at the ICFAI University, where he was the Chancellor. He was also the Chancellor of the English and Foreign Languages University. His passing away in London is definitely a loss to not just to those who knew him, but also everyone who believes and cherishes freedoms from many bondages in India.

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