Major (Dr) R Thiagarajan

The very first time that I had the good fortune of meeting Maj Thiagarajan, was when I reported to the then School of Signals, Mhow, for the second half of the course then called Officers Short Telecommunications (OST) course. Since then names have undergone changes – School of Signals was re-christened the Military College of Telecommunications Engineering (MCTE), and the OST has given way to Signal Officers Degree Engineering Course (SODE) That was over forty years ago – to be more precise – it was July 1966. Some periods stay imprinted in the mind, long after the events have finished – July 1966 is one such unforgettable time. That was the time, when Mhow faced unprecedented drought situation. Water was rationed. Water came in by train, and was ferried to the quarters and doled out in measured buckets – one for bachelors and two for married students who had their families staying with them!

Maj Thiagarajan was a senior instructor in the Faculty of Communication Engineering (FCE), then known as the Technical Wing. On meeting him, I learnt that we hailed from the same college – the Madras Christian College, Tambaram. We were proud of the fact that the first three finance ministers of the country were from our College. In those days, the students of the college were referred to as the “gentlemen of Christian College”, and Maj Thiagarajan epitomized that fact. He was always the perfect gentleman – in fact he probably was more of a gentleman than even the British.

Maj Thiagarajan, was a dedicated soldier, and was a strict disciplinarian. In those it was not uncommon for officers from Signals to opt for the general cadre and desire to command infantry formations. Thiagarajan, who had topped his degree course and had been retained in the School as an instructor, also dreamt of commanding a division. Thus when he was detailed for the Junior Commanders course at the neighbouring Infantry School, he packed off his wife and child to her parents place, so that he could give his undivided attention and concentrate on the JC course. He did well and secured a good grading.

He believed in hard work, and he was technically very sound. Hence he was one of the first few officers who were deputed to undergo training in computers at Calcutta (the Computer wing had not started functioning at MCTE). He was posted to a divisional signal regiment to earn his mandatory command report. He took his profession so seriously and worked so hard that his health was affected. He was then posted to the computer centre in Delhi. But then Maj Thiagarajan was not one to keep quiet. He enrolled himself in the MBA evening programme at Delhi University. Once again he completed the MBA with flying colours. I still remember the day that I learnt that he had obtained the second rank in the university. I was commanding the communication company at 4 Corps. I called him up and congratulated him on his excellent performance. He played down his effort, by telling me, that he had not done much – for he had not topped the course but had come only second!

In view of his expertise in the fledging IT field, he was deputed to the National Informatics Centre (NIC). From there he moved over to the Ministry of Science and Technology. He did not stop his academic activities and earned a doctorate while with the Ministry. He finally retired as Joint Advisor (equivalent to Joint Secretary) from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

For all his brilliance, hard work and mental agility, his health took a down turn. He suffered from diabetes and that was serious enough to ensure that both his legs were so badly affected that they had to be amputated. His hearing also failed and he had to use a hearing aid, but in spite of being wheel-chair bound, he never lost his spirit, but continued to believe in the Almighty and wrote Tamil verses in praise of Him.

And in the passing away of Maj Thiagarajan, we have lost a rare officer and a rarer human being. In the words of William Shakespeare, we can justly be proud and say that here was a MAN, who did the country and the Corps proud.

Brig VA Subramanyam (Retd)