S M Krishna made MEA the 'common man's ministry'

Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna, former Karnataka chief minister, Union minister, and a Fulbright Scholar, who passed away in Bengaluru at 92 was grace, dignity, and elegance personified.  

Always dressed meticulously with matching cufflinks, he wore his passion for tennis on his sleeve, and ensured his guests got the finest filter coffee. 

The suave leader who built the Silicon Valley image for Bengaluru as chief minister of Karnataka was, however, an accidental External Affairs Minister of India. Coming to the South Block after a governorship — a position seen as a retirement posting for senior Indian politicians — he succeeded two high-profile predecessors, K Natwar Singh and Pranab Mukherjee. “You see, I am Soviet vintage. It was Indiraji (Indira Gandhi) who first insisted I should work in Delhi. It’s a new job,” Krishna once explained to this author.  

Though many critics pointed out his age could be a deterrent for the globe-trotting demands of the job of as external affairs minister, his enthusiasm and sharpness proved them all wrong.

A visit to Pakistan has always been a tough assignment for any Indian foreign minister. With the wounds of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks yet to heal, Krishna headed to Pakistan to have talk with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar. On the four-hour long meeting with Khar, Krishna later quipped to a few of us "in politics, four hours is a long time, but in diplomacy four hours can be the repeat of first 30 minutes". This is a good example of how Krishna was a master of both the worlds of politics and diplomacy.

By the time he was asked to step down as the external affairs minister to pave way for a younger generation, in 2012, he had visited in an official capacity 86 countries — trailing only then US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who visited 110 countries. Clinton, who knew Krishna’s penchant for cufflinks, gifted a pair of platinum cufflinks when he was in the United States for the opening edition of India-US strategic dialogue. From across the Atlantic, David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, loved discussing tennis with Krishna. 

Krishna and his elegant wife Prema Krishna were splendid hosts and took pride in an array of South Indian delicacies they could serve to the guests. When travelling abroad, the accompanying media persons were treated to this fare that came from the minister’s residence. 

In 2009, Iran’s then foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki, who also knew Kannada, was in New Delhi. The official meeting menu had a South Indian spread, including masala dosa and idlis.

In 2010, this author approached the minister with a request: a cook with great culinary skills was in dire straits after losing his temporary job at the Kerala House in Delhi. It didn't take much effort to place him at the minister’s residence.

“Power comes, power goes,” S M Krishna used to say. There were occasions when his special aircraft facility was withdrawn, especially just before long trips, and without any protest he travelled in commercial airlines.

More than the relishes of high-fly diplomacy, S M Krishna believed that the MEA could be the ‘common man's ministry’. He walked the extra mile to make the process of passport issuance hassle-free and brought in TCS to handle the front-office operations. If today we’re getting our passports in a few days’ time, remember that it was all started by the unassuming S M Krishna. 

“Passport verification often takes time because the policemen out on the verification duty are not incentivised and a small fee for them can make a huge difference,” he believed. Making Haj travel easier, and increasing amenities for Indian workers aboard were some of the measures he had focused on.  

As a leader, who had overseen crises, including the abduction of Raj Kumar by Veerappan when he was chief minister, Krishna kept a calm visage, whether it was political or diplomatic.  

This author’s last official interaction with S M Krishna was in 2017, for an interview, soon after he ended his 46-year-old association with the Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Before the interview at a Delhi hotel, Krishna said: “Well, you know me for long and at the outset before we start let me say this: I have no issues with Sonia Gandhi and nor will I ever have one.”

When I asked what prompted him to take that decision, he said that under Rahul Gandhi leaders like him were made to feel unwanted and he couldn’t be part of politics where the leader believes in ‘hit-and-run’ politics as a ‘part time politician’. 

After the interview, he asked me whether he sounded grudgeful in any way. Without waiting for any reply, he continued with a smile: “I said what I had to, and now you write what you want to.”

Yes, S M Krishna never had a lover's quarrel with politicians, bureaucrats, or journalists. But he had one with the world for sure.

(Jayanth Jacob, a foreign policy commentator, has covered the Ministry of External Affairs for over two decades. X: @jayanthjacob.)