Atma Jayaram (31 August 1915 – 19 March 1990) was the

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of the Indian Intelligence Bureau between November 1971 to August 1975. His tenure was during one of the most turbulent political periods of modern India. He served under then Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

Early life

Born in Colombo to Dr. T. Katakam Jayaram (1881–1940), young Atma had a privileged upbringing. Dr. Jayaram was one of the few licensed medical practitioners of the time and was fairly wealthy, however he began life from a poor family. He was married at the end of the 19th century, and his wife died shortly after giving birth to a daughter. His subsequent marriage in 1912-1913 brought him two sons and a daughter, Atma being the younger of the two brothers. Atma's younger sister and mother died before the age of five. Atma and his brother Dayaram were educated at some of Ceylon's (Sri Lanka) most well known institutions. Atma Jayaram studied at

Trinity College, Kandy Trinity College, Kandy is a private Anglican boys' school located in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It offers both day and boarding facilities. It was founded in 1872 by British Anglican missionaries of the Church Missionary Society, modelled on Britis ...

, graduating in 1932. He pursued a degree in science at the

Ceylon University College Ceylon University College was a public university college in Ceylon. Established in 1921, it was Ceylon's first attempt at university education. The college didn't award degrees under its own name but prepared students to sit the University of Lo ...

and graduated in 1935. Upon finishing his academics, he received admission into the

Cavendish Laboratory The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the School of Physical Sciences. The laboratory was opened in 1874 on the New Museums Site as a laboratory for experimental physics and is named ...

at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

studying physics in 1936. During his three-year

Tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

, he attended Pembroke College. He studied under Lord

Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who was a pioneering researcher in both Atomic physics, atomic and nuclear physics. He has been described as "the father of nu ...

, the Nobel Prize Laureate who had gained acclaim for the discovery of the atomic nucleus. After graduating in 1939, he returned to Colombo.

Career

Indian Police Service

After returning to Sri Lanka, Jayaram attempted the civil services exam, however due to his Indian origins, was not allowed to work for the civil service. Following this, he joined the Imperial Police in India, then under British rule. His first posting was in Tenali in the Madras Presidency, now Andhra Pradesh, in 1940. Over the next few years, he was posted throughout the presidency before being called to join the Intelligence Bureau in 1948 under Sir N.P. Smith and T.G. Sanjeevi Pillai. Pillai was to become the first Indian to head the Intelligence Bureau.

Intelligence Bureau

Jayaram served with the IB during the 1950s and early 1960s. He was posted in Cairo and Beijing and was known to be an acquaintance of

Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963, he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring that had divulged British secr ...

, one of the members of the infamous

Cambridge Five The Cambridge Five was a ring of spies in the United Kingdom that passed information to the Soviet Union during the Second World War and the Cold War and was active from the 1930s until at least the early 1950s. None of the known members were e ...

. In Cairo, journalist David Holden often called on him and his wife. In 1962, he returned to India to work at headquarters. He worked in the IB as an assistant director till 1968. In 1968, Jayaram was appointed Inspector General of Andhra Pradesh, the official head of police in the state. He served till 1971 when Indira Gandhi on the recommendation of

RAW Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry data ...

Chief R. N. Kao made him the Director of the Intelligence Bureau.

Director of the Intelligence Bureau

Soon after becoming director, the 1971 War broke out. RAW and the IB had to work together. Kao and Jayaram were extremely close friends, and both ensured that their respective agencies worked together during the course of the Bangladeshi liberation. Jayaram served as the director during the breakout of the

Indian Emergency The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency across the country by citing internal and external threats to the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddi ...

but retired on 31 August 1975 after his 60th birthday. Director General of Punjab, S.N. Mathur took over as director.

Emergency

On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court found the Prime Minister guilty on the charge of misuse of government machinery for her election campaign. Protests led by J.P.Narayan, Raj Narain, Satyendra Narayan Sinha and Morarji Desai flooded the streets of Delhi close to the Parliament building and the Prime Minister's residence. According to the first interim report of the Shah Commission on 11 March 1978, no reports were filed by the Intelligence Bureau between 12 and 18 June, suggesting a state of emergency. Chapter 5.28 of the report says that on 18 June a top secret note between Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Director of Intelligence suggested constant surveillance of the Congress' political opponents. On the evening of 25 June 1975, Mrs. Gandhi wrote to President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed recommending a proclamation of emergency. The letter was made public under chapter 5.52 of the Shah Commission report. Chapters 5.57, 5.58 and 5.59 of the report say that Jayaram, S.L. Khurana(Home Secretary) and H.R. Gokhale(Minister for Law and Justice) learnt of the Emergency only on the morning of 26 June. Chapter 5.60(g) states that
"''While the Director of Intelligence, the Home Secretary, Cabinet Secretary(B.D. Pande) and the secretary to the Prime Minister( Parmeshwar Narayan Haksar) had not been taken into confidence, Shri R.K. Dhawan, the then additional private secretary to the Prime Minister had been associated with the preparation and promulgation of the emergency from the early stage''". This statement suggested that the four officials, including Jayaram had possibly opposed Mrs. Gandhi's decision to impose emergency. Due to this opposition, it is possible that Mrs. Gandhi asked Jayaram to resign after being given a one-year extension earlier that month. Facts are currently unknown, but it is likely that Mrs. Gandhi would have preferred to have the police force on her side during the Emergency.

Anecdotes

A.S Dulat, former director of RAW called him "''A gentleman’s gentleman''". Like Kao, Jayaram was known to have an extremely sharp mind and was considered a no nonsense intelligence chief. Dulat commented that during an intelligence meeting, an officer had made a mistake. Jayaram addressed everybody with a quick remark, "''Gentleman, a cat has nine lives, an intelligence officer has one,''" reiterating the fact that the IB could not afford to make mistakes. Surendra Pathania, former Director General of Maharashtra, commented that Jayaram had a great sense of style. Pathania, a junior officer at the time, called on Jayaram at 9, Tuglak Road(the Director's official residence) and was surprised to see him in dark pink trousers. "''He was effortlessly stylish and junior officers like us were always welcome at 9, Tuglak Road.''"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayaram, Atma Directors of Intelligence Bureau (India) 1990 deaths 1915 births Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Alumni of Trinity College, Kandy Cavendish Laboratory Sri Lankan people of Indian descent Andhra Pradesh Police