Special duty and Rahu Kalam

An appointment of an astrologer as an OSD (Officer on Special Duty), one of the very first decisions of the newly elected chief minister, brewed a perfect storm in a coffee cup – it could not have been tea in that part of the country. Something not astrologically forecast, the appointment was revoked the next day. Shameful isn’t it, revocation I mean. As the designation itself says, it is about the `Special duty’. And what can be more special than guiding the CM according to the celestial bodies and cosmic patterns? Someone also commented that this was unacceptable in a secular government. Really? One could argue that astrology predictions are most secular of all, transcending religions, as exemplifying by this particular case. And going by his supposed clientele it is evident that it cut across the professions and positions. 

This incident reminded me of my interactions with a senior civil servant posted in a central ministry quite some time ago. Once, just before a scheduled meeting, his officed called me to inform that the said meeting was postponed. When we met later, the gentleman divulged the reason for that postponement: Rahu Kalam. This was my first encounter with Rahu Kalam. He explained with the help of a Panchang – a calendar based on Indian Vedic astrology – that Rahu Kaal (or Rahu Kalam) was an inauspicious 90-minute period occurring daily. And sure enough, during his tenure in the ministry, all his key meetings and appointments followed Rahu Kalam to the T. So much so that if we were to invite him for an inaugural address, the inaugural session would be timed accordingly.  

Today only I was reading that the government has launched a nationwide exercise to document “good practices” in public administration. Why not to also include this very unique practice of ours? In these times of `policy informed by science’ discourse, diverging towards something totally different – `OSD-style’ – may do the trick.

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