Umashankar: collateral damage to the formation of United First Family of Tamilnadu (UFFT)

When the first family of tamilnadu re-united after their celebrated feud , there was going to be collateral damage of some kind. I anticipated it to be the poor Raj TV group that would probably suffer the most. It is unfortunate to learn that one honest and bright IAS officer of Tamilnadu, Umashankar has also been sacrificed. Umashankar, known for being honest and taking bold initiatives was hand picked by the same CM a decade ago to be the Collector of his home district of Tiruvarur. I still think the land record software and security systems that he personally built with the help of a few software engineers at the Collectorate was one of the best at that time. I had the opportunity to visit and learn about it first hand at that time.


However he seems to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time for honesty. Heading the Arasu Cable can be the most difficult under the reign of the UFFT. Cables of Arasu cable network, (launched by the government when the first family was divided and the CM did could not access the Sun Network for his daily dose political polemics) have been slashed ever since UFFT came into being. When Umashankar wrote about this to the CM and the money and subscribers that the government is losing, he has been shown the door.


Showing the door is fine for the ordinary, but, he has also got the reputation of being 'honest', so, someone has hunted files to make a story and defame him also! The poor citizen will always console themselves saying that 'there will be no smoke without fire' kind of nonsense. Here is wishing Umashankar all luck and pray he never loses his honesty!