“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, when their companions slept were toiling upward in the night” said Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This is exactly true of Sri S L N Simha, who by dint of hard work, sincerity, honesty, dedication and perseverance reached dizzy heights in terms of achievements and accomplishments in diverse fields.
Young in spirit:
Sri S L N Simha who attained 90 years of age on 8th March this year is as enthusiastic as a boy who is in the teens. Positive and constructive thinking and continuous activity have kept him still young in mind and spirit and also in terms of enthusiasm.
Prof Simha is well known to all particularly to those who have interest in subjects, like banking and finance, monetary theory and economics. As a student of banking I still remember how I used to insert selected sentences from his published articles as quotations in my answers to questions on banking, central banking, etc. As a post-graduate student in Mysore University at Manasa Gangotri, I used to note down important paragraphs and sentences from his articles. I used to quote him extensively in my essays and answers in internal and university examinations.
Prof S L N Simha had a very distinguished career spanning over a period of over six decades. He served in several capacities such as university teacher, as an executive and as general manager in Industrial Development Bank of India, as Head of Economic Research Division in Reserve Bank of India, Director of a Management Institute and also as Alternate Executive Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF). He made significant contribution in each one these positions. He had served as director on the Boards of many public limited companies.
Historic contribution:
By far the most important achievement of Prof Simha was the compilation of the history of Reserve Bank of India relating to the period from 1935 to 1951 in the form of a 878 pages bulky book. This was indeed a historic contribution which will stand broad-written across the pages of the Indian Central Banking history. This work of Prof Simha was widely appreciated and was commended by the Governor of RBI and senior officers of Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
Another important and note-worthy achievement of Prof Simha was the establishment of the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) at Chennai of which he was the Founder Director. Managing an institution that too in its infancy is not an easy task. It requires hard and painstaking efforts. As rightly stated by Samuel Johnson “great works are performed not by strength but, by perseverance” Prof Simha by dint of hard work and perseverance alone developed this institute. He headed the institute for ten years (1971-1980) and placed it on a firm and sound tooling before relinquishing office as Director. During his tenure as Alternate Executive Director of IMF, he tried his utmost to make the role of IMF and World Bank known to the people in India and other Asian countries. His book “Fifty years of Bretton Wood Twins” (IMF and World Bank) gives a lucid exposition of the role played by IMF and World Bank and their activities and contribution.
Extensive Writer:
Prof Simha is a great thinker and prolific writer. He has written extensively on Central Banking, monetary policy, fiscal policy and other economic issues. I have been a serious reader of his articles and books from my student days. In his writings, he has given primacy to the exposition of facts and truth as they were and he firmly opposes exeggeration and use of “bad-words” or in-correct expressions. This is clear from his recent article on “Inflation – Some observations”, published in Southern Economist dated 1st June 2008 wherein Prof Simha has taken exception to the use of the words “inflation menace” in a leading newspaper. He has stated: “I thought I should correct the approach to inflation which is not a menace, but a phenomenon, like hundreds in this great God’s World. Merely because the phenomenon is not understood, we should not give bad names” Prof Simha is always forthright in his statements and approach regarding such matters. One should be careful in using the words. According to Bhagavad Gita “with knowledge you know the words; with experience you know the meaning” Prof Simha always uses right words which convey the exact and correct meaning. Prof Simha is the author of many books on such topics as banking, central banking, fiscal and monetary policy, capital market, Indian epics, ethical matters, etc. His most important book “Voice of Wisdom” is a great mine of knowledge. The chapters in this book cover diverse topics such as banking and finance, central banking and monetary policy issues, ethical side of management, economics and its ethical side, etc. His other important books include “Democracy and Economic Growth”, “Modern Banking Monetary Policy and Finance”, “The capital market of India”, “Development with stability –The Indian Experiment”, “Fifty years of Britton Wood Twins (IMF and World Bank)”, “Micro Economic Theory and Policy”, etc. His book “Ramayana – The Glorious Epic” has attempted a comprehensive analysis of this great epic and the Hindu pantheon and is based on the Ramayana of Valmiki as studied by him.
Believer in Dharma:
Prof Simha is a firm believer in Dharma and according to him, Dharma is most fundamental in our life. He has advocated that his country must endeavour to follow the tenets of Dharma, “the only sure path for progress, peace and harmony” Prof Simha lays lot of stress on ethics and ethical side of management, ethical side of economics, etc. His transparent sincerity and honesty, high integrity, dedication, selflessness discipline and perseverance have enabled him to become a great and unmatched achiever in many fields and made him stand tall among the leading individuals and intellectuals of his time. Prof Simha is a great advocate of Gandhian Way and he always stresses the need to adopt Gandhiji’s philosophy and principles. According to him Gandhian principles and Gandhian vision are fully relevant to to-day’s India.
Challenge Seeker:
“When we accept jobs as a challenge and Wade into them with joy and enthusiasm miracles can happen” so said Arland Gilbert. This has been true of Prof Simha in respect of each and every assignment and work accepted by him be it the position in RBI, or IDBI, assignment in IMF or directorship in the Institute of Financial Management and Research. Basically he has been a challenge – seeker and enjoyer of his job. He worked with great enthusiasm and joy and achieved great results in every job and assignment taken up by him.
Economethics is a favourite subject of Prof Simha. According to him, there should be another discipline called Economethics, a combination of economics and ethics.
Many sided Personality:
Prof Simha has many-sided personality with rare qualities of head and heart. Apart from being a renowned economist, he is a well known writer, a great thinker, an eminent management expert, an able administrator, a financial wizard, a central banking historian, a great teacher and academic and above all, a great humanist with great human values and a simple person easily approachable by all and with a personality akin to that of friend, philosopher and guide to many. Prof Simha has no doubt attained 90 years of age. But, he is still young in his heart of hearts and has a sharp intellect. Even at this age, we can find in him a great spirit of learning and enquiry and a young mind. Le me on this occasion offer to Prof Simha my greetings and warm felicitations May God bestow His choicest blessings on this great, yet noble and humble person for his continued good health, happiness and longevity so that, thousands of people may continue to be thrilled and guided by him for many more years to come.[Published in Bhavan's Journal dated 31st August 2008]
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