Administrator par excellence, Dr Babu Paul passes away

Thiruvananthapuram: Former additional chief secretary of Kerala, writer and orator Dr D Babu Paul passed away on Saturday early morning following a heart ailment at a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He was 78.

The body will be kept at the St Peter's Jacobite Church on Punnen Road at 9 am on Saturday for the public to pay homage. The body will be taken to Babu Paul's residence at Mummy's Colony at 12 noon. The funeral will take place at Kuruppampady Jacobite Church near Perumbavoor at 4 pm on Sunday.

Babu Paul is survived by children Mariam Joseph (Niba) and Cheriyan C Paul (Nibu). His son-in-law is Satish Joseph, son of former DGP M K Joseph, and daughter-in-law is Deepa, daughter of former DGP C A Chali. The former bureaucrat's wife, Anna Babu Paul (Nirmala), passed away in 2000.

K Roy Paul, former aviation secretary and member of the Union Public Service Commission, is his brother.

Stellar career

Babu Paul entered government service at the age of 21 as a junior engineer, then cleared the civil service examination. He took voluntary retirement from the IAS at the age of 59 and became a member Ombudsman for local self-government institutions in Kerala. He was also the member emeritus of Kerala Civil Service Academy, which was established to create administrators from his home state.

He was the author of several books, including ‘Vedashabda Ratnakaram’, a Bible dictionary of 4,000 titles and 6 lakh words.

He was based at Kowdiar, Thiruvananthapuram, for long.

Early life

Babu Paul was born in 1941 to chorepiscope P A Paulose of Cheerothottam family and Mary Paul at Kuruppampady in Kerala's Ernakulam district. He received scholarships from the King of Travancore both in school and college. Babu Paul was a civil engineering graduate. He secured third rank in class X, stood first in MA and attained a seventh rank (first among South Indian candidates) in the civil service examination.

He also did higher studies in Defence Strategy, Theology and Malayalam literature. He was a PhD in Management Studies. He was also doing another research titled ‘Vilasiniyude Sthree Sankalpam’.

His biggest achievement was the completion of Iddukki hydel project. He is the recipient of a rare special award of Rs 10,000 by the C Achutha Menon government for leading the construction of Idukki reservoir. In his last 12 years of government service, he wrote files only in Malayalam.

The noted administrator-scholar won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2000. Babu Paul delivered his first speech in 1946 and published his first article in 1949. His first book came out in 1961. It was for a writing in 'Malayala Manorama' weekly in 1962 that he was first paid for his literary works. His creativity and enthusiasm were inspiring.

‘Katha Ithuvare’ is his autobiography based on his service years from 1962 to 2001.

Babu Paul used to say his father was his greatest inspiration.

"His support helped me realise the strength and weaknesses within," Babu Paul had once said while recalling his father's influence on him.

Forget those who hurt, remember those who help, his father had taught him. His father had also asked him to keep 10 per cent of his income for the needy.

"I did my best to heed his words. Mother cannot be remembered without happiness and pain," he had noted during his birthday celebrations in 2001.