Integrity: T N Seshan

“I eat politicians for breakfast,” a man who was India’s Chief Election Commissioner said that when certain politicians sought to put him in a straitjacket. T N Seshan [1932-2019] was one of the most honest persons who held a high position in India’s polity. He was the tenth Chief Election Commissioner and held the office from 1990 to 1996. He became best-known for his electoral reforms. Until he assumed that office, hardly anyone knew about the post because it always behaved like a rubber stamp of the ruling party. At present, it has become worse than a rubber stamp.

Politicians generally assume they are like kings. Many of them were not happy with Seshan’s electoral reforms which put serious curbs on their malpractices. So they employed various strategies to restrain Seshan’s powers as the Chief Election Commissioner.  Until 1993, the Election Commission functioned under Seshan’s singular authority. P V Narasimha Rao’s government appointed two additional Election Commissioners so that Seshan’s control would be diluted. But Seshan was not one to yield easily. He challenged Rao’s move in the Supreme Court which chose to uphold the government’s decision.

Several of Seshan’s decisions, like strict enforcement of the Model Code or cancelling polls when malpractices were detected, were legally contested by the political powers. Many state governments and local officials dragged their feet in implementing Seshan’s directives. Even the decision to issue photo identity cards to voters was delayed by the bureaucrats on orders from politicians. If you can’t stop him, slow him down – that was the strategy.

The people in power did their best to undermine Seshan’s very credibility and portray him as an unreasonable and impractical man. In spite of everything they did, Seshan went ahead with the reforms he had envisaged. He succeeded largely due to his integrity which the ordinary citizens of India perceived clearly. He received immense public support. Power could not restrain Seshan because he operated at a rare intersection where law, legitimacy, and personal integrity converged.

There is a moment in every story of integrity when compromise appears reasonable. But Seshan refused that moment. When politicians pushed back, he did not withdraw an inch. When the establishment attempted to dilute his authority by restructuring the Election Commission, he fought back legally. Even when the outcome did not fully favour him, he did not retreat into silence or compliance.

Integrity, in his hands, was not politeness; it was defiance with legitimacy. What makes him particularly compelling for us is this: his integrity was not confined to personal virtue. It became institutional integrity. He demonstrated that one individual, armed with conviction and constitutional clarity, could restore credibility to an entire system.

Seshan was difficult to oppose legally, dangerous to fight politically, and impossible to ignore morally.

PS. This post is a part of Blogchatter A2Z Challenge 2026

Previous Posts in this series

Authority	Bigotry
Courage	Dissent
Empathy	Faith
Gaslighting	Hero Worship

 

Tomorrow: Joker