Jairam Ramesh's book 'Intertwined Lives' on bank nationalisation

Political compulsions may have prompted Indira Gandhi's fateful decision to nationalise banks but it was her Principal Secretary P N Haksar who choreographed the policy

As late as 9 July 1969, Haksar was not entirely convinced that banks had to be nationalized right away. Then three days later came the assault on Indira Gandhi’s authority with the announcement of Sanjiva Reddy as the Congress’s presidential candidate. Subsequently, Morarji Desai’s resignation was secured after four days. My guess is that between 12 July 1969 and 15 July 1969, Haksar and Indira Gandhi must have confabulated and decided to shed their caution on bank nationalization. On 16 July 1969, she asked PNH [P N Haksar] to meet with K.N. Raj, one of India’s most distinguished economists, and