From Inside the Steel Frame: The Memoirs of an Administrator

Dr Ashok Pandey exemplifies the evolution of the elite administrative cadre in all its glory and occasional dark craters as well. Coming from a family which had actively participated in the freedom struggle in Bihar, he served in the districts of Assam and Meghalaya as a young IAS officer at the outset of his career. He went on to handle crucial responsibilities at the Centre and in Bihar later. His recollection of this long journey reads like chapters of India’s political history as he records in his memoir major events in their nuances. The book focuses on the centrality of the steel frame, its crucial role in the life of India and at the same time, captures its pitfalls and entrenched biases as the author himself experienced them towards the end of his career.