From resettlement of rehriwalas to composed handling of communally volatile situations and from agile and kinetic supervision for neutralizing terror threats to managing high-stake political drama with aplomb, Mukund Kaushal draws from his experiences in this treatise on leadership. Consisting of simple mantras of broad shouldering responsibilities, standing up for your men, inspiring confidence by always recognizing the team and having the courage to admit mistakes, this work is as much an eye-opener as it is an inspirational must-read for the younger generation of civil servants, particularly policemen, and even corporate leaders across the country. Kaushal makes no pretence of being a superhero but through the series of episodes he enumerates, he displays a mixture of professional rectitude and humaneness.
Sailing on My Own Compass showcases that it is possible to be truthful, authentic and consistently go by conviction on what is right, without ruffling political wisdom which defines a successful administrator.
Review
In putting down his memoir, Mukund Kaushal has done the police profession a great service.
—M.K. Narayan, Former Director, Intelligence Bureau and Former National Security Advisor, Former Governor, West Bengal
He has the courage of his conviction to state his case without fear of consequences.
—Prabhat Kumar, Former Cabinet Secretary and Former Governor, Jharkhand
A police person’s life is not an easy one…this book, in many ways, is an eye-opener.
—Dr Pranoy Roy, Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairman, NDTV
[This is] an extremely absorbing book to be enjoyed for its story-like flow as also for the wisdom it packs.
—Prof. Dinesh Singh (Padma Shri Awardee), Former Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi
[The book is] a fascinating page-turner. —Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog
About the Author
Mukund Kaushal is one of the best police officers of his generation with a distinguished and unique track record, ranging from top-level operational and field assignments to intelligence coordination and policymaking. He superannuated as secretary, Internal Security in the Union Home Ministry and, before that, had an illustrious innings as commissioner of police, Delhi and subsequently as the director general of the CRPF. He served as special secretary in-charge, Department of Jammu & Kashmir Affairs and was nominated as the negotiator with the terrorists’ groups in Kashmir, a role in which he was successful with the Naga Groups and the Gorkha National Liberation Front.
Mr Kaushal originally hails from Lucknow and currently lives in Delhi with his family. He actively contributes to the IC Centre for Governance on leadership and ethics.