Narasimha Rao backed them even when they disobeyed his commands—like Manmohan on devaluation, and Ramakrishna on the broker’s strike. It is even possible, though there is no way to tell, that Rao wanted his instructions ignored. The academic V.R. Mehta’s son remembers what prime minister Rao told his father when the latter was appointed vice chancellor of Delhi University. ‘Sometimes you will get messages from me. Don’t listen . . . You do whatever you think is right. But I have to call because there will be someone sitting with me who wants that.’
