I%20was%20deeply%20saddened%20by%20the%20news%20of%20the%20sudden%20demise%20of%20Ram%20Vilas%20Paswan%2C%20Minister%20of%20Consumer%20Affairs%2C%20Food%20and%20Public%20Distribution%26nbsp%3Bon%20October%208.%20I%20had%20met%20him%20on%20quite%20a%20few%20occasions%20and%20had%20always%20been%20touched%20by%20his%20simplicity.%20In%20our%20professional%20interaction%2C%20I%20had%20found%20him%20to%20be%20thorough%20and%20well%20prepared%2C%20which%20enabled%20him%20to%20take%20quick%2C%20on-the-spot%20decisions.%26nbsp%3BIn%20my%20career%20as%20a%20Foreign%20Service%20officer%2C%20I%20have%20met%20many%20ministers%20during%20their%20visits%20abroad%2C%20but%20not%20all%20of%20them%20were%20so%20unassuming%20yet%20so%20well%20prepared%20for%20meeting%20a%20foreign%20delegation.

My%20most%20substantial%20interaction%20with%20Paswan%20was%20when%20I%20was%20Ambassador%20in%20Morocco.%20He%20was%20the%20Minister%20of%20Chemicals%20and%20Fertilizers%20in%20the%20Cabinet%20of%20Dr.%20Manmohan%20Singh%20and%20visited%20Morocco%20to%20finalise%20a%20deal%20for%20importing%20phosphate.%20The%20Moroccans%20were%20jacking%20up%20prices%20as%20compared%20to%20the%20previous%20years%2C%20and%20given%20the%20volume%20of%20our%20imports%2C%20the%20price%20increase%20was%20going%20to%20hit%20us%20rather%20badly.

%26nbsp%3B

%26nbsp%3BPhosphate%20is%20a%20sedimentary%20rock%20formed%20millions%20of%20years%20ago%20by%20the%20accumulation%20of%20organic%20matter%20on%20the%20ocean%20floor.%20Phosphate%20reserves%20are%20found%20in%20many%20parts%20of%20Africa%2C%20North%20America%2C%20Kazakhstan%2C%20the%20Middle%20East%20and%20Oceania%20but%20the%20world%u2019s%20largest%20deposits%20are%20located%20in%20Morocco%2C%20which%20is%20also%20one%20of%20the%20global%20leaders%20in%20phosphate%20extraction.%26nbsp%3BMorocco%20has%2070%25%20of%20the%20world%u2019s%20phosphate%20reserves.

With%201.3%20billion%20mouths%20to%20feed%2C%20the%20importance%20of%20phosphate%20for%20Indian%20agriculture%20can%20hardly%20be%20overstated.%20Phosphate%20rock%20is%20processed%20to%20produce%20phosphorous%2C%20which%20is%20one%20of%20the%20three%20main%20nutrients%20most%20commonly%20used%20in%20fertilizers%20%28the%20other%20two%20are%20nitrogen%20and%20potassium%29.%26nbsp%3BPhosphate%20can%20also%20be%20turned%20into%20phosphoric%20acid%2C%20which%20has%20a%20variety%20of%20uses%20such%20as%20in%20food%20and%20cosmetics%20to%20animal%20feed%20and%20electronics.%26nbsp%3B

The%20core%20challenge%20facing%20the%20Indian%20fertilizer%20industry%20had%20been%20how%20to%20meet%20the%20growing%20demand%20for%20phosphate%20at%20a%20reasonable%20price%2C%20and%20Paswan%20was%20fully%20aware%20of%20this%20fact.%20He%20was%20cognizant%20that%20given%20the%20fact%20that%20India%20has%20limited%20resources%20of%20rock%20phosphate%20most%20of%20our%20needs%20will%20have%20to%20be%20met%20through%20imports%20from%20other%20countries%3B%20our%20need%20is%2C%20thus%20for%20long%20term%2C%20reliable%20suppliers.

Throughout%20his%20negotiations%20with%20the%20Moroccans%2C%20Paswan%20showed%20his%20acumen%20as%20a%20shrewd%20but%20up-front%20negotiator%2C%20making%20the%20point%20that%20while%20we%20need%20Morocco%27s%20phosphate%2C%20it%20also%20needs%20our%20market%20at%20a%20time%20when%20several%20other%20countries%20are%20lining%20up%20to%20export%20it%20to%26nbsp%3BIndia.%26nbsp%3BIndia%20is%20the%20world%u2019s%20largest%20importer%20of%20phosphates%20and%20Morocco%20is%20the%20largest%20exporter%2C%20and%20Paswan%20skillfully%20put%20across%20the%20point%20that%20this%20provides%20a%20solid%20basis%20for%20the%20relationship.

Unlike%20some%20other%20Ministers%20whom%20I%20have%20come%20across%2C%20Paswan%20had%20prepared%20himself%20quite%20well%20for%20the%20visit%2C%20and%20had%20read%20and%20digested%20preparatory%20material%20not%20only%20for%20his%20discussions%20relating%20to%20phosphate%20purchases%20but%20also%20about%20Indo-Moroccan%20relations%20in%20general.%20The%20Moroccans%20were%20delighted%20by%20his%20knowledge%20about%20Ibn%20Battuta%2C%20a%20Berber%20Moroccan%20scholar%20and%20explorer%20who%20travelled%20widely%20as%20far%20as%20China%20during%20the%20first%20half%20of%20the%20fourteenth%20century%20and%20also%20spent%20two%20years%20in%20India%20during%20the%20rule%20of%20Muhammad%20bin%20Tughlaq.%20The%20Moroccans%20revere%20Ibn%20Battuta%2C%20and%20Paswan%27s%20knowledge%20about%20him%20impressed%20them%20so%20much%20that%20soon%20they%20were%20eating%20out%20of%20his%20hands.%26nbsp%3B

One%20day%2C%20when%20we%20were%20driving%20down%20to%20the%20meeting%20with%20the%20Moroccans%2C%20Paswan%20told%20me%20about%20his%20humble%20origins–%20he%20was%20born%20in%20a%20Dalit%20family%20in%20a%20village%20in%20Bihar.%20He%20also%20told%20me%20with%20a%20sense%20of%20pride%20that%20he%20had%20been%20selected%20as%20a%20Deputy%20Superintendent%20in%20Bihar%20Police%20but%20decided%20against%20joining%20and%20entered%20politics%20instead.%20The%20rest%2C%20as%20they%20say%2C%20is%20history.%26nbsp%3BPaswan%20was%20elected%20to%20the%20Bihar%20state%20legislative%20assembly%20in%201969.%20Later%2C%20he%26nbsp%3Bentered%20the%20Lok%20Sabha%26nbsp%3Bin%201977%20and%26nbsp%3Bwas%20chosen%20again%20in%201980%2C%201989%2C%201996%2C%201998%2C%201999%2C%202004%20and%202014.%20In%202019%20he%20was%20elected%20to%20the%20Rajya%20Sabha.%20In%201989%20Paswan%20was%20appointed%20Union%20Minister%20of%20Labour%20and%20Welfare%20in%20the%20V.P.Singh%20government.%20He%20held%20many%20different%20ministries%20during%20his%20career%2C%20serving%20under%20five%20Prime%20Ministers.

Needless%20to%20say%2C%20Paswan%20succeeded%20in%20working%20out%20a%20deal%20for%20the%20purchase%20of%20phosphates%20from%20Morocco%20on%20terms%20that%20had%20at%20one%20stage%20looked%20unachievable.%20It%20was%20a%20short%20visit–but%20time%20well%20spent%20and%20mission%20accomplished.

Rest%20in%20peace%2C%20Sir.

%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23RamvilasPaswan%22%20data-user-id%3D%22fGOxjHjtvCuU%22%20href%3D%22/topic/ramvilas-paswan%22%3E%23RamvilasPaswan%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23LJP%22%20data-user-id%3D%22NwGie04JN9IM%22%20href%3D%22/topic/ljp%22%3E%23LJP%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B