Chavan did not interfere in the sphere allotted to the States under the constitution; but be was equally firm in preserving the authority of the Centre, in its own sphere. There were a few cases of some States overstepping the constitutional demarcation either out of radicalist fervour, or misconception about the limits of their powers; for instance, by seeking to interfere in the Central Government's relation with their own employees, or in affairs of Centre's corporate undertakings. And there were one or two cases of a State administration impeding or prejudicing the exercise of the executive power of the Central Government in violation of Article 257(1) of the Constitution. In all these cases Chavan wrote to the State Ministeries concerned clearly pointing out the constitutional position, and leaving no room for any doubt about his stand; there had to be respect for each other's legitimate authority on both sides.
His attitude towards the Constitution was brought out in a brief exchange. While I was referring at a high level discussion to an article of the Constitution which stood in the way of a proposed course of action, a senior Minister remarked that a Home Secretary should go ahead and act, and not be worrying about constitutional rectitude all the time. Chavan came to my defence with the reply that after all it was the responsibility of the Home Ministry to uphold the Constitution. This pithily expressed his firm commitment to the Constitution, and his conception of the key role of the Home Ministry in upholding the Constitution, and the rule of law, as the means of doing so.
During Chavan's entire tenure of some four years, he and his Ministry had never a deeper anxiety or more agonising time than at the time of impending self-immolation of Sant Fateh Singh. There appeared to be no way to avoid what, it was recognised, would be a calamitous event. Any way, all the precautionary arrangements were made, and on the momentous day there was an excruciating waif from hour to hour as the cauldron of oil into which he was to burn himself started boiling. And suddenly we got a report from Amritsar that the Sand had given up the imminent self-immolation on receipt of a message from Chavan agreeing to his demand. When I conveyed the report to Chavan, he was greatly relieved, but totally mystified, for he had sent no message. Enquiries revealed that Gurmukh Singh 'Musafir' had conveyed to Hukum Singh a message purporting to have been received from Chavan, and Hukum Singh had passed it on to the Sant, and announced it publicly. Chavan's reaction was a mixture of profound relief and great agrer, for he feared that the wrong means adopted even for the best of ends might have serious consequences in future. Chavan called 'Musafir' to Delhi and when the "poet-politician", with flowing white beared and the look of an Old Testament prophet, appeared, and Chavan started questioning him with ill-concealed anger, 'Musafir's' response was indeed disarming: he thought he had been called to receive thanks for averting a calamity, and he was being censured and reprimanded ! Chavan's anger dissolved into a heartly laughter, revealing his warm humanity behind a political visage. The story was reminiscent of certain episodes in the Mahabharat in which at a crucial moment a hero epitomising virtue compromised a little with truth or high ethical standards, and thus turned the tide of battle.
The crisis was over but the Punjab tangle had still to be resolved. With Sant Fateh Singh's fresh threat to immolate himself, the Government of India announced in January, 1970, their decision, which included the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab within five years. It was also provided, among other matters, that a Commission would be appointed to examine other claims and counter-claims for readjusting the existing inter-State boundaries. During the remaining few months that Chavan remained as a Home Minister, the terms of reference etc. could not be settled. But unfortunately for some reason or other, of which I am not aware, a Commission was not appointed even during the next 15 years. Chavan's own general attitude was that any problem that could be finally settled ought to be settled as speedily as feasible, for; he felt, that in our vast country there was always a risk of serious problems bunching up, making heavy demands, simultaneously, on the political and administrative system. However, he would not generally press his views beyond a certain point.