The Autocrats
World does not want dictators. Nobody likes tyrants. Not after what the world had seen in second world war. But the ascension of dictators as head of a country, on political maps of the world is a fact. When Nehru became Prime Minister, the world feared that he would become a tyrant. When democracy failed to take root in neighbouring Pakistan even after several years and a military dictator became it's head, such fears multiplied for India and Nehru.
Interestingly in 1937, an article had appeared in the Modern Review (Calcutta) anonymously which described Nehru as:
"….From the Far North to Gape Gomorin he has gone like some triumphant Caesar, leaving a trail of glory and a legend behind him. Is all this just a passing fancy which amuses him ... or is it his will to power that is driving him from crowd to crowd…... What if the fancy turns? Men like Jawaharlal, with all their capacity for great and good work, are unsafe in a democracy. He calls himself a democrat and a socialist, and no doubt he does so in all earnestness ….. but a little twist and he might turn into a dictator. Jawaharlal cannot become a fascist. …. He is too much an aristocrat for the crudity and vulgarity of fascism. His very face and voice tell us that…. And yet he has all the makings of a dictator in him – vast popularity, a strong will, energy, pride and with all his love of the crowd, an intolerance of others and a certain contempt for the weak and inefficient. His flashes of temper are well known. His overwhelming desire to get things done, to sweep away what he dislikes and build anew, will hardly brook for long the slow processes of democracy. His conceit is already formidable. It must be checked. We want no Caesar.cxiiiNehru: A Political Biography by Michael Brecher at page 6, (1959) Oxford University Press, Ltd., London.
I would agree with the Nehru's biographer, especially after having the benefit of experiencing the rein of Nehru's daughter that:
"Perhaps the most important trait suggested in his self-portrait has been belied by Nehru'sown actions since Independence. He still possesses the makings of a dictator' but he is no Caesar. Jawaharlal is safe in a democracy. In fact, the Indian experiment in constitutional democracy owes more to Nehru than to anyone else or to any combination of factors. Few men with his talents could have resisted the inducements to exercise dictatorial powers..."cxivBrecher, at page 7, ibid.
But then Nehru had no need to show off dictatorial powers when he could wield the similar powers under the veil of constitutional democracycxvFor example arrest of Majrooh Sultanpuri over reciting a poem inn public protesting India joining commonwealth. During one of the meetings organised for the mill workers, he recited a poem that was written against Jawaharlal Nehru. He refused to render an apology for the same and was jailed in 1949 along with actor Balraj Sahni. See https://sabrangindia.in/article/when-majrooh-sultanpuri-went-jail-writing-poetry-against-nehru This was the poem:मन में जहर डॉलर के बसा केफिरती है भारत की अहिंसाखादी के केंचुल को पहनकरये केंचुल लहराने न पाएअमन का झंडा इस धरती परकिसने कहा लहराने न पाएये भी कोई हिटलर का है चेलामार लो साथ जाने न पाएकॉमनवेल्थ का दास है नेहरूमार ले साथी जाने न पाए i.e. to arrest artists (actor) over disagreements.cxviActor Balraj Sahni was arrested for playing a lead role in a play called "Jadoo Ki Kursi" which lampooned Jawaharlal Nehru. See http://indianculturalforum.in/2015/08/31/bhisham-sahni/ The power exercised was similar to law called Rowlet Act enacted by British and protested by Nehru and Gandhi, before independence. There is long list of arrests made under him, which were later found unlawful by courts.cxviiSee Freedom of Expression under Nehru https://twitter.com/i/moments/927467502396772352
In the name of planned industrialisation in India, he enacted a law which brought virtually all large industries under central government control via industrial licensing.cxviiiIndustries (Development and Regulation) Act of 1951. This upsets the Constitution without actually amending it.
Nehru first demonstrated the power of Central Government over State by dismissing the elected Communist Government in Kerala in 1957. A list can be created of the authoritarian measures of Nehru, which would entitle him to be called an autocrat by history but he had a personal charm unlike any other leader. Apparently he was also a compassionate person in personal life.
Nehru, during his life time never announced a successor but he did saw to it that his daughter Indira:
1. became a member of the Congress Working Committee and Central Election Party in 1955.
2. was the Chairperson, National Integration Council of A.I.C.C. and the President, All India Youth Congress, 1956 and Women's Dept. A.I.C.C.
3. was appointed as a member of the Central Parliamentary Board of Congress, in 1958.
4. became the President, Indian National Congress in 1959 and served till 1960 .
Mathai, his secretary denies that Nehru was instrumental in promoting IndiracxixReminiscence of Nehru Age: Truth about Jawaharlal Nehru by M.O. Mathai at page 249 (1978) Vikas Publishing House (P) Ltd.. But why then Indira was not doing a regular job? Like a school teacher or may be an announcer in All India Radio or a lawyer? Why would Nehru's Secretary Mathai had to share every single paper, document, correspondence of Prime Minister's office with Indira?cxxMathai ibid at page 248. Why Nehru needed a hostess? Narendra Modi is doing fine without a hostess.
Hardly any one agrees that Nehru did not promote his daughter Indira and that she succeeded in her own right. The following quote from an ex congressman Late Ram Manohar LohiacxxiAccording to Yogendra Yadav "During his life, Rammanohar Lohia paid the price for three "sins" that the opinion-making class could never forgive him for – he attacked Nehru repeatedly at a time when Nehru was god-like, he led a vigorous and voluble campaign against English and he publicly questioned upper caste dominance and advocated caste-based affirmative action. No wonder Lohia was persona non grata to the upper-caste, English-speaking elite, from Congress supporters to communists. The Nehru-left dominance of Indian academia and media ensured that a caricature of Lohia became his dominant image." [See Economic & Political Weekly (EPW) October 2, 2010 (vol xlv no 40)]Does that sound familiar? Is that what Congress is doing to Modi now? Admonishing a Prime Minister from backward class personally at every available opportunity? Calling him thief without any proof? (observed in 1962) is apt:
"….I had foretold several years ago that the likeliest successor to Mr Nehru would be Mrs Indira Gandhi. That was on the basis of what I knew of the Prime Minister—who, I regret to say, at one time was my leader and teacher—and also of what was actually happening in the country and inside the Congress. The reports I have with me since then, particularly of how Mrs Gandhi came to be the Congress President, have only confirmed my prophecy. At that time I had only known the actors in the drama rather well and not how they actually conducted themselves backstage. I may add my personal reaction to it. I would prefer Mrs Gandhi to anyone else in the Congress Party, if for no other reason than this, that my morning paper would give me a pretty face to behold……."cxxiihttp://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1245.html
After the deathcxxiiiMathai has enclosed a will of Nehru which prohibited any religious ceremony but Indira defied it by conducting Hindu rites about which Mathai complains at page 251 ibid. of Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, a Minister in the Prime Minister's Office was elected to be the Prime Minister of India. Indira became a minister of Information and Broadcasting which was to become instrumental in her forte in imposing thought control through media.
In 1965 Pakistan attacked India in Akhnoor sector of Kashmir. India retaliated by attacking across the international border at Punjab and in a days time Indian Army was about to capture Lahore when ceasefire was declared. Shastri went to Tashkent and after signing on joint declaration, he died in mysterious circumstances, in Tashkent itself.
Shastri was succeeded by Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Nehru as she was the compromise candidate of the syndicatecxxivThe members of working committee of Congress including K. Kamraj (Tamil Nadu), SK Patil (Bombay), S Nijalingappa (Mysore), Atulya Ghosh (West Bengal) and N Sanjeeva Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) etc. like Claudius, the Roman Caesar.
Indira Gandhi
Indira, had moved into Teenmurti Bhawan, the official Banglow of Nehru in 1948, playing the role of the hostess till the death of Nehru in 1964. She had apparently chosen his father over husband Firoze for a reason, who moved out to his own accommodation in 1954.
Indira travelled around the world with Nehru to meet world leaders and later within India to meet party workers. She is said to have an uncanny memory to remember names and faces, which helped her later in the coup with the party. She would also accompany Nehru in his rallies which used to gather immense crowd. It was nothing short of grooming a successor.
As regards Indira's political leaning, a journalist opined that "the greatest qualification of Indira Gandhi at the time of her accession was…the fact that she was not too strongly associated with any policy line to give offence to any of the groups which dominated the polycentric structure of the Congress party after Nehru's death."cxxvSee http://indiragandhi.in/en/timeline/index/prime-minister-timeline (This quote is taken from a seemingly official web site of her.)
In other words she had not said anything of significance from which anything about her left or right leanings could be inferred. Far from naivety it showed a personality unhindered by any principle either of morality or otherwise.
Indira started her career as a Prime Minister on a softer note. She was not fluent in speaking extempore and would use notes. Her speech used to have long pauses initially but she picked up and is now remembered for her high pitch speeches which would end with "Jai Hind" which she would ask crowd to repeat with her three times. Something very similar to what BJP leaders do with "Vande Matram" or "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" today.
Indira may have been a compromise candidate of CWC but she was not a compromising personality. Negotiation, which is hallmark of democracy was not her suit at all. The first of such incident occurred on 7th November 1966 when a procession of a hundred thousand Sanyasis approached the Parliament to protest demanding ban on cow slaughter, as enjoined in article 48 of the Constitution of India. The procession went out of hand resulting in death of 375-5000 deaths, according to different sources.cxxviSee https://hinduexistence.org/2016/11/07/remembering-the-50-years-of-largest-hindu-killing-by-indira-gandhi-in-goraksha-abhiyan-in-delhi/ also see https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/08/india-holy-men-sacred-cows-riots-delhi Coming back to negotiations, remember the march of CPI sponsored agriculturists from Nasik to Mumbai as it is happening again as these pages are finalised on 22 February 2019. What if something similar happens? There will be an international out cry. But that was 1966, information was easily suppressed. Indira got away, without even a slap on wrist. Her Home Minister Gulzari Lal Nanda resigned, taking responsibility.
Much before the elections of 1971, the Indian National Congress Party saw a split into INC(R) and INC(O) respectively. 'O' stood for Organisation and 'R' stood for Requisitionist.cxxviiSanghvi, Vijay (2006). The Congress, Indira to Sonia Gandh. New Delhi: Kalpaz Publications. p. 77. ISBN 81-7835-340-7. INC(R), after the win of 1971 elections became INC(I) or Congress(I).
1971 elections
The 1971 elections for 5th Lok Sabha, were first prematurely held elections. To take advantage of 1970-71 split of Pakistan into creation of Bangladeshcxxviiihttps://www.dawn.com/news/1359141/special-report-the-breakup-of-pakistan-1969-1971 , Indira decided to hold elections, early. Even otherwise she was running a minority Government with the support of Communists.
Indira appealed to the poor, the landless, the scheduled castes and tribes, women and the unemployed youth, promising them elimination of mass poverty, economic betterment and abolition of glaring disparities in income and opportunity and social status. She raised a quintessential slogan 'Garibi Hatao' or Remove Poverty which attracted the masses like bees to flower or ants to sweet. Two decades after independence, people believed the young energetic woman who also happened to be daughter of Nehru. Above all, India is perhaps only country in the world where being a woman, trust by others is implicit and automatic.
Like a dream merchant, rousing the hopes of the underprivileged and making them conscious of their rights, she promised to wage a bitter struggle for them, against vested interests and the status quo. To the middle classes and the propertied she promised strong and stable governments at the Centre and in the states, besides full scope for the private sector to play an active role in the mixed economy.cxxixBipin Chandra: In the Name of Democracy: JP Movement and the Emergency. The latter only meant the advancement of industry of her son Sanjay who wanted to manufacture a small car called "Maruti".
She knew how to work a crowd. Apart from her emotional rhetoric, projecting herself as a defender of the poor and a keeper of India's honour and integrity, she also knew how to play on regional sentiment as well. She wore her sari in the Gujarati style when she visited her husband's home state and called herself Gujarat's daughter-in-law. In Kohima, she would don a Naga skirt and headgear, in Punjab she would wear shalwar–kameez and dance the bhangra. Mrs Gandhi won the 1971 elections with a stunning two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha and the victory was entirely due to her own charisma.cxxxEmergency: A Personal History by Coomi Kapoor (2014) Her height was 5 feet 4 inches but she chose a raised hairstyle which made her look taller. Indira was and still very popular leader. She certainly had a kind of Charisma. But then most poisons are also attractive.
Remember what Shashi Tharoor said when Modi would wear the traditional head gears of North East? "Outlandish" was his remark. I wonder if he would be asked if Indira used to wear 'outlandish' outfits?
In 1971, she led India to a victory over Pakistan which resulted in creation of Bangladesh. But inflation was beyond her control. She detonated a nuclear device in 1974 and stunned the world. She was all powerful world leader. She did not like dissent. Autocrats are successful people. They are not made out of ordinary performance like a dream merchants. They take decisions but they do not like dissent at all, what to speak of authority of another.
Emergency
The economy of India never really took off as it was expected. Under Indira the economy turned worst. Indira was perceived to be a non-performer. The war of 1971-72 in East Pakistan, though helped Indira win the elections, it made economy worse. In 1974, the Opposition was closing ranks behind Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) who was a Gandhian who fought neck to neck in freedom struggle along with Nehru. JP was leading a student and youth agitation against the government. The pressure was building up for Indira to quit the Government. There was ongoing strike call in many places in Railways under George Fernandes.
One man who was prescient enough to foresee an Emergency-type situation in the offing was B.N. Tandon, the joint secretary in Indira's secretariat who interacted with her on a daily basis. Tandon was the first man she met in the office every morning. An upright and perceptive IAS officer, Tandon wrote in his diary on 31 December 1974:
'...I am filled with foreboding . . . Gradually a crisis is building up which, if there is no improvement in the situation, will overwhelm the government. . . . The truth is that her domination has increased massively and is still increasing. JP and Morarji may be wrong about many things but they are right when they say that a cloud of fascism and dictatorship is hovering over the country. Their warnings are not misplaced... the prime minister will not flinch from anything to maintain herself in power. This could prove a big danger to our democracy. Individual liberties can be quashed.'cxxxiCoomi Kapoor, ibid.
In 1975, the Allahabad High Court found her guilty of dishonest election practices, excessive election expenditure and of using government resources for party purposes. Instead of resigning, on 25th June 1975, she declared a state of emergency and imprisoned thousands of her political opponents. Democracy was buried under blind stubbornness of Indira.
All she was required, as per orders of the court, not to vote in Parliament. She could continue as Prime Minister till matter was decided by Supreme Court. But the empress would have none of it. Indira invoked emergency powers of the Constitution on the ground of internal disturbance and suspended fundamental rights like free speech etc. Indira personally told a noted cartoonist that he has to comply with censorship compelling him to shift to Mauritius.cxxxiiSee https://www.moneylife.in/article/morarji-desai-was-the-only-politician-cross-with-me-many-others-asked-me-why-didnt-i-do-a-cartoon-on-them-rk-laxman/5005.html
Her action was challenged and came up before Supreme Court in a case titled ADM Jabalpur case or Habeas Corpus casecxxxiiiADM Jabalpur vs. Shiv Kant Shukla, 1976 (2) SCC 521 in which it was contended that right to life was part of fundamental rights which could also be suspended and therefore a person arrested had no remedy in law including habeas corpus. The dedicated judiciarycxxxivIndira superseded the three senior most justices of the Supreme Court in order to appoint pliant A.N. Ray as Chief Justice of India. which was managed by brow batting and supersession, refuse to interfere with invocation of Emergency Powers.
According to Coomi Kapoor, a journalist, the plan to impose the emergency was conceived in January itself. According to her "a handwritten note by the West Bengal chief minister Siddhartha Shankar Ray, which has come into the author's possession, reveals that the smooth-talking Ray, who fashioned himself as a progressive liberal, had, along with Law Minister H.R. Gokhale, Congress president D.K. Barooah and Bombay Pradesh Congress Committee bagman Rajni Patel, conceived of the idea of an internal Emergency and mass arrests of political opponents back in January that year. Ray's note of 8 January 1975 to Mrs Gandhi spelled out the details of the plan to be put into operation."cxxxvISBN: 978-0-670-08758-7: Emergency: A Personal History by Coomi Kapoor (2015) Penguin.
Right to life was suspended. Press was censored. Electricity supply to newspapers was disrupted. In addition to jailing opposition leaders or placing them under house arrest, twenty six political organisations, ranging from a Hindu party (RSS) on the Right to Marxist groups on the Left, were banned. The Communist Party of India, which had endorsed the Emergency was spared.
Cabinet
The Cabinet is the key committee in the executive in a Parliamentary system of governance. It usually consists 20 or so ministers, drawn mainly from the largest party in the Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister is first among equal and decision making is collective responsibility of Cabinet which makes the final 'decision' on policy to be submitted to Parliament.
Although cabinet may not actually decide the fine details of a policy, it remains the place at which the most important decisions are registered. Thus the cabinet has the final role to give formal approval to decisions taken elsewhere. Prime Minister is neither head of State nor is he head of Government. He was merely an instrument in the Government of Her Majesty the Queen of England. In India the Government is that of President of India but position of Prime Minister remains the same.
However both Nehru and Indira had no respect to this fundamental constitutional position. Nehru took first decision of appointing rather continuing with Mountbatten as Governor General of India after 15 August 1947 bypassing the cabinet.cxxxviSee https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/opinion/when-nehru-erred (An article by K. Natwar Singh, an admirer of Nehru and an ex-congressman) This was not his last solo decision. Reference to UNO about invasion in Kashmir is another such matter in which he by-passed the cabinet.
Indira went a step further. She invoked emergency powers from the Constitution without consulting the cabinet. To her credit, she did inquire from S.S. Ray expressing her doubts and was assured by a pliant Ray in these words:
"….Could she recommend a decision to the President without first consulting her cabinet? Ray obligingly looked up the Business Rules and came to the conclusion that she was empowered to act on her own under Rule 12 and depart from the normal convention of first consulting her cabinet. (This suggestion is also mentioned in Ray's 8 January letter.)"cxxxviiCoomi Kapoor ibid.
As recent as in 2006, a British author has expressed the role of Cabinet as under:
"...The notion of collective cabinet responsibility may be traced back to these early days when it was acknowledged that the Cabinet should agree on policy in public, support the proposals and policies of the government in public and, in the event of the government being defeated in Parliament, then the Cabinet (and therefore the government) would resign. As Lord Melbourne said to his Cabinet in 1841, on the issue of the Corn Laws: 'Bye the bye, there is one thing we haven't agreed upon, which is, what are we to say? Is it better to make our corn dearer or cheaper, or to make the price steady? I don't care which: but we had better all tell the same story.'..."cxxxviiiThe Prime Minister and Cabinet by Stephen Buckley (2006) Edinburgh University Press, at page 28.
The convention of dilution of Cabinet by Congress Party continued in Manmohan's term in 2004-2014. It was described by Sanjay Baru as under:
"...While in times of a crisis or an emergency—including economic crises, war and natural disasters—the Central government can mobilise and deploy its power in ways that override the power of the states, in normal times the Centre's real power derives only from its control over fiscal resources, and the security and intelligence apparatus. Even then, a prime minister is constrained by the Cabinet form of government in which he is, at best, a 'first among equals'. Coalition governments impose further restrictions on prime ministerial authority. In the case of the UPA, the PM's authority was further curbed by the nature of power sharing between the Congress party president and the PM…."cxxxixSee ISBN 978-0670086740, the Accidental Prime Minister by Sanjay Baru.
It appears except for the Congress Party, everyone in the world understands the role of Cabinet in Parliamentary Democracy perfectly well.
1977 Experiment
India is the only country in the world which is said to be ruled by foreign rulers for 800 years. This clamour is made by members of BJP, more often. But it is not entirely true. The rule over Delhi is not the rule over all of India.
India had a concept of Raja i.e. King and Maharaja i.e. Greater King. Maharaja had many names, Chakravarti or Chhatrapati were two of such names. While India had Kings, the Maharaja was missing. There was obvious lack of leadership among the Kings to select one. The Arab, Turk and Mangol (called Mughal) invaders took advantage of the situation. So did the British. They came, defeated few Kings but entered into alliances with remaining Kings and became Maharaja of India. It was a void of pan-India leadership which caused vacuum. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj filled this vacuum and got rid of most of Mughal rule but did not have successors for ever.
Struggle continued in many vast areas and some time natives would win and some time they lose. Yet, India survived the 9000 yearscxlThe civilization of Mehrgarh in Sindh in neighbouring Jihadi country is carbon dated to be 9000 years old. old civilisation. Often the resilience came from camouflage and corruption. People had to lure corrupt civil servants, when compassion did not work, to survive.
Coming back to emergency, in 1976, everything was so calm in India that it was unbelievable. Intelligence Bureau reported to Indira that everything was fine and she was very popular. It reported, "inflation was fine, food supply was good and trains were running on time and people are very happy. Indira was more popular than ever." Believing the report, Indira decided to hold elections and she lost.
A similar calm is sensed now. When asked, the poor, the working class beneficiaries of Modinomics do not answer .What to speak of defending him. They choose to remain silent. The silence is perplexing.
As stated above, the search for pan India leadership is not new and is continuing. In 1977 Morarji Desai became Prime Minister as leader of the Janata Party which won majority. A first non-congress government headed by an ex-congressman. His 2 year tenure from 1977 to 1979 as PM had one achievement that it brought inflation under control. Barring this single achievement, the entire tenure had controversies and dog fight. Morarji also introduced first demonetisation of high denomination currency notes.
The octogenarian Morarji was uncompromising and rigid with holier than thou attitude. Morarji was unable to keep together the leaders who came from different parties into Janata Party flock and were now squabbling like toddlers. His son Kanti was accused of profiteering from his father's position who was allegedly hobnobbing with AmbanicxliThe Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani by Hemish McDonald (1998) Allen & Unwin, Australia.. His eccentric habit of drinking his own urine and advocating it as a medical solution for those who were unable to afford health care evoked much merriment and ridicule in the international media.cxliiCoomi Kapoor ibid. He was also obsessed with prohibition and would not visit a place where alcohol was served. Mathai, the Secretary of Nehru, places this description on him:
"Morarji has all the fads of Gandhiji, minus his greatness, plus ample obstinacy and no compassion."cxliiiReminiscence of Nehru Age: Truth about Jawaharlal Nehru at page 256 (1978) Vikas Publishing House (P) Ltd.
The constitutional amendments passed during the Emergency, by Indira, were undid and ensured that in future no such powers be invoked. The other act of Morarji was appointment of the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission (SEBC). Later it was called Mandal Commission, after the name of it's chairman B.P. Mandal. More about it, later.
It is rumoured that Morarji was briefed by intelligence agencies that they had found out as to where the laboratory was situated in Pakistan where it was assembling nuclear device but Morarji shared this information with his counter part in Pakistan. It is however a fact that Morarji was awarded Nishaan-e-Pakistan in 1990 by Pakistan. Morarji was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1991. A decade later, Prime Minister I.K. Gujral (April 1997 to March 1998) went a step further and wound up all operations of intelligence in the Terroristan. A blow which India could not recover even a decade later.cxlivSee https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20081222-india-s-al-qaeda-738522-2008-12-11 However Gujral was not bestowed any honour by Pakistan.
Morarji refused to surrender the leadership of the Janata party, even after his leadership had failed and many leaders had left the party. In the 1980 elections he campaigned for the party but did not contest for Parliament. Janata Party lost in 1980. First experiment of non-congress government failed. Indira was re-elected.
Good publicity
With all the squabbling within the Janata Party and one agenda of persecution of Indira, media presented Indira as a victim, a role she played very well. There is no such thing as bad publicity. Every publicity is good publicity. Indira, not only had flair to dress to the occasion but she was queen of dramatics. This is the description of her arrest on 3rd October 1977:
"...When Mrs. Gandhi came to the door, they informed her that she was under arrest. She had been expecting this—as indeed had the rest of the country. Having told the officers that she needed time to gather some clothing, she left them standing on the doorstep. When she reemerged almost two hours later, she was wearing an immaculate white sari with a green border. In the interim, a large crowd had gathered, and those nearest the house showered her with rose petals and draped garlands over her. During the time she had kept the two policemen waiting, phone calls had been made: to the press, friends, party stalwarts, and members of Sanjay's Congress Party Youth Conference, all of whom had flocked to the house. (It was later rumored that Sonia Gandhi's pasta maker was put to use as a paper shredder.) Cries of "Indira, We will die together," were heard from the crowd outside. She asked the reporters gathered there to convey her regrets at being unable to keep a scheduled visit to Gujarat State the next day. Before consenting to go with the officers, the former prime minister insisted on being handcuffed."cxlvThe Fall and Rise of Political Leaders: Olof Palme, Olusegun Obasanjo and Indira Gandhi by Leslie Derfler (2011) Palgrave Macmillon UK.
How many people know as to what to dress when getting arrested? On February 6, 2019, Priyanka Vadra, great grand daughter of Indira, rides along with her husband to drop him at the office of Enforcement Directorate at New Delhi in a blue suit and cream coloured dupatta, wrapped around the neck like a muffler. Was that dress, good enough to evoke empathy? Did she even knew, how her great grand mother would do it?
A goddess for her admirers, Indira was more of a demon for her critics, who accused her of damaging the civil service and the independent judiciary - and of almost destroying the Constitution during her proclaimed state of national emergency.
Indira won the elections of 1980 and came back to power. But she was not the same person. Brief incarceration may have mellowed her but it did not change her.
Tukde Tukde
According to a Vedic view, the world moves in cycles. Events repeat itself over and over againcxlviBut there is another view which disagrees. According to Mimansa we live in a constant world.. There is no novelty in happenings. Just like the India's search for leaders.
On January 11, 2019 Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan was convicted for ordering murder of Ram Chander Chhatrapati, a journalist. Earlier on 25 August 2017, Ram Rahim was convicted of rape by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court. More than 200,000 people had gathered near the court premises ahead of the verdict in Panchkula, Haryana. Following the conviction, there was violence and vandalism in Haryana, which was brought into control by heavy Police Arrangement.
Ram Rahim was the head of the Indian social group Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) since 1990. DSS has millions of followers. Both the above crimes were allegedly committed in 2002 but he was never arrested and remained through out on bail. He had considerable political clout and had earlier supported Congress PartycxlviiSee http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/amid-depleting-clout-dera-chief-s-kin-loses/921158/ only to support BJP in 2014.cxlviiiSee https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/baba-bling-controversial-dera-chief-has-multi-faceted-persona-thrives-on-claims-controversies/story-MAQGI0c4oFJvWeE0lP6bQI.html
Ram Rahim was formally arrested at the court, after the conviction. After his arrest, with heavy arrangement of police and paramilitary force, his ashram was searched and demilitarised i.e. weapons etc. were recovered and removed, with some people placed under arrest.
How would Indira had dealt with such situation? Actually she did deal with such situation rather arrogantly and it cost her life.cxlixSee Amritsar, Mrs. Gandhi's last battle by Tully, Mark; Jacob, Satish (1985) Rupa & Co. Kolkatta. Those who live by sword, die by sword, it is said.
Sikh religions, like all religions, too has many factions. Jarnail Singh Brar alias Jarnail Singh BhindranwaleclBhinder Kalan was the name of village from which Jarnail hailed hence Bhinderwale or 'From Bhinder'. Interestingly it is similar to prefix 'Al' in Arabic. Jarnail too is a Punjabi derivative of 'General' in English. was a leader of the Sikh organization called Damdami Taksal. It is allegedcliAkshayakumar Ramanlal Desai, Expanding Governmental Lawlessness and Organized Struggles (1991) Popular Prakashan. that in 1970 itself Indira had supported Bhindranwale in a bid to split the Sikh votes and weaken the Akali Dal, its chief rival in the state of Punjab. Bhinderwala was similar to the Tukde TukdecliiSee https://www.dailyo.in/politics/why-indias-real-tukde-tukde-gang-needs-to-be-reined-in-to-save-the-idea-of-india-bjp-separatist-anti-national-assam-nrc-kashmir/story/1/28021.html gang of today which is being supported by the grand son of Indira, for last few years.
When Indira lost power in 1977, she had not expected to return to governance very soon. The defeat was so massive. There were vide spread strikes in industries by the trade unions affiliated with INTUC and CPM, her allies to destabilise the Janata Government.
In 1978 Indira supported the candidates backed by Bhindranwale in the Gurudwara Elections (SGPC) through Giani Zail Singh and allegedly financed the initial meetings of the separatist organisation Dal Khalsa. With the help of Indira, Bhinderwala had become a major leader in Punjab and by 1980 had started to foment trouble by actively instigating the youth. He preached the disaffected young Sikhs, to abstain from drugs and alcohol encouraging them to return to the path of Khalsa by giving up consumerism in family life.
Khalsa means pure and it was name of an army founded by tenth Guru to fight Aurangzeb and to protect Hindus from his islamic conversion war. Every family had to give eldest son for Khalsa, for protection of rest. Bhinderwale turned around the whole concept and apparently quite successfully, as his following did grow rapidly.
Akali Dal, a regional party of Punjab after losing the elections of 1972, instead of looking inward for improvement, passed a resolution demanding more powers for the State of Punjab. In 1982, Bhindranwale and the Akali Dal launched the Dharam Yudh Morcha (battle for righteousness) demanding the implementation of the said resolution which is called Anandpur Sahib Resolution.cliiiSee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anandpur_Sahib_Resolution
Bhinderwale had, in the meanwhile, joined hands with the Pakistan which were training terrorists and supporting the demand of sperate state of Khalistan. Training camps were sprung up in Lahore and Karachi.clivFaith, Unity, Discipline: The Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan By Hein Kiessling. Oxford University Press. Bhinderwale along with several terrorists took shelter in Sikh shrine i.e. Hari Mandir aka Golden Temple, in Amritsar. Negotiation was never a strong trait of Indira and after negotiations failed she ordered armed attack.
Operation Blue Star began on June 1, 1984 with the armed forces encountering machine-gun-wielding militants. The operation is described as:
"...The army sealed off the Temple complex and began pounding the outer defences laid by Gen. Shahbeg Singh. It also rushed tanks and armoured vehicles to the complex along with army helicopters which gave real-time information to its commanding officials. There was temporary ceasefire on 4 June when a team led by G. S. Tohra, ex-SGPC chief went in for negotiations with Bhindranwale on behalf of the government. However, the failure of the talks led to the recommencement of the hostilities, with firing on June 5 resulting in massive casualties to the Indian army and destruction of three tanks when the army units tried to capture the Akal Takht. The Operation countered more resistance for the next two days with continuous firing by the militants till June 7 when the army finally gained control over most of the Temple complex. A raging battle continued between the army and a small group of holed-up militants between June 8 to 10. When Operation Blue Star ended, there were 700-800 odd army casualties and over 500 militant casualties, including that of Bhindranwale, who was also reportedly killed in the operation. Government sources reported about 5000 civilian casualties..."clvSee https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-operation-blue-star-india-s-first-tryst-with-militant-extremism-2270293
The worst part was the timing of operation which coincided with the annual commemoration of the martyrdom of the fifth Sikh Guru Arjandev. Could they create the blockade around temple and wait? How long the supplies could last? These are the questions which are asked and remain unanswered. Another fact which went into hiding was the recoveries made from Hari Mandir, after the raid. It was shameful but now there is no talk about it.
Often media and opposition has grievance about Modi being authoritarian while Rahul Gandhi keep shouting him names. Is he an authoritarian? If yes so what was Indira?
Nehru's Personal Secretary, M.O.Mathai had a very low opinion of Indira and described her in a conversation with congress party leader K. Kamraj, as under:
"…...He related to me what Indira had said about him to someone whose word he would not question. She said "Who wants to talk to Kamaraj? He is such a bore." I told him that she was the type that would kick the ladder by which she climbed. He nodded agreement. Then he came out with devaluation and brinjals, and commented in Tamil,"chinna pennikku moolai illai,"meaning little girl has no brains. I said, "My dear fellow, you have discovered it too late. She has no understanding of economic affairs. Maths had always been one of her weak points. I do not think even now she ean add two and two and make four. She does not know the difference between an acre and a hectare. Why do you blame her? You have to blame yourself." Kamaraj kept Quiet….."
Indira had imposed an income tax of 97.75% which she reduced to 75% in budgetclviSee at page 96 of this book. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Qydb7X45MzYC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA96#v=onepage&q&f=true of 1974. If other taxes like Wealth tax is added this may exceed 100%. Why would people work to earn in such situation? People migrated to other countries. But now we know, perhaps her Maths was not that good, as told by Mathai.
Indira did come back to power in 1980 and in 1990 India went broke. It was due to default on payment of loans as it had no foreign currency left. It did not happen overnight. Between 1984 to 1989, Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister with 3/4th majority in the Lok Sabha. He had opened up imports in many sectors without any corresponding increase in earning in foreign currency. The subsequent coalition governments of V.P.Singh and Chandrashekhar hardly had much time. Therefore it appears, Rajiv certainly had his math wrong. That was long time ago.
Rajiv's son calls for number 'Pichatees' in Hindi which does not exist and alleges 50% commission in Rafale deal which is impossible. Maths does not seem to be good trait in the whole family.
New players have arrived on the scene today besides the Congress Party, in the politics in India. Are they really new and different from each other? Lets study their ideology.
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