The Hindu Editorial Book Vol 1-2

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First published: December 1978
Reprinted in November 2017
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© Kasturi & Sons Ltd. 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
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means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the

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prior permission of Kasturi & Sons Ltd.

Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai -
600002 and Printed by K. Srinivasan, Srikals Graphics Pvt. Ltd, 5 Balaji Nagar
First Street, Ekkattuthangal, Chennai - 600032, on behalf of Kasturi & Sons Ltd,
Chennai - 600002.
Editor: Mukund Padmanabhan
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G. Subramania Aiyar, One of the founders and Editor
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S. Kasturiranga Iyengar, Editor, 1905-1923

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We are pleased to reprint The Hindu’s book of one hundred editorials,

first published in 1978. This volume marked the newspaper’s views
over a ‘dynamic century’. Beginning with the first editorial titled
‘Ourselves’ in 1878, the editorials in this volume reflect The Hindu’s
opinions on the nationalist movement, the end of colonial rule, the birth
of a new nation and the slow march towards self-reliance and
consolidation. Together they provide a fascinating window to the key
events that have shaped the course of the history of India, and indeed
that of the world.
– Editor, The Hindu
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CONTENTS
1. Ourselves
2. Parliamentary Government and India
3. The Hon. D.F. Carmichael
4. Roar or reason?
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5. The Central Asian crisis
6. The Egyptian convention or
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7. Moral and political progress in native states
8. Responsibilities of university education
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9. Professor Ranganadham on social reform

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10. The conspiracy against the Congress

11. Lord Harris on Dadabhai Naoroji
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12. Where are the angels?

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13. What is the greatest boon of the British rule?

14. The late Sir T. Muthuswami Iyer
15. Hindu dress
16. Lord Sandhurst’s speech
17. Wise expenditure and ill-judged economy
18. The women of India
19. Ramayanam – By Mr. Romesh Chunder Dutt, C.I.E
20. In commemoration of the Queen-Empress
21. A martyr to low salary
22. Ministerial change in Travancore
23. The late Mr. J. N. Tata
24. The dawn of a great epoch
25. The failure of Arbuthnot & Co.

26. Economic boycott
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27. Psychical research

28. The reception of the reforms
29. George V - King Emperor
30. The Ashe murder tragedy
31. The Corporation and water supply
32. The magistracy and criminal cases
33. The Benson memorial
34. The War
35. Lord Hardinge’s viceroyalty
36. The internments
37. The great betrayal
38. The Punjab situation
39. The agony of the Punjab
40. The Moplah riots and after
41. Mahatma Gandhi’s arrest
Hyderabad — of the Middle Ages
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42.
43. The late Mr. E.S. Montagu or
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44. Side-tracking
45. Lord Reading’s administration
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46. A monumental farce

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47. The Golden Jubilee

48. The Butler report
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49. An egregious circular

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50. Peace
51. The Poona pact
52. The present political situation
53. A great son of India
54. Golden Jubilee of the Congress
55. Mr. De Valera’s gesture
56. War in north China
57. Munich Agreement
58. Sixty Years
59. The communal problem
60. Magistrate on the flying trapeze
61. A colossal blunder
62. Vindicated
63. Kasturba Gandhi
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64. The Japanese surrender

65. Nuremberg
66. Thyagaraja
67. Freedom
68. The universal man
69. The new Constitution
70. A Republic is born
71. Changing the Constitution
72. Kashmir
73. Everest conquered
74. The state and the individual
75. Goa
76. Mr. Desai’s ordeal
77. Official language
78. Our Front Page
Mr. Khrushchev’s ambition
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79.
80. or
Planning: Need for a new approach
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81. The Communist Congress
82. Naked aggression
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83. Cricketers All

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84. Jawaharlal Nehru

85. Towards closer Indo-U.S. Accord
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86. Food for thought

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87. A peculiar profession

88. Son problem
89. Congress vs. Congress
90. Giant Leap for Mankind
91. Toll of the heat wave
92. Pressures on the press
93. Rajaji
94. Supreme Court’s judgement
95. Some thoughts for J.P.
96. Justice Sinha’s verdict
97. India’s foreign relations
98. A few thundershowers indeed!
99. Decentralisation or economic romanticism?

100. The people’s verdict
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101. The meaning of this split

102. A Hundred Years
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Preface
T
HE selection of 100 editorials to mark the 100 years of THE
HINDU has not been easy.
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For one thing copies of THE HINDU are not available for
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five years in its early life, including the year when it was born.
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For another THE HINDU has been prolific, both quantitatively and
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qualitatively, in the variety of subjects on which it wrote all these

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hundred years and any one who wants to pick and choose is
confronted with a surfeit of excellent material and the problem is what
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to discard.
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Fortunately for us the first editorial of THE HINDU was preserved

by one of its founders, M. Veeraraghavachariar, and we have been
enabled to publish it in this volume. It is not certain whether it is the
complete editorial or only the most important parts of it but it has all
the appearance of being a finished product. To make up for the
missing years, three extra editorials have been chosen to complete
the tally and two more have been added in view of their importance
and significance, bringing the total to 102.
One editorial has been selected for every year of THE HINDU
(except in some years where there are two) and in making the choice
the effort has been not to concentrate on politics which is the staple
food of Indian newspapers, but to cast the net wide to include
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as much of variety in the topics presented, serious and light, as

possible. It is inevitable that a major number of the editorials should
relate to the nationalist movement and its leaders and to the alien
rulers and their policies, for THE HINDU was the torch-bearer in the
fight for independence and for over 60 years its battle cry was
“Freedom”. They tell a story of faith and hope in the Victorian era
relentlessly moving on to the age of disillusionment and despair and
culminating in the saga of the battle for freedom under Gandhiji.
THE HINDU was from the beginning a keen observer of the

international scene and the editorials presented in this book are a
representative sample of its outlook and perceptive insight in world
affairs.
THE HINDU’s interest in social and cultural problems is reflected

in some of the editorials, not to speak of its devotion to sport which is
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represented in the editorial with the title “Cricketers All”.
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THE HINDU specialised in light editorials which sparkled with
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humour and wit but unfortunately not many could be included because
of the limitation imposed by the choice of one editorial for every year.
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The editorials collected here represent a cross section of the views

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and thoughts expressed by THE HINDU over a century and will afford
an interesting glimpse into the heart and mind of the great men who
made it what it is today.
DECEMBER G. KASTURI
1978 EDITOR
Although copies of THE HINDU for the first three years are not available, its first
inaugural editorial “Ourselves” was preserved by one of its founders, M.
Veeraraghavachariar, but it is not certain what follows is the whole of that
editorial or only the most important parts of it.
SEPTEMBER, 20, 1878
Ourselves
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N ACCORDANCE WITH LONGSTANDING ETIQUETTE OBTAINING among the
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journalistic community, we, seeking admission into it as a new
member, herald our first appearance before the public, by a leader
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rather ostentatiously styled “Ourselves” in which we will

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presently set forth the circumstances that justify the appearance of a

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new paper, its professed intentions and aims, the line of policy it
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proposes to pursue and the principles by which it is to be guided. It is

with great diffidence that we usher this paper into existence presuming
that the indulgent public will give us a warm reception by supporting
and encouraging us in spite of our shortcomings.
We shall confine ourselves as much as possible to Indian politics.
We do not belong either to that class of men who altogether ignore the
superiority of western rule and find fault with everything the
Government does or to that of those who are so far carried away by
the influence of their English education as to cry down everything
native and advocate as a rule the preferability of western institutions
to those of our community. With many Anglo-Indian statesmen such
as Sir Thomas Munro, Sir Henry Lawrence and several others we are
of opinion that there has been a tendency on the part of our rulers to
interfere too much in the internal administration of the country. We

are inclined to be conservative as much as it is
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consistent with the national progress of the nation. The whole world is
destined to be guided by Europe and it will not be desirable even if it
were possible to withstand the pressure of the European influence
brought to bear upon us by the spread of western knowledge and
civilisation among us. The principles that we propose to be guided by
are simply those of fairness and justice. It will always be our aim to
promote harmony and union among our fellow countrymen and to
interpret correctly the feelings of the natives and to create mutual
confidence between the governed and the governors. In religion
though there have been of late occasions to look with unpleasant
feelings and suspicion upon the conduct of a particular sect of
missionaries, we shall observe the strictest neutrality; sectarian
disputes we shall never allow to appear in our columns. But when
religious questions involve interests of a political and social character
we shall keep our columns open to any prudent remarks and
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criticisms.
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If our attempt proves successful we shall have reason to
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congratulate ourselves and feel proud that we have succeeded in
doing what we consider to be our duty. But owing to a want of
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encouragement and co-operation from the public if our attempt follows

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its predecessors to the ‘undiscovered country’, we shall retire from the

field with the melancholy conviction that the native public of South
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India are not prepared to support among them more than one native
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newspaper and beg the pardon of the public for having disturbed their
equanimity.
“To India this is a very crucial period. The time has come when her matters
must be set right, with the help of the ablest master-mind available. A
thousand of her questions, each of which is very imminent, have been
postponed with the expectation of a time when the British Government may
have leisure to consider them. When this leisure will come is not certain ...
what then is the remedy? To us a more independence in the matter of
Government, whenever that day may come when the people may be fit for it
seems to be the only remedy”.
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SEPTEMBER, 2, 1881
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Parliamentary Government and
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India
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NDIA IS A FOOTBALL BETWEEN THE TWO POLITICAL FACTIONS of England;
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without enjoying any of the advantages of party government, she

is subject to all its disadvantages. She has no voice in the election
of the members of parliament, and the motives,
therefore of English statesmen in administering the affairs of India are
simply those of justice and humanity. England is not bound to us by
the ties of a common nationality or a common religion; on the other
hand too many of those whom she deputes to exercise her immediate
power over us are actuated by the strong impulses of an assumed
superiority in civilisation and morals. The great body of the English
public have no idea of this their most important dependency; nor do
they care to inform themselves of its affairs and interests. Their own
constitute a world of anxiety to them and they are content to leave
alone the questions relating to other countries. In the midst of the

responsibilities which the vast Empire of Britain with her
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numerous colonies imposes on her statesmen, the attention that these

statesmen can spare for India is comparatively nil. The British Empire
is simply colossal; it includes the whole island continent of Australia,
South Africa, Canada, and others of various sizes, amounting in all to
more than forty in number. The Colonial Under- Secretary, Mr. Grant
Duff, gave a very striking description of the magnitude of these
colonies, in his recent speech to his constituents, an extract from
which we published in our last issue. Each of these colonies is in itself
sufficient in extent and importance, to tax the whole energy of the
ablest statesmen. These colonies are every day increasing in
importance. England cannot do without them. With an area equal to a
few Indian districts put together and with a population of 40 millions
increasing in wealth every year, colonies form the very life of the
English nation. They are a manufacturing people, having hardly any
rural population. They indeed once had a noble peasantry of which
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England was justly proud. But her old peasantry has been either sent
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away to foreign colonies or has been superseded by machines; and
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even the remaining agricultural population shows a tendency to
diminish rapidly. Large estates absorb small ones, and the villages are
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becoming cities. England in fact is now a country of cities, each of

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which is an important manufacturing centre. This absence of a

considerable population having interest in land is a great source of
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weakness to that country. The industrial population, too, is not in a

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flourishing condition; they lead a miserable life. The poor law is

becoming more and more important as it is availed of more and more
by the poor. This poor law is at the same time a blessing to the
destitute and the lazy, and a curse to the more honourable portion of
the low-class. Those who disdain to throw themselves on the support
of the world’s charity and resolve to maintain themselves on the
strength of their own hands, are taxed to support the less prudent and
the less industrious. Wages are unsteady and strikes and trade unions
are, therefore, more and more resorted to. The contest between
labour and property is thus becoming harder every day. The sympathy
of the ruling class does not seem to be much towards those helpless
people. The imperialists desire to establish the prestige of their
country abroad, while misery and poverty are stalking beneath

their guilded
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carriages. Meanwhile the industrial hands are replaced by machinery,

and the cotton bales of Lancashire are increasing in gigantic
proportions. Thus both the decreasing room for manual labour and the
increasing manufactures by machinery render the colonies more and
more important to England. Commercial interests form the most
important feature in the foreign policy of English ministers. Parliament,
which is the representative of the wealthy of the country, necessarily
becomes more and more exclusive. So vast an area of colonial
Empire, bound to the mother country by such essential interests, taxes
fully the attention of the imperial Government. The independence
accorded to the local Governments of these colonies enables them to
resent any injustice from the imperial Government. The colonies and
the mother country are thus bound by mutual obligations. India is in
no such position. She can be used in any way the imperial
Government may like; her industries may be suppressed in the
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interests of those of England; her exchequer may be appropriated for
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the party purposes of English politicians. Her mouth can be gagged.
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In fact she and her millions may be treated like blocks having no
feelings or interests like those of the ruling class. Her complaints are
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not listened to. The statesmen of England may be actuated by the best
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motives; but charity begins at home; and sympathy with foreigners

must yield to the demands of the kindred. At present England has not
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even a breath to spare for India. Ireland is poking her in her side and
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she is divided between embarrassment and rage. The South African

colonies form another source of anxiety to the statesman of England.
Yet to India this is a very critical period. The time has come when her
matters must be set right, with the help of the ablest master-mind
available. A thousand of her questions, each of which is very
imminent, have been postponed with the expectation of a time when
the British Government may have leisure to consider them. When this
leisure will come is not certain. If the Irish difficulty is solved in some
way, another difficulty may arise. In an empire of such gigantic
dimensions, there will be always imminent questions demanding all
the available statesmanship of the country. And India is set down as
the last among the British possessions in the order of their claims on
the attention of the imperial Government. It will be indeed a glorious
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day for India when statesmen like Mr. Gladstone undertake to solve
Indian questions. But the day seems to be ever receding. Many of
these Indian questions have been in a state of postponement for the
last thirty years and more, and there does not seem to be any prospect
of the period of postponement coming to an end. What then is the
remedy? To us a more independence in the matter of Government,
whenever that day may come when the people may be fit for it, seems
to be the only remedy.
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THE HINDU vehemently opposed a farewell party to Mr. D. F. Carmichael,

member of the Madras Governor’s Executive Council. THE HINDU: “We are
compelled to protest in unqualified language and in the name of all that binds
the rich and the learned in solemn obligation to the poor and ignorant of the
same community, against the poojah which these men propose to make to
the Hon’ble D. F. Carmichael. We say, with the utmost pain, that the poojah
ought not to be made and Mr. Carmichael does not deserve it....
We thought for honour to have value it must be discriminating and it must be
deserved”.
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NOVEMBER 14, 1883or
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The Honourable D.F. Carmichael

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ROM THE LETTERS WE HAVE PUBLISHED IN OUR COLUMNS and from
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those that we publish today, the feeling of the native

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community with regard to the proposed Carmichael Poojah

will be apparent. When we were first told that such a
proposal was entertained by one or two leading native gentlemen, we
could not believe it; we refused to believe it. We believed that the
natives had too vivid recollection of the disasters that had befallen
them under the latest wave of that angel’s wings to regard him entitled
to worship any longer. But when a notice signed by the Honourables
G. N. Gujputee Rao, Humayoon Jah and T. Muthuswami Iyer, was put
in our hands, oh, what was our surprise! The three signatories are
honourable native gentlemen, for whose services to the country and
Government we entertain the highest regard, and for whom personally
no native has a higher respect than ourselves. But we thought that,
above all, they were citizens, bound by certain relations of mutual
obligation and carrying a trust, a responsibility, that was too sacred

to be slighted at the very time
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when that trust and responsibility acquired a heavier weight and more
profound significance. We wish we were able to express sufficiently
the sense of pain and reluctance that depresses us while writing
against the decided course of our citizens, whom we respect so much.
Yet we have a higher and more sacred trust to discharge; we have
imposed upon ourselves a task of representing public feeling and we
feel bound to discharge that trust to the utmost satisfaction of our
conscience irrespective of any result to our personal interests. We
write under full and accurate knowledge of the feeling of the great
mass of the people in this matter; and under an equally full sense of
the responsibility that attaches to our criticism of officials and citizens.
Writing as we do under these conditions, we are compelled to protest
in unqualified language and in the name of all that binds the rich and
learned in solemn obligation to the poor and ignorant, of the same
community, against the poojah which these men propose to make to
the Hon’ble D. F. Carmichael. We say, we say with the utmost pain,
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deserve it. The poojah is indeed to be made by Mr. Carmichael’s
friends and admirers, yes friends and admirers of Mr. Carmichael the
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Collector and Mr. Carmichael the Member of the Council, we suppose.

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Let us see what these friends and admirers can say in defence of the
poojah. Can they say that he was the friend of the country, of the ryots,
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of the poor working men, of the educated classes or even of the

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officials in general? Can they say that he fought hard for the
employment of natives in the higher branches of the public service?
Can they say that he was for giving their countrymen a status of
equality with his own countrymen? Can they say that he was for
extending the political liberties of the people? Can they say that his
administration was beneficial in its general results? Can they at least
say that the general results of his administration were free from
positive harm to the native community or that he employed his
knowledge and influence in preventing such results? We shall not
anticipate what these “friends and admirers” may say in the place of
meeting. But we can hardly bring ourselves to believe that these native
gentlemen, who have the welfare of their country at heart and who
resent the injuries done to their helpless countrymen, unable to

defend themselves against the oppression of
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unprincipled officials, could have so soon forgotten the loud wail of

oppression that filled the ears of every one in Madras and in the district
a year ago from the poor ryots of Chingleput. Could they have
forgotten how their poor countrymen were kept under the trees in hot
midday without food or water and dragged, day in and day out, from
house to court and court to house, to be threatened and otherwise
maltreated, because the helpless wretches no longer able to brook the
tyranny of their favourite “tiger” meekly cried against him? Could these
honourable gentlemen have so soon forgotten the utter ruin to which
hundreds of families of their countrymen of Salem were subjected,
because an incompetent official to whose timidity and want of
foresight the whole occurrence was to be attributed had to be
screened? How these “friends and admirers” relish the report of
Government to the Secretary of State that a spirit of lawlessness was
growing amongst the people and that lawlessness was to be put down
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and Government credited, by transporting innocent men and ruining
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Salem, how they relish this explanation, we cannot say. But we can
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say that the authors of that explanation are not the men to be adored
by the community so maligned. How will the wretched ryots of
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Chingleput, against whom last year and the year before last, warrants
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and summonses flew like arrows to hunt them out of the nooks and
huts where they had hid themselves to find a day of rest and repose,
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how will those ryots look upon their countrymen of wealth and
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influence, making poojah to one to whose omission to remove the

hand that smote them so bitterly, they attribute their sufferings? Will
the wretches of Salem who yet cling to their families, disgraced and
ruined, and between whom and the abode of their former patrons a
grim ocean now rolls, have a word of blessing for the worshippers who
honour the officers, in whose power it was to have saved them, but
who aggravated their misery bv tolerating a policy of vindictive,
oppressive and wicked cruelty? Let the men that will assemble for
worship on Saturday deny, if they can, the charges of commission and
omission which our esteemed correspondent vox populi, himself a
representative native gentleman, lays at the door of the retiring
Councillor’s administration. We thought for honour to have value it
must be discriminating and it must be deserved.
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The poojah-makers are indeed to consist of “friends and admirers”.

But these friends and admirers are not, we suppose, isolated
individuals, distracted from society, having no obligation to their
fellow-citizens; they are educated men who are citizens first and then
friends and admirers of one another. If their object of worship is an idol
of such holiness why do they shrink from inviting a general adoration
from the whole community? They must be conscious of the singular
character of the estimate which is utterly out of harmony with that of
the large majority of their fellow-citizens. The men that have initiated
this odious movement, owe their distinction to their position in society
and their relation to the public. Has the “friendship and admiration”
between them arisen from any relation of consanguinity or any other
relation than that of the respective public character of the persons
honouring and the person honoured? Now can their acts escape from
being construed that, by honouring an officer whom the community,
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as a whole, regard with feelings the reverse of esteem, they abuse the
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trust devolving on them by virtue of their social rank and commit the
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community to a course which they protest against? If these friends
and admirers honour their idol silently, individually without making use
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of a public place and without referring to his official deeds and vote a
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statue, the public will hardly concern themselves about their folly. As
an official, as a member of Government, they are going to honour Mr.
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Carmichael, and it is in that capacity he has made himself an object

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of the people’s intense dislike. In honouring Mr. Carmichael these men

do anything but honour their own community and to the injury that has
been accumulated, they are going to add insult of the most
exasperating description. Has it come to this? To be honoured by
natives can no longer be an honour. The officer whose obstruction has
tended to perpetuate the spoliation of our temples, who has ever
refused to interfere in our favour between us and the members of his
own service, who looked on with indifference while two districts were
being trampled under foot, who has done nothing to extend our local
liberty, who protested against raising the native to a position of
equality with Englishmen, who has striven to impose odious taxes and
revive barbarous and oppressive institutions, who has never
encouraged the ambition of the educated young men, who practically
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laid down flattery and personal attendance as passport to his favour,

and who has not done a single measure which may be countered as
beneficial to the country, and in fact whose administration has been
so devoid of positive merit, but on the other hand has been so
injudicious, onesided and arbitrary as to make him unpopular among
his own service, an official of this description is to be honoured in the
name of the community, by our countrymen in whom the country has
unlimited confidence and to whom they have hitherto looked for advice
and help in all matters concerning their welfare. We know that several
Englishmen simply laugh at the step that has been proposed and
wonder how it can be possible. In order to screen our community from
a reproach which they do not deserve we have raised our protest
against the step. Wc struggle for power, we claim equality with
Englishmen, we say we have honour, ambition, and aspiration, we
complain that Government do not respect our claims, that Englishmen
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look upon us with contempt and haughtiness born of imagined race
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superiority, we talk of patriotism and public spirit and we dream a
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thousand dreams of the future greatness of our country, we do all this;
but what are these boasts, claims and dreams worth, if we cannot
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defer temporary individual interest to the permanent interests of the

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country, if we cannot sink the individual in the citizen, if we cannot

discriminate the true object of honour and the object that deserves a
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distinct assurance of our resentment. In protesting against the

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proposed meeting to honour Mr. Carmichael, we are doing a duty

which we would fain have seen devolve on other men, but which in
recollection of our duty to our countrymen, we feel bound to discharge,
however painfully. We are aware that the names of the signatories are
such as to create confidence in some, and influence others to show
apparent sympathy, but there is a time when such individual relations
ought to be submerged in deference to public duty; and we call upon
our countrymen to recollect Salem and Chingleput when the notice
inviting them for the meeting is placed in their hands.
THE HINDU felt the two greatest of all obstacles to good government in the
country were the professional administrator and the adventurer. THE HINDU:
“Among their ranks have been many men, good and true. The majority of
them, however, are unsympathetic and unjust, enemies to reform and
progress, staunch advocates of the perpetuation of injustice to the people of
this country. They live in the land no doubt, but apart from its people”.
JANUARY 23, 1884
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Roar or reason? or
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B
RITISH ADMINISTRATION IN INDIA IS PASSING AT PRESENT through a
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transition stage. This is the first critical period of the post-

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mutiny era when our English rulers have to take note of

changed times and to shape their policy in consonance with
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the new circumstances that have arisen. Whether the country

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prospers or not, whether the administration rises or declines in

popularity, whether the institutions of the land become national, native
and natural or remain foreign, exotic, unsuited and without the
elements of stability and permanence, whether British rule itself is to
stand or fall, all will depend upon the foresight, wisdom and tact which
are displayed in understanding and dealing with the new facts and
phenomena which meet the eye everywhere and which he who runs
may read. The mutiny marked the close of the era of repression and
annexation, of the age when the fell crew of the now historical English
“nabobs” hovered over the land feeding on its entrails and sinews,
when blunder and plunder formed the prominent characteristics of
Anglo-Indian administration. That dreadful and ever memorable event
opened the eyes of the English people to the condition of Indian

affairs. English statesmen realised the gravity of
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the situation and rose to the occasion. And the result was that the
Company ceased to be, the dark age of British rule passed away; and
the gracious proclamation of Her Majesty inaugurated the dawn of a
progressive and prosperous time for this country. A generation has
nearly passed since then, and the interval that has elapsed has been
in many respects marked by events and features of progress in the
history of our country that have been a marvel to the civilised world.
The future of the land, the future of English dominion in it, the making
or marring of reputations, all depend on the measure of recognition
and appreciation which the situation receives from the statesmen who
represent in this country Her Majesty and the great English people. In
these after-mutiny years the Viceregal throne has been filled by
several great and worthy statesmen who have shown themselves by
words and by deeds fully alive to the exigencies of progress. Lord
Lawrence himself, one who had been brought up in his early days in
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the traditions of bureaucracy, outlived them by the force of his
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character and his genius and in many ways contributed to the
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improvement of the administration. He enunciated the great principles
on which it should be conducted and with the prophetic eye of a
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statesman anticipated several of the measures, the adoption of which

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circumstances would soon force on the rulers. Lord Mayo was his
worthy successor. During his short tenure of office reformation was at
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its flood-tide. And, had life been spared him, he might have rendered
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substantial services to the people of this country. Lord Northbrook’s

lot was cast in evil times; he was continually hampered and harassed
by an unsympathetic and stupid conservatism at headquarters. And,
lastly, we have had, and still have in our midst, the greatest of
England’s proconsuls, the foremost of our Viceroys, the great apostle
of justice to India, Lord Ripon. While cordially recognising how far the
cause of progress has been furthered by these great and good men,
we cannot but feel how much evil has been done, how much good has
had to be left undone, by the operation of the two greatest of all
obstacles to good government in this country, the professional
administrator and the adventurer. Among their ranks have been many
men, good and true. The majority of them, however, are
unsympathetic and unjust, enemies to reform and progress,

staunch advocates of the
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perpetuation of injustice to the people of this country. They are birds

of passage. They have no interest in the future of this country. They
live in the land, no doubt, but apart from its people. Originally attracted
to its distant shores by the lust of wealth, the one guiding principle of
all their acts, the ruling passion of their lives here, is, by hook or by
crook, to make as much money as they can, to enjoy as much privilege
as they can, to wield as much power as they can. Each of these
classes forms of itself a vested body; the ranks of each are kept close
and unbroken, subject to no invasion and no curtailment of
prerogative. And the result is that they stand by each other at all times
and at all hazards. Governors and Viceroys come and go, but these
remain a good life-time in this country and life is to them one continued
round of pleasure, pastime, privilege, prestige and power. The official
class occupies all positions of influence and emolument, they give
judicial decisions with all the wisdom and authority of the Delphic
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oracle, they settle the revenue of the State, they are extensive
or
dispensers of patronage; and all these advantages of their position go
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to invest them with a halo of glory in the eyes of the people and
naturally lead to the plentiful burning of incense before them. It is no
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wonder that as the flames of incense rise before them, they are
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disposed somewhat to indulge in the pleasant dreams of fancy, that

they think themselves equal to any task and believe nothing to be
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beyond their accomplishment. Sir Henry Durand, late of Indian

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celebrity, is said to have written on one occasion: “I maintain I could

invent a dozen different philosophical systems, all of them starting
from points that would entitle them to a respectful investigation.” What
self-assertion, what extravagant bumptiousness! What a melancholy
exhibition of ignorance and folly, mingled with presumption! And still
we cannot say how many there are in the ranks of Indian officialdom
who will out-Durand Durand himself. And intimately associated with
the official class by many ties of kinship, blood, matrimony,
association, friendship, is the non- official community who hold
numerous positions of influence as members of Municipalities and of
Local Fund Boards, as honorary Magistrates, as Justices of the
Peace, etc. The very fact that they move in relations of close intimacy
with the leading European officials often goes to vest them with an
adventitious importance in
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the eyes of a subject and powerless people. Thus many

circumstances co-exist and co-operate to induce officials and non-
officials to make common cause whenever any crisis arrives in the
administration of affairs. Each class is in itself a stronghold of
influence, powerful for mischief, with a mighty organisation and
extensive resources, capable of offering a bold and united front to
every possible enemy, from whatever quarter, often fighting under the
same shibboleths and party cries. And united they form a compact,
impenetrable, and decisive opposition to all constitutional government
in this country. Whenever, therefore, any measure is initiated which
will curtail any of the privileges which they severally or in common
enjoy at present, or will augment the privileges and power of the
subject race and thereby lead them nearer even by a step to the
establishment, however distant, of the equality of all races before the
law, they raise a hubbub and a tumult, often knit together in solemn
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though secret, compact, almost always brought into conjunction by
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common interests. And then they rarely listen to the voice of reason.
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They find it prejudicial to their interests to take note of passing events
and the circumstances of the hour, to observe the changes taking
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place in their surrounding, the advance in enlightenment of the people

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among whom they live. All they care is to raise their voice and roar as
loudly as they can, against the carrying out of reforms. They have tried
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the tactics of roaring and rattling on more than one occasion. Such
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tactics have so far fortunately not succeeded; the tide of progress in

this country has been too powerful for them and has overborne in its
resistless sweep all obstruction and all obstacle. But still, Mrs.
Partington-like, they never cease to use their mop of opposition
against the Atlantic waves of reform. Lord Ripon’s policy in India has
been the mark against which they have directed their incessant
attacks. Against the policy of the Ilbert Bill, the official class sent forth
a very powerful and numerous contingent to cooperate with the solid
and serried ranks of the non-official community. Against the policy of
self-government which has been devised by our noble Viceroy, to
lessen the influence of the Indian official protests have gone forth from
the non-official community. Witness, for example, the speech of Mr.
Keswick at the now famous St. Andrew’s dinner at Calcutta. Thus

the greatest
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obstacles of progress in India are the professional functionary and the

mercantile adventurer. Well, we ask, what is to guide the policy of
responsible rulers like Lord Ripon, charged by the mandate of the
English people and the gracious Queen Empress with the task of
governing the affairs of this vast and diversified community, with the
extensive and valuable interests to safeguard and to advance? The
voices of reason and of truth and the calls of duty imperatively clamour
for justice to the people of this country, who have no voice or choice
in its affairs. The roars of interested opposition clamour, on the other
hand, violently and virulently for the perpetuation of injustice as the
history of the past two years has unmistakably proved. Well, the future
equally of the Indian people and of British dominion lies in the choice
between the two. Viewed in the light of the above considerations, the
now notorious Concordat fills and ought to fill, every thinking mind with
gloomy forebodings, with apprehension and dismay. That an
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irresponsible body of men should dictate the policy of a civilised and
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responsible Government is without parallel even in the history of this
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country. There is likely to be no serious harm done to the vital interests
of the people of this country so long as there is a strong man like Lord
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Ripon at the helm. But how sad the precedent will be with a weak-
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minded parasite on the Viceregal throne, it is dreadful to contemplate.

Once more, then, the question recurs to us what is to guide the policy
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of our rulers, “the harebrained chatter of irresponsible frivolity”, or the

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holy voice of truth and righteousness?

“If Russia is bent upon a war she will not withdraw her troops from within the
Afghan frontier as she has been demanded to do by the British Government.
It will then remain, for Her Majesty’s Ministers to issue an ultimatum and
formally declare war. The war is not of England’s seeking.”
MARCH 11, 1885
The Central Asian crisis

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USSIA IS DETERMINED TO FORCE A WAR UPON US. SHE BELIEVES
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that England’s difficulties in the Soudan furnishes too good
an opportunity to be passed over. There was a faint hope
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that the autocracy at St. Petersburgh might be persuaded to

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abandon its aggressive policy and by diplomatic

negotiations an arrangement might be arrived at which would satisfy
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both parties. But this hope is now dispelled by the announcement of

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the ministerial organ, the Daily News that negotiations have reached
a critical stage. If Russia is bent upon a war she will not withdraw her
troops from within the Afghan frontier, as she has been demanded to
do by the British Government. It will then remain for Her Majesty’s
Ministers to issue an ultimatum and formally declare war. The war is
not of England’s seeking. Various causes have been working, upon
the minds of the Russian statesmen and they induce them to uphold
perpetually a war-like foreign policy. They have inherited the mission
of carrying out the mandate of the greatest of their sovereigns to
establish the Russian capital on the Bosphorus: and the designs of
the disaffected subjects of the Czar necessitate occasional diversion
of the people’s minds from their revolutionary teachings to a so- called
national war abroad. It is hoped that the thought of a common enemy

threatening the interests of the Empire will induce the Czar’s
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ignorant subjects to forget his autocratic mis-Government and their

own demands for a constitutional form of government and to look upon
him with feelings of sympathy instead of dislike. It is impossible that
Russia can sustain the strain which such a policy must cast upon her
financial resources. The ignorant people who entertain a vague feeling
of reverence for their sovereign may part with their money under the
impulse of their excited loyal feeling. But the country must
nevertheless sink the second time into a state of insolvency if it
undertakes a war with England. A war between England and Russia
is likely to involve other European countries also. Turkey will, of
course, join England to revenge herself on her old enemy; although
England has done everything to justify her adopting an attitude of cold
reserve, yet it is the interest of Turkey to join England in any
engagement against Russia. If Germany means to interfere at all, she
might perhaps have done so earlier than now; even now it is to be
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hoped that Prince Bismarck will offer to mediate between the lion and
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the bear. It is hardly to be believed that without the encouragement of
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Germany or directly against her advice, Russia will be foolish enough
to play the costly game of war with England. If Germany, however,
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gives any sort of encouragement to Russia, England, we suppose,

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can calculate upon France offering her help as a counter move.

Meanwhile the northern Bear is restless. Russian troops are said to
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be moving southwards from the Caspian Sea, and if the Bombay

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Gazette’s information is to be credited, there has been already an

encounter between the Russian and Afghan troops. Altogether the
situation is critical and further information will be awaited with great
anxiety. The central Asian problem must be solved at some time if not
now. And if Russia is particularly anxious to have it solved now,
England will see no reason why she should not accept the invitation,
although any suggestion of an amicable settlement will not be
disregarded in the least. But she can under no circumstances tolerate
any encroachment on the integrity of Afghanistan which Her Majesty’s
Ministers are pledged to uphold both on account of their past pledges
and of the requirements of the safety of the Indian Empire.
“When therefore the final settlement of the (Egyptian) question is blocked at

the last stage by a power (Turkey) which did not care to co-operate and
represent her interests in the settlement of the question during the progress
of the negotiation, it will be open to England to say to the other powers who
co-operated with her that she had tried her best to arrive at a proper
understanding on the matter with Europe; that it is no fault of hers if that mode
of settlement is blocked and that since she cannot leave Egypt to take care
of itself there is no other course open to her but annexing it also to her already
overgrown Empire, however reluctant she may be to do so”.
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JULY 6, 1887 or
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The Egyptian convention

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HE INTEREST OF INDIA IN THE SETTLEMENT OF THE EGYPTIAN
question is the interest of having to pay for all the “little wars”
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of England carried on in the interests of her capitalists. The

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words “road to India” “key to India” and the rest have often
furnished convenient pretexts to the ministry of the day for
fleecing poor India of large sums of money to pay for the blunders and
to pacify the British taxpayers. On that ground the maintenance of the
consulate establishment at Teheran, the cost of the entertainment to
the Sultan in English soil, Mr. Gladstone’s first crime in Abyssinia in
1869, his second crime in Egypt in 1882, have all been paid for by
India. The first great act which endeared Lord Ripon to India is the
fight he made to obtain the English subvention for the cost of the
Afghan war 1878-1879. His second great fight for “evenhanded justice
to India” of which his mind and heart were so very full was his protest
against the call of his “great and honoured chief” to contribute to his
Egyptian crime, in which his Lordship was not, however, very

successful as India had eventually to pay £
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770,000. If between Mr. Gladstone and Lord Ripon, India has had
once to pay more than three quarters of a million for an affair for which
none is now more sorry than Mr. Gladstone, the interest of India will
be apparent in any final settlement of that question. It is, therefore, a
matter for very great regret, that at the finishing stage of negotiations,
at the point of obtaining the ratification of the Sultan, the Egyptian
Convention should be totally blocked. The power that has interposed
this block is no other than Russia which is bringing great pressure to
bear on the Porte against the ratification of the Anglo-Turkish
convention and demands the payment of arrears of the war indemnity
(for the Russio-Turkish war of 1876) still due! On the day of Her
Majesty’s Jubilee, France and Russia both sent strongly worded notes
to the Porte against the Anglo-Turkish Convention in which they
threaten to declare war if the Sultan ratifies the Convention. The
Sultan asked and the English Commissioner had agreed to extend the
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time for ratification until the end of the Bairam festival which was due
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on the 25th June last. But no intimation has yet been received of the
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Sultan having ratified the Convention; and we may be sure that His
Majesty dare not do it against Russia and France. There is something
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very unfortunate, if not humiliating, in all this opposition and delay after
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the Convention had received the Queen’s ratification, and Sir H.

Drummond Wolff notified to the Porte that he only awaited the Sultan’s
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irade for the exchange of the British and Turkish ratifications to be

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made We cannot but wish that Her Majesty’s ratification had been
delayed till the reply of the Palace was received to the requisition for
the Sultan’s ratification. The curse of the Sublime Porte has been its
inability to learn that procrastination has been the cause of all its wars
as the curse of the Stuarts and Bourbons was their inability to profit
by experience. If the Sublime Porte had learned expedition in the
despatch of business, perhaps Russia and France might have been
left without an opportunity of sending the threatening note to declare
war. But there is no reason to suppose that Russia has not been
watching the progress of the Convention with equal anxiety as
England, and has not bided her opportunity to make her hand felt at a
time when it will be most painfully felt. For she has already instructed
the Porte to say in reply to the requisition for ratification
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made by the sovereign that the Sultan would not ratify the Convention
unless the same was modified. One of the changes which Turkey is
made to propose is the impracticable and impossible proposal that
Turkey alone should be entitled to send troops into Egypt to restore
order in the event of internal disorder there. In the first place Turkey
had the right to interfere in 1882, when she did not; and England was
consequently compelled to interfere alone, as France then refused
even to cooperate; and India paid the piper by men and money. As
Turkey may or may not in future be in a position to interfere when the
occasion comes, England cannot afford to look on calmly when affairs
in Egypt again get out of order. In the second place, England did not
undergo all the anxiety and expenditure and India did not send her
men and money, simply to be told at last that Turkey alone had the
right to interfere in case of future disorders there. Now that the block
interposed by Russia and France is not likely to be removed by those
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powers in the way of the ratification of the Convention and the
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Egyptian question cannot and will not be allowed to lie unsettled,
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England has only two courses open to cut the Gordian knot — a bold
annexation pure and simple — or, a more accommodating diplomacy
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in regard to the interests of Russia in South-Eastern Europe. The

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prolongation of the present undefined occupation will be rendered

impossible. For obvious reasons, Turkey and France are at present
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both willing to do the bidding of Russia at any time in any manner in

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any question. Turkey dreads absorption and extinction. France wants

Russia’s help very badly. When England displays, therefore, a
disposition to drop the Egyptian question sine die, Russia will again
be at work; “note” will be presented by the Porte; the French Press will
clamour; and the French ambassador will “call” for the settlement of
the Egyptian question. We may be certain that the question of
annexation was carefully considered and solved before the
commencement of the Wolff mission. But it is probable that her
Majesty’s present advisers think that the policy of annexation has
assumed a new aspect from the evident disinclination of the Porte and
from the attitude of Russia and France to whom particularly every
possible concession was made by England, in order to arrive at an
understanding with Turkey. When therefore the final settlement of the

question is blocked at the
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last stage by a power which did not care to cooperate and represent
her interests in the settlement of the question during the progress of
the negotiation, it will be open to England to say to the other powers
who cooperated with her that she had tried her best to arrive at a
proper understanding on the matter with Europe; that it is no fault of
hers if that mode of settlement is blocked; and that since she cannot
leave Egypt to take care of itself there is no other course open to her
but annexing it also to her already overgrown Empire, however
reluctant she may be to do so. It is, therefore, yet possible that that
course may yet be decided upon by Her Majesty’s present advisers.
But then besides the irritation it will necessarily cause to the other
Powers who cooperated in the progress of the Convention now
blocked, it will certainly entail the obligation to show Russia some
accommodation in her exigencies in South-Eastern Europe. This
brings us to the consideration of the second alternative to the
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settlement of the Egyptian question we indicated above. The reply of
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Russia to England and the other powers who cooperated with England
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would only be that if England removes the block in the settlement of
the Bulgarian question according to Russia’s own fashion, Russia will
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remove not only her block in the settlement of the Egyptian question
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according to England’s own fashion, but also the Central Asian

scares! There lies the key to the position of Russia, and the origin of
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the block in the Sultan’s ratification of the Convention, and the

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periodical Central Asian scares of which Lord Dufferin is now being

treated to more than the usual extent.
“We are satisfied that most of the native states can challenge comparison
with British India so far as the material condition of their subjects goes. The
subjects of the former, especially the agricultural classes, are happier and
more well to do than their brethren of the British provinces. But the ideal
Government is not one which is satisfied merely by providing its subjects with
the means of meeting the requirements of their physical wants... We hear
nothing of the endeavours made in the other equally necessary matter of
promoting the moral and political education of the people”.
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JANUARY 19, 1888
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Moral and political progress in
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native states
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HE TELEGRAPH OF HYDERABAD SAYS THAT THE PRIME MINISTER of
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His Highness the Nizam is about to exercise his “prerogative”

of deportation with regard to certain servants of the State.
These servants are said to have carried certain
complaints directly to the Resident in violation of the prescribed
procedure, which insists on all communications to the Resident going
through the Prime Minister. The offenders appear, from the statement
of our contemporary to be, some of them, natives of Hyderabad and
others Europeans. We are not aware of the circumstances that make
this offence so heinous as to deserve the extreme punishment of
deportation. But we should take liberty to observe that the tendency
of despotic Governments is to indulge in their “prerogative” rather
frequently and also with respect to comparatively light offences. While
firmness and presence of mind are very valuable instruments of

successful administration in a State
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containing an unruly and intriguing aristocracy like Hyderabad the

Ministers of the State responsible for the well-being and progress of
the people should exercise tolerance and leniency and should not visit
all hostile criticisms of Government with severe punishments. With the
exception of Mysore, where the genius of the late Mr. Rangacharlu,
sowed the first seeds of political knowledge by inviting leading
merchants and ryots to an annual discussion of State affairs and also
by introducing some measure of local self-government, we see no
native State in all India making the least progress in the direction of
inducing the people to take part in the management of public business.
We expected a good deal from the present Maharajah of Travancore
whose enlightenment and culture have been a subject of praise and
hope throughout India. But far from progressing, Travancore has gone
on, since the accession of the present ruler, in a retrogressive
direction and at present presents the sorrowful spectacle of a learned
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ruler countenancing a regime of intolerance, espionage and
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persecution, which has made the deceased Maharajah the idol of the
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people. It is to be hoped that the little capacity for liberal and
progressive Government which the present Maharajah of that so-
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called model State, has shown himself to possess, will not be the
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sample of that of other educated young princes such as those of

Hyderabad, Baroda, Bhownuggar and Cooch Behar. We are satisfied
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that most of the native States can challenge comparison with British
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India so far as the material condition of their subjects goes. The

subjects of the former, especially the agricultural classes, are happier
and more well-to-do than their brethren of the British Provinces. But,
as we have often remarked in these columns the ideal Government is
not one which is satisfied by merely providing its subjects with the
means of meeting the requirements of their physical wants. The
ambition of most of the native princes does not soar higher than the
institution of what is said to be a liberal public works policy. The
construction of railways, parks, palaces and other public works, which
may be more magnificent than really useful, undertaken with much
cost and labour, is regarded to constitute the very acme of good
Government; and to complete the self-sufficiency of the ruler pursuing
such a crude policy, he is patted and flattered by the Residency

officials and
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the Government of India manifests its approbation by conferring on

him some high honorary titles. We do not in the least deprecate the
policy of investing State funds in public works, if it be founded on a
true appreciation of the wants of the people and of the financial
condition of the State. Such an investment is a much wiser course
than that of investing them in Government securities as some native
States have done. But we do deprecate a policy of bombast and
vanity, of doing things not so much from sympathy with the people as
from a desire to secure the good opinion of English officers and of the
Anglo-Indian press. Now, a native prince like Maharajah Holkar, one
of the worst of his royal contemporaries, who will not part willingly with
a pie from his treasury for any good object of government, readily
comes forward to spend thousands in ceremonies, fetes and in
general pageantry. Such a blind courting of the good opinion of
influential and distinguished Englishmen is an indication of .a most
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demoralising principle of administration, especially when it is
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contrasted with the utter absence of solicitude for the moral and
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political advance of the people. We have read a good deal about the
endeavours made in the native States to ameliorate the material
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condition of the people. All honour to the rulers that thus fulfil the first
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of their duties towards the numerous fellow-beings of theirs that

Providence has placed under their care, and all honour to their English
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and native advisers who instil and encourage such worthy ideas in
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their minds. But beyond this, we hear nothing of the endeavours made
in the other equally necessary matter of promoting the moral and
political education of the people. Within the past fortnight some events
of local importance have taken place in Baroda and Bhownuggar —
perhaps two of the most forward native States. The rulers of both
these Provinces are young and educated and are generally spoken of
highly. But the tendency of their administrations does not contain
indications of the course to which we complain that native princes and
native ministers are so generally apathetic. The Maharajah of Baroda
assured “General Watson, Ladies and Gentlemen” that he could and
would improve the condition of his capital and that they might look
forward to the time when the drainage of Baroda would be satisfactory,
when its markets and main streets would be broad and pleasant,
when its
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public buildings would be spacious, when the approaches to it from

the surrounding country would be numerous and easy;” and General
Watson, as in duty bound, congratulated His Highness in the name of
the British Government “who spends so much on works of public
utility, and who can feel no greater pleasure than to find rulers of native
States following their example in the same direction”. A correspondent
that writes for the Times of India an account of recent festivities at
Bhownuggar bears testimony to “the heartfelt loyalty, and the sincere
affection with which the unsophisticated (mark the word — Editor)
subjects of a native ruler look up to him as their veritable mabap,
literally mother and father” and says that His Highness seems to be
determined to use his surplus revenues in “acts of charity and
benevolence”. All this is good, which we regard as the sign of a new
spirit coming over the administration of native States. But what we
regret is the apparent indifference to an essential element of social
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well-being, the moral elevation of the people. The great progress that
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has been going on in British territories for the past twenty years has
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evidently had little effect on the neighbouring areas subject to native
administration. Yet it cannot be said that upon these latter English
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education has not trespassed. In Travancore and Cochin for instance

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there have been first rate Colleges and schools doing good work for
several years; and Christian missionaries’ have settled in larger
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numbers than in other parts of the country, yet the people remained
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“unsophisticated”; not regarding indeed the Maharajah as their mabap

— literally their father and mother — but working out their monotonous
life in perpetual dread of the Sirkar. We hope that a change for the
better will soon set in, and as communications are opened more
largely with the British Provinces and as English education makes
more progress, the subjects of native States will imbibe the spirit of
advancement and reform that at present animates the minds of their
fellow-subjects of the British Government and that has brought them
to the threshold of an era so full of promise in the near future. Much
depends upon the Ministers, who when they happen to be men of
education and capacity, naturally exercise much influence over the
titled rulers. It will be unworthy of their education, and infraction of the
duty they owe to their fellow-countrymen, if they yield to the
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temptations of despotic power and to the intrigues of court, and

neglect the moral education of the people whose ignorance and
servitude as well as the abject poverty must be a source of humiliation
to them. Political Residents should not be actuated by an unbecoming
jealousy against the diffusion of public spirit and political knowledge
among the subjects of the native States, but, on the other hand, should
encourage to the utmost of their power and opportunities every
attempt made in the direction in a manner worthy of the sons of
England — the motherland of political liberty.
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“Exact thinkers and speakers have their value in all times and ages. But what
India wants even more than these is a class of men who will devote
themselves with heroic self-sacrifice to the regeneration of their country.
Truthfulness, devotion, self-sacrifice and enterprise are the type of qualities
which education in India should aim at more directly than exactness in speech
and thought”.
FEBRUARY 11, 1889
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Responsibilities of university or
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A
T THE OPENING OF THE NEW BUILDINGS FOR THE ELPHINSTONE
College, in Bombay, Lord Reay made another of those
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remarkable speeches on education, which have contributed

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so much to the delight and enlightenment of Indian readers.

We recently had the pleasure of reviewing his masterly
speech at the recent convocation of the Bombay University, so full of
lofty ideals and practical wisdom, and on the occasion we are referring
to, he supplemented it by certain new observations which equally
deserve the earnest attention of all those engaged in the education of
Indian youths. When he said, addressing the students of the
Elphinstone College, that it was for them and their successors to solve
the problem of their own destinies and of the destinies of their country,
he gave utterance to what might be characterized as a truism. But this
truism is not kept in view always by professors and teachers, and the
students do not receive a serious impression of the responsibilities
they are contracting. The object that is kept in mind is the passing of
the University Examinations, and in the worry
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and haste that accompany the process of training they forget this
higher view of their future position. We believe that like all serious
works, the work of national education must have some definite object
in view; and although in every country higher education must be
directed towards the formation of individual character, and through it
of the character of the nation, still the degree of direct attention paid
to this object in schools would depend on the condition of the people.
In advanced countries the character of the individual and the nation is
not formed merely in schools. The home and the State contribute
largely to this result. Even more than the education received in schools
that of the domestic influence is powerful in European countries.
There are, besides, the numerous branches of the public service and
respectable professions, which constantly influence and direct the
tendencies of the people. The names of several great men who have
left their mark in European history but who owed little or nothing to
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their education in schools, can be mentioned. But in India both of
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these two latter influences are absent and all that moral force which is
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necessary to regenerate the nation has to be supplied more or less by
our schools and colleges. It is no doubt a serious defect which the
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Australian gentleman pointed among the results of our University

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Education. The character of the Indian mind possesses extraordinary

inherited powers of memory, but according to this gentleman it was
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lacking in aptitude for exact thinking. This charge we must admit to be

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true with regard to the present generation of Hindus. But it is not

certainly true of their great ancestors who were the authors of the
Indian systems of philosophy and the architects of Indian civilisation.
To those European scholars who have dived deep into our ancient
literature, nothing in it has appeared more striking than the exactness,
logical precision and boldness of their reasoning. With the decline of
our political power the intellectual manliness of the nation
disappeared, and two thousand years of anarchy and ceaseless
revolution have not proved indeed favourable to the best cultivation of
thinking powers. Times have changed, the beneficent British rule has
planted the seeds of peaceful progress; and it may be hoped that the
Hindus will develop those powers of mind for which their ancient sages
were celebrated. Meanwhile our Colleges and Universities have to

pay, in the present state of the
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country, more attention to moral culture than to exactness in speech

and thought. We do not say that this has been altogether neglected
hitherto. On the other hand, the modern generation of educated
Hindus is from every moral point of view superior to its predecessors.
In every walk of life educated Hindus have distinguished themselves
by their integrity and intelligence. As citizens, as public servants and
as professional men, they have satisfied a high moral standard. There
is indeed a disposition to cast discredit on them. As Dr. Peterson said,
there is a growing distrust of the educated classes, a latent misgiving
as to the wisdom of the policy of liberal education in India. But this
distrust and this misgiving are not genuine but merely feigned to cover
a selfish jealousy against the advancement of the people. Dr.
Peterson, like the professors of our leading colleges, is fully entitled to
resent the imputation that moral training has been neglected. Still, not
to neglect a duty is different from discharging it in the spirit of a
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conviction that it is the most important and direct object of University
or
education. Exact thinkers and speakers have their value in all times
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and in all ages. But what India wants even more than these is a class
of men who will devote themselves with heroic self-sacrifice to the
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regeneration of their country. Truthfulness, devotion, self- sacrifice

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and enterprise are the type of qualities which education in India should
aim at more directly than exactness in speech and thought. The Indian
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character has seldom been wanting in examples of what may be

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called passive virtues. Patience, personal attachment, gentleness and

such like qualities have always been prominent. But for ages together,
India has not had amongst her sons one like Gordon, Garibaldi or
Washington. The forcing of moral text-books on University students
will be absolutely fruitless. Nor is it quite enough to depend upon the
Christian ethics permeating English literature. It is from the lessons of
history and more especially from the biographies of those great men
who, from time to time have directed the destinies of nations that this
moral training in its highest sense can be achieved. Education must
adapt itself to the requirements of the age; and how else can these
requirements be best summarised than by condensing them in the one
expression, the general reinvigoration of society? In all departments
of life, the
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Hello Readers,
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Hindus require a vigorous, manly individuality, a determination to

succeed and to sacrifice everything in the attempt. A good deal is now
said and written about practical education, about technical schools,
and the development of industries. But all these efforts will be in vain
unless the character of the nation is improved. England, Germany and
Russia were at one time much poorer than India is at present, still they
have made marvellous advancement in material prosperity within the
last hundred years; and the only advantage they had over India was
the superior character of their people. Similarly, as the basis of all
social and political reform we want the elevation of the national
character. In our humble opinion, the best moral code of a nation is to
be found in the memorable examples of history. And more recent
these examples are, the better. We should think study of modern
history is a more powerful instrument of moral training than that of the
histories of ancient peoples. The history of England, Germany, Italy
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and the United States are much more profitable studies and more
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fitted to influence practical life than the history of Greece and Rome.
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We cannot but think that sufficient importance is not attached to this
most useful and interesting branch of study in our schools and
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colleges. There is another means of education which used to be more

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largely utilized some years ago than at present. The education

received out of lecture-rooms and from an intercourse with the
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professors is as important as that received within the four walls of the

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college. “My friend, Sir Alexander Grant”, said Lord Reay, “used
always to be ready at all times to see his pupils in his own study and
he attached importance to the conversation he held there with them,
almost more importance than to the influence which he exercised
through his eloquent lectures.” In our Presidency too, the same is said
of Mr. E. B. Powell, of Mr. Porter and generally of the earlier batch of
our professors. But of late, we must say, there has been a
deterioration in this respect. In the selection of professors and
teachers is not exercised that degree of care which the importance of
their function demands; and there is now less attachment to the work
on the part of the professors. The improvement of their fortune is with
them a more anxious concern than the true education of the students
entrusted to their charge. A professor is not merely a professor now-

a-days; in many instances
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he is half a dozen other things each of which brings an addition to his

income. It is almost impossible that a man can prove what a professor
ought to be. Leisurely conversations with the students or weekly walks
with them or any manner of social intercourse, evoking the thinking
powers of the students, improving their stock of knowledge, and
teaching exact speaking and thinking, are out of the question.
Speaking of the Elphinstone College, Lord Reay remarked. “If this
College is to be in the future what many of the pages of its history
show it to have been in the past, the torch lighting educated opinion in
this Presidency, then we shall have to show that we are in earnest in
the task which we have undertaken and I can assure you that no task
to my mind is more important and more arduous than that which falls
on the gentlemen who preside over the destinies of this College.”
These are golden words, and they quite aptly apply to the professors
of other Colleges in the country whether maintained by Government
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or by private bodies.
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“Every educated man is bound to think for himself and while condemning all
that is opposed to his sense of right and reason he should hold fast to those
that commend themselves to him. We do not forget that there are many
beliefs in regard to which a calm suspense of judgment is the wisest attitude
of mind. But to uphold and justify institutions and usages which are
condemned by the plainest reason but which happen to be upheld or justified
in a book of a bygone age is neither reason nor faith. We quite approve of
Mr. Ranganadham deprecating the tendency to accept our shastras as an
infallible guide to social conduct in these days”.
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APRIL 1, 1890or
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Professor Ranganadham on
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social reform
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I
N AN ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA in
1866, the late Sir Henry Maine expressed sentiments similar to
those of Professor Ranganadham’s in regard to social reform.
“There are native usages”, Sir Henry said, “not in themselves
open to heavy moral blame, which every educated man can see to be
strongly protective of ignorance and prejudice. I perceive a tendency
to defend these, sometimes on the ground that occasionally and
incidentally they serve some slight practical use, sometimes because
an imaginative explanation of them can be given, sometimes and
more often for the reason that something superficially like them can
be detected in European society... There is no greater delusion than
to suppose that you weaken an error by giving it a colour of truth. On
the contrary, you give it pertinacity and vitality and greater power for
evil.... They (the graduates) may be safely persuaded that in spite of
discouragements which do not all
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come from themselves or their countrymen, their real affinities are with
Europe and the future not with India and the past. They would do well
once for all to acquiesce in it and accept, with all its consequences,
the marvellous destiny which has brought one of the youngest
branches of the greatest family of mankind from the uttermost ends of
the earth to renovate and educate the eldest.” The guidance which
these sentiments were intended to furnish to the graduates of the
Calcutta University nearly fourteen years ago is exactly, it appears to
us, what Mr. Ranganadham wants the graduates of the present day
to follow. The affinities of modern India are undoubtedly with Europe,
that is, with reason, science and progress, but not with dogmas, with
superstitions and deterioration. The education that is imparted in our
schools and colleges, with all its defects, develops a wholesome spirit
of inquiry, and every graduate worth the honour of that name can be
persuaded to feel the absurdity of “assuming that all our thinking has
been done for us by our ancestors.” Every educated man is bound to
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think for himself and while condemning all that is opposed to his sense
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of right and reason he should hold fast to those that commend
themselves to him. We do not forget that there are many beliefs in
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regard to which a calm suspense of judgment is the wisest attitude of

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mind. But to uphold and justify institutions and usages which are
condemned by the plainest reason but which happen to be upheld or
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justified in a book of a bygone age is neither reason or faith. We quite

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approve of Mr. Ranganadham deprecating the tendency to accept our

Shastras as an infallible guide to social conduct in these days. We
think that in the following lines the sentiments which we have so often
expressed in these columns are reproduced. “The Shastras are
worthy of all reverence as handing down to us the traditions of a by-
gone civilisation. No social reformer can afford to despise them, or to
neglect their study. But it is abundantly manifest that rules and
observances and institutions that suited the men of a by-gone age can
hardly suit us, who live under a very different environment. The
method of finding in the Shastras chapter and verse in support of this
or that reform may carry us some little way forward and that only after
a long struggle over texts and interpretation; but I feel convinced that
such a re-casting and reconstruction as would
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eliminate from our social life the elements that have for so long held
an iron sway and paralysed our intellectual and moral energies, could
be achieved only by modifying the shastraic injunctions and not by a
tacit conformity to them. I have said that the method under criticism is
injurious and my reason for saying so is that what might be gained by
placing reform on a false basis is nothing as weighed in the scales
against what must be lost. This wrong method will and must stand in
the way of many important reforms that every true friend of India would
wish to see accomplished and I would, therefore, impress upon your
minds the necessity for giving this subject your most earnest
consideration.” Our evening contemporary has condemned this part
of Mr. Ranganadham’s speech as an infringement of the principle of
religious neutrality which the University is bound to follow. We
however see nothing of this infringement. Mr. Ranganadham did not
refer to the Shastras as the spiritual guide of the Hindus. If he had
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condemned the Shastras as failing to satisfy the curiosity and needs
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of a cultured man in his spiritual yearnings, he would certainly have
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been guilty of a breach of religious neutrality. He did nothing of the
kind. He referred to them as the authority which some Hindus rely
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upon in defending and following certain social and domestic usages

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most obnoxious to reason. And unless the University altogether

prohibits its annual speakers from referring to social questions at all
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— a procedure which we are confident that that body will never adopt
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— no enlightened Hindu seeking to edify his countrymen in the

principles of their conduct as individuals and citizens can avoid all
reference to the Shastras. Like Sir Henry Maine, Mr. Ranganadham
also might have so worded his admonitions as to avoid all mention of
them by word. But we are not sure that such avoidance will improve
his position from the point of view adopted by our contemporary.
Nothing can be more valuable in the present unsettled condition of
many of our social and political problems than distinct and
unambiguous advice. It will be absurd to tell our young men that they
ought to venerate the Shastras in the same spirit in which an illiterate
boor, or an uneducated priest venerates them. No nobler and no safer
guide can be recommended than one’s reason and conscience and
every dogma and every authority not consistent with the directions
of this
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guide ought to be summarily discarded. This is what Mr.

Ranganadham said and for saying that he has earned the thanks of
all thoughtful well-wishers of the country.
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An official notification prohibited Government servants from attending

Congress meetings. THE HINDU: “The Congress is a magnificent Assembly and
officials and non-officials may be curious to see what it is like. Anti-
Congressmen no less than Congressmen must share this curiosity.
Government seem to have deluded themselves into the belief that the people
of India will calmly put up with the insulting resolution as they have done with
other resolutions. There is, however, a limit for everything; and an impudent
aggression of this sort on the liberty of the people will be resented throughout
the country.”
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JANUARY 3, 1891or
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The conspiracy against the

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HE WOUND CAUSED BY THE OFFICIAL SECRETS’ ACT HAS HAD
T scarcely time to heal before another act of official folly has

placed the rulers and the ruled in a position of
uncompromising hostility if not positive hatred. The
indignation that was aroused in the Congress Hall by the ill-
advised and foolish notification in the Calcutta papers interdicting the
attendance of Government officials at Congress meetings has
suddenly radiated far and wide. Nobody could for a moment entertain
the faintest suspicion that a Government presided over by an English
statesman, trained in the free atmosphere of Britain and inured to the
tactics of party politics could be a party to the secret conspiracy set up
against the Congress by individual members among the officials. That
the representative of the gracious Sovereign who had pledged herself
to be bound to her Indian subjects by the same obligations of duty

as bind her to her English
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subjects should have committed himself to such an inconsiderate act

of wanton aggression upon the feelings of a people who, whatever
may be their shortcomings, have never lacked in their devotion to the
Queen and the British nation, should cause intense pain and surprise
in the hearts of all well-wishers of British rule. That solid foundation of
popularity which Lord Ripon had wisely laid and which the shrewdness
and statesmanship of Lord Dufferin did not allow to be seriously
disturbed, has been left to “the illustrious bearer of an historic name”
to be thoughtlessly thrown down. Jealous, suspicious and timid, the
Government have been devising one plan after another to take the
wind out of the sails of the Congress, forgetting that the wind which
they aim at has not been moving the Congress hitherto. There are,
indeed, English as well as Indian officials who heartily sympathise with
the efforts of the Congress for the reform of serious political abuses;
but their sympathies from the very nature of their position have been
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more or less of a passive character. A strong official phalanx, on the
or
other hand, has always been opposing it tooth and nail, setting man
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against man and race against race. A Lieutenant-Governor wrote
“Democracy not suited to India” and found a knee-crooking aristocrat
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in the Rajah of Bhinga to claim its authorship. Sir Syed Ahmed stood
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forth for a time as the head of the opposition; but the unholy alliance
with Rajah Siva Prasad and the Lucknow printer ended in the now
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famous war of the “patriots”. The Congress has been fighting its way
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independently of the support and in spite of the active opposition of all

such formidable men; and what is the result? Do the Government
expect anything better from the forced boycotting of the Congress by
their servants? But there is another side to the question, which is too
important to be ignored. How far is individual liberty to be restrained
by official position? It is, no doubt, a wholesome principle that
Government officials ought not to exert themselves in collecting
subscription from the public. We only wish that it had been adhered to
in all cases. Again no reasonable objection could be taken to the ruling
that Government officials ought not to take part in criticising the
Government, provided that the observance of the rule is more
consistently enforced. But to go beyond this, to dictate his private
movements, to limit his enjoyments, to forbid his communion with an

individual or a body of
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individuals, to direct where he is to go and where he is not to go, is

unalloyed despotism which those entrusted with the administration of
India ought to be ashamed to proclaim to the civilised world. The
Congress is a magnificent assembly and officials as well as non-
officials may be curious to see what it is like. Anti-Congressmen no
less than Congressmen must share this curiosity. Government seem
to have deluded themselves into the belief that the people of India will
calmly put up with this insulting resolution as they have done with other
resolutions. There is, however, a limit for everything; and an impudent
aggression of this sort on the liberty of the people will be resented
throughout the whole country. The authorities in England will also be
pressed and will feel themselves bound to give their verdict on the
conduct of the Indian Government. We understand that it has been
resolved upon to address the Secretary of State for India on the
subject; and if Lord Cross will have the courage to face the House of
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Commons he may endorse the action taken by the Government of
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India. But it is too much to suppose that he will court a defeat. If,
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however, the House of Commons be called upon to express
themselves on the question, there will be shaking of the head in
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several quarters. We cannot imagine that a statesman of Lord

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Lansdowne’s stamp would give his adherence to a reactionary policy

without calculating the consequences. On the contrary, we are
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perfectly willing to believe that the notification in question has been

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issued without his Lordship’s sanction or authority. If so, his Lordship

is bound for the sake of his own reputation as well as that of the
Government he presides over and the Sovereign he represents, to
repudiate the notification which is as scandalous as it is mischievous
and disabuse the public mind of the notion that methods such as are
worthy only of Russia could be inaugurated and enforced under the
sway of Britain. As for the extremely moderate and reasonable
demands of the Congress, they will be granted sooner or later. The
justice of the most important of the measures put forth by the
Congress has been generally admitted and victory is within
measurable distance. Having conceded one by one all that the
Congress asks for, no particular purpose will be served by the open
hostility shown to the institution. It can only keep up that soreness and
bitterness of feeling which it has been the earnest endeavour of
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many a patriotic Englishman to remove, replacing it by a oneness of

feeling and sentiment, strengthened by the common desire of
preserving the interdependence of the two countries and solidarity of
the Empire as a whole. God forbid that the thoughtlessness of
individual rulers should tend to the alienation of the feelings of the
people from a noble race which has spread its influence for good over
all parts of the world and has been the proclaimer of liberty to all races.
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‘‘To our own mind Mr. Dadabhai’s election (to the British Parliament) has
appeared significant not merely because it might directly or indirectly do good
to our country but also because it shows the generous and truly imperial
character of the English people. Those that are jealous of Indian progress
affect to see no political significance in the event. But to all thoughtful and
impartial minds this significance must be obvious. It has already raised the
British character in the estimation of the Indian people”.
AUGUST 20, 1892
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T WAS VERY GOOD OF HIS EXCELLENCY LORD HARRIS TO HAVE publicly
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expressed his sympathy with the feeling that Mr. Dadabhai

Naoroji’s election to Parliament has roused in this country. All his
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countrymen here do not look upon this event with the same
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feeling. Some have hardly cared to conceal their ill-feeling. They

have called Dadabhai hard names; they have expressed their
disgust at the action of the electors who are found fault with for
having preferred an Indian to a countryman of theirs; and the
importance of the event they have endeavoured to minimise by
questioning the representative character of Dadabhai and his ability
to do any good to this country. Others have simply ignored the event,
as if the progress of the world depended upon their recognition of
that progress from time to time. To our own mind Mr. Dadabhai’s
election has appeared significant not merely because it might directly
or indirectly do good to our country but also because it shows the
generous and truly imperial character of the English people. Those
that are jealous of Indian progress affect to see no political

significance in the event. But to all thoughtful and impartial minds
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this significance must be obvious. It has already raised the British

character in the estimation of the Indian people. In his book on
“Imperial Defence” Sir Charles Dilke writes a good deal of the moral
power of the British nation being based on its military prowess. This is
no doubt so; but this moral power is impaired by such deeds of kindly
and generous sympathy towards the Indian people as the Liberal
electors of Central Finsbury have distinguished themselves by. Like
the experienced and enlightened statesman that he is, Lord Harris
finds no reason to cry down the election merely because he belongs
to the party to which Mr. Dadabhai is opposed. The division of political
parties in the United Kingdom has no significance so far as Indians
are concerned; and as an Indian citizen and an Indian tax-payer His
Excellency joins in the congratulation that is pouring on the veteran
Parsee patriot from every corner of India. Even apart from the political
significance of the event and what good it may do to this country, it is
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certainly one that deserves a prominent record in the history of this
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country. Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji did not obtain his seat in the House of
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Commons for the mere asking of it. He waged a regular seven years’
war as Mr. Mehta put it. He fought not merely against the
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Conservatives who were his natural opponents, but also against the
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party under whose banner he offered to fight. The Liberal party treated
him very shabbily and altogether the serious and manifold difficulties
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that confronted him throughout the struggle would have unnerved a

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less resolute and less courageous mind. He has shown such

extraordinary patience and perseverance and self- reliance that his
name might well be cherished with admiration and gratitude by
posterity.
“If the Irish always betray a disposition to quarrel with England, the only way
to reconcile them is to concede to them some measure of real liberty and
some degree of substantial choice in the disposition of their own domestic
affairs”.
JULY 6, 1893
Where are the angels?

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ARTY SPIRIT, IN SPITE OF THE EXCELLENT SERVICE IT IS ABLE to
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render to the cause of the public, ought not to be suffered to
degenerate into absurd tomfoolery. Under its sway even
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which are only calculated to provoke the risible susceptibilities of even

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the most average reader. Lord Salisbury on the 12th June, delivered
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a speech in South London on the Home Rule Bill and His Lordship in
the course of his address invented what The Times terms the “Angelic
Theory”, His Lordship, always cynical in his utterances, ridiculed the
Irish as angels. “But seriously this question of the angelic nature of the
Irish statesmen of the future” said the leader of the Conservative Party
“is one that concerns you very much, because it is only upon that that
these extraordinary proposals are defended.” And the obvious retort
which these remarks suggest is, are the English angels? Is Lord
Salisbury himself an angel? If not, why should the Irish people be
denied what they claim because their statesmen in future could not be
what no man on this earth can ever be. Lord Salisbury is a friend of
coercion and an opponent of local self government in the wider sense
of this term. Lord Salisbury concluded his observations on the angelic
theory thus — “Now you will observe — I am anxious to bring you

back to that point — that
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the matter we have to consider is the probability of the angelic theory

— the probability that these men who have fought us for centuries —
these men whose fathers when we were quarrelling with Spain took
the side of Spain, when we were quarrelling with France took the side
of France, when we were quarrelling with America took the side of
America — that these men who have been brought up and nourished
on hatred to England and who are in the hands of an organisation
which certainly does not love England — that these men should be
converted so suddenly from their ancient thought and belief that you
can safely trust to them a position in Parliament which, if they misuse
it, will enable them to wreck your institutions altogether.” But the
historical facts on which the above condemnation is based can be as
well availed of by the originators of the Home Rule Bill. If the Irish
always betray a disposition to quarrel with England, the only way to
reconcile them is to concede to them some measure of real liberty and
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some degree of substantial choice in the disposition of their own
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domestic affairs. If the English were the angels which the Irish, as Lord
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Salisbury told the world, are not, then Ireland would not have been
annexed and treated for centuries in a manner discreditable to the
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history of England. Lord Salisbury while speaking on the angelic

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theory broached another which is more astounding. “Ever since the

dawn of history” Lord Salisbury said, “there have been in all parts of
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the world, incessant conflicts, and in all those conflicts it was at all
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events safe to say with respect to one of the parties that their action
was contrary to their own self-interest. Everywhere human beings
have fought. They have been stimulated, not by a careful
consideration of self-interest, but by anger, by pride, by
misconception, by unreason; but they have fought. They have fought
in all classes and through all ages. And why? Do we not constantly
see in the newspapers some case in which a wife has aggravated her
husband, and the husband has broken the head of the wife?
(Laughter). On grounds of pure self-interest that was exceedingly
absurd. It never could have been the interest of the wife to aggravate
her husband; it never could have been the interest of the husband to
break the head of his wife; but yet these things have been and are,
and you have had to make laws and to inflict punishment in view of
that very unreasonable state of affairs. (Hear,
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hear). What is there to lead us to think that the Irish Government of

the future, the Irish Government which will no doubt be driven by
Archbishop Walsh (groans) and Mr. Timothy Healy (renewed groans)
and other men like unto them, will be angelic, free from all the ordinary
failings of humanity?” Why should the Irish alone be free from all the
ordinary failings of humanity? Are the English, the French and the
Americans above such failings? This standard of “above humanity” is
to say the least a flimsy pretence for refusing to men the liberty to
administer their own affairs. If men had not the failings of men, they
will cease to be men. They may be angels or beasts and neither of
these two stand in need of Governments and Bills to secure what they
want. And then it is not all husbands and wives that delight in breaking
each other’s head. And that a few foolish people do so, only proves
the rule. The people who fight for their rights because they promote
their self-interests are greater in number than those who fight pressed
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on by anger or pride. Lord Salisbury has certainly no faith in the
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success of human endeavour and in the progressive development of
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national powers. The speech of one of the pillars of the Conservative
Party shows on what unreasonable and fragile basis Home Rule is
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opposed. When statesmen are driven to such makeshifts, Irish victory

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must be within measurable distance. With Mr. Gladstone as their great

deliverer and the Liberal party carrying out clause after clause and
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standing together in close phalanx, Irishmen may hope to gratify their

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long cherished ambition, because they are not angels to suffer forever,
and being ordinary mortals, they will not rest content till they exhaust
all resources at their command to achieve that success which they
have deserved by their long suffering and remarkable patience.
“The British Government places no restriction on the legitimate ambition of

any individual and so far as Government can be a means of elevating the
character of the people, we must thankfully acknowledge that a steady
advance is being made. But it is not Government alone that can accomplish
this end. It can only remove obstacles and provide facilities; and when this is
done the rest is the work of the people themselves”.
APRIL 16, 1894
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What is the greatest boon of the or
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British rule?
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O NATION IS RUINED BY TEMPORARY ERRORS OF ITS GOVERNMENT,
but it is sure to deteriorate and decay under a Government
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which is fundamentally despotic and oppressive. A British

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rule in India has inflicted woeful wrongs on the people, but

at its foundation and in its nature it is not despotic and is not
oppressive. It is, indeed, slow to recognize the right of the people to
be treated with confidence; it is often swayed by self-interest in the
administration of their finances; it sometimes enacts bad laws; and
treats individuals with harshness. But all these will not retard the
progress of the people to the same extent that the freedom and
individual liberty that it recognises as its basis and essence will
advance it. There can be no hesitation in acknowledging that this
freedom, this liberty, this tendency to progress, is the greatest boon
for which the Indian people are indebted to the British rule and which
more than compensates them for the wrongs and injuries that they
have now and again suffered from its measures and policies.
Macaulay says in his History of England: “In every experimental
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science there is a tendency towards perfection. In every human being

there is a wish to ameliorate his own condition. These two principles
have often sufficed, even when counteracted by great public
calamities and by bad institutions, to carry civilisation rapidly forward.”
To neither of these two tendencies does British rule offer opposition.
On the other hand, by its tradition, instinct, and pledges the British
nation has been their great promoter and it recognizes its mission in
this country to be to advance positive knowledge among the people
and to encourage natural desire of the individual to improve his
condition. European nations have become so intimately familiar with
popular forms of Government that they do not always remember the
influence that the methods and principles of Government have on the
character of the people. Mr. Gladstone said recently that the greatest
aim of every Government should be to enable every individual to live
the purest and the most useful life; but no Government that is opposed
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to the highest education and the utmost freedom of the people can
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realise this end. On the Anglo- Indian statesmen that settled the
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country six years ago in the forms of Western Government as far as it
could be done then, the benevolent influences of a free and
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progressive rule constantly pressed themselves and we thus behold

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towering figures in the early British Indian history, like Munro,

Elphinsione and Metcalfe frequently holding forth in almost
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impassioned language on the great benefits that it was in the power

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of British rule to confer on the downtrodden millions of this country. No

reader of Sir Thomas Munro’s life can fail to be struck with the fervour
with which he pleaded for the advance of these two principles, of
freedom and progress, under the benevolent dominance of his nation
in the East. In one of those tours of which, while he was Governor of
Madras, he was so particularly fond, he met some ryots whom he
questioned about the produce of their fields. One of the bearded sages
replied that they yielded very little and that it was sometimes difficult
to get a return from them equal to the seed they had sown. The reply
was of course untrue, but the sympathetic Governor-tourist did not
attribute this to any natural disposition of the people to lying, for, in his
opinion, “they were simple, harmless, honest and have as much truth
in them as any men in the world”. “The hesitation to tell the truth arose
from the
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oppressive and inquisitorial Government, which always prying into

their affairs in order to lay new burdens upon them, forces them to
deny what they have as the only means of saving their property.” “An
excellent book”, Sir Thomas then strikes into a philosophical reflection
of great value, but unfortunately not always influencing rulers of
mankind, “might be written by a man of leisure, showing the wonderful
influence that forms of Government have moulding the disposition of
mankind.” He foresaw that the strength of the British Government, by
preventing wars and by protecting life and property, will increase the
wealth and population of the country. Besides, by the establishment
of schools, it would extend among the Hindus a knowledge of their
own literature and the literature of England. But all this, Munro
thought, would not improve their character; they would be made more
pliant and servile, more industrious and perhaps more skilful in the
arts; and there would be fewer banditti, but, he added with emphasis,
“We shall not raise their moral character”. “Our present system of
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Government”, he wrote to Lord Canning when he resigned the office
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of the President of the Board of Control, “by excluding all natives from
power and trust and emolument, is much more efficacious in
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depressing than all our laws and school books can do in elevating their
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character. We are working against our own designs and we can

expect to make no progress while we work with a feeble instrument to
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improve and a powerful one to deteriorate. The improvement of the

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character of a people and the keeping them, at the same time, in the
lowest state of dependence on foreign rulers to which they can be
reduced by conquest, are matters quite incompatible with each other.”
Since Sir Thomas Munro thus wrote with the sagacity of genuine
statesmanship, a good deal has been done to raise the people from a
state of dependence; their ambition has been stirred, and a goal has
been provided for the aspiration of the nation as well as the individual.
So far as the service of the State is concerned no office is beyond the
point to which the acquirements and character of an individual can
lead him; and the community too, as a whole, need no longer pine in
reflecting on the disabilities of a conquered and incapable people, but
is now inspired with hopes of advancement and is encouraged by
successes made possible by the sympathies and the wisdom of the

ruling race. Sir Thomas rightly
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attaches little importance to mere books as an instrument of moral

elevation. Schools and books can only impart knowledge; but the
improvement of character comes from a constant application of
knowledge, in a spirit of righteousness and sacrifice, to the promotion
of private and public interest. By the establishment of numerous
schools and colleges in every part of the country, ample facilities for
the acquisition of knowledge have been provided and a very
considerable scope for the utilisation of this knowledge and the
exercise of the freedom guaranteed to every law-abiding citizen exists
in the number of liberal institutions worked wholly or in part by the
people themselves. The British Government places no restriction on
the legitimate ambition of any individual, and so far as Government
can be a means of elevating the character of the people, we must
thankfully acknowledge that a steady advance is being made. But it is
not Government alone that can accomplish this end. It can only
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remove obstacles and provide facilities; and when this is done, the
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rest is the work of the people themselves. If they cannot prosper and
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rise to an honourable position in the world under the liberal influences
of British rule, then there is little chance of the regeneration ever
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coming at all.
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“With the finest and most cultured of intellects and with the highest and the
most honourable reputations as a public servant and with complete
confidence in his own ability and character, he (Sir T. Muthuswami Iyer)
combined a degree of gentleness, courtesy and sense of duty which made
him on the whole a most fascinating type of man, a pride to his country and
an ornament to the service in which he spent nearly 40 years of his life”.
JANUARY 25, 1895
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The late Sir T. Muthuswami Iyer or
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FTER AN ILLNESS OF HARDLY TEN DAYS, WITHOUT MUCH suffering,
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with alternate despair and hope of recovery and without

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losing consciousness to the last moment, Sir T. Muthuswami

Iyer passed away peacefully this morning, regretted not
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merely by his family but by the whole country, respected and loved by
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every one that knew him and honoured by the people and by the
Government. The deceased was a strict Hindu with enlightened
orthodox notions of God and religion and it may be supposed that in
addition to the satisfaction of his knowledge of the regard and honour
he universally commanded he had in his last moments the solace
which a pure conscience and faith in religion invariably bring. In his
character the most prominent qualities of his race found an
embodiment. With the finest and most cultured of intellects and with
the highest and the most honourable reputations as a public servant
and with complete confidence in his own ability and character, he
combined a degree of gentleness, courtesy and sense of duty, which
made him on the whole a most fascinating type of man, a pride to his
country and an ornament to the service in which he spent nearly forty

years of his life. Born of parents who were very poor but
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respected, Mr. Muthuswami Iyer commenced his struggle for life with
little but his own brain and his poverty to help and advance him, and
thanks to the respect which poverty affianced to intelligence has
always commanded in this country, he found patrons who appreciated
the young man’s intellectual qualities, undertook his education, and
introduced him into public service. Once introduced, he no further
wanted a patron, his own ability and sterling character serving him
instead most unswervingly and most effectually and he soon rose to
distinction, which grew higher and higher, in the service. In his
character were found many of the elements of greatness. He was
thoroughly honest and had nothing like conceit or self- sufficiency. He
was always considerate to others’ feelings and generally of the most
uninterfering nature. What he might have been if he had taken up any
other profession than Judicial service, it is difficult to say. His
unobtrusiveness and his want of self- assertiveness might have
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operated against him although even then his honesty and his
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remarkable intellectual power should have given him a distinct
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advantage over others. He was a Judge of the Madras High Court for
seventeen years and during this long period he uniformly maintained
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his high reputation as a Judge and lawyer as well as the confidence

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of his colleagues and the public. He seldom took leave and never
complained of work, although it often happened that his colleagues
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who understood life to be a mixture of recreation and work found in

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Mr. Muthuswami Iyer’s willingness a peculiar convenience to them. As

Hindu Judge, his opinions were sought with special confidence on
matters relating to Hindu law and customs and whenever he was
called upon, as a Judge of the highest tribunal and as the highest
authority on these matters, to declare his interpretations, he divested
himself of all bias in favour of the modern ideas of social well-being
and perceived his duty more in a strict and true interpretation of the
law and custom as he understood them than in importing into their
significance a sense suited to a non-existing ideal. Whether such a
frame of mind is desirable in a Judicial officer or not, this is not the
place or occasion to determine, but even as a conservative lawyer, he
has reared a fabric fully permeated by his erudition, his grasp of
principles and his prolonged experience, which will last long as a

monument of his
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success and as an example and inspiration to the coming generations.

It is very much to be regretted that Mr. Muthuswami Iyer did not retire
from service some years ago and spend the evening of his life in
relaxed work and refreshing ease. Like so many of our countrymen,
Mr. Muthuswami Iyer too thought that having accepted the paid
service of the State, he had lost his claim to the pleasures and
recreations of life and was bound to give to the State that employed
him all that was in him of energy and sustaining power. An European
in his place would work for a fixed length of time and no further and
would look upon sports and amusements as necessary and
indispensable as the doing of his official work. Indeed, he would argue
if his employers expect him to give them the best return for the wages
they paid him, he should be free to spend a portion of the day in health-
giving and invigorating exercise as he is bound to spend another
portion in the discharge of his official duty. Mr. Muthuswami Iyer
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neglected this and consequently died while in harness without
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affording his countrymen the satisfaction of seeing him free from the
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trammels of official service and utilizing his experience and social
influence in the guidance of their own movements. The most
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lamentable death of Mr. Muthuswami Iyer vacates a place in the

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highest rank of the living generation of educated Indians, which it will

not be easy to fill, but the lamp of wisdom and merit which he has lit
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will remain long to guide the footsteps of many a wanderer in search

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of the hidden secret of success in the material world.

“In this matter-of-fact age, convenience modified by the influence of example

is the only standard (for dress) and there can be no doubt that boots and
trousers with the European coat constitute the most convenient dress for
moving about briskly. The oriental dress is suited to a life of leisure, indolence
and slow locomotion, whereas the western costume indicates an active and
self-confident life”.
APRIL 24, 1896
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Hindu dress or
“D
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OLORES” — EVIDENTLY AN OLD-FASHIONED GENTLEMAN hailing

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from the western coast, with unbounded admiration for

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that apology of an apparel called the “Mun-doo” by the

people of Malabar — starts a vigorous crusade against
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the change that is coming over the dress of the educated middle class
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Hindu. He would apparently be glad to see all Hindus, with or without

pretention to culture, go about and attend places of public resort in the
primitive costume of the race, with a piece of cloth below the waist
and with another thrown across the trunk. He ridicules the Indian who
adopts the European system. He dislikes the trousers, the coat and
collar and tie, and boots and shoes. To him the cap is the most
intolerable abomination. In fact, the Hindu in European costume with
the time-honoured turban in the place of the hat, is the most ludicrous
figure imaginable. Now, we must say, we do not at all agree with this
reactionary writer. It is true that the European costume made of
woollen stuff is not quite suited to the climate of India; but with a
change in the material it can certainly be made less uncomfortable. A
general adoption of a pair of dhotties as the dress outside the home

is out of the question. They became
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obsolete even before Indian manners began to be influenced by

European example. The Mahomedans introduced the long coat, we
believe, and in Northern India the dhottie, too, as the nether garment,
had been proscribed. In many parts of India, however, the dhottie still
reigns, but there are indications to show that its days are numbered,
at all events among the upper middle class and it will be replaced by
trousers. If then the Hindu is to appear in trousers, there is no reason
why the trousers should not be of English cut. The long coat has
become the universal fashion among Indians in all parts of the country,
though there is a tendency to adopt the European coat with collar and
tie. That the Hindu looks untidy about the neck is true, but in this
respect improvement will come in time, when he learns to use soap
and handkerchief more largely. We quite agree with “Dolores” in his
condemnation of the cap in the place of the turban; but we are not
sure that in the case of children and schoolboys the cap is not as good
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a head-dress as the turban. The writer would recommend some kind
or
of garment which left the neck and arms bare, something of the
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Roman toga style, which would be, in his opinion, “comely,
inexpensive, and adapted to the climate.” He would tolerate no boots
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or shoes; he would like us to go about barefooted, with sandals to

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protect the feet from the heat of the roads. In the dress advocated by
“Dolores” the Hindu would look like one of those graduates that march
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from the hall of the Senate House to the Chancellor on the platform to
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receive his diploma — a costume by no means the ideal one in these

busy times. Whether the old Hindu costume or the new imitation of the
European dress is more graceful is a matter of opinion, and those like
“Dolores” that dislike the new fashion will, we may predict, cease to do
so as they get more familiar with it. In this matter-of-fact age,
convenience modified by the influence of example, is the only
standard and there can be no doubt that boots and trousers with the
European coat constitute the most convenient dress for moving about
briskly. The oriental dress is suited to a life of leisure, indolence and
slow locomotion, whereas the Western costume indicates an active
and self-confident life. Very likely, it will in the long run come to this:
the Hindu will be content with the inexpensive and scanty clothing of
his ancestors while he is at home, and when he goes out he will adopt
the European costume
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and turban, with a slight modification. Perhaps the use of collar and
tie will become a matter of taste. We agree with “Dolores” in thinking
that the subject is worth discussion.
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Gopal Krishna Gokhale made certain allegations against British troops

carrying out anti-plague operations in Poona and he later apologised to the
Governor of Bombay when he found he could not substantiate his charges.
THE HINDU: “We hope we will be pardoned if we tell him (Governor) that no
sensible person will change his opinion for all that His Excellency has said in
the Council. The Professor of Poona (Gokhale) has no doubt been smashed;
but some facts have survived that misfortune and will live till an impartial
public enquiry disproves them. Thousands of people in India and England will
continue in the conviction that Lord Sandhurst was guilty of a serious blunder
in employing British soldiers in a business in regard to which the most
experienced and cautious civilians are apt to blunder seriously”.
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AUGUST 6, 1897
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Lord Sandhurst’s speech

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OOR PROFESSOR GOKHALE IS DISCREDITED AND ALMOST

for the present. Our friends of the Anglo-Indian press call him
names, make fun of him, and heap abuse upon him. It is a
strange fatality that he of all men should be the cause of
a great blow to the National Party. A more sincere, well-meaning and
loyal Indian there does not exist. A young man of great talent and
character, he would make his mark in any walk of life and if he were
worldly-minded, would make as large a fortune as any other educated
man. But disdaining mere money and pleasure, he has devoted
himself to the cause of his country’s advancement. That such a man
should now stand before the world humiliated and that his error should
be the cause of our enemies’ triumph can be understood only as the
misfortune of the country. Lord Sandhurst has accepted his apology,
but has not failed to remark that though
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he had made a prompt and full apology, the mischief he has done in
a far-off land will remain. No doubt it will, but the mischief will
undoubtedly affect the cause which Mr. Gokhale represents more than
the official authorities of Bombay. His Excellency’s position is
peculiarly strong. Having been appointed as Governor of Bombay, by
a Radical Government he has the support of the present Opposition
in the House of Commons; and the Tory Secretary of State, being
partly responsible for the conduct of the government in India, feels
bound to support him through thick and thin. Thus His Excellency is
assured of complete support from both sides in Parliament. In India,
the whole Anglo-Indian community has rallied round him with
enthusiastic support and he is its hero for the moment. In fact, it is the
policy of’ the Anglo-Indian press — a policy of repression — which it
has urged during the last twenty years, that Lord Sandhurst is carrying
out. In his speech in the Legislative Council at Poona, he assumed
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naturally a high tone, a tone of courageous self-vindication and injured
or
innocence. He took upon himself the whole responsibility for the policy
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of the plague operations, he praised the officials and praised soldiers,
a great deal exceeding in his praise the bounds of decency, “he was
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proud to be the head of men who had grappled with famine and
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suppressed such a plague”. He reiterated his contradictions of the

allegations against the Plague Committee. All this is what as the head
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of the Executive Government with traditions of despotism and

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secrecy, His Excellency was expected to do. But we hope we will be

pardoned if we tell him that no sensible person will change his opinion
for all that His Excellency has said in the Council. The Professor of
Poona has no doubt been smashed; but some facts have survived
that misfortune and will live till an impartial public enquiry disproves
them. Thousands of people in India and England will continue in the
conviction that Lord Sandhurst was guilty of a serious blunder in
employing British soldiers in a business in regard to which the most
experienced and cautious civilians are apt to blunder seriously. Our
morning contemporary of the Madras Times frankly says that he is
“still altogether disinclined to admit that British soldiers were well
employed as plague hunters in an Indian city.” “No one who had the
smallest sympathy for “the feelings of the people or any intelligent

conception of their ways,” our contemporary
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adds, “would have dreamed of setting soldiers to such work, and the
intense opposition that the procedure raised is in itself the strongest
proof of the great mistake that was made.” This will be the opinion of
many people, notwithstanding Lord Sandhurst’s vehement
contradictions and praises. The extravagance of his praise of the
soldiers and of everybody connected with this muddle will defeat its
object and will foster an impression that there must be something
wrong at the bottom if such vehement praise was thought necessary.
If Lord Sandhurst believes that the information he received from his
officials regarding the signatures to the petitions is true, then he must
be a very simpleminded gentleman. Does he believe that after the
reign of terror established in Poona, in the face of arrests and
deportations and the practically irresponsible power of the police any
man caring for his liberty or peace of mind will acknowledge his
signature to a petition that has caused so much trouble? Why was not
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a similar inquiry held when the petition was first forwarded to the
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authorities? At the present moment, when the public mind has been
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frightened by the Government’s proceeding and nobody is sure of
what will happen to him the next moment, every piece of information
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obtained from the people is absolutely worthless. It is said that only

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144 out of the 721 names attached to the petition could be found. That
even so many were found is wonderful. Discretion is the better part of
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valour, and the Poona signatories are not fools to place themselves in
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the hands of the Police for such favours as they may condescend to
show to them. In fact, no enquiry made in the present state of the town,
into matters concerning the plague operations, can be worth anything.
It is evident that Lord Sandhurst is not in a mood to take the people
into his confidence. To the question that was asked in the Legislative
Council as to the number of petitions addressed to the Plague
Committee, who forwarded them and how they were disposed of, Lord
Sandhurst made answer that no good purpose would be served by
supplying such information. We entirely differ from His Excellency. We
think the information asked for will serve a very good purpose by
showing what feeling the operations of the Committee produced in the
minds of the public. We are glad that His Excellency will not allow the
occurrences of the past few days to alter his feelings towards the
people of India — a feeling which we
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trust will be one of sympathy and love. But will it not be worth His
Excellency’s while to inquire why a people so deserving of sympathy
and love become disaffected and disloyal the moment they get a
smattering of English? The education given in our schools must be
most mischievous indeed to convert a contented and loyal people into
mischievous seditionmongers. And then the mystery is enhanced by
the fact that it is Englishmen that give instruction in the best colleges
in the country. Has Lord Sandhurst any means of knowing what
impression his recent measures have produced on the people towards
whom he assures us he will continue to cherish the same feeling of
love with which he first came to Bombay? It is his ignorance that is
turned to account by clever designers against the advancement of the
people.
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“That it is wise expenditure but not ill-judged economy that will benefit India
is a truism which applies to every country in the world as well as to India. But
can the Government of India convince the public that within the last 20 years
its administration has been guided by this wise and statesman-like principle?
It is certainly no wise expenditure to have spent more than 70 crores of
rupees in 20 years on wars with people beyond the natural boundaries of
India”.
MAY 12, 1898
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economy
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W
HEN THE INDIAN PRESS CHARGES THE GOVERNMENT OF India
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with extravagance in the expenditure of public funds, it

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does not mean that the Government should go to the

other extreme of ill-judged economy, which in the long
run is no better than extravagance. It pleads for due economy in such
expenditure as is incurred for purposes not directly beneficial to the
people and for liberal expenditure on objects which will conduce to
their mental and moral elevation and make them healthy, prosperous
and contented. As a fact the Government of India is guilty of ill-judged
economy as well as extravagance. It is worse than economical; it is
parsimonious in regard to objects which virtually concern the internal
administration of the country, objects such as education, judicial
administration, sanitation, police and so forth, while in other matters,
such as the army, foreign wars, railway construction, salaries of its
European employees and others, it pursues a policy of reckless

extravagance. That it is wise
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expenditure but not ill-judged economy that will benefit India is a

truism which applies to every country in the world as well as to India.
But can the Government of India convince the public that within the
last twenty years its administration has been guided by this wise and
statesmanlike principle? It is certainly no wise expenditure to have
spent more than seventy crores of rupees in twenty years on wars with
people beyond the natural boundaries of India. Lord Dufferin justified
the annexation of Upper Burma on the ground that it will prove a
paying addition to the Queen’s dominion in India. But far from having
done so, Upper Burma has been a source of loss to the Empire and
of heavy drain every year on the resources of the older provinces. It
is true that Theebaw’s dominion is proving valuable to Great Britain
inasmuch as it serves as a base from which fresh commercial relations
can be opened with the border provinces of the Chinese Empire. But
there is no wisdom in India being made to pay for the benefit of such
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a rich and powerful country as Great Britain. India supplied the men
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and the money with which the conquest and pacification of Burma
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were effected. But the gain to India has been literally nil. It is not the
educated natives of India that are employed in the high and lucrative
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offices in the administration of that new province; nor do Indians enjoy

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a share in its trade. Both the advantages are monopolised by

Englishmen, who only add insult to injury by misrepresenting Indians
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that they are unfit to exercise administrative authority in that country.

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In no sense can the annexation of Upper Burma be said to have

involved a wise expenditure of the Indian taxes. Again the conquest
of Upper Burma was effected with the addition that was made to the
Indian army in 1885. When Lord Dufferin and Lord Randolph Churchill
increased the Indian army by 10,000 British and 20,000 Indian
soldiers and thus made a permanent addition of three crores to our
expenditure, there were not wanting men of wisdom and experience
who protested against the increase as not required for any Indian
purpose and predicted that the army thus needlessly increased would
be a standing danger to peace and would ceaselessly intrigue for the
discovery of pretexts for war beyond the frontiers. And the fulfilment
of the prediction has come with a vengeance. The Government of
India was incited to a war with Theebaw and
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subsequently to expeditions and wars every year beyond our

northwest frontier. Competent authorities, military as well as civil, have
declared that this huge army is more than is required for the protection
of India against internal dangers, and as her protection against danger
from Russia or from any other foreign enemy is the concern of the
great Imperial nation as well as of India, the cost should be partly
borne by the Imperial Treasury but not solely by the poor tax-payers
of this country. It is needless to elaborate this argument. Suffice it to
say that to Britain her Indian possession is far more beneficial than
British rule is to India, and therefore the present policy of making India
pay for the whole cost of the large army, which consumes nearly a
third of the net revenues, is unjust and unwise. When the Indian
Government agreed to the increase in the army 13 years ago, they did
not incur a wise expenditure of the taxes wrung from the starving
people of India. Another flagrant instance of a most cruel misuse of
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Indian money is the so-called compensation allowance granted to the
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European employees of the Government. This allowance, which is a
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virtual addition to the salaries of these employees, was granted on the
ground that they suffered loss in remitting money home on account of
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the depreciated rupee. If this allowance was granted from the British
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treasury, we would raise no objection. But it was granted at the

expense of the Indian tax-payers who have in fact suffered far more
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from this depreciated rupee than the European employees of the

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Government ever did; and if anybody deserved help it was not the
well paid officials but the neglected and the famishing ryots. Well, the
crore of rupees which was the amount of the compensation allowance
was by no means a wise expenditure of our revenues. Other instances
of unwise and extravagance expenditure may be quoted, to show that
the history of the Indian administration during the last 20 years, has
been a continued series of errors due to the ascendency of official
cliques and to most deplorable want of sympathy and touch with the
people on the part of the Government. So much for unwise
expenditure and we shall proceed to give a few examples of ill-judged
economy. Only the other day, Sir James Westland justified in the
Viceregal Council his refusal to allot money for the improvement of the
judicial service, and spoke of our judicial officers in language

the reverse of
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complimentary to them. He charged them with indolence, while as a

fact they are the most hardworking class of officials in the country. A
hard-worked, under-paid and discontented judiciary can be no good
in any country, and in India, where the strength of British rule rests on
the people’s conviction of the purity and efficiency of the
administration of justice, such a judiciary is positively mischievous. To
refuse to grant funds for such a purpose cannot be wise economy. It
is certainly an ill-judged and mischievous economy. It is not only the
administration of justice but numerous other branches of the public
service that are most unwisely starved because the revenues of the
country are swallowed up by the Supreme Government in the pursuit
of its extravagant military policy and in meeting its foreign obligations.
A civilised and benevolent Government like the Government of India,
with magnificent resources as Sir James Westland would say,
commanding a total revenue of nearly 100 crores, spends less than
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one anna per head per year on the education of the people! Can there
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be a more astounding instance of ill-judged economy? The same ill-
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judged economy is shown by Government in regard to a score of other
needs and reforms which have been repeatedly urged on it and whose
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urgency has been more than once acknowledged. It was only the
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other day in the Viceregal Council that Sir James Westland brushed
aside with the too familiar plea of want of funds Mr. Nicholson’s
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earnest appeal for funds in order that village banks might be

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established for the benefit of the starving and debt-ridden ryot

population. Well might Mr. Nicholson express surprise at the ill- judged
economy of a Government which derives a revenue of 26 crores from
an agricultural population of 176 millions and which yet could not
afford more than the pittance of five lakhs for the grand object of the
improvement of agriculture. Can ill-judged economy go further?
“Woman is woman, of course everywhere. From the savage half-nude African

who values the worth of her male relative by the number of scalps to his credit,
to the most cultured European Queen on her throne, they are all capable of
loving and hating and share in the good and evil qualities of the human race
more or less equally. But each is influenced by the conditions of life, amidst
which she lives. And, speaking generally, the most-degraded of Hindu
women would no more approve of dancing with male friends in evening dress
or moving about with them than the lowest of English women consent to be
one of half a dozen wives in a Mahomedan household”.
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MAY 12, 1899 or
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The women of India

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IAMOND CUTS DIAMOND, SAYS THE OLD SAW. AND AN ENGLISHMAN’S
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misrepresentations are best answered by an Englishman.

We know it and so we are thankful to the Pioneer for taking
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the trouble to set Colonel Temple right in regard to the

women of India. Some foreigners have abused the Indian
woman. And many have pitied her. But the pity, unlike the abuse which
was mostly malicious, was ever based on a misunderstanding, as
much racial as personal. Writing of Johnson Macaulay says that his
philosophy stopped at the first turnpike gate; that is that he knew
nothing of humanity outside London and consequently his judgements
of people who were not Londoners, were grotesque and outrageous
in their ignorant exaggeration. And the narrowness of view that
Macaulay deplores in the great Cham of English literature, every
Englishman suffers from more or less. Many Englishmen living have
seen far more of the world’s life than Johnson could ever hope or
dream of seeing. But seeing is not appreciating. And an Englishman

is generally too partial to his own views and ideals of
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living to care to understand the inwardness of the life that is not his.
The consequence is he makes a very indifferent judge, that is, when
he is not a very unjust one, where other societies than his own are
concerned. He sees that an Englishwoman, when she is ignorant, is
very vulgar, that she is not happy when she is shut up in a house, or
her personal freedom is restricted in any way; that she seldom, if ever,
likes her married life ordered by her mother or mother-in-law; and
straightway fancies that she is typical of womanhood all the world
over. Woman is woman of course everywhere. From the savage half-
nude African who values the worth of her male relative by the number
of scalps to his credit, to the most cultured European Queen on her
throne, they are all capable of loving and hating and share in the good
and evil qualities of the human race more or less equally. But each is
influenced by the conditions of life, amidst which she lives. And,
speaking generally, the most degraded of Hindu women would no
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more approve of dancing with male friends in evening dress or moving
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about with them than the lowest of Englishwomen consent to be one
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of half a dozen wives in a Mahomedan household. Our tastes and
appreciations we inherit just as much as traits of character. And it is a
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pity that all of us do not remember the fact while sitting in judgment
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over those who are not of our community. Colonel Temple, for
instance, cannot say, as a matter of personal experience, that the
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Hindu woman is unhappy. She looks it, says he, and considers and
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adds she must be unhappy. For, how can she be happy with a mother-
in-law who ever keeps nagging, with a husband in whose presence
she may not sit, and with her ignorance and love for seclusion?
Colonel Temple is sure she cannot be happy and says that her daily
life resolves into this: “the strict performance of petty religious
ceremonies, feeding, bathing, dressing, cooking and household
drudgery, all so hedged round with minute regulations as to make
each a special occupation, and to these must be added visiting and
gossip during her afternoon leisure.” What a mean, burdensome,
inane existence the Indian woman’s life is to be sure! But seriously, is
the average Englishwoman’s any better? With her, no doubt, “petty
domestic” ceremonies take the place of “petty religious” ones. But we
do not know that pettiness is the more bearable because it is

domestic and
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not religious. Yet she has no mother-in-law to worry her. And that
reminds us that the tyrannical mother-in-law is not the rule in Hindu
Society; and even she is not so black as she is painted. Nor is she so
persistent and unchanging in her cruelty to the girl-wife. Nor, to judge
by what we hear from Englishmen themselves, now and again, is she
such an unnecessary evil as some would have us believe. We do not
pretend to be able to know English society. But the Pioneer must know
what it is about when it says that “there must be many a European
who, after many years of married life, wishes that he had entrusted his
young wife to his own mother for a month or two after his marriage.”
Colonel Temple makes a good deal of the fact — and he is not the
first to do so — that the Indian woman is not book-read. To this the
Pioneer makes a fitting reply, “It is true that she is absolutely ignorant
of books: but is all learning to be found only in books? Colonel Temple
does not say so, but surely he must know that the Indian mater-
familias, as he calls her, is more often than not her husband’s and her
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brother’s great and trusted adviser in all matters touching the family
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property, and that there have been rulers behind the purdah, every
whit as brilliant as our Queen Elizabeth, and that properties have been
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managed by women, whose voice even no man outside the family

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circle has ever heard, as prudently and charitably as the wealth of the
Baroness Burdett Coutts.’ Colonel Temple also says: - “When there is
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seclusion, brightness and youthfulness are absent from the manner;

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the laughter is not happy, it is spiteful; the smiles are not of the pleased
but of the cynical. Where there is no seclusion, brightness and
youthfulness are the characteristics of the people; there is happiness
and good humour in their laughter; there is pleasure and kindliness in
the smiles. It comes to this as an observation on society. Lock up and
distrust the women and the brilliance will flicker out of life. If you doubt
this go to Hindustan, which secludes and then to Burma, Siam and
Malaysia, which do not: go to China which secludes, and then to
Japan which does not.” And this also we will answer in our Allahabad
contemporary’s trenchant language. “Has Colonel Temple ever seen
happier faces than among a brood of all castes round a shield during
Mohurrum, Santhals bringing in a dead leopard, Koels going out to
beat for deer, Bengali schoolboys watching a football match, Behar
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coolies beating a tank for indigo, North-West Rajputs coming back

from a funeral, or Punjab traders waiting for the train? Frenchmen tell
us that we take our pleasures sadly. Are we to infer that we distrust
our women more than Frenchmen distress theirs?” Of course not.
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“The design... of Mr. Dutt of presenting the English reading public the pith of
the story of the voluminous epic within the limit of 2,000 verses has been
happily conceived and admirably executed. The passages selected for
translation are, roughly speaking, about the best to be found in the epic and,
in the clean and liberal rendering of the translator, cannot fail to impress the
English reader with the faculty divine of the Homer of the East”.
APRIL 14, 1900
Ramayanam – By Mr. Romesh

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Chunder Dutt
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W
E HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE WITH THANKS THE RECEIPT of this
latest book from the pen of Mr. Romesh Chunder Dutt,
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C.I.E., his metrical translation of important passages of

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the Ramayana, and to apologise to him for not having

reviewed it earlier in our columns. Mr. Dutt is too well-known to the
literary world to need any introduction from us. As the author of books
treating of the history of ancient civilisation in India, he had already
won immortal fame and established an indefeasible claim to be
regarded as an interpreter between the East and the West. His
unostentatious patriotism did not stop there and with a view to the
commendable object of bringing about a better understanding
between the people of the West and the East, he has of late been
engaged in publishing a translation in verse of the most important
portions of the two immortal epics which so well describe the political,
social and religious life of the ancient Hindus. His “Mahabharata” was
published sometime ago and was received with no small praise by

the reading public for which it was intended, and
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his “Ramayana” will, we trust, be accorded an equally cordial

reception.
The Ramayana has already been translated into English prose and
verse by other writers; but the existing translations whether in prose
or verse cover volumes of considerable size, and despite the literary
grace of the translators, the busy reader can scarcely find the time to
read them even once. The design therefore of Mr. Dutt of presenting
to the English-reading public the pith of the story of the voluminous
epic within the limit of 2,000 verses has been happily conceived and
admirably executed. The passages selected for translation are
roughly speaking about the best to be found in the epic, and, in the
clear and liberal rendering of the translator, cannot fail to impress the
English reader with the marvellous faculty divine of the Homer of the
East. The choice of passages for translation from a work of such
accreditedly high poetical merits as the Ramayana is no easy task,
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especially when the object of the translator is not only to show to the
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West that there have been Indian poets who could hold their own with
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the best poets of other nations, but also to present to the world the
ancient Hindu ideals — ideals which, despite the effects of the
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Mahomedan domination and the aggressive civilisation of the West,

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continue to exercise today no small influence on the political, social

and religious life of the Hindus, and the difficulty of the task is certainly
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not diminished by the fact that the translations of such passages

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connected together by short notes of the translator are to present the

long story of Ramayana in a short space. It is therefore no small praise
to the translator to say that this work of selection has been admirably
done, and is well- calculated to serve all the ends in view. Some critics
may perhaps complain that passages of exquisite beauty either for
language or for sentiment do not find a place in the book before us.
But if such criticism were intended to be avoided, it would result in Mr.
Dutt producing a book containing more than 20,000 couplets of
English verse instead of the 2,000 we now have; and the reading
public would be just as little benefited by it as with Mr. Griffith’s
metrical translation of the Ramayana. We have often heard it said that
Anglo- Indians and some Indians who share their views have no faith
in Indians writing English poetry. How far Mr. Dutt’s book now before
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is a refutation of that Anglo-Indian view, we safely leave it to the reader

of the book to judge. The book contains passages of considerable
poetic merit, and we do not hesitate to say that the spirit of the original
has undergone the least possible amount of evaporation in the
process of translation into English verse. We are however bound to
say that if the translator had discarded rhyme, the translation would
have been even more acceptable.
We should very much like to support our high opinion of this book
by quotations of choice passages from it, but we are afraid that that
course would make our review too long for a newspaper article. We
have therefore to content ourselves with referring to some of such
passages. We would single out for this purpose the portions which
relate how Mandara, maid of Kaikeyi, transformed her gentle mistress
into a veritable fury by playing upon her maternal affection; the
passages describing the council of war held in Ravana’s court, almost
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as interesting as the council of the fallen angels in Pandemonium; and
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the passages describing the fidelity of Sita and her noble conception
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of a wife’s duties.
Long as the review has already grown, we cannot conclude it
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without a few remarks on the excellent epilogue written by the

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translator. With much that is said there we are at one with him. That
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata contain between them a correct
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description of the political, religious, social and domestic life of the

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ancient Hindus is evident. But we do not quite agree with the translator
in the distinction he draws between the different phases of Hindu life
portrayed by the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Orthodox Hindus
may not quite relish the idea of Rama and Sita being represented as
the creations of the poet’s brain. But it is no small consolation to them
that Mr. Dutt writing at the fag end of the nineteenth century should
have given the Ramayana an antiquity of three thousand years while
the epic is considered by some oriental scholars as an allegorical
representation of the spread of Aryan civilisation towards the South.
“As the President of the Countess of Dufferin Fund, Her Excellency (Lady
Curzon) has issued an appeal to the people of India for funds to further
certain aims and objects of the National Association for providing female
medical aid to the women of India. Never before did a Viceroy’s wife promote
so noble and so humane a movement as the one which bears the name of
Lady Dufferin. Whatever may have been Lord Dufferin’s failures as the ruler
of India, there has been a wide and lively appreciation of Lady Dufferin’s
services for the relief of suffering among the women of this country and it is
indeed a worthy task that Lady Curzon has taken upon herself to enlarge the
scope of the Dufferin Fund by founding Victoria scholarships for training
native midwives”.
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FEBRUARY 13, 1901
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N
OT A FEW ARE THE OBJECTS OF BENEFICENCE AND CHARITY on
behalf of which their respective advocates think it possible
to enlist public sympathy at a time when the whole country
is moved as one man to commemorate the name and reign
of Queen-Empress Victoria. Objects of local and imperial interest,
those which are intended to enrich the country or elevate the people
as well as those which are intended to relieve human suffering and
misery, have all found their respective advocates; and if it is possible
to find money for all these, the field of beneficent activity in India is
wide enough for the satisfaction of all desires of benevolence and
charity, and of all interest in the relics of antiquity or in the trophies of
war. Lord Curzon has utilised the psychological moment for carrying
out his pet idea of a grand imperial memorial at Calcutta. To people
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outside Bengal this memorial has, by no means, commended itself;

and even in Bengal the interest in it must be confined more or less to
the citizens of Calcutta. If, then Lord Curzon was not quite happy in
his conception of an all India memorial, everybody will gladly
acknowledge Lady Curzon has been more successful in gauging the
special needs of the country, especially of her sex. As the President
of the Countess of Dufferin Fund, Her Excellency has issued an
appeal to the people of India for funds to further certain aims and
objects of the National association for providing female medical aid to
the women of India. Never before did a Viceroy’s wife promote so
noble and so humane a movement as the one which bears the name
of Lady Dufferin. Whatever may have been Lord Dufferin’s failures as
the ruler of India, there has been a wide and lively appreciation of Lady
Dufferin’s services for the relief of suffering among the women of this
country and it is indeed a worthy task that Lady Curzon has taken
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upon herself to enlarge the scope of the Dufferin Fund by founding
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Victoria scholarships for training native midwives. Her Excellency tells
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us how keen a personal interest the Queen-Empress has always
taken in affairs relating to the movement, and how its existence was
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due to Her Majesty’s initiative. “A matter in which the Queen-Empress

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took a special interest, and which the Dufferin Fund has up to the
present been unable to sufficiently encourage owing to lack of funds
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and regarding which about eighteen months ago she telegraphed me

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her hope that we should be able to promote its success, was the
training of a greater number of native midwives to work in zenanas.
Her Majesty fully realised the difficulty of persuading women of, this
country to leave their homes and was always anxious that we should
encourage trained midwives to practise in the outlying districts.” Lady
Curzon has thus clearly shown that the object for which she seeks
public help was one which very much appealed to the active sympathy
of Her late Majesty; and what more fitting can be thought of as a
memorial to Her Majesty than the development of the movement in
which she took so much interest? “I now hope if possible,” adds Lady
Curzon, “to establish an endowment fund, the interest accruing from
which shall be solely used in forming “Queen-Empress” or ‘Victoria’
scholarships for training native midwives of suitable caste in the

hospitals or schools
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which lie nearest to the localities in which they would be ultimately

engaged. I feel sure that there will be many persons who would like to
help in founding these scholarships, and to contribute to an object
which Her Majesty was known to have very much at heart, and which
will do much to relieve the suffering women in India.” Her Excellency
says that she has received numerous testimonies of the grief felt by
the women of this country at the death of their beloved Sovereign, and
she therefore hopes that her proposal will meet with their sympathy.
She further expects some native ladies of position and influence to
give her their assistance by organizing the collection of subscriptions.
We hope the appeal will meet with ready response, especially as we
have seen that some ladies have been proposing a women’s memorial
through the columns of newspapers. If ladies like these who have
displayed such intense desire to have a women’s memorial, will duly
cooperate with Lady Curzon and help her in getting subscriptions, Her
Excellency’s task will be very much lightened, and the proposed
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Victoria scholarship will be soon available to those young women who
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may be disposed to take to the study of midwifery as well for making
a living as for relieving the sufferings of their sex. All contributions may
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be forwarded to Lady Curzon personally and will be duly

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acknowledged, so that anything done in promotion of the object will

not escape the personal recognition of her Ladyship. We need hardly
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emphasise the extreme appropriateness and value of the special form

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of memorial which Lady Curzon has proposed in the name of the late
Queen-Empress and on behalf and in the interests of the women of
India. There need be no more letters to newspapers from Indian ladies
of position and influence; for the form of memorial has been very
wisely settled; and it now remains only to make it a success by
influential cooperation and munificent subscriptions.
“If low income is a justification for the commission of crime, many of the
offences affecting property would have to be treated in a different way from
that which is in vogue. If Percy Ross, whose salary was Rs. 535 and odd,
could embezzle Government money and receive the sympathy of the
Englishman, we do not see why the man in need who robs his neighbours
should not have the same measure of indulgence and the same measure of
sympathy extended to him”.
JANUARY 20, 1902
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EFORE THE CALCUTTA HIGH COURT, LAST WEEK, MR. PERCY Ross,
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the Commissioner of the Sunderbands, in Lower Bengal, was

charged with the embezzlement of Government money to the
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extent of very nearly half a lakh of rupees and with

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falsifying records in that connection. Before the trial commenced the

accused, through his counsel pleaded guilty and threw himself on the
mercy of the Court. Mr. Justice Stevens, in consideration of the appeal
for mercy made on behalf of the accused, sentenced him to undergo
rigorous imprisonment for 18 months, Counsel urged with great
earnestness and feeling that the accused was a victim of
circumstances, that he owed his difficulties to the comparatively low
salary that he was paid. His salary and boat allowance combined
amounted only to the sum of Rs. 535-10-10 monthly, with Rs. 3 a day
travelling allowance while on tour. This was Ross’s sole means of
support of his family which consisted of a wife and eight children, and
was absolutely insufficient to maintain his position in the office he held
under the Government. It was incredible, he said, as a matter of

commonsense and prudent administration that such a poor
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salary should have been allotted to an officer in his position. Large

sums of money had to pass through his hands. In these
circumstances, counsel seemed to argue, it was cruel on the part of
the Government to have expected the accused to be honest and to
have prosecuted him for not being so. Besides, Ross had by his
exertions added to the income of the State by about a lakh and a
quarter, and he misappropriated only a portion of this sum. Nor had
the Government exercised any control over him during a number of
years. The accounts had never been audited, the treasury had never
been examined for more than nine years. All these circumstances
showed that the accused had been placed amidst temptations and
being a man with a large family and weak health he easily succumbed
to them. The presiding Judge was deeply impressed with this plea,
but he had to take into consideration that the defalcations had been
going on uninterruptedly for a period of seven years, and that the sum
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embezzled which represented an average of over Rs. 7,000 a year,
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was much more than should have been necessary for the support of
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his family, and His Lordship accordingly awarded the punishment of
18 months’ imprisonment which we have mentioned. We cannot find
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fault with the counsel for the accused for pleading in the way he did,
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for throwing the blame for the defalcations mainly on the Government;
and we believe that the learned Judge only tempered justice with
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mercy in awarding the punishment. But there are other aspects of the
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case which make it necessary for us to add a word of comment. It is

in the first place incredible that the Government and all the higher
authorities should have for nine and half years left the now fallen
Commissioner of the Sunderbands in absolute possession of large
sums of money without any check or control. We cannot imagine a
grosser instance of persistent negligence than is disclosed by this
case. The officer or officers who are responsible for this negligence
deserve, in our opinion, immediate dismissal from the service. We
cannot conceive any valid reason whereby this gross neglect can be
justified or extenuated, a neglect which has caused to the public
exchequer a clear loss of nearly half a lakh of rupees besides the
heavy expenses incidental to the prosecution of the accused. A public
enquiry is absolutely necessary into the circumstances in

which the
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Commissioner happened to be left to himself with all the Government

money in his possesion so as to enable him to pose before the public
as a victim of Government’s laxity and negligence, and his advocates
in the Press to put him forth as a martyr to low pay and allowance.
The Englishman of Calcutta devotes a long leading article to showing
that “Mr. Ross has been the victim of a false and pernicious system
which has followed a cheese-paring economy utterly careless as to
the results” and winds up with the observation that “he will not have
suffered in vain if his case results in the removal of the crying scandal
that has been brought to light regarding the office and pay of the
Commissioner in the Sunderbands.” In the opinion of this journal it is
neither the act of embezzlement on the part of the accused nor the
continued negligence on the part of the higher authorities for a period
of nine years that constitute the scandal; on the contrary it is the salary
of five hundred and odd paid to Ross as Commissioner that is
emphatically described as “the crying scandal”. Percy Ross is
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hereafter to be regarded not as the person who abused his official
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responsibility by embezzling public money but as the hero who, even
like Jesus Christ, suffered for the sins of others, the greatest sinner in
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this case being the Government itself! The moral standard by which
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the Englishman judges the conduct of the accused, if adopted

generally, will supply justification for a good many other offences
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committed by a far different class of people. If low income is a

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justification for the commission of crime, many of the offences

affecting property would have to be treated in a different way from that
which is in vogue. If Percy Ross, whose salary was Rs. 535 and odd,
could embezzle Government money and receive the sympathy of the
Englishman, we do not see why the man in need who robs his
neighbours should not have the same measure of indulgence and the
same measure of sympathy extended to him. “It is impossible to
picture the spectacle of this man so grossly underpaid, so heavily
overworked without a feeling of sympathy”. So writes our
contemporary. We should, indeed, be sorry to see the moral sensibility
of people so blunted as to make it impossible for them to denounce
the conduct of a man who carried on a long course of embezzlement
and brought disgrace on the service to which he
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belonged. It is quite possible, as we have said, to extend some

measure of mercy to a man in the position of Percy Ross, if not for
himself, at least for the condition of his wife and children; and we think
Mr. Justice Stevens showed the greatest possible mercy by limiting
his sentence to 18 months’ imprisonment. Against this few reasonable
men are likely to complain. But to elevate the condemned man to the
height of a hero and martyr is to distinctly lower the standard of public
and official morality; and this is unfortunately what the Englishman has
chosen to do.
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“Few Dewans would consider it prudent to remain in office for more than five
years. So far as we have seen people in Travancore begin to show
impatience when a man has been in office for three years and it hardly falls
to the lot of any Dewan to enjoy universal popularity after having been the
Chief Minister for more than five years”.
SEPTEMBER 24, 1903
Ministerial change in Travancore

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TELEGRAM TO THE MADRAS TIMES SAYS THAT DEWAN BAHADUR
Krishnaswami Row, C.I.E., has resigned the office of Dewan.
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Dewans that came after Sir T. Madhava Row, and it is now

some months since his retirement began to be
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talked about. But it was expected that he would continue in office at

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least till the end of this year. We are not aware of the circumstances
which have led to his somewhat sudden resignation; nor are we aware
that his successor has been selected. Within the last few days,
however, we have been receiving letters from Travancore conveying
intelligence of an imminent change; and it seems now that the rumours
that prevailed had some foundation in fact. Few Dewans would
consider it prudent to remain in office for more than five years. So far
as we have seen, people in Travancore begin to show impatience
when a man has been in office for three years; and it hardly falls to
the lot of any Dewan to enjoy universal popularity after having been
the chief Minister for more than five years. Mr. Krishnaswami Row has
been in office for over six years; and if he has remained so long it has
not been because he particularly desired to continue longer than

five years, but because the Maharajah
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persuaded him to stay. The question of a successor seems to have

presented some difficulty. To avoid facing it for as long a time as
possible was apparently the cause of His Highness’s disinclination to
allow Mr. Krishnaswami Row to resign. Now that the resignation has
been tendered, the appointment of a successor must soon be made.
Various rumours have for a long time been circulated about possible
and probable nominees; and in all likelihood all these will be set at rest
very shortly. In Travancore itself there are not too many men to
compete for the post, the Maharajah having had the misfortune of late
to lose some of his ablest officials. In Mr. Thanu Pillay the State lost
not only a man of conspicuous ability, but a statesman of excellent
promise, a man of sound judgment and culture. After his lamented
death the only name that has been mentioned in connection with the
Dewanship is that of Mr. Nagamiah who has undoubted claims on his
royal master; and when he was appointed to act for Mr. Krishnaswami
Row during the latter’s trip to Delhi, his prospective claim in a way
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received recognition. Since then, however, there have been persistent
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rumours and expectations of the apppointment of a person from
Madras; and to all thoughtful men it has been evident that that person
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could be no other than the Hon’ble Dewan Behadur

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Sreenivasaraghava Iyengar. So his name has been very much in

evidence of late in connection with the Dewanship of Travancore.
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It is natural that a man of Mr. Sreenivasaraghava Iyengar’s

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eminence and reputation should be thought of as the fittest person

that could be found in the British service for the responsible office of
Dewan of Travancore. He has had a very distinguished career
throughout his official life. His extensive knowledge of the
administration, his wide reading and information, his great ability,
sound judgment, tact and firmness should make him a splendid
administrator anywhere; and he possesses in no small degree the
qualities of statesmanship, which in a country like Travancore, with so
many parties and factions, is essential in a Dewan. To onlookers it is
quite evident that the influence of a commanding personality will have
the effect of unifying the discordant elements and rallying together the
forces which are now antagonistic to one another. As the head of an
important branch of the administration in Madras, Mr.
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Hello Readers,
telegram @ 4 AM.
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Youtube Link-
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Sreenivasaraghava Iyengar has made his moral influence very much

felt among all who are under his authority. His Dewanship of Baroda
during five years was, within the limitations which the will of an able
and masterful Sovereign imposed, marked by vigour and originality.
He remained in Baroda for a longer period than he had originally
stipulated; and it is a remarkable fact that in a State where he was a
complete stranger and as such perhaps at first regarded as an
intruder, he commanded the genuine respect and regard of all classes
of people. He will, we need hardly say, be an acquisition to
Travancore; and will certainly add to the strength and prestige of the
administration. Nor will the Maharajah, with his natural shrewdness
and right perception, fail to discover in him the qualities which His
Highness most values and which are indispensable in the head of an
administration, in his Chief Minister and adviser. A thoroughly safe
and sound man, he may be relied on to loyally cooperate with His
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Highness in modelling the administration on the lines most conducive
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to the well being and prosperity of the people and so as to raise the
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State still higher in the estimation of the world. If the Maharajah can
secure the services of Mr. Sreenivasaraghava Iyengar, we may
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heartily congratulate His Highness.

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We say all this without reference to the local claims which we are
not disposed to disregard. Mr. Nagamiah occupies the foremost
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position among the senior executive officials in point alike of

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emolument, status and distinction. There is no official in Travancore

who is better known outside. His Census Report is a monument of his
industry and literary accomplishments. He has risen to his present
position after passing through successive official stages in
consequence of his ability, attainments and devotion to duty. He
served such masters as Madhava Row and Seshiah Sastri and gained
their appreciation and sympathy. He has also been treated with
marked consideration by the late and the present Maharajahs, and as
an old and faithful servant of the State he has fully deserved the
distinction. If, therefore, a local selection is not altogether out of the
question, it will be highly inconsiderate to him to disregard his claim.
He has grown grey in the service; and has probably long looked up to
the greatest prize of the service. But should circumstance render a

local selection out of the question, then the
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Maharajah need feel no hesitation in inviting Dewan Bahadur

Sreenivasaraghava Iyengar who stands high both in the estimation of
the Government and that of the public, and whose services on the
Police Commission have been of a nature that cannot but redound to
his credit and to the advantage of the public.
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“Mr. Tata strove to serve his country in a manner that few other Indians have
done; and what is more remarkable is that his efforts were directed towards
developing the best intellects of the country for the industrial regeneration of
India... He perceived that India possessed intellect which could be made to
achieve great things, and his scholarships to send young men to Europe and
his Research Institute scheme were the direct results of this perception”.
MAY, 21, 1904
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The late Mr. J. N. Tata or
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HE NEWS OF THE DEATH OF JAMSETJI NUSERWANJI TATA WILL be
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received with the most profound regret in all parts of India and
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among all classes of people. The sad event took place on

Thursday, the 19th instant, at Mannheim in Germany,
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where he had been for a change. He left Bombay in January last owing
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to indifferent health and after staying for a time at Cairo he visited

Naples and other cities on the continent of Europe. The benefit which
was expected from the foreign trip was not realised; and his health
showed no improvement. Beyond the circle of his friends in Bombay,
it was little suspected that his trip to Europe was undertaken for
reasons of health; and the suddenness of the melancholy
announcement will cause a shock to most people in India who have
been expecting to see him back to resume his beneficent and patriotic
activity in this country.
Mr. Tata was barely 65 years old at the time of his death; and it
was the expectation of all his countrymen that he would live many
years longer. But death has suddenly deprived of the Indian
community of one of their most patriotic and far-sighted countrymen.
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Mr. Tata strove to serve his country in a manner that few other Indians
have done; and what is more remarkable is that his efforts were
directed towards developing the best intellects of the country for the
industrial regeneration of India. It would have been little surprising if
he had merely contented himself with opening new industries,
establishing new business, and opening commercial relations with
foreign countries. But his insight led him into quite other parts. He
perceived that India possessed intellect which could be made to
achieve great things; and his scholarships to send young men to
Europe and his Research Institute Scheme were the direct results of
this perception. He had himself shown what an Indian could achieve
in the world of commerce and industry and as a matter of course in
any other fields where one could exercise his intellect free from
depressing restraints and limitations. In whatever sphere Indians are
permitted unrestricted play to their faculties, there men like Mr. Tata
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have come upto the front. Mr. Tata having illustrated the fact in himself,
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could not rest content until he had done something to open out
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opportunities to the best youths of the country to study science and
carry on scientific research; and thus arose from his mind the idea of
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a Research University which, under a more sympathetic Government

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than that of Lord Curzon, would have before now been brought into
existence.
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Mr. Tata was admitted into the Elphinstone College, Bombay,

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when he was sixteen years old, and left it when nineteen to enter his
father’s office. Since then his career was entirely connected with
commerce and industry. Soon after leaving his career he went to
China and the visit resulted in the establishment of the firm which has
been known as Messrs. Tata & Co., with branches in Japan, Hong
Kong and Shanghai, Paris and New York. Returning from China in
1863, he went to England two years later with a view to establish an
Indian bank in London with Mr. Premchand Roychand as his partner.
But owing to a financial crash in Bombay, in which the fortunes of his
family suffered, he had to give up the project and return to Bombay.
Owing to their financial misfortune, Mr. Tata and his father turned
contractors and the contracts they obtained in connection with the
Abyssinian war revived his family fortune once more; and from that
time forward, Mr. Tata’s career was one of
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uninterrupted success and prosperity. He then applied his hand to the

mill industry. He first purchased an oil mill which he subsequently
converted into a spinning and weaving concern and then sold it at a
profit. In 1872, he again visited England to study the conditions of the
cotton mill industry in Lancashire and after returning to India he
established the Nagpur Empress Mills, in commemoration of the
assumption of the title of Empress by Queen Victoria on the 1st of
January, 1877. Encouraged by the success of this enterprise, he
purchased the Dharamsy Mill at Coorla and converted it into the
Swadesi Mill. An even greater achievement recorded to his credit is
his success against P. and O. Steam Navigation Company. It appears
that ever since Bombay’s yarn exports began to assume colossal
proportions the P. and O. Company first alone, and then, with two
other Companies, monopolised the freight for the staple product so
much so that while freights between London and Bombay had, during
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the same period, undergone considerable reduction, no such
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reduction had been made in the freights to China and Japan. A new
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line of the Japanese Navigation Company, started by enterprising
Japanese under the guidance of Messrs. Tata and Sons now entered
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the field as a formidable competitor. Thereupon the P. and O.

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company reduced the freight from Rs. 17 a ton to the nominal sum of
Rs. 2 and again to one rupee per ton. The war of freight was carried
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on for some time; and finally the P. and O. company applied political
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pressure upon their rivals through the Japanese Government. Mr.

Tata firmly stood to his guns and with the assistance of the Japanese
Press resisted the influence. He protested in a pamphlet against the
iniquity of the P. and O. Company, subsidised heavily from the Indian
revenues, using that very subsidy to make up the loss involved in the
ruinous competitive way in which they had reduced their charges. In
the end the P. & O. Company yielded.
Though Mr. Tata’s mind and energies were entirely occupied by
commerce and industry, he had always a due appreciation of the
advantages of higher education to India. He knew that the highest
development of Indian intellect was possible only through higher
education; and it was for this reason he endowed a fund for sending
youths to England which, though originally intended for Parsis, was
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in 1894 thrown open to all. Having seen the successful operation of

this fund, he started his scheme of a Research University which, if
accomplished even to some extent in the manner designed by this
great philanthropist, is bound to have a very great influence on the
industrial regeneration of India. Mr. Tata, it is true, hardly figured in the
public life of the country; and he was not a politician in the ordinary
sense of the word. But so far as devotion to the interests of his country
and his people were concerned, he had not many equals. Not only did
he strive to raise the status of his country — albeit industrially — but
made sacrifices towards that end such as few other men have made.
Few men of wealth would think of devoting so many as thirty lakhs of
rupees for the establishment of a Research Institute from which
neither he nor his family can get anything. It is a pity that he did not
live to see the completion of his scheme owing to the distrust,
suspicion and dilatory procedure of Lord Curzon’s Government. But
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his countrymen will deeply appreciate and feel grateful for his noble
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benefaction; and we have no doubt that this appreciation and gratitude
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will not be merely of this or the next generation, but of successive
generations to come. India has truly lost one of her greatest and
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noblest sons.
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“Twenty years of reactionary government and the persistent efforts of Lord

Curzon to weaken the foundations of our national life and to blast our national
hopes have brought home to us the importance of self-help and self-reliance
in the making of a prosperous and progressive Indian nation.”
OCTOBER 20, 1905
The dawn of a great epoch

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S THERE AN INDIAN IN ANY PART OF INDIA WHOSE BOSOM DOES not heave
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with emotion and hope on reflecting on the signs of the new born
patriotism in evidence at the present moment everywhere, from
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one end of the country to the other? For over twenty years the
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moribund forces of national revivification have been struggling into

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fresh birth, and today we behold the inspiring and awful spectacle of
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a great and ancient people stirred into a noble self-consciousness and

realising in their own hopeful and buoyant minds the new turn that
their history is taking. India is on the eve of a new epoch in the history
of her national career. Centuries of metaphysical dream and mental
inertia brought on by continued misrule and social chaos had almost
taken away all vitality from her mental as well as physical manhood.
The dry bones lay in the open valley for centuries; no noise was heard
nor a shaking visible. But though doomed to death, they were not
destined to die. Though there was no breath in them, yet on the
establishment of British supremacy which brought together the
scattered atoms and moulded them into one shape, the word went
forth,
“Come from the four winds O breath, and breathe upon these slain,
that they may live.”
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For a century-and-a-half, British supremacy has been blowing

gently on the extinct spark of India’s life and had roused a hope that
the spark might soon begin to glow and burn again, and fill the inert
mould with vital warmth. Naturally at such a stage the nation owes
more to the sympathy and beneficence of its foreign rulers than to its
own great men. Still, the spark in the languid genius of the nation has
now and again appeared bright in the career of a few ardent patriotic
souls, who tried to rouse into active life the prostrate body. From Raja
Rammohan down to Rao Bahadur Ranade, several noble souls
appeared and blew into the vitals of the people the genial heat that
spread abroad from the new influences of the West. Other men that
succeeded them have continued the noble task and carried the
mission of national emancipation to the remotest parts of the land.
Their labours have borne fruit in the progress of the process of
rejuvenation and in the consummation that we now behold.
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For fifty years, our leaders and their humble lieutenants have toiled
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on the field of politics in the hope that the mighty and enlightened
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nation to whose custody the destiny of their country is entrusted,
would fulfil its promises and gradually raise it to a state of dignity and
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status, to a state of expanding liberty and growing self- respect. Their

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toil has not been indeed altogether fruitless; but, on the whole, the
result has been certainly disappointing.
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The failure of our efforts in the past to reach our ends through
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political liberty having failed, the conviction is dawning on our minds

that a more certain means of reaching them is to bring about a material
upheaval, thereby filling the national mind with greater hopefulness
and more self-confidence and bringing to our struggle the invaluable
strength of abundant material resources. A poverty- stricken people in
a drooping and despondent spirit can make little headway against the
passive obstruction of an unwilling alien rule and, in the failure of our
endeavours till now without the essential sinews of war, we have had
ample experience of this melancholy fact. We have risen to the
conviction that the path to national regeneration is paved with money
as well as with less tangible materials and we now manifest this
consciousness by the increasing attention given to questions relating
to our material interests in our organs of public opinion and by the

wonderful enthusiasm that sways
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the national mind in every part of the country under the comprehensive
idea of Swadesism, which is, in other words, the concentration of our
resources on the acquiring of independence in regard to our material
requirements. We have not certainly lost sight of our political ends, but
we try to open for ourselves a new path along which we believe the
Promised Land might be reached in a shorter time and with less solid
obstacles. India is truly in the parting of ways; without abandoning the
field of politics, on which some people, not too friendly to our national
aspirations, say our salvation does not lie, we mean to plough the field
of industrial activity in the hope of reaping a more plentiful harvest.
The Swadesi Movement is only, as we said a few days ago in these
columns, a further and more tangible stage in the departure that was
made at the end of Lord Ripon’s benign rule. Twenty years of
reactionary government and the persistent efforts of Lord Curzon to
weaken the foundations of our national life and to blast our national
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hopes have brought home to us the importance of self-help and self-
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reliance in the making of a prosperous and progressive Indian nation.
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No country in the world stood at the threshold of a new epoch
opening more awful responsibilities resting on its people, and more
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mighty possibilities, than the one at which India stands today. Will the
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people prove equal to the situation? Our Anglo-Indian friends naturally

ask the question, will the new born enthusiasm visible everywhere last
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long and bear enduring fruit, or will it vanish into thin air after a short
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duration of delusive brightness. In their own hearts they answer the

question in the affirmative. Their wish is father to their thought.
Will the leading men of India, men of light and leading, public men
and silent well-wishers, prove by their apathy and weakness that our
critics are right, or will they belie their sinister prediction by a manful
determination to carry the stage of transition to a stage of practical
and lasting fruition? Will they show that they cherish sincere love for
their motherland, the land whose tenderness for her millions of sons
has preserved them from extinction and whose noble thoughts and
traditions have secured even today a small comer of sympathy and
regard in the hearts of the nations of the world for the
name of the Aryan race, the race that kindled the lamp of civilisation
when darkness brooded over the whole world.
Let us remember that the demand of India on the duty and sacrifice
of her sons is greater than the demand which any land made on its
children, for she has suffered for us as no other country suffered for
its people. Yet, how little is the sacrifice that we have made for this
hallowed and hoary land of our birth! now the very feeling of patriotism
had been foreign to us; indeed, even now there are many among the
educated classes who are ashamed of calling themselves patriots and
blush at being called by that name. History records with pride the
names of those benefactors of their fellow- creatures who redeemed
them from the grasp of native tyrants or from the yoke of foreigners,
and in every country in the world patriotism is cherished as a noble
feeling and the patriot as the pride and the hope of its people. In India
alone this feeling evokes no response and lovers of their country have
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to profess their feeling in silent whispers.
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Let us try to rise above this unworthy and weakening tendency
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towards self-abasement, and recognising that there is no nobler
sentiment than patriotism and no greater honour than to be known as
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a patriot, let us consecrate our life and everything that we have to the
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regeneration and honour of our country.

We are now in the habit of looking to Japan as our model and
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in courage or self-confidence. “Once their leaders,” says an English

critic, “have determined on a course of action they carry it through,
irrespective of cost in life or treasure.” Will our people do likewise and
earn the gratitude of posterity and the applause of the world?
The Arbuthnot & Co. well-known bankers of Madras crashed in October 1906,
bringing ruin and desolation to thousands of homes in the Presidency. THE
HINDU: “Of all the tragic accounts which we have heard relating to this
catastrophe the most revolting are those cases in which it is reported that
sums of money have been received on current and fixed deposits by
Arbuthnot & Co. on Friday and Saturday last, the last day on which they kept
their doors open for investors, whose feelings may be better imagined than
described when they heard of the crash the next day.”
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OCTOBER 23, 1906
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The failure of Arbuthnot & Co.
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Arbuthnot & Co. should make a speedy full and fair
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their bankruptcy. The telegram received today that Mr.

Macfadyen leading partner of the firm in England has committed
suicide enormously increases the gravity of the situation. As one who
held the master key of the firm he was in the best position to give the
public the correct account of the transactions of the firm, the extent of
the losses which it had sustained and how they had been brought
about. It is said that “No statement of his affairs is possible”. Naturally
so, when the only man who could have unravelled the state of things
has put an end to his life in the most barbarous and ignominious
manner possible. The public will be shocked to hear that a man who
was at the head of a firm of merchants, who enjoyed for such a long
period and in such abundant measure, their wholehearted confidence
and respect should not only have caused the wreck of so many homes
and unspeakable anguish in many households but closed his
inglorious career by an act of supreme
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selfishness and cowardice. The London Times rightly says that the
event will produce an unfortunate moral effect in India. It will be true
to say that it is sufficient to blast for a long time to come the reputation
of Englishmen for probity and righteousness. Since yesterday we
have been receiving harrowing accounts of innumerable instances of
the little all that people, young and old, had possessed, having
become engulfed in this catastrophe. Under the present
circumstances, the plain duty of the partners of the firm is by all means
in their power to allay the public excitement, indignation and alarm by
an honest and open statement of all the circumstances which have
led to the disaster and to endeavour to realise the assets and make
the best reparation possible to the creditors. The act of self-destruction
which the chief partner has committed makes the position exceedingly
gloomy and renders his previous conduct liable to the worst
suspicions. It also renders somewhat improbable the prospect of the
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creditors receiving anything like a substantial dividend. The liabilities
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are evidently very large and the means by which they have accrued
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are prima facie such as will not bear close scrutiny, if we are to judge
of their nature from the fact that Mr. Macfadyen who was chiefly
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instrumental in incurring them has shrunk from facing a public enquiry

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and deemed it safer to get “behind the veil”. It cannot be denied that
under the present circumstances the burden of liability and
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responsibility on Sir George Arbuthnot who is the partner of the firm in

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Madras has become very heavy indeed. We may say at once that we
hope there is no truth in the rumour that he contemplates leaving the
country immediately. Personally and as one of the principal partners
of Arbuthnot & Co. Sir George Arbuthnot has long enjoyed the
confidence and respect of Europeans and Indians alike in the city.
There is no doubt that a great reverse has befallen him which is none
the less keen or less ill deserved, because it has carried ruin and
desolation to many others likewise. An Anglo-Indian contemporary
pleads for sympathy by the public on behalf of the partners of the ill
fated firm. It need scarcely be pointed out that they will be entitled to
sympathy or consideration only in so far as they succeed in showing
that the financial ruin with respect to which they have been the
instruments of so many hundreds of persons has been caused by

circumstances beyond
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their control and to which they have not contributed by any acts of
theirs. As we have said before Mr. Macfadyen the chief partner has by
committing suicide sealed his own lips in regard to the bankruptcy of
the firm and of the extent of his own responsibility in regard to it. He
did not also have the feeling of humanity which ought to have impelled
him to retrieve by his future exertions in life the shattered fortunes and
conditions of his innumerable customers. To the credit of the English
merchants’ fidelity to truth and honest dealing, we may cite an instance
which is exactly the reverse of the case of Mr. Macfadyen. An English
coffee merchant in the mofussil in this presidency, some years ago
was doing the business of a banker. His banking business was like
that of Arbuthnot & Co. Owing to the state of the coffee market his
business declined and he was involved in bankruptcy. He was able to
pay only a small fraction of their debts to his numerous creditors but
he faced his misfortune and the execrations of his creditors like a man
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and set up fresh business. The latter soon flourished and led him on
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to fortune and in spite of his non-liability under the law this honest
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Englishman paid up in full the balance of the debts due to his former
creditors. He is still doing the prosperous business and lives contented
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to the approbation of a satisfied conscience and with the esteem and

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respect of his Indian fellow countrymen. We think Sir George

Arbuthnot should emulate his countryman’s example and live up to the
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traditions of his ancestry and the honourable place which he has

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hitherto occupied in the minds of the public of this part of India.

As usual in matters of large moment affecting the interests and
feelings of a large number of people there are rumours floating about
regarding the transactions of the firm during a week or ten days
immediately preceding the suspension of payments to creditors. While
some of them may be groundless there are others which have an air
of plausibility and probability as they are attended by circumstances
which may seem to have a corroborative value. It is said that these
withdrawals were by a favoured class of creditors. It is admitted by the
firm that there were “sudden and unexpected demands for withdrawal
of deposits”. It is material for the public to know who were all the
persons that were allowed the withdrawals and how and by what
sources they were inspired with a knowledge
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that like rats leaving a sinking ship they should secure their own
monies from the impending ruin. It is also relevant to know how much
of deposit amounts have been received by the firm during the last one
week or ten days.
Sir George Arbuthnot is also bound to enlighten the public as to
how long he has been in possession of the knowledge that his firm
was sinking and was not capable of keeping above water.
Of all the tragic accounts which we have heard relating to this
catastrophe the most revolting are those cases in which it is reported
that sums of money have been received on current and fixed deposits
by Arbuthnot & Co. on Friday and even on Saturday last, the last day
on which they kept their doors open for investors, whose feelings may
be better imagined than described when they heard of the crash next
day. We are told that a deposit of Rs. 10,000 was received from a
native gentleman on Saturday and the National Fund collections
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amounting to Rs. 2,000 were also received on the same day. These
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facts and other rumours which have an ugly look about them are
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matters to be explained in a satisfactory manner. No authentic
statement of the particulars relating to the bankruptcy has yet been
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published by the firm. It seems to us that notwithstanding the fact that

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proceedings have been initiated in the court for declaring insolvency,

Sir George Arbuthnot should without delay, in order to allay public
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excitement, make a detailed statement of the circumstances which

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have caused the lamentable collapse of his firm. With regard to the
order which was made in the insolvency court yesterday, vesting the
properties of the firm in the Official Assignee the wish has been widely
expressed that in view of the large properties involved and their being
situated in various places another Commissioner should be appointed
to work with the Official Assignee and he may be an Indian gentleman
of experience and position. If it is allowed by the law nothing will give
greater satisfaction to the numerous body of Indian creditors under the
circumstances.
“The Swadeshi movement in this country, if combined with the driving force
ol boycott, whatever effect it may have on the political relations between the
British and Indian peoples, is bound, in our view, to accelerate the industrial
development of the country. We go further and hold that Swadeshi and
Boycott are indispensable factors to produce the economic revolution in the
country necessary to ensure its material prosperity, labouring as we do under
the disabilities attendant upon a foreign political domination”.
JULY 9, 1907
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Economic boycott
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T IS COMMONLY ASSERTED AND BELIEVED IN BY NOT A FEW OF our public
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men, that boycott of British or foreign goods is a weapon to be

used for political purposes, that it is a means of propagating race
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hatred, and that under the peculiar circumstances of this country,

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this weapon of hate, as it is termed, ought not to be had recourse to

by the people. It is argued that if boycott is the instrument by which
you are to wring political concessions from the rulers of the country, it
is bound to raise angry passions, and that it must be kept in reserve
in order to be employed on extreme occasions only. It is maintained
by those who support the adoption of the boycott in its full length, that
the administration of the country has arrived at such a pass, that
recourse to it is justifiable under existing circumstances. Without
discussing this aspect of the question, it seems to us that it may most
reasonably be maintained that the economic regeneration of the
country will be greatly advanced by adopting the system of boycott of
British and foreign goods. The late Mr. Justice Ranade observed at an
Industrial Conference held at Poona, that “the political domination of

one country by another attracts far more
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attention than the more formidable, though unfelt, domination, which

the capital, enterprise and skill of one country, exercise over the trade
and manufactures of another. This latter domination has an insidious
influence which paralyses the springs of all the varied activities which
together make up the life of a nation.” That the people of this country
are at the present moment affected injuriously by the evils of a political
domination as well as by the evils arising from the more potent and
insidious economic foreign domination needs no demonstration. The
Swadeshi movement in this country, if combined with the driving force
of boycott, whatever effect it may have on the political relations
between the British and the Indian peoples, is bound, in our view, to
accelerate the industrial development of the country. We go further
and hold that Swadeshi and Boycott are indispensable factors to
produce the economic revolution in the country necessary to ensure
its material prosperity, labouring as we do, under the disabilities
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attendant upon a foreign political domination. In an article on
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“Government and Industrial Development” published in its issue of
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Friday last, the Pioneer says:
—“In considering the administrative action of Government, we may
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safely discard the idea of a protective tariff. It is true that a long series
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of English economists have justified protection for starting new

industries; it is true that almost any colonial, American, or continental
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statesman would unhesitatingly prescribe a tariff as the first step to be

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taken; and it is probably true that a moderate tariff would be the most
popular measure that could be introduced in the Legislative Council.
But it is also true that the English Government of the time is not
prepared to consider the possibility of protection in any shape or form.”
The truth of these observations is undeniable, only, the Pioneer affects
to throw the blame on the Liberal Government, conveniently ignoring
the fact that the Conservative Government, which was in power till 18
months ago, preserved the same attitude and it was the late Marquis
of Salisbury, when Secretary of State for India, that directed the repeal
of the cotton import duties. Why should the people of India, as stated
by the Pioneer, discard the idea of a protective tariff? If the
Government of this country is carried on for the benefit of the people,
as pompously proclaimed by Mr. Morley in his Budget speech, and if

the opinions of
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a long series of English economists and of the people of the country

are in favour of a protective tariff, why does the Government shrink
from imposing it? The answer obviously is that it fears to offend the
British merchants whose pockets will suffer by the proposed
restriction. The British people did not hesitate to prohibit the
importation of Indian goods into England when they affected the sale
of British goods of similar kind in the market. During the time of the
East India Company, Indian silks, cotton and other articles were
imported into England and were preferred to the British made goods
for their quality and price. The British merchants became exasperated
at this and in consequence of their agitation, the British Parliament
passed an Act by which it was enacted, that “from and after the 29th
day of September 1701, all bought silks, angolas and stuffs mixed with
silk or herbs of manufacture of China, Persia, or the East Indies, and
all calicoes painted, dyed, printed or stained there, which are, or shall
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be, imported into this kingdom, shall not be worn or otherwise used in
or
Great Britain, and all goods imported after that date shall be
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warehoused or exported again.” In 1775, a Patriotic Society was
formed in Edinburgh as a protest against the fashion of wearing Indian
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cotton apparel. The object of that Society was to boycott every man
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associated with the ladies wearing it. These facts are sufficiently
eloquent and as a writer in the Hindustan Review observes, “let our
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Anglo-Indian critics who find fault with the Bengal movement, ponder
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over these enactments and resolutions.” The matter, however, is

clearly set forth by James Mill in his history of India, where he writes
of this subject, as follows:
It was stated in evidence that the cotton and silk goods of
India up to this period (1815) could be sold for a profit in the
English market at a price from 50 to 60 per cent, lower than
those fabricated in England. It consequently became
necessary to protect the latter by duties of 70 or 80 per cent,
on their value or by positive prohibition. Had not this been the
case, the mills of Manchester and Paisley would have stopped
at the outset and could scarcely have been in motion even by
the power of steam. They were created at the sacrifice of Indian
manufacturers. Had India been independent, she would have

retaliated. This act of self-
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defence was not permitted her. British goods were forced on

her without paying any duty and the foreign manufacturer
employed the arm of political injustice to keep down and
ultimately strangle a competitor with whom he could not have
contended on equal terms.
The italics are ours, though even without them, the sense of James
Mill’s words cannot be missed. The facts above referred to prove
conclusively that in the early days of England’s connection with India,
the British trade in certain textile fabrics was in danger of losing ground
in competition with Indian-made goods. English public opinion,
therefore, rose against the imminent peril. Boycott Societies were
formed to keep out the Indian goods and the British Parliament
solemnly passed an Act prohibiting the importation of Indian goods
into England.
The people of India need not complain that the British merchants
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of those days looked after their interests so keenly, watchfully and well
or
that they took effective measures to protect their interests even, when
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by so doing, they put the Indian merchants at a great disadvantage.
The situation then created was one of economic and financial
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independence between the people of Great Britain and the people of

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India. If this position had been consistently maintained in all the

subsequent dealings between the two peoples, Indian commerce and
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industries would not be in the miserable condition in which they are

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now. When the interests of the British merchants were endangered by

the competition of the Indian merchants in England, the Government
and the people of England with united strength erected a wall of
protective tariff around their country rigidly shutting out the importation
of Indian goods. But when the British goods at a subsequent period
were poured into India and swamped the already decaying Indian
trade, the Government of England used, as James Mill terms it, the
arm of political injustice to throw freely open the ports of India to the
goods of British merchants, and helped to smother and almost to
extinguish Indian trade in cotton goods.
“The Psychic Research Society has a life of a quarter of a century and the
results which have been obtained by constant research and close
examination are such as should make even the most sceptical to pause in
their work of discrediting every phenomenon which, by their limited reasoning
and experiment, they are not able to find the truth about. The existence of
such curious and startling phenomenon seems to be assured...”
NOVEMBER 11, 1908
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Psychical research or
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S
IR OLIVER LODGE IS ONE OF THE FEW SCIENTISTS IN EUROPE who
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have an open mind regarding psychic and other puzzling

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phenomena which are too often put down for stupid

superstition. Indeed open-mindedness has been through out
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his characteristic, and his contributions to the study of what are called
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“psychological supernormalities” have horrified not a few of his co-

workers in the field of science. His latest on the subject appear in the
Harper’s Monthly Magazine for August, and it is an eloquent plea for
the recognition of the truth of certain psychic occurrences. The
Psychic Research Society was established twenty-five years ago for
the purpose of investigating what substance there was in a number of
certain strange, weird apparent facts with which most of the
distinguished members who joined the Society at its inception had
become acquainted. Those that took part in the deliberations of the
P.R.S. were eminent men, trained students in Science, Literature and
Philosophy. The P.R.S. has a life of a quarter of a century and the
results which have been obtained by constant research and close
examination are such as should make even the most sceptical
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to pause in their work of discrediting every phenomenon which, by

their limited reasoning and experiment, they are not able to find the
truth about. The existence of such curious and startling phenomena
seems to be assured, and every student of the voluminous and epoch-
making works of Frederic Myers should now be familiar with them. Sir
Oliver Lodge states that the first fact established by the Society’s
labour was the reality of telepathy — which is described to be the
phenomenon of a thought or image or impression or emotion in the
mind of one person giving rise to a similar impression in the mind of
another person sufficiently sympathetic and sufficiently at leisure to
attend and record the impression. But though this is proved nothing is
known about how this is caused, about the mechanism which works
this effect. The discovery of this fact has served to explain in a way,
many phenomena like apparitions, hallucinations, whether of sight, or
of hearing or of touch. At the same time it reduced the stories about
the clothes and accessories of so called ‘ghosts’ to absurdity. A
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second phenomenon of immense importance which there is every
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probability of being accepted as true in the near future is that which is
known under various names, and of which the simplest is called
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‘automatic writing’ — “that is writing executed independently of the full

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knowledge and consciousness of the operator — the hand acting in

obedience either to some unconscious portion of the operator’s mind,
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or else responding to some other psychical influence more or less

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distinct from both his normal and his hypernormal personality.” Sir
Oliver Lodge emphatically says that it is ‘useless and merely ignorant’
to deny occurrences of the nature mentioned above. These
phenomena occasionally take the form of unconscious speeches and
the person who is used as a medium is often himself unconscious for
one or two hours together. Whence the information which is given out
in writing or speech is obtained, is not known, but Sir Oliver Lodge
states that the simplest assumption and one that covers a majority of
cases is that the writer’s unconscious intelligence or subliminal self,
his dream or genius stratum is at work. Now two hypothesis are being
advanced to explain these phenomena. One of them, believed in by
Sir Oliver Lodge himself as sufficiently covering very large number of
cases, is that telepathy of some kind is occurring from some living
person and is influencing the
sensitive mind or train of the unconscious or semi-unconscious

operator. But there is the other hypothesis which goes further and this
is. It is supposed that the surviving intelligence of some of those who
have recently lived on this earth, bring to bear a telepathic or telergic
influence on the persons who ‘automatically’ write or deliver a speech
while under trance. It is stated that a physiological apparatus is utilised
by an intelligence to which it does not belong and this is called motor
automatism or ‘telergy’, or popularly ‘possession’. These two
hypothesis may be taken for the purpose of investigation and research
with perfect liberty to throw them away if they are proved to be wrong
and unsatisfactory. In ordinary life the process involved in speaking
and writing is this. An idea is conceived in the mind and for it to get
expressed, it must move matter in the material world. A thought
belongs to a different order of existence — “whatever it is it is not
material; it is neither matter nor force; it has no direct power over
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matter; directly and unaided it moves matter; in the muscle is
or
contained energy which only requires to be stimulated into activity in
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order to be transformed into visible motion. Muscles are stimulated by
nerve fibres which themselves are excited from a central source of
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energy such as exists in the cortex or grey matter in the brain. Only
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thus much is known and understood. But what is it that stimulates the
brain? Only in some cases it is mere reflex action. But in the case of
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a thought conceived in the mind, asks Sir Oliver Lodge, “operating, so

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to speak, on the will, and determining that there shall be a response

in the material world, how does the stimulus get out of the psychical
region into the physical and liberate energy from the brain centre?” Sir
Oliver says “I have not the remotest idea; nor, I venture to say, has
anyone.” Telepathy has suggested that mind can act directly on mind
and thereby indirectly operate on the physical world through the
organism of another person. But they are all cases where the mind of
the second person is left out of account altogether and where only his
brain is affected so that some mechanical action is produced in the
physical world. And it is these cases which are called “possession” —
a telergical effect as it is technically named. If these are true as there
is every indication to believe they are, then, Sir Oliver Lodge says they
are worth knowing about thoroughly. Now, it is ordinarily said

by
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religiously orthodox people that the connection between ourselves

and our organism is only temporary and that at death, the body
resolves itself into its original elements, but the psychic entities still
persist. In the new state, which occurs after death, we have no means
of moving matter, of operating on the physical world. We cannot
communicate with friends — no, not unless one of three things
happen, says Sir Oliver Lodge. The telepathic power may continue so
as to enable us to operate directly on the conscious or unconscious
mind of our friends; or a material agency may continue, which it is
somewhat difficult to conceive of, or thirdly and more likely a telergic
power enabling the physical unit (ourselves after death) to detect and
make use of some fully developed physiological medium
— not of course belonging to it, for we speak of things happening at
the death — ‘so that, during temporary vacation, by the usual
possessor, this physiological medium may be utilised for a time and
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may achieve, in an unpractised and more or less blundering fashion,
or
some desired influence upon the physical world.’ This trying to use
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other people’s bodies for conveying messages by surviving
intelligence may be due to various cases — it may be due to affection
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of the operator for his friends, or occasionally, in the words of Sir Oliver
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Lodge “it may be a scientific interest surviving from the time in this life
when he was a keen and active member of the P. R.
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S. so that he desires above all things to convey to his friends, engaged

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on the same quest, some assurance, not only of his continued

individual existence — in which on religious grounds, they may
imagine that they already believe — but of his retention of a power to
communicate indirectly and occasionally with them, and to produce
movements even in the material world, by kind permission of an
organism, or part of an organism, the temporary use or possession of
which has been allowed him for that purpose.” The
P.R.S. is now engaged in aiming at evidence to prove the identity of
these surviving intelligences. And this is sought to be done by cross-
correspondence — the reception of part of a message through one
medium and part through another — and by information or criteria
characteristic of the supposed intelligence.
“In taking up an attitude of active hostility to the important portions of the

reform proposals, our Anglo-Indian brethren are, we venture to say, not acting
in the best interests of this country, present or prospective, nor in the best
and enduring interest of the community to which they belong. By engaging in
the unwholesome agitation into which they have entered they are setting up
a pernicious example to their Indian fellow countrymen; nor is their action
calculated to advance the cause of justice and of good government”.
JANUARY 15, 1909
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The reception of the reforms
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T
HE LETTERS ON LORD MORLEY’S REFORM PROPOSALS WHICH we
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have been publishing in these columns from Indians of note

in this Presidency concluding today with that of Mr. Nagamiah,
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the talented ex-Dewan Peishkar of Travancore,

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show that intelligent and educated public opinion views with much
gratification and thankfulness the instalment of reform indicated in the
joint proposals of the Secretary of State and of the Government of
India. So far as Indian opinion is concerned, there are unmistakable
tokens of appreciation and of a sense of relief from every part of the
country that the proposed reforms are regarded as a timely, judicious
and statesmanlike solution of the impasse into which things have
drifted in the country. In placing his proposals of the scheme of Reform
before the House of Lords, in a speech of stately dignity, chaste diction
and farseeing statesmanship, Lord Morley said that it was his desire
to know what reception they would meet with in this country before
they were embodied in the form of a bill to be introduced at the next
session of Parliament. In the gracious speech of His Majesty the

King Emperor, with which
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Parliament was prorogued on the 21st December last, the following

significant words occur: “My Government have, therefore, felt justified
in pressing forward the measures that have long been under their
consideration, for enlarging the share of the Indian peoples in the
administration of the country. These measures have been laid before
you and I earnestly hope that they will be received in the spirit of
mutual trust and goodwill in which they are proposed.” We commend
the words we have italicised to the earnest and deep attention of that
section of the Anglo-Indian community which seems bent upon crying
down the Reforms or a portion of them, in a spirit far from conducive
to strengthening brotherly feelings between the Indian and Anglo-
Indian communities, showing likewise a lack of a spirit of loyal
cooperation in regard to the declared intentions and policy of His
Majesty and of His Government. In taking up an attitude of active
hostility to the important portions of the Reform proposals, our Anglo-
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Indian brethren, are, we venture to say, not acting in the best interests
or
of this country, present or prospective, nor in the best and enduring
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interests of the community to which they belong. By engaging in the
unwholesome agitation into which they have entered they are setting
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up a pernicious example to their Indian fellow- countrymen; nor is their

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action calculated to advance the cause of justice and of good

government. That portion of the Reform proposals which is apparently
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viewed with great disfavour by a portion of the Anglo-Indian

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community is the one relating to the appointment of Indians in the

Executive Council. It is difficult to discover any legitimate and
reasonable ground of opposition for this measure. Considerations of
justice, of policy and wise statesmanship imperatively require the step
to be taken. It has indeed been too long deferred. The principle that
no Indian shall by reason only of his religion, place of birth, descent,
colour or any of them be disabled from holding any high office under
the Crown was established so long ago as 1833, by Statutes 3 and 4
of William IV. The very reasons which the Parliamentary statute has
declared not to be operative as a bar to Indians being raised to high
offices, have been in practice for three quarters of a century made so
to act. Honest English statesmen have not hesitated to denounce this
as a political hypocrisy and injustice. It is the desire to perpetuate

a racial
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cleavage between the rulers and the ruled, the ruling race and the
subject race that has led to what Lord Lytton rightly characterised as
“breaking to the heart the words of promise they had uttered to the
ear”. Intelligent Anglo-Indians must admit that the time has now
arrived when it is futile and even dangerous to indulge in the cant
about racial inferiority in order to debar Indians from climbing beyond
a certain step in the official ladder, to say that in the official hierarchy
a native of India shall go thus far only and no further. We have said
advisedly that the arrogant assertion of racial superiority is dangerous
under existing conditions in India, because, singularly enough, in the
last number of the Antiseptic just received, in an article republished
elsewhere, on “The Patho-genesis of Anarchism”, the following
passage occurs: —
“We are told by eminent historians that the guiding principle of
Jacobins and French anarchists was political equality. That is also the
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ideal of Nihilists who are anarchists of a particular type. And the
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Bengal anarchists appear to be no exception to the rule. Political
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equality seems to be their object too. But with them political equality
is inextricably mixed up with racial equality. And the not infrequent
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public assertion of racial superiority by the less thoughtful European

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residents in this country over their Indian fellow-citizens may not

unnaturally have fanned into flame the dormant desire for absolute
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equality lurking in the minds of the potential anarchists of Bengal.”

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Be this as it may, there can be no doubt that as a matter of justice

and common fairness, the claims of Indians of proved capacity and
character should be placed upon a par with those of Englishmen in
respect of a reasonable proportion of the highest offices in the country;
otherwise, a standing source of national irritation and wrong will
subsist. Many years ago, the late Sir Henry Fawcett remarked in the
House of Commons as follows: “Sir Madava Row administered
Travancore with so much skill as justly to entitle him to be considered
the Turgot of India. He found Travancore when he went there in 1849
in the lowest stage of degradation. He has left it a model State. This
is the kind of man for whom we have no proper opening at a time when
our resources are declared to be inelastic and when, if the opium
revenue failed us, we should not know where to turn for the amount
required.” It seems to us that apart from all
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considerations bearing upon the efficiency of and improvement in the

administration, consequent on the appointment of Indians as
Members to the Executive Councils, it would help to remove a badge,
so to speak, of racial inferiority, as well as satisfy the claims of national
justice. Mr. H. W. Nevinson, a keen and disinterested observer writes
in his book on the “New Spirit in India” referring to the desirable
change of attitude on the part of Anglo-Indians towards Indians: “If the
phrase ‘rulers and ruled’ died too, and if our social philosophers would
cease to drone out with weary ineptitude that ‘East is East and West
is West’ the situation would be much eased.” In a speech delivered
sometime after his arrival in Madras, His Excellency Sir Arthur Lawley
observed as follows: — “If you ask me to define in a single phrase
what I conceive should be the true relation between Europeans and
Indians of the country, I should say it would be one of ‘manly
comradeship’. Think for a moment what that phrase implies. It does
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not mean the mere passive attitude of the arm-chair sentimentalist,
or
the mere attitude of sympathy and goodwill, but it means for both
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races devotion of their energies to the attainment of one end; it means
the mutual understanding of the modes and actions of both; it means
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experience of difficulties faced together and the striving shoulder to

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shoulder, side by side, towards one common goal, the good of India.”
This is a most just and statesmanlike view of the situation and the
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association of Indians with Englishmen in the Executive Councils is,

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therefore, a legitimate and necessary step in the right direction which

all the members of the Anglo-Indian community, as much as Indians,
ought ungrudgingly to welcome, and make fruitful of common and
public benefit.
“India . . . while it mourns the loss of an Emperor whose kindness and

affection secured for them the blessings of British rule — so graciously
granted by the late Queen Empress — welcomes her new King-Emperor
whose sympathy with her people has already been assured, whose personal
knowledge and insight has already led him to the true secret of wise,
progressive and beneficent rule in India”.
MAY 9, 1910
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George V - King Emperor or
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HE SPEECH WHICH HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE V. EMPEROR of India,
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addressed to the Privy Council on Saturday last, a summary

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of which Reuter has wired to us, will sound the veriest depths
of emotion in every one of his subjects. His Majesty
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recalled his father’s words, that so long as he drew breath he would

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strive to promote the best interests of the people. “It will be the earnest
object of my life”, said His Majesty, “to follow in the footsteps of my
father and at the same time uphold the constitutional Government of
these realms. I am deeply sensitive to my heavy responsibilities, but
know that I can rely on Parliament and the people of these islands and
my dominions overseas to help me in the discharge of my arduous
duties by their prayers that God will grant me strength and guidance.”
His Majesty King George V comes to the throne at a younger age than
his late Majesty, but with a wiser head than many monarchs his age
could boast of in Europe. King George in the days of his youth was
not trained to “be a king”. That was done in the case of his late
lamented brother, the Duke of Clarence. His Majesty therefore, has
had the singular advantage of having been trained as a sailor and

the unsecluded career led by
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him threw him fully and freely in the midst of all his subjects. When he
was therefore, called in 1901, by the hand of Providence, to undertake
the duties of his royal position as Prince of Wales, His Majesty showed
an adaptability and resource in his new position and evinced qualities,
which if they were perhaps different from those displayed by his great
father, His late Majesty, certainly contributed equally to strengthen the
bonds of the people of the Empire to the throne and to attach their
affections to himself as the heir-apparent. Quietly, unostentatiously,
but none the less effectively, His Majesty has been performing the
functions of his high office. His Majesty has visited every part of his
Empire and has made himself personally acquainted with all their
problems. For, the Royal tours in 1901 and 1905-06 were not regarded
by him, merely as Royal progresses undertaken for purposes of
display or diversion, but as affording opportunities for the purpose of
understanding the varying needs and requirements of the Empire.
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That His Majesty used those opportunities wisely and well, it is
or
superfluous to mention. The speeches which he delivered on his
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return from his colonial and Indian tours have given his subjects a
glimpse of the deep insight which he has acquired into their conditions
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and into their problems. His Majesty’s Indian subjects now recall with
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pride the great speech which he made at the Guildhall Banquet given
to him in June 1906, which we republish elsewhere and in which he
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gave an account of his impressions of his Indian subjects, of the

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enthusiasm and devotion with which they welcomed him, of the

unmistakable proofs of their genuine devotion and personal
attachment to the King Emperor, his late Majesty, and of the poverty
and misery of many of the people of this land to whom he extended
his royal sympathy. In the following impassioned words, he appealed
to his hearers and to the members of the ruling class in India to rule
his people with sympathy:
I have realised the patience, the simplicity of life, the loyal
devotion, and the religious spirit which characterise the Indian
peoples. I know also their faith in the absolute justice and
integrity of our rule. I cannot help thinking from all I have heard
and seen that the task of governing India will be made the
easier if we, on our part, infuse into it a wider element of
sympathy. I will venture to predict that to such sympathy there

will be an ever abundant and genuine response. May we not
also hope for a still fuller measure of trust and confidence in our
earnest desire and efforts to promote the well-being and to
further the best interests of every class?
His Majesty’s visit to India synchronised with the beginning of a
period of unrest in this land after the regime of Lord Curzon, and
nothing has shown the sober and statesmanlike qualities of His
Majesty more than the trouble which he took amidst all the pomp and
pageantry of a Royal progress, to study and understand the true
causes of the unrest among his Indian subjects, to appreciate and
sympathise with their disadvantages, difficulties and desires and
speak out his mind on them to those agents of his administration in
India to whom has been committed the destinies of millions of his
subjects. India, therefore, while it mourns the loss of an Emperor
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whose kindness and affection secured for them the blessings of British
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rule — so graciously granted by the late Queen Empress — welcomes
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her new King Emperor whose sympathy with her people has already
been assured, whose personal knowledge and insight has already led
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him to the true secret of wise, progressive and beneficent rule in India.
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In England, as well as in India. His Majesty succeeds, in the words of

the London Times “at a time of unusual difficulty and stress, but his
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subjects may rest assured that they have had his close and anxious
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attention for many months”. Whatever be the means by which the

constitutional crisis in Great Britain between the House of Lords and
the House of Commons is tided over we may be sure that, as John
Bright once put it, so long as the Throne of England is filled with so
much dignity and so much honour — and we may add with so much
ability and statesmanship — by Queen Empress Victoria and her
descendants, “the venerable monarchy will be perpetual” even were
the most socialist Ministry to be in power in England. India, however,
has nothing to do directly either with the ending or mending of the
House of Lords or any of those party fights which are now acute in the
United Kingdom. And amidst the shifts and changes of parties and
ministers in England and the continual changes of rulers and
administrators in India, the masses of the Indian people have

naturally regarded the Royal Family as the one
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permanent factor in the British connection with India and have

continued to place their faith in their sense of justice, sympathy and
kindness, as far as they might help in promoting the welfare of the
country. So far as His Majesty is concerned, we may be permitted to
observe that the Indian problem will be the simpler and easier one for
His Majesty to grapple with. For, His Majesty has had the advantage
which his Ministers do not possess, of a direct and personal
acquaintance with it during his very recent tour — and, to the extent
he extends his wide sympathy, “there will be an ever- abundant and
genuine response.”
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A young Brahmin terrorist, Vanchi Aiyer, shot down Ashe, Collector of

Tinnevelly, at the Maniyachi railway station while he was in a train
compartment. Vanchi committed suicide after his political crime. THE HINDU:
“The noxious growth of anarchical crime so entirely foreign to the instincts,
sentiments and cherished convictions of the people of this land is not, it is to
be hoped, entering into this peaceful Presidency. It is the duty of the people
as that of the Government to strive their best to see that it does not obtain a
foothold in this Presidency. The danger of the anarchist to the peace, order
and well-being of the people must be manifest to the meanest understanding”.
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JUNE 19, 1911 or
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The Ashe murder tragedy

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HE FURTHER PARTICULARS WHICH HAVE SINCE BEEN RECEIVED of the
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outrage at Maniyachi, have not tended much to clear the

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mystery which yet surrounds the identity of the assassin and

the circumstances connected with his heinous crime. The
account which we publish elsewhere from an eye-witness of the
tragedy at Maniyachi, shows that the peculiarly heartless and revolting
and thorough manner in which the foul assassin accomplished his
deed. Mr. Ashe must apparently have been dogged by this man from
Tinnevelly and have put himself in a specially favourable position for
him at the Maniyachi junction where, all unconscious of his impending
death, he was staying in his compartment with his wife. Mrs. Ashe was
busy attending to some work in her hands and this enabled and
emboldened the man to approach them and left him free to take
deliberate aim and fire the fatal shot. The painfulness of the situation
must have been immense and Mrs. Ashe must have needed all
the courage of an English
woman to make the appeal for medical help which could not be had
there. Mr. Ashe expired before he reached his headquarters, but the
assassin had perished long before only to create further obstacles in
the way of tracing out the genesis and development of the plot in which
he played the foremost and blackest part. So far as the Tinnevelly
district is concerned, Mr. Ashe knew it well and had apparently no
reason whatever to suspect any plot to murder him or any others. His
administration since he was placed in charge of the District was quite
efficient and sympathetic and from all that we have heard, he was
moving on the best of terms with the people and the educated classes,
often visiting their club of which he was an honorary member, and
mingling quite freely with them. No immediate motive, either of a
political or of a personal kind could have been fancied by the murderer
or his accomplices. The murder under the circumstances whether it
partakes of the nature of a political crime, as it is suspected to be, or
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not, is the most wanton and unprovoked outrage which has upto now
or
been recorded in the history of these disgraceful outrages that have
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tarnished the fair name of the country before the civilised world. The
noxious growth of anarchical crime so entirely foreign to the instincts,
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sentiments and cherished convictions of the people of this land is not,

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it is to be hoped, entering into this peaceful Presidency. It is the duty

of the people as that of the Government, to strive their best to see that
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it does not obtain a foothold in this Presidency. The danger of the

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anarchist to the peace, order and well-being of the people must be

manifest to the meanest understanding. The anarchist, with his false
and traitorous patriotism is a much greater danger to the mass of his
countrymen than to the ruling class or to the constituted authority. The
negation of law and order and the substitution of the anarchist’s own
judgment, means and weapons for those of constituted authority, is
fraught with far graver danger to the community than to the agents of
administration who could easily take care of themselves, if they have
not to take care of the community, too. When they have not to do both
the task is an extremely difficult one, and while it is necessary that
they should not adopt measures in a panic which would harm the
peaceful and law abiding citizens in the attempt to put down this
species of violent crime, it is equally necessary that the people and
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their leaders should strive their utmost to assist the authorities to weed
out of this country this strange, cruel and un-Indian movement. It is
indeed to be devoutly hoped that the crime at Maniyachi will turn out
not to be of an anarchical character. Meanwhile, the hearts of all
Europeans and Indians alike will go out towards the bereaved widow,
who thus finds herself deprived, under circumstances so tragical, of
her husband in a strange land. The esteem and regard in which the
late Mr. Ashe was held in Tinnevelly was duly testified to by the
leading men of Tinnevelly, who attended the funeral last evening and
by the resolution of sympathy with Mrs. Ashe which was passed by
the Tinnevelly Club yesterday. The Government, in their Press Note
issued, have recorded their appreciation of Mr. Ashe’s work as an
officer and have offered a reward of Rs. 1,000 for any information
leading to the arrest of the other culprits.
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“The use of municipal water is not justified because it is used for any
municipal purposes or because it is paid for. The primary use of municipal
water is for public health and for public cleanliness. The inhabitants of a city
must have adequate water to drink, of really wholesome quality. They also
require water for washing and cleaning. Frequent baths under Indian
conditions are indispensable and to certain classes of the population bathing
is of even greater importance than drinking”.
APRIL 22, 1912
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The Corporation and water supply
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T IS TIME THE CORPORATION MAKES EARNEST ENDEAVOURS TO do its
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duty to the ratepayers in respect of water-supply. The first thing

to do is to stop the visible waste and misuse of Municipal water.
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There are loud complaints of want of water from everywhere.

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There is an woeful lack of control over water distribution. The

executive is apparently powerful to prevent the waste. While
thousands are deprived of the water requisite for their health and
cleanliness, municipal water is used freely to irrigate gardens. It is
stated that numerous stables, cattle-yards, work-houses, bakeries,
mess houses and small factories are taking municipal water free.
The bulk of the water that is used for building purposes in the City is
taken free. Do all the industries and trades that take in water pay for
the same? It is impossible to enumerate all the non-domestic
purposes for which water is utilised. At the rate of 12 annas per
thousand gallons ordinarily levied, the Corporation collected not less
than a lakh and fifteen thousand rupees as fees for water supplied
for non-domestic purposes in the past year. This accounts for a

fraction, after all, of the entire volume of water, surreptitiously used
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for non-domestic purposes. The Corporation may know how many

garden taps there are in Madras. Is every garden tap fitted with a
meter and the quantity of water consumed measured regularly? How
many dwelling houses have gardens attached? And how are all these
gardens watered? And then there is Municipal road-making and road
watering. Is there any regulation of the water spent on this account?
There are roads which are watered once a day, roads which are
watered twice and also those which are watered thrice a day. There
is, we think, no measure kept of the water used for road- watering. It
was roughly estimated by a Corporation official at 250,000 gallons per
day. We do not know if this represents the average daily consumption,
taking a whole year into calculation on the watering months of the
year. Over Rs. 25,000 is spent on road watering and cleaning
establishment alone, and some idea may be gathered of what they
are doing with municipal water.
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The use of municipal water is not justified because it is used for
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any municipal purpose or because it is paid for. The primary use of
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municipal water is for public health and for public cleanliness. The
inhabitants of a city must have adequate water to drink, of really
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wholesome quality. They require also water for washing and cleaning.
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Frequent baths under Indian conditions are indispensable, and to

certain classes of the population bathing is even of greater importance
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than drinking. The essential requisite of a good system of water supply

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is that all consumers obtain an adequate quantity of water

continuously throughout the day. It has been calculated for the
Corporation that 25 gallons per head of the population, per day will
meet reasonable requirements in Madras, and satisfy legitimate
wants. It is not known whether, in making the calculation, proper
allowance had been made for Indian habits. Even taking the estimate
as it is, the present consumption is less than 13 gallons per head per
day. We presume this quantity represents the average of all the water
that is consumed for domestic, non-domestic and public purposes. We
have no means of knowing the exact quantity used for domestic
purposes alone. We will not be far wrong in taking the domestic
average at less than 5 gallons per head per day. Can this be
considered an adequate supply? And is this supply at all regular? Over

a considerable area, the supply fails during those hours of the
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day when water is most wanted. The 250,000 gallons of road-

watering is done in the mornings and evenings, when you want water
most for your domestic purpose. Large areas are without water for
many hours in the day. All the gardens are watered only in the
mornings and evenings and all the requirements for the thousand-
and-one non-domestic purposes synchronise with this time of the day.
The result is that while there is abundant misuse of water, there are
thousands for whom neither their house services, nor even the public
fountains and stand-pipes do any good. In Bombay, the supply is
restricted to certain hours of the morning and evening and yet the
average consumption per head of the population is 40 gallons. In
Calcutta, it is 47 gallons, and they have a distinction of filtered and
unfiltered water, the former being used for domestic purposes and the
latter for non-domestic purposes, such as flushing, road-watering and
building, etc. The Corporation may not give us the quantity in Bombay
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and Calcutta, but it is bound to see that there is sufficient water for
or
drinking and domestic purposes before it launches on any trade in
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water or before gardens are watered, roads drenched and sewers
flushed. In any case it is bound to stop waste and the unauthorised
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lifting of water. It is here that the Corporation shows itself to be

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lamentably incompetent.
Water in Madras is a valuable commodity. There is a moral and
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legal obligation to provide water for drinking and bathing. A great deal
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of the illness of Madras is due to the inefficiency of the Corporation to

ensure this provision. While there is waste on the one hand, there is
scarcity on the other. Nearly six lakhs of rupees are collected annually
as water and drainage tax alone. There are over 25,000 house
services laid; and how many of these services can be considered
satisfactory?
The Corporation however, obtains its water on the most favourable
terms from Government. Perhaps, many are not aware that the Red
Hills storage tanks and connected works were constructed at the cost
of Government and that their upkeep and maintenance are in the
hands of the PWD. For the water that is taken from the lake for the
supply of the Madras City, the Corporation pays at the rate of a rupee
per 1,000 cubic yards or a little less than one-tenth of one anna per
1,000 gallons. Thus what it
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purchases for a little over a pie, it sells for 12 annas, i.e. for nearly 150
times the cost price. This is good business no doubt. But it is not
merely for the sale of water that the Corporation exists and taxes its
inhabitants.
If after public convenience had been amply provided and all
legitimate uses had been properly served, the Corporation had shown
thrift in the use of its surplus water, its action would be deemed
praiseworthy. But what the Madras Corporation does is to keep
looking on at an inordinate waste of water in various ways, and to
traffic in the remainder while people are starved of their supply for their
daily wants. It is this great waste that has to be stopped. If only there
had been no waste, there should have been no difficulty in meeting all
legitimate requirements.
A question of great interest is being fought out between the
Triplicane ratepayers and the Corporation executive. The former claim
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free water for their tank which the latter refuse. The ratepayers
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contend that the tank and its water serve the best interests of the local
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public, that the Corporation has all along recognised such interests
and has been feeding the tank with Municipal water these 40 years.
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The needs of public health and sanitation in the locality require that
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either the tank should be maintained in a proper condition or be filled

up so as not to constitute a menace to the health of the people in the
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locality.
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It is pointed out that one of the legitimate functions of the

Corporation is to provide bathing tanks for its ratepayers. If such a
tank were needed in the city, it is preeminently required in Triplicane
where large numbers of votaries congregate. There can be no doubt
however that municipal water can only be had when it could be
spared. There is good reason for holding that water is not properly
expended, economised or supplied in the City. We trust the whole
matter will receive the careful consideration of the Commissioners at
tomorrow’s meeting.
“A feature against which the Inspector-General vehemently protests is the

appearance of 109 girls among them (offenders), there having been only 63
girl offenders in the previous year. He remarks that the increase is regrettable
and ‘out of all proportion to the total number of youthful offenders as
compared with the small ratio which females of more mature age bear to the
total criminal population’. Apart from this, however, the total number of
youthful offenders sent to jail is frightfully large. The great and very often
irrevocable harm that results from the association of these youths with older
criminals in jails is a well-known fact and it is with a view to render this evil
as moderate as possible that Magistrates are empowered to release under
section 562 of the Code of Criminal Procedure first offenders, those of
youthful age, upon probation”.
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JULY 3, 1913
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The magistracy and criminal

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cases
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N SPITE OF THE REPEATED INSTRUCTIONS OF GOVERNMENT, THE
Magistrates in this Presidency do not appear to attach as much
importance to the sacredness attaching to the liberty of the subject
as the enlightened conscience of modern times requires.
Indiscriminate arrests, undue detention and the manufacture,
unintended though, of hardened criminals by the process of sending
youths to jails are some gross defects in the administration of criminal
justice against which the public and the Government have very often
had to protest; and yet, the improvement effected in these respects
has been very imperceptible. The mere issue of orders from the
Secretariat does not, if we are to judge from experience, result in that

prompt compliance with them as Government expect and the
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public have a right, under the circumstances, to expect that the

authorities would take effective steps to see that their behests are duly
and properly attended to. One of the points on which stress is being
laid year after year by Government is the disproportion between the
number of persons received into jail, and those convicted. In the year
1912, 25,836 persons were received into jails as under-trials of whom
39.4 per cent were convicted and 52.8 per cent were acquitted or
discharged. That more than one-half of the prisoners, assumed to be
guilty by the authorities, should be pronounced after trial to be
innocent, argues an amount of carelessness on the part of those that
remand them into custody, that is indeed reprehensible. There has
been absolutely no improvement in this respect, though Government
have called on the Magistracy to exercise greater discretion in this
matter. In 1907, the percentage of conviction was 33 and the
percentage of acquittals and discharge 57.6, and in the subsequent
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three years the percentage has been 42 and 50.4, 40 and 52 and 38
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and 55. Things appear to be worse off now than they were in 1908 or
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1909, and the Government’s satisfaction that there was a reduction in
the year under review, is therefore not of much value. We are glad
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that Government have, as they say, issued instructions again to the

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Magistracy ‘impressing on them the need for the exercise of great care
in remanding accused persons to custody;’ but in previous years, the
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remarks conveyed in G.O.’s have been serverer, but the net result has
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been inappreciable. Last year, commenting on the existence of a

similar state of affairs, Government suggested that arrests in many
cases were not justified and called on District Magistrates to examine
the records of one or more typical courts and then deal with all cases
in which unjustifiable arrests were made. There is no evidence at all
that this has been done. Again, during the last year, the detention of
under-trial prisoners was for 37.33 days in the case of Sessions
prisoners and 14.18 days in the case of persons charged before
Magistrates. Last year the respective figures were 35.17 days and
14.56 days, and in the year previous 36.9 and
15.4. Here again there has been retrogression, and Government
orders have been evidently ignored. In their review last year, the local
Government had remarked that “there is still room for further
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improvement and the matter is one which requires the unremitting

attention of the Magistracy.” This year, they say that “it should be
possible to reduce this average in the case of persons charged before
Magistrates and constant vigilance on the part of District Magistrates
is necessary to curb any tendency to protract proceedings unduly.”
We will take one more point to show how the Magistracy have not
found it practicable to adhere to Government orders to the extent
desirable. The number of youthful offenders admitted to jail under the
age of 15 was 278, the number for 1909, 1910 and 1911 being 358,
363 and 291 respectively. There has certainly been some progress in
this respect, but there is vast scope for improvement. A feature against
which the Inspector-General vehemently protests is the appearance
of 109 girls among them, there having been only 63 girl offenders in
the previous year. He remarks that the increase is regrettable and “out
of all proportion to the total number of youthful offenders as compared
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with the small ratio which females of more mature age bear to the total
or
criminal population.” Apart from this however, the total number of
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youthful offenders sent to jail is frightfully large. The great and very
often irrevocable harm that results from the association of these
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youths with older criminals in jails is a well known fact and it is with a
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view to render this evil as moderate as possible that Magistrates are

empowered to release, under Section 562 of the Code of Criminal
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Procedure, first offenders, those of youthful age, upon probation. This

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section is not, as is shown by statistics, availed of to the extent

desirable, and so long as this is the case, ‘the stopping of avoidable
committal to prison of juveniles’ which Government say they have so
much at heart, cannot be accomplished. Last year, District
Magistrates were asked to scrutinise every case of juvenile
imprisonment and call the Magistrates concerned to account if
necessary, and Government have, for a series of years been urging
on District Magistrates to take particular care in this matter. This does
not appear to have been done at all. We wish Government devise a
method by which they could have their specific instructions, especially
in regard to such an important matter as the administration of criminal
justice, faithfully and loyally carried out by their subordinates.
Experience has, it seems to us, abundantly
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shown that District Magistrates apparently owing to pressure of other

work do not devote their particular attention to these things. It is
incumbent on the Government to see however, that their officers do
not neglect this most important part of their work by calling for special
returns at frequent intervals of time and performing the scrutinising
work themselves. Otherwise, any admonition which may be
administered in the annual review of the administration report is apt to
become quite formal and ineffectual. It is satisfactory to note,
however, the progress made in the treatment of adolescents. In the
Tanjore adolescent jail, there were during the year 272 convicts all
told, of whom 3 were under 15 years of age, 214 between the ages of
16 and 21 and 47 convicts aged between 21 to 25. It would appear
that the classes at which regular instruction is given, are regularly
attended and that some of the prisoners are anxious to obtain after
their release, some appointments and could be independent.
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The Inspector-General suggests the formation of aid societies in
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every district to receive these young men after their period of
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detention, in order to assist them in securing some useful occupation.
The Government of Madras promise every assistance to such
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societies as may be started for this philanthropic purpose and state

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that they have at present under consideration an offer by the Salvation

Army to establish a settlement for the reception of convicts, similar to
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the settlement opened in the Punjab.

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“Neither the members of the legal profession, barristers, vakils and attorneys,
nor the general public were much impressed with the manner in which Mr.
Justice Benson discharged his duties as judge of the High Court. He ... had
no broad outlook in the administration of justice in this country, had an
inveterate official bias in the trial of all civil and criminal cases in which the
Government or the Crown was interested and was an Anglo- Indian to the
backbone in the matter of the relations between Indians and Englishmen in
this country”.
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APRIL 23, 1914
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The Benson memorial
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W
E LEARN THAT THE PORTRAIT OF SIR RALPH BENSON, late Judge
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of the Madras High Court, which was got up at the

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expense of the Provincial Service officers in this

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Presidency, was brought to the High Court this morning

and arrangements are being made to place the portrait in the third
Court facing Sir T. Muthuswami Iyer’s statue. The Hon’ble the Chief
Justice will, we understand, perform the unveiling ceremony on the
27th instant, at the request of the Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sadasiva Iyer
on behalf of the Provincial Service men. This seems to us to be an
unprecedented mode of doing honour to a retired Judge of the High
Court. Neither the members of the legal profession, barristers, vakils
and attorneys, nor the general public were much impressed with the
manner in which Mr. Justice Benson discharged his duties as Judge
of the High Court. He was a civilian among civilian judges, had no
broad outlook in the administration of justice in this country, had an
inveterate official bias in the trial of all civil and criminal cases in which
the Government or the Crown was interested and was an Anglo-Indian
to the backbone in the matter of the relations between
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Indians and Englishmen in this country. It was very significant that Sir
Ralph Benson after his prolonged service on the Bench of the High
Court, not to speak of his having been the Nestor of the Indian Civil
Service at the time of his retirement, was allowed to depart from the
Bench without a word of appreciation and kindly farewell by the
members of the Bar, Indian or European. We have no doubt whatever
that the members of the Bar acted in conformity with the general
feeling of the public on the subject, when they refused to recognise
that Mr. Justice Benson was entitled to substantial approbation in the
discharge of his duties as Judge. The substance and tenor of Sir
Ralph Benson’s evidence before the Royal Commission on Public
Services, was against the just claims of the sons of the soil to an
adequate share in the Government of the country and in all
respectable opportunities to do service to the country and make
themselves worthy of it. There was undoubtedly a feeling among the
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members of the Provincial Judicial Service that Mr. Justice Benson
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sometimes championed successfully their claims to advancement in
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the service against the competing claims of members of the legal
profession. Sir Ralph Benson’s evidence before the Royal
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Commission does not show that he had estimated the capacity of the
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members of the Provincial Judical Service very highly, but it is a fact

that when the claims of the members of that Service were pitted
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against those of members of the Bar, the civilian’s prejudice against

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the latter class inured to the benefit of the former. However this may
be, the members of the Provincial Service, as the outcome of a
movement which was avowedly secret and was started and
developed at the time when Sir Ralph Benson was in active Service,
have no right to foist a memorial upon the public which will, for future
generations, have all the semblance of a public acknowledgment of
his judicial accomplishments. The present memorial seems to be of
the sort brought in by the backdoor to be installed in the face of the
public. In view of all these considerations, we cannot but enter a
protest on behalf of the public against the placing of the portrait of Sir
Ralph Benson in the High Court and in proximity, as is alleged, to the
statue of the eminent Hindu Judge, the late Sir T. Muthuswami Aiyar.
“The battle of Ypres was the culmination of a bold and somewhat desperate
attempt to outflank the Germans which came very near success indeed and
would have been successful but for the paucity of the forces available. Once
again the region between Dixmude and the Lys is the scene of some very
desperate fighting”.
APRIL 26, 1915
The War
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A
S WAS ANTICIPATED, THE ADVENT OF SPRING HAS BROUGHT with it a
renewal of the heavy fighting in the west and we are now
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witnessing, with a clarity of vision necessarily modified by the

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requirements of the censorship, the second of those

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terrific combats which will make Flanders famous in history. The

previous great battle in this region was that of Ypres, also called the
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battle of Calais because the Germans wanted to get there and did not,
though this is a detail. That battle, it will be remembered, was one of
terrific importance, for its issue decided the fate of the Allied position
on the Aisne, as well as the command of the Channel. Had the
Germans taken Calais and Dunkirk they would have made use of
these submarine bases which would have wrought havoc on Allies’
shipping in the Channel, besides interrupting the communications of
the British Expeditionary force. The battle of Ypres was the
culmination of a bold and somewhat desperate attempt to outflank the
Germans which came very near success indeed and would have been
successful but for the paucity of the forces available. Once again the
region between Dixmude and the Lys is the scene of some very
desperate fighting. The positions, however, of the protagonists are, if

not reversed, much less unequal than they were in the
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previous battle. The Allies were then heavily outnumbered, but the
numerical preponderance has been equalised now and both sides are
not equally numerous on the long line of that front in the western
theatre while the French have a mobile reserve which they can throw
at any required point. The German troops had been suffering from
want of reserves and the successes of the Allies in the past two
months may be traced to this disability. The Germans had to withdraw
troops from one part of the front to defend another, a dangerous
proceeding with an alert enemy, as events have proved at Neuve
Chapelle, the Champaigne and the Woevre. Great as have been the
German losses, however, and these have been estimated to work out
on both fronts to about 260,000 a month, Germany has still some
reserves. The French Staff’s review of the war puts the total available
reserves of the Germans at two millions of whom 800,000 have
already been absorbed in the front while another 500,000 were
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expected to be ready this month. How large a proportion of this would
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be available as new formations it is difficult to say, but the German
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casualties in recent fighting in the west amounts probably to 100,000
in the west alone which would have to be replaced from the reserve.
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Then again the eastern front has been very costly to the Germans
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though we have no means of estimating the losses here. There is at

present very little activity on the eastern front but the fighting in the
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past month and the early days of the present has been very heavy. It
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is not, therefore, unreasonable to estimate that the new German

formations consist of at least six corps, of good material but poorly
officered and with a not improbable shortage of guns and a certain
shortage of munitions. It is no doubt with these formations that the
attack in what will be known as the second battle of Ypres has been
made. We are as yet in the early stages of this battle for the fighting,
severe as it has been, is not over yet. It was, of course, anticipated
that a big German effort was due in April, but it is probable that the
effort was compelled to take place earlier than intended by the British
success south of Ypres. The Germans’ preparations both in this region
and in the north of Ypres were those of a big battle but the British
anticipated them and by successful sapper-work succeeded in
capturing an important point, Hill Sixty, which seriously threatens the

German line.
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The Germans then instead of making one final effort for the breaking
of the Allied lines were compelled to waste their strength first in a futile
effort to recapture the position they lost south of Ypres. Their plan
probably was a simultaneous attack north and south of Ypres which
would result in the capture of the town and lead to that of Calais. The
British anticipated the attack, however, and the Germans lost ground
here so that their plan miscarried as regards the south. In the north,
however, they did gain a success and even succeeded at one point in
crossing the Yser canal, but were promptly driven back again while
the French and Belgians are engaged in retrieving the ground lost. It
is not improbable that further heavy fighting will take place in this
region while the importance of Hill Sixty may tempt the Germans to
make another effort to recapture it. If our interpretation of the German
strategy is correct, then it is evident that the British have broken the
shock of the new German offensive in Flanders. The German losses
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are stated to have been enormous while the British losses, though
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unfortunately no figures are yet available, must have been very
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serious though, of course, if the result achieved can be maintained it
was worth the sacrifice. The German line around Ypres is in danger
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of being broken by the British hold on Hill Sixty.

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“The greatness of Lord Hardinge lay in his intense sympathy with the people
of India in their aspirations, in the insight he had acquired in consequence
into their feelings and in his quick responsiveness to public opinion. The bold
stand he took in respect of the question of Indians in South Africa, his
intervention in the Cawnpore Mosque affair, the striking diplomatic way in
which he induced his own council and the Secretary of State to undo the
partition of Bengal, and the great interest he took in regard to the eventual
abolition of indentured Indian labour are some of the instances in which he
exhibited those rare qualities of head and heart which have struck the
imagination of Indians”.
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APRIL 4, 1916
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Lord Hardinge’s viceroyalty

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L
ORD HARDINGE IS LAYING DOWN TODAY THE REINS OF THE office of
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Viceroy and Governor-General of India after a strenuous

period of service extending to five years-and-a-half during
which he has been able to inspire the trust and confidence of
the people of India as few Viceroys have done before. When the
causes of this striking popularity are analysed, it will be found that it is
not on account of any important administrative reforms, or the removal
of old sores that His Excellency’s Viceroyalty has become one of the
most memorable. The affection and regard of the people of India for
the retiring Viceroy have been rather the result of a sympathetic
imagination, which Lord Hardinge possessed, which has enabled him
to steer clear of rocks which some of his masterful predecessors,
lacking in the gift, have struck against, and to feel with the people for
the people. Critics of his administration can be divided into two
classes; one section have exaggerated ideas of the powers, statutory

or otherwise, of Viceroys, and another, in right Anglo-Indian
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fashion, fall foul of all those acts of the holder of that high office which
partake of the nature of righting of wrongs, or of respecting public
opinion — acts which, in the eyes of these watchdogs of prestige,
imply weakness and sickly sentimentality on the part of the author.
The greatness of Lord Hardinge lay in his intense sympathy with the
people of India in their aspirations, in the insight he had acquired in
consequence into their feelings and in his quick responsiveness to
public opinion. The bold stand he took in respect of the question of
Indians in South Africa, his intervention in the Cawnpore mosque
affair, the striking diplomatic way in which he induced his own Council
and the Secretary of State to undo the partition of Bengal, and the
great interest he took in regard to the eventual abolition of indentured
Indian labour are some of the instances in which he exhibited those
rare qualities of head and heart which have struck the imagination of
Indians. His Madras speech on the South African situation created a
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stir and was considered imprudent, if not impudent by people not only
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in the colonies, but also in Great Britain. But he literally won the hearts
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of Indians by thus identifying himself with the Indian national
sentiment. Referring to that utterance, Lord Hardinge said yesterday,
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in his reply to the address presented by the Indian Merchants’

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Chamber and Bureau: “Though I was criticised in some quarters for

the warmth with which I spoke at Madras on this topic, I can say
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honestly that I never had any serious twinges of conscience on that

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account, and I spoke what I felt, and if I did not measure my words
with absolute nicety, the strength of my feeling and the excellence of
my cause must plead my excuse.” Conciliation has been his
watchword and his part in the Cawnpore mosque affair, which has
been bitterly criticised as being a concession to clamour, has shown
him to be a man who brushes prestige aside when the feelings of a
whole people are concerned, a characteristic feature which he had
already shown in the annulment of the partition of Bengal. Lord
Hardinge has always been zealous to consolidate the Council reforms
of Lords Morley and Minto; he gave an Executive Council to Bihar and
Orissa and provided an elected majority to the same Legislative
Council. His effort to give an Executive Council to the United
Provinces failed owing to the misguided action of a reactionary party

in the House of
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Lords. Lord Hardinge, representing the opinions and feelings of the

people of India, criticised in strong terms this obstructive policy of a
small party and pleaded for a change in the procedure by which it was
possible for the wishes of a united people to be thwarted by men who
were out of touch with the country the affairs of which, however they
presumed to judge and control. Lord Hardinge’s term will also be
remembered for the fact that, as Mr. Montagu had stated, that “at last
and not too soon, a Viceroy has had the courage to state the trend of
British policy in India and the lines on which we propose to advance.”
The outgoing Viceroy has recently repeated his faith in that policy
which he said had been described in plain English. In Paragraph 3 of
the Despatch of the Government of India, for which Lord Hardinge was
responsible, the true remedy for the just demand of Indians for a larger
share in the Government of the country is thus described:—“The only
possible solution of the difficulty would appear to be gradually to give
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the provinces a larger measure of self- government until at last India
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would consist of a number of administrations autonomous in all
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provincial affairs, with the Government of India above them all, and
possessing power to interfere in case of misgovernment, ordinarily
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restricting their functions to matters of Imperial concern.” The

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profound interest Lord Hardinge took in educational matters is well

known and greatly appreciated. The recurring grant of Rs. 50 lakhs for
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Elementary Education, the munificent grant for Universities, the

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concern he showed for the welfare of students, the great faith he

expressed in the necessity for the diffusion of higher education and
the multiplication of Universities, the practical interest he exhibited by
assisting in the promotion of the Benares University and the Mysore
University, have earned for him a high place in the estimation of the
educated classes in India. The spirit of his administration, the lofty
ideal which inspired it and the large space which India has occupied
in His Excellency’s heart, have deeply moved the Indian people who
are sincerely sorry that the hour of farewell has at last arrived. How
cordially he reciprocated the feelings of the people towards him, he
has himself stated in his replies to addresses yesterday. He said that
when in England one of his chief endeavours would be to make the
British public appreciate the pace at which India was developing,
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both socially and politically and that it was vain and useless to regard
India from the standpoint of what India was ten years ago. As regards
the reason of his success, he told his audience: “I have trusted India,
I have believed in India, I have hoped with India, I have feared with
India, I have wept with India, I have rejoiced with India, and in a word
I have identified myself with India”. These words show the genuine
warmth of Lord Hardinge’s devotion to the interests of this country and
its people. In estimating the achievements and worth of a Viceroy,
thoughtful persons must have due regard to the limitations under
which that high functionary has to work. The Hon’ble Mr. Vijiaraghava
Chariar said in his speech in the Imperial Council: “The historian of
India in appraising the value of a Viceroy should take into account not
only what he has done but also the very special conditions and
limitations under which he did it.... My belief is that in achieving what
you did, mylord, you have educated your Hon’ble colleagues of the
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Executive Council and inspired them into more solid work of higher
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principles and into loftier ideals, both by precept and example. I
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consider this achievement of much more national importance than
specific instances of policy and measures connected with education
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and sanitation”. It may truly be said that India parts with Lord Hardinge
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as Viceroy with as much genuine and deep regret as that expressed

by him when, yesterday, he said: “I am filled with a deep regret that
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the moment has come for me to close the book that has been of such
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enthralling interest.” May Heaven bless Lord Hardinge with many

years of life, health and happiness.
Dr. Annie Besant and her two co-workers were interned by the Madras
Government under the Defence of India Act at the height of the Home Rule
movement. THE HINDU: “The internment of Mrs. Besant and her co-workers is
a particularly unfortunate decision which will be widely interpreted as a hostile
act, directed against a movement which has met with much popular support
and which she has led with singular self-sacrifice, ability and intrepidity. She
had brought to bear on the agitation all her remarkable qualities of eloquence,
perseverance, and boldness and one need not agree with her always to
appreciate her admirable courage, her great power of organisation, her
disinterestedness and her striking personality. The cause for which she has
been working so zealously is sure to suffer as soon as her guiding hand is
forcibly removed...”.
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JUNE 18, 1917

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The internments
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“This liberty alone that gives the flower of fleeting life, its
lustre and perfume. And we are weeds without it — All
constraint, Except what wisdom lays on evil men, Is evil” —
Cowper.
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T IS AN IRONY OF FATE AND A FACT OF GLOOMY SIGNIFICANCE that the
day on which India learnt of the statesmanlike announcement of
the release of Irish prisoners in connection with the recent
rebellion in Ireland in view of the forthcoming Convention, she
should have also heard of the internment of Mrs. Besant and
Messrs. B. P. Wadia and G. S. Arundale. These two circumstances,
of great and world-wide importance, afford a striking study in
contrast and thoughtful people in this country cannot but draw the
most disheartening conclusions from them. Mr. Bonar Law, in
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breaking the news to the House of Commons on Friday last, said that
Government could not give a better earnest of the spirit in which they
approached the Convention than by removing one of the causes of
serious misunderstanding and he was sure in recommending His
Majesty to grant a general amnesty to the persons in question, the
Government were inspired by the sanguine hope that their action will
be welcomed in a spirit of magnanimity. May we ask what has
happened in India or in Madras in particular, which has rendered the
inauguration of repressive measures a matter of urgency? Ireland,
embittered, disloyal and revolutionary — it is deemed necessary to
conciliate and satisfy. India, peace-loving, loyal and law-abiding — it
has pleased the authorities to attempt to cow down by the adoption of
a policy quite contrary in spirit. There has not been a whisper of
rebellion or any widespread conspiracy in this part of India, at any rate,
and yet, the Defence of India Act, intended against aliens and enemies
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in Great Britain, has been put in force against three brilliant, unselfish
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and devoted workers for Indian constitutional reforms. The law under
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which action has been taken is a war measure, meant principally to
arm the authorities with power to act in a summary manner with
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enemies and undesirable aliens. It cannot be pretended that the

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persons who have fallen victims in the present instance have either by
word, act or deed manifested the least sympathy with German aims;
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on the contrary they have been known to be earnest and sincere in

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contributing their mite to the noble attempt to put an end to

Prussianism. The Hon’ble Mr. Dadabhai stated at the meeting of the
Imperial Legislative Council in February last, when speaking on his
resolution regarding amendment of the rules under the Defence of
India Act that “a policy of such wholesale arrests, promiscuous house
searches, indiscriminate internments, is hardly calculated to inspire
public confidence in the administration of the Act.” The Hon’ble Mr. K.
K. Chanda, who followed, voiced public feeling when he told the
Council that “acts which are really infractions of the ordinary civil law
and which would be excluded from the operation of the Defence of the
Realm Act in England are dealt with under the Defence of India Act.
This is not all; the more serious part is that we do not require any
proof, mere suspicion is enough. Sir, I am not drawing upon my
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imagination.” The public are quite unaware as to how the Government

have come to the conclusion that in regard to the persons on whom
orders of internment were served on Saturday last there are
reasonable grounds for believing that they had acted and were about
to act in a manner prejudicial to public safety. The grounds of such
belief are not given and it is really astonishing that no attempt was
made to apprise them of the offences for which they were to be
interned or to take any explanation from them. The orders were served
on Messrs. Wadia and Arundale earlier in the day and nobody in the
charmed circle of Government had been charged with the duty of
telling them why it was that they were served with the orders which, in
their cases especially, have astonished and alarmed the public. Mrs.
Besant, it is true, was invited to an interview with His Excellency, but
we understand, that, on Mrs. Besant pointing out that she may be
favoured with the reason why she should be proceeded against under
the Defence of India Act — in accordance with an assurance given to
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that effect by Sir Reginald Craddock — His Excellency declined to
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discuss the matter with her. The inference, therefore, is irresistible that
Government found the ordinary law inconvenient and therefore
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resorted to the Defence of India Act. The matter may appear to

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Government to be simple, but the application of a war measure to

cases of persons engaged in work for constitutional changes in the
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machinery of Government, not only exposes the deplorable weakness

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of the Government’s case, but raises a most important issue. Such an

unwarranted application of an emergency measure strikes a blow at
popular agitation which is fraught with the gravest danger to the public
cause as well as to the prestige of the Government. For, there is no
mistaking it that internments in Madras of devoted workers for the
public cause, is meant to discourage the agitation for Home Rule or
self- Government, and the anxiety and anguish caused in the public
mind have, as a consequence, never been surpassed. What appears
to be particularly lacking in magnanimity when dealing with Mrs.
Besant, Messrs. Wadia and Arundale is the prohibition, as we take it,
of having their published books sold and therefore of depriving them
of their income. Another consequence of the internments has to be
mentioned. Mrs. Besant is the printer and publisher of the New India
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newspaper and, under the order of internment, she cannot print or

publish. The result is that by a single stroke of the pen that journal
which had gained great popularity and had, on Saturday last, a
circulation of 10,000, has had to be stopped publication — a fact which
will be widely and seriously deplored. The removal of Messrs. Wadia
and Arundale has facilitated that end. It has also to be noted that two
orders were served on Mrs. Besant on Saturday, bearing the dates the
7th June and 14th June respectively, the second of them reducing the
period within which Mrs. Besant has to leave Madras, from 14 days to
7 days after the service of notice. An explanation of this unaccountable
restriction is certainly called for.
The action of the Government of Lord Pentland will be received
with profound grief and disappointment throughout the civilised world;
and indications of widespread disapprobation and indignation with
which the deprivation of the liberty of Mrs. Besant and her devoted co-
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workers is viewed, are already reaching us. We had hoped that after
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the emphatic disapproval of His Excellency’s speech, which had
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resulted in the issue of a Press Communique explaining that
utterance, the local Government would have reconsidered the
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situation and adopted a conciliatory attitude. The sequel has,

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however, shown that they have not appreciated the significance of

public disapproval and that wiser counsels have not prevailed. On the
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other hand, the indiscriminate action taken against three prominent

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individuals, who had identified themselves with the agitation for Home
Rule which has now acquired a firm hold upon a large section of the
Indian public, indicates a determination on the part of Government not
to attach due importance to the maintenance of happy relations
between the public and the authorities. Our sorrow is all the greater
because this step has been taken at this time when India is
contributing her best towards the victorious termination of the war,
when new hopes are entertained in the land and when the necessity
for conciliating public opinion must be obvious to sound
statesmanship manifest.
The internment of Mrs. Besant and her co-workers is a particularly
unfortunate decision which will be widely interpreted as a hostile act
directed against a movement which has met with much popular

support and which she has led with singular self-sacrifice,
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ability and intrepidity. She had brought to bear on the agitation all her
remarkable qualities of eloquence, perseverance and boldness, and
one need not agree with her always to appreciate her admirable
courage, her great powers of organisation, her disinterestedness and
her striking personality. The cause for which she has been working so
zealously is sure to suffer as soon as her guiding hand is forcibly
removed, but she believes in her robust optimism in the ultimate
triumph of the cause. In the enforced retirement to which she must
shortly go, she has been deprived of the means of subsistence by the
prohibition to have her books sold. Apart from the ungraciousness of
the act, the duty of Indians for whom she has laboured so gloriously,
is clear. It is to raise a fund for her, such a fund as will unmistakably
show to the world how wonderfully she has gained a place in the
hearts of Indians, how warmly the Indians recognise her sterling merits
and work. We associate ourselves wholeheartedly with the important
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appeal for funds made in another column by our revered and
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respected countryman, Dr. Sir S. Subrahmania Aiyar. There are
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precedents for such acts in crises such as our country finds itself in
today. The name of O’Connell, ‘the great liberator’ is cherished and
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revered in Ireland even today and history records how a grateful

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country raised a sum of £50,000 as a testimonial to his magnificent

work. An annual tribute was also decided upon and it is stated how
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the amount subscribed exceeded sometimes £15,000 a year, and how

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between 1829 and 1835, no less than £91,800 was collected. Again,
after the campaign on which Richard Cobden was engaged was
accomplished the idea was started that the nation should show him
some sustained token of gratitude and admiration for his noble
sacrifices. Liberal contributions came quickly and Cobden was
presented with a sum of £ 80,000. Public life in this country is, it must
be confessed, still unorganised to a great extent: public service is still
thankless, in some measure, as a consequence. But Indians cannot
do better at this unfortunate moment than to show their gratitude for
the eminent lady who suffers for them, by responding adequately to
our revered countryman’s appeal and learn a much-needed lesson in
sacrifice. That occasion has now arisen. A public meeting convened
under very influential auspices will be held on Thursday next at which

it is expected that
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there will be an unmistakable expression of popular opinion against

the internment orders.
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The Moderates seceded from the Congress on the question of accepting the
Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms. THE HINDU: “The Moderates were faced with
the alternative of either a united Congress or the wrecking of the (Reform)
scheme and they chose to split the Congress rather than risk the indefinite
postponement of reforms. We are not as pessimistic on this question of
withdrawal of the scheme as the Moderates. There are occasions on which it
is wiser to let go the bird in hand and pin our hopes on those in the bush, but
the Hon’ble Mr. (Srinivasa) Sastri betrays surely some deficiency in those
generous instincts the lack of which among our politicians he has deplored”.
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AUGUST 30, 1918or
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The great betrayal

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HE HYPER-ACTIVE SENSE OF HUMOUR OF THE ANGLO-INDIAN Press
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affects to find cause for ribald laughter in the attempts which

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were recently made to effect a compromise between the two

wings of Indian nationalists. The extremists were
represented as attempting, to use a vulgarism, to put salt on the tail of
men whom they had been hitherto abusing in season and out, in order
to bring about a fictitious unity of front. We must confess we have not
much patience with the argument, now used so freely both by the
Anglo-Indian Press and by certain Moderates, that any unity which
may be attained by a compromise must necessarily be superficial.
Since both parties are presumably sincere in their professions of
patriotism there is no essential conflict of interests involved, nothing in
fact beyond a question of method and we are at a loss to see what
fundamental difference there could possibly be between the two which
would give the lie to any compromise between them. As we have
before pointed out, on the question at
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issue before the Special Congress there is no unbridgeable gulf

between the parties which a little give and take cannot manage to
span and we are thus driven reluctantly to the conclusion that the
secession of the Moderates or a certain section of them must find
causes, other than the lofty ones professed. Whatsoever interests the
Moderates may be safeguarding by thus wantonly splitting up the
Congress at a time of national crisis, they are certainly not those of
the country. We are aware that the Moderates base their action upon
the argument that the scheme of reform is endangered, but no sane
person who has compared the criticisms of the scheme from the
Moderate side with those from the extremist could tolerate such a
position for a moment. Between uncritical intransigence and
indiscriminate eulogy there is a vast volume of sober opinion which
concentrates attention on the defects of the scheme, seeking not to
destroy but to improve. In this category are included the vast bulk of
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so-called Moderates and extremists and yet when it comes to the
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question of putting coherent shape to this volume of criticism and
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giving it the stamp of authoritative endorsement from the only body
which is recognised as national, the Moderates have hung back, thus
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seeking to stultify the authority of the Congress to speak on behalf of

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a united India. It is a psychology hard to understand from the

standpoint of patriotism, or indeed of any other except that of wounded
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vanity. According to the Hon’ble Mr. Sastri himself, one of the ablest
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critics of the scheme, it is all a question of strategy. The Moderates

were faced with the alternative of either a united Congress or the
wrecking of the scheme and they chose to split the Congress rather
than risk the indefinite postponement of reforms. We are not as
pessimistic on this question of withdrawal of the scheme as the
Moderates. There are occasions on which it is wiser to let go the bird
in hand and pin our hopes on those in the bush, but the Hon’ble Mr.
Sastri betrays surely some deficiency in those generous instincts the
lack of which among our politicians, he has so often deplored, in thus
too easily taking it for granted that the solemn pledge of the British
people could or would be left unredeemed even if the present scheme
were withdrawn. Such a suspicious attitude surely befits better the
rank extremist than one who is unhesitatingly prepared to pledge our

future on the good faith and goodwill of the
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bureaucracy. We are prepared to accept Mr. Sastri’s explanation of

his own personal inclination to attend the Congress though in this
connection the message from him, quoted in the “Bengalee” and
strongly urging abstention from the Congress, requires some
elucidation. When however, Mr. Sastri goes on to say that he
considers himself bound by a sense of party discipline and by the
decision of the Council of the Servants of India Society we are inclined
to wonder if Mr. Sastri has realised the responsibilities as well as he
does the privileges of the position he occupies as the Madras
representative on the Imperial Council and as one of the authors —
and by all accounts not the least considerable — of the Congress-
League scheme. We have no desire to labour this point but we must
point out that loyalty to country ought in reason to come first and to
self, friends, society or party afterwards. We have seen that the plea
of strategy or of party discipline cannot hold water. There remains
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only, barring strictly personal considerations, the plea urged in Bengal
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of possible personal ill-treatment. We are glad that, having a sense of
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humour, Mr. Sastri has definitely repudiated this plea but that serves
only to render his attitude all the more inexplicable. The
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commendation of The Times and of the Anglo- Indian press is of itself

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sufficient condemnation of the seceders, but of the incredible folly of

voluntarily splitting up our ranks at a time when there are indications
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of one of those periodical invasions of the rights of citizenship which

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constitute the history of Indian politics, it is impossible to speak in

measured terms.
This editorial on the Punjab happenings invited the wrath of the Madras
Government which demanded a security of Rs. 2,000 from THE HINDU under
the Press Act. THE HINDU: “Public opinion, always ready to support strong
measures in the restoration of order, is beginning to view with resentment
and dismay the manner in which martial law is being applied. Tyrannical
methods are not sanctified because they are applied by a British colonel and
sanctioned by an Irish Satrap. One wonders in these days if there is a Central
Government at all and if it has any policy at the back of its mind apart from
an invertebrate surrender to the provincial (hot) heads of administration”.
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MAY 8, 1919 or
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The Punjab situation

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S THE STEADY TRICKLE OF CAREFULLY FILTERED NEWS from the
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Punjab accumulates, one gathers that things are being done

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in the name of law and order which, unless their necessity is

established to a far more convincing extent than at present,
are bound to have very grave consequences for the future peace and
contentment of this country. Public opinion, always ready to support
strong measures in the restoration of order, is beginning to view with
resentment and dismay the manner in which martial law is being
applied. Tyrannical methods are not sanctified because they are
applied by a British Colonel and sanctioned by an Irish Satrap. One
wonders in these days if there is a Central Government at all and if it
has any policy at the back of its mind apart from an invertebrate
surrender to the provincial (hot) heads of administration. While one
ornament of the Service is revelling in the long-awaited opportunity to
put his theories into practice, less fortunate fellow- administrators
avenge themselves by running riot in an orgy of “plain
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speech”. One such gravely accuses the Indian Members of the

Council with encouraging anarchism. But for the trammels, light as air
as they are in these days of man-on-the-spotism run mad, of official
position, he would have liked to call them anarchists in intention.
Another works himself into a fury over a Government pensioner
presuming to criticise the administration whose salt he has eaten. The
Satrap of the Punjab his hands full, only occasionally scintillates, as
the exquisite humour of seeing his pet aversion, the educated Indian,
squirm under martial law proves too much even for his iron self-
control. Meanwhile, the Central Government has apparently taken a
holiday. It maintains a sphinx-like silence, its only incursions into the
work-a-day world being if rumour speaks aright, an occasional
descent from Olympian heights to force the hands of a too lenient
Governor. While such is the attitude of men in high places the semi-
official Press naturally proceeds to unbosom itself of long pent-up
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emotions with frankness and force. Indian politicians are lectured over
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their shortcomings and minatory language is the order of the day.
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Anglo-India has come into its own: it is once more the ruling race. The
Indian Press is gravely told that it has not justified its existence and
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measures are called for to increase the stringency of the Press Act.
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With a lively concern lest the Government should be inclined to

leniency, the Anglo-Indian Press has lately acquired the art of
at
detecting and bringing into daylight hidden sedition and asking, with
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the artlessness that knows the answer is imminent, can such things
be? One paper chortles in glee over the fact that considerable
casualties were inflicted by bombing aeroplanes though its
satisfaction is tempered by regret at the escape of so many of the
mob. Another calls for a long rope and a short shrift for the author of
all this mischief. And the strangest part of the business is that the tin-
gods are inclined to hearken to such counsels and to shut their ears
to those other voices with which, in less strenuous times, they were
inclined occasionally to coquet. We are in fact rapidly drifting to the
condition of government by newspaper. When the power behind the
throne happens to be a Press steeped in racial prejudice, accustomed
in the struggle for existence to immoderate expression, the Indian who
hears it saying things with impunity that ought not be tolerated,

naturally concludes that a new spirit has come over the
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Government. The days of “co-operation”, of mutual understanding and

explanation are past, giving place on the one side to suspicion and on
the other to sullenness. There is a rapidly growing feeling that the
enthusiasm of Lord Chelmsford for reforms has cooled down and that
he has allowed himself to be snowed under by the forces of reaction
and repression. If that feeling becomes at all widespread it would
constitute one of the gravest menaces to the integrity of the British
connection and the consequent happiness of India. The continuance
of martial law when the conviction is widespread that it has outstayed
a necessity none too clearly demonstrated at its introduction, and the
action being taken under it is producing an intense bitterness of spirit
which is aggravated by the provocative writings of the panic Press.
When we read for example of a life sentence being awarded to an
excited man shouting reproaches at a batch of policemen the
conviction is irresistible that justice has not been tempered with mercy
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overmuch in this case. Nor can the commandeering of the lights and
or
fans of respectable citizens contribute as much to their sense of
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contentment as it may to the comfort of the troops for whose benefit
the spoliation was effected. Such measures may be effective for a time
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but they are rather apt to spread resentment in strata which ordinarily
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have no sympathy with the forces of disorder. Excessive severity

defeats its own object. Indiscriminate severity, such as under martial
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law seems to be the order of the day, is a sure recipe for further
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trouble. The Indian public has had grave doubts as to whether the
state of things in the Punjab at any time justified the title “open
rebellion.” They have no doubt that at present such a title is an
absolute misnomer. Sir M. O’Dwyer has had his fling. Is it not possible
for the Viceroy to frame a policy that will alleviate the bitterness in the
public mind? Harmonious relations between the Government and the
people, necessary at all times for progress, is now doubly so; and not
merely for the prosperity of the Indian Empire but for its very existence.
A new menace now overshadows the country and in a direction not
many of our jaundiced Cassandras, shrieking red revolution and
Bolshevism, seem to have suspected. As will be seen from a message
published elsewhere events in Afghanistan indicate that a rupture is
imminent if open hostilities have not at the present moment

commenced. It is
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difficult to sift the news from Afghanistan, so as to arrive at the truth

for the Amir’s censorship in its crude way seems to be quite as
effective as Sir M. O’Dwyer’s. What is plain to read however is that
whatever may have been his original attitude he is now distinctly
hostile to the British Empire. How far that attitude has been forced
upon him by popular feeling and by other causes it is not possible to
determine. The fact, however, remains that the Amir is seeking to
consolidate the shifty foundations of his throne by offering his
subjects, in the traditional style of statecraft of militarist regimes,
diversion in an attack upon the Punjab. With the London Times and
other English papers, the Amir has apparently taken the “state of open
rebellion”, of Viceregal ukases too literally and he painted for the
benefit of his warlike subjects a defenceless Punjab with its rich
bazaars and fair fields lying at the mercy of the invader. The overt act
was not long delayed in the shape of a frontier incident and the protest
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of the Indian Government was treated with scorn. Hostilities are now
or
inevitable unless the Afghans, who temper martial valour with a wise
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discretion, see fit to repudiate, in the unmistakable fashion
characteristic of their expressions of disapproval, their too bellicose
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ruler. It is satisfactory to know that the crisis has not caught the Indian
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Government by surprise and that the necessary dispositions have

already been made. The matter now passes into the sphere of military
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science but the cloud in the north-west makes it all the more
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necessary that external difficulties should not be complicated by

internal ill-feeling. We have said that such a feeling is being rapidly
generated all over India, and presumably in Punjab also, by the
measures of Sir M. O’Dwyer. Indiscriminate arrests and wholesale
deportation, the harassing and humiliating orders issued under martial
law, are tending to drive good citizens to despair. When an Editor is
tried by a martial law commission for an alleged offence committed
before the “state of open rebellion”, when a prominent public man is
remanded, on no other charge, as far as we are aware, than that of
having presided at a public meeting, when convicted men are given
sentences which all India agrees in thinking unduly severe, it does not
require a major prophet to predict that the result will be intensification
of unrest rather than its suppression. If blood and money be the price
of confidence and trust, Punjab has
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paid it in full measure and brimming over. To what extent the recent
riots are the result of Afghan intrigue, if at all, is yet a matter for
enquiry. Where the traces of that intrigue can be discovered, by all
means let the Government put its foot firmly down. We refuse,
however, to believe that the educated classes in the Punjab, against
whom with a vindictiveness that betrays the master-spirit behind, the
martial law edicts seem to be specially directed, could ever be guilty
of the folly of inviting an Afghan invasion. It is, therefore up to the
Government of India to grasp the reins firmly and seriously consider
how far the internal conditions of the country require its constant
exasperation by methods such as have been taking place. If it is the
duty of the people to co-operate in the restoration of order, it is no less
the duty of the State to make such co-operation possible. There is a
point of persistence beyond which justice degenerates into
vindictiveness and any further tales of the exploits of the “no d—d
nonsense” school will only serve to convince the public that that point
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has been reached and passed. or
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“If Sir Michael’s bias against the educated classes amounted to an obsession,
if Sir Michael and his myrmidons strained law and justice to connect a political
agitation with mob excesses and evolved a fullfledged rebellion, is it too far
fetched to argue that Sir Michael did, consciously and of set purpose, with
whatever excellent motives of purging the Punjab of what he considered its
bane, magnify a riot into a rebellion in order to wreak vengeance on his
enemies, the politicians?”
MARCH 29, 1920
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The agony of the Punjab
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HE HOUR FOUND THE MAN WITH LOINS GRIT FOR THE FRAY. At a time
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when the Punjab was passing through the greatest crisis in its
history since the Mutiny and needed more than ever the touch
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of a sympathetic hand, it found at the helm of affairs —

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Sir M. O’Dwyer. The Punjab since its annexation has been a sort of
happy hunting-ground for the Heaven-born. There the Babu ceased
from troubling and the niceties of official procedure hampered not the
incipient Empire-builder. The “Punjab manner” has become to the rest
of India — bureaucratic India of course — an envious aspiration. A
simple, martial people not educated into forgetting the rule and the
right of the sword, paternal theories of Government inherited from its
predecessors, here was a combination dear to the heart of the silent,
strong men in whom Anglo-Indian novelists typify the white man’s
burden. They have made us familiar with all the shibboleths of the
school. One must be cruel in order to be kind. If the people in their
ignorance did not know what was good for them, heroic remedies must
be adopted. The bane of their life is education, not the real education
which teaches them to sing “God bless the Squire and his
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relations” but the kind of education which breeds what Kipling in his
graphic way calls the “beggar-taught” which teaches them ideas
above their proper stations. It is the cult of efficiency carried to its
logical extremes.
Steeped in the highest or in the baser traditions of this school — it
is all a question of the point of view—Sir Michael perhaps exhibits its
virtues and its defects in their most complete form. He was efficient,
with the efficiency of the physician who concentrates on eliminating
the symptoms and driving them underground. He handled the Ghadr
conspiracy with a quick decision which was admirable — in its way.
The conspiracy was not: and the conspirators scattered to the four
winds of heaven. It was characteristic of Sir Michael’s methods that
he took no steps to meet the causes which produced the conspiracy.
Similarly in his dealings with recruiting and the war loan, of which we
shall have more to say later on. Suffice it here to say that he was
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successful, very successful. Eschewing the squeamishness of his
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weaker fellow- satraps he bent his efforts on the results and let the
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means justify themselves in the end. In the result, in both recruiting
and the war loans, Punjab took a place on which she is entitled to look
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back with pride. It is at any rate not Sir Michael’s fault if she does not
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for he has lost no opportunity of rubbing in the superiority of the

“Punjab manner” into the rest of India and statistics bore out his boast.
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Here the day’s work sufficed him. The thing was to get the men and
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the money. That done the consequences might go hang for all he
cared. Unfortunately for him and for the Punjab the consequences
followed too closely on the achievement. Sir Michael is from this point
of view perhaps one of the few who shared the Junkers’ natural regret
that the war could not have lasted a little longer. When a man is bent
on getting things done, getting them done quickly and getting them
done regardless of consequences, it may easily be imagined how
fierce must be his hatred of the formalities of procedure, how impatient
he must be of criticism and how in the end he could have arrived at a
hatred of what he must have considered hampering influences,
amounting to a positive obsession. That, stripped of excessive
verbiage, is his conception of the theory of Government as is made
evident in the following passage from a speech he made
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immediately after he took charge of the Province:—“I shall welcome

any practical suggestion, as to how Government can discharge more
efficiently its primary obligation to secure life and property, and how
the people can be roused to a sense of their duty towards the
community. All other questions of policy are in my opinion subsidiary
to these two and should stand over till these obligations are
adequately discharged.” That at any rate is plain speaking, if it is not
particularly high thinking. He will have peace even if he had to make
a wilderness to secure it and he will have the people recognise their
duty to the community — by furnishing recruits and money — if
necessary at the point of the bayonet. He did. His policy in these
fateful years was one long-drawn hymn of hate against the educated
classes who dared imbibe and worse, preach, doctrines not
conforming to the simple Old Testament theories of Government of Sir
Michael. Sir Michael intended not merely to rule but to govern. He
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would brook no rival beside the throne; not even an Executive
or
Councillor to shine in reflected glory. To a proposal for an Executive
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Council in his Province he replies — “The proposal had come upon
him as a surprise. The people of the province had from the start been
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habituated to regard the Lieut. Governor as the sole head of and in

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the last degree responsible for the administration of the province.” It

may be recalled that before the Parliamentary Joint Committee he
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expressed the opinion that he could not have made his handling of the
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“rebellion” the shining success that it was had he been obliged to

consult colleagues.
The war was to him a God-sent opportunity of strafing the “beggar-
taught” to some purpose. Says the Report:—“He abused the powers
given to him by the Defence of India Act by prohibiting the entry into
the province of Messrs. Tilak and Pal. He interned hundreds of local
men with little or no cause. He gagged the vernacular press,
prevented the Nationalist papers edited outside the Punjab from
circulating in the province, as for instance New India, the Amrita Bazar
Patrika, the Independent. He prohibited the circulation even of pre-
censored vernacular papers and brought a state of things, whereby it
became practically impossible for the people of the province to have
free interchange of independent views, or a free ventilation of their

grievances in the public Press;
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and then, having prevented free speech and free writing, he allowed
himself to think, and gave outsiders to understand that the people of
the Punjab were the happiest under his rule”.
Sir Michael’s many speeches, notably the one in the Imperial
Council, against the educated classes amply bear out the assertion
that his hatred of them had assumed the proportions of a mania. He
even quoted Burke — name hated of strong men of his ilk — against
giving undue weight to the merely clamant.
His opinion of the politician may be gathered from the following: “It
is often stated as an argument for self-government, that there are no
religious riots in Native States. For this there are many reasons, but a
leading one is that the professional politician does not exist there, or
if he does, is not allowed to interfere. The one recent and serious
religious disturbance that I am aware of in Native States — between
Sunnis and Shiahs in Bhopal — was fomented largely by the
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interference of a Muhammadan lawyer from Bombay anxious to
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advertise himself. In the Punjab, though sectarian feeling often runs
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very high, it rarely leads to riot or bloodshed, because the local
authorities know on whom to depend to compose matters. Those are
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not politicians but quiet men of local influence.”

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It is sad to reflect that shorty after these lines must have been
penned blood was shed in the Punjab to the tune of many thousands
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and that the non-political men of local influence were the first to feel
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the weight of Sir Michael’s hand. If as the Report shows, there was no
serious rebellion worth the name; if Sir Michael’s bias against the
educated classes amounted to an obsession; if Sir Michael and his
myrmidons strained law and justice to connect a political agitation with
mob excesses and evolved a full-fledged rebellion; is it too far- fetched
to argue that Sir Michael did, consciously and of set purpose, with
whatever excellent motives of purging the Punjab of what he
considered its bane, magnify a riot into a rebellion in order to wreak
vengeance on his enemies, the politicians?
“It has now been made painfully clear that the Moplahs have been guilty of
unthinkable excesses, of arson, looting, murder and, worse, forced
conversions of Hindus. They may plead provocations in respect of their
attacks on Government property — a plea which would carry no weight with
non-co-operators as well as the general public — but they have absolutely
no excuse for having laid violent hands on their non-Muslim brethren,
Europeans included, to such an extent as they have done. The mad acts of
violence they have been guilty of were incredible in their brutality... Any
attempt made to palliate or condone these acts would constitute an
irreparable blow to Hindu-Muslim unity — shattered as it has probably been
so far as Malabar is concerned”.
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SEPTEMBER 7, 1921
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The Moplah riots and after

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O THOSE WHO CAREFULLY STUDIED IT, LORD READING’S ADDRESS to
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the Indian Legislature must have been a deep

disappointment. Lord Reading virtually proclaimed that the
era of concessions must be reckoned, even by the Moderate
Legislature, as having ceased, giving way to caution which, in the light
of Sir William Vincent’s speeches on the Moplah outbreaks as well as
that of the Viceroy himself, must be taken to mean repression. In any
case, the official speeches in the Legislature are no harbingers of
peace. On the other hand, they are marked by a subtle but scarcely
mistakable gesture towards repression. The tone and tenor of these
speeches are significant. Lord Reading expressly recognised Mr.
Gandhi’s anxiety to keep out violence, but as expressly singled out his
followers, especially a section of them on whom he fixed the
responsibility for actual as well as potential disorders. “There are

signs”, said Lord Reading, “that the activities of
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those in the movement, or at least “one section of it”, may take a

“form of even a more direct challenge to law and order.” Lord
Reading then referred to the “attempts made by some fanatical
followers of Islam to seduce troops and the police” and stated that
his Government could not tolerate these attempts. Sir William
Vincent, who elaborated this policy in the Moplah debate,
significantly stated regarding the non-cooperation movement, that
“although the political situation was dangerous, the Government’s
policy towards that movement could not be changed by an isolated
disturbance in Malabar.” Indeed, Sir William almost exonerated the
non-cooperation movement from all blame in the matter. “There was
no sympathy as such” for the non-cooperation movement among the
rebels, said Sir William, “because the Moplahs had little feeling for
Mr. Gandhi’s personality. Judging from the recent events there was
certainly no sympathy for non-violent non-cooperation”. “The whole
Moplah rising seemed to be due”, Sir William said, “to the preachings
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of extremist Khilafat agitators” and added, in a repentant tone, that
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Mahomed Ali, who he evidently considered as one such preacher,
was not prosecuted at Erode owing to the intervention of Mr. Gandhi.
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The Government of India’s policy will, we think, be easily

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gathered from the above statements of their responsible members.

That policy, one may reasonably deduce from the above, is to be
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one of masterly inactivity, born of amused pity perhaps, towards non-

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violent non-cooperation which Government seem to regard as solely

a Hindu movement. On the other hand, it will treat as disastrously
dangerous the Khilafat movement which is purely a Muslim one and
which that Government severely dissociate from the (Hindu)
movement of non-violent non-cooperation. The Government of India
would appear to have determined ruthlessly to put the latter
movement down by taking repressive measures against its leaders.
If our interpretation of the Government’s policy be correct, we hope
they will not put it into force. In the first place, they are wrong in their
appreciation of the facts of the situation. The suggestion that it is the
Khilafat organisations that are responsible for the Moplah trouble has
little foundation in fact. It is significant that in the localities in which
the trouble was most intense, Ernad and Walluvanad, there were the
least number of Congress and Khilafat organisations. After all, so far
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as may be gathered from the reports in the Press it does not appear
that Khilafat agitators if by that term is meant members of Khilafat
Committees, were prominent in Malabar. On the other hand, where
there were effective Khilafat and Congress organisations, as there
were at Ponnani, they stood for law and order. It may be, as Sir W.
Vincent said, the Moplahs are under the thumb of a priesthood
proverbially fanatical and Mr. Thomas’s ill-considered attempt to
search the mosque for weapons and arrest priests is sufficient by
themselves to account for the outbreak of Moplah violence. There is
neither need nor justification to bring in the non-cooperation or even
Khilafat worker in general who, so far as they could, really hold in
check the violent tendencies of the Moplah. The fact is that the Moplah
outbreak is the result of the recrudescence once again of the
periodical outburst of Moplah fanaticism of which Ernad was in the
past an unfortunate, victim. If the present outbreak has proved more
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disastrous than those in the past, it is due to the general rise in the
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level of popular ingenuity and resources in which the rebels have
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freely shared. To mistake this for a signal of a general determination
on the part of the Muslims to resort to violence is to make a serious
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error. To proceed against Muslim leaders on the strength of this

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“isolated disturbance” as Sir William termed it, is, we think, to be guilty

of a provoking blunder. Any ill-considered and precipitate action on
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the part of Government may lead to serious and unpleasant

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consequences. Mahatma Gandhi is feeling the situation at every stage

and has wisely advised the postponement of the offer of civil
disobedience. It would be unfortunate if Government fail to recognise
that he has succeeded to a marvellous extent in instilling ideas of non-
violence and disciplined action in the minds of what Government
would regard as ill-balanced and inflammable material prone to
violence. Would it be wise to obstruct the progress of this educative
propaganda by grave acts of provocation such as the arrest of leaders
which, far more than in action, would lead to violence?
There is a lesson here to our Muslim brethren as well. The Hindu-
Muslim unity is being challenged on all sides and attempts are made
to point the uncomplimentary moral to the Hindus in the Moplah
outburst. It has now been made painfully clear that the Moplahs have
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been guilty of unthinkable excesses, of arson, looting, murder and

worse, forced conversion of Hindus. They may plead provocation in
respect of their attacks on Government property — a plea which would
carry no weight with non-cooperators as well as the general public —
but they have absolutely no excuse for having laid violent hands on
their non-Muslim brethren, Europeans included, to such an extent as
they have done. The mad acts of violence they have been guilty of
were incredible in their brutality, but, unfortunately, making all
allowances for exaggeration they have been reported to be true. Any
attempt made to palliate or condone these acts would constitute an
irreparable blow to Hindu-Muslim unity — shattered as it has probably
been so far as Malabar is concerned. Our profound sympathies must
now go to the non-Muslim population of Malabar and the measure of
earnestness with which our Muslim brethren join in this expression of
sympathy will be the measure of the strength of Hindu-Muslim unity.
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“If for a time the Mahatma cannot be with us in the flesh, it behoves us to
prove by calm, sustained and steadfast effort that he abides with us in the
spirit. Not eternal watchfulness alone but unceasing effort is the price of
freedom and in the struggle it must be remembered that arrests such as that
of Mr. Das or the Mahatma are but episodes, looming large at the moment
but destined to sink into proper perspective in time”.
MARCH 11, 1922
Mahatma Gandhi’s arrest

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T
HE EXPECTED HAS HAPPENED AND MAHATMA GANDHI HAS been
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arrested. Considering that in these days one need not commit

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any specific offence to be arrested we need not be too

curious concerning the particular section or sections
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which the Mahatma may be supposed to have infringed. His arrest

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may therefore be regarded as a sop to Cerberus. The Times has

demanded it and what The Times wants it, under the masterly
direction of Lord Northcliffe, knows how to get. The hearty enthusiasm
with which the announcement of Mr. Montagu’s resignation was
greeted by the Unionists in the House of Commons is an illustration of
the temper of Mr. Lloyd George’s masters and to defer any longer
taking action such as they demand was to imperil his Premiership and
Mr. Lloyd George knows that he is too indispensable to the nation and
the world at large lightly to risk that. We may take it therefore that the
stiffening of opinion in England is the prime motive cause of the arrest.
It is difficult to explain it otherwise coming as it does at this particular
moment. We could have understood it if he had been arrested when
he announced his intention to start civil disobedience in the mass.

On both occasions
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the Government lay low because there was then nobody to egg them
on, no panic-stricken Press to feature the coming horror in India in
lurid headlines, no Northcliffes to emulate the fat boy in Pickwick
thirsting to make the flesh of the public creep. It required the Prince of
Wales’ visit to India, a visit which in spite of his great personal qualities
we have no hesitation in calling one of the most ill-omened of royal
tours, to make the British public realise that all was not well in India,
that the Reforms Act had not set the coping-stone on Indian political
ambitions. The awakening has come but it is not so much an
awakening as a transition from a dreamless sleep into a nightmare
and one of the earliest reactions of the new scale of political values is
the arrest of Mr. Gandhi. Mr. Montagu’s resignation may not have
anything to do with the new orientation of policy but it is at any rate
timely. It would have been awkward for him otherwise to reconcile his
statement that Mr. Gandhi’s arrest was deferred pending further
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experience of the reality of his abandonment of mass civil
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disobedience and the present move. It cannot be pretended that
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anything has transpired since that statement was made, which could
even remotely suggest itself as a reason for the arrest. It is true the
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Delhi resolutions may be construed as a modification of the Bardoli

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ones but that is hardly the Mahatma’s fault. His efforts have been
consistently directed towards softening them down and the lead he
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has given has been followed all over the country, even the Punjab,
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which is usually the most impatient, consenting to give the Bardoli

programme a trial. It is clear, therefore, that civil disobedience is an
academic question all over the country except in Andhradesa where
a premature and apparently unauthorised campaign was begun but
which has now been given up. Mr. Gandhi never compromises with
his conscience and he is determined that all possibilities of violence
must be eliminated before the fight can be begun. The Government
cannot be ignorant that all his energies have latterly been devoted with
this sole end in view and that so far as any activities of Mr. Gandhi or
his followers are concerned no official need lose a night’s sleep. They
cannot be ignorant, if their real uneasiness is the possibility of
widespread disorder, that Mr. Gandhi free is a greater asset to them
than Mr. Gandhi in jail. If in spite of these considerations they decided

to arrest Mr. Gandhi, it must have been
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on grounds quite other than a breach of the law or a possible

disturbance of the peace. The Government in fact are pursuing the
policy which dictated the arrest of Mr. Das, whose offence was that he
was the President-elect of the Congress, and kept him incarcerated
for a scandalously long period before trial. It is a challenge thrown in
the face of the country. Government feel that the movement has had
too much rope, has grown stronger than it imagined could be possible
with the “most futile of all movements.” And it seeks to crush the
movement by arresting its originator. As is usual with all repression its
action is neither timely nor thorough. For one thing it is too late; for
another the Government cannot build enough jails for all those who
will have to be arrested if the movement is to be scotched. The
response of the country to the challenge must be clear and
unmistakable. That there will be unbounded resentment at the action
goes without saying but what must be insisted on is that that
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resentment should translate itself to a strengthening of our purpose
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and not waste itself in futile violence. As the Mahatma has time and
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again insisted, to resort to violence is to play the Government’s game.
The Daily News suggests that the alternative to concessions is
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handing the country over to the military. We must demonstrate that

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violence in repression is as unnecessary as it is bound to be futile and

that a machine-gun is as useless in a moral struggle as a warrant of
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arrest. We commend to the attention of our readers the simple and

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affecting message issued by the Mahatma on the eve of his arrest and
would ask them to steel their hearts and set to work upon the
programme without wasting their energy in useless grief. If for a time
the Mahatma cannot be with us in the flesh, it behoves us to prove by
calm, sustained and steadfast effort that he abides with us in the spirit.
Not eternal watchfulness alone but unceasing effort is the price of
freedom and in the struggle it must be remembered that arrests such
as that of Mr. Das or the Mahatma are but episodes, looming large at
the moment but destined to sink into proper perspective in time. The
faint-hearted may regret the intensified repression the arrest
forebodes. Even they, we venture to think, will hardly endorse the
appeal made by Mr. Sastri, with the replete gratitude of one who has
dined well and often, that the Moderates should support

Government if (being
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behind the scenes he might as well have said, when) it felt it necessary
to arrest Mr. Gandhi. The choice is theirs however and the mess of
pottage for them to take or leave. For the country at large things must
grow much worse before they grow better and for the empire — but
who shall speculate on how the struggle will develop?
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THE HINDU was banned by the Nizam of Hyderabad following publication of a

series of articles on the state by St. Nihal Singh, its well-known
Correspondent and contributor. THE HINDU: “The fierce light of publicity which
has been shed on Hyderabad must have been to it in the nature of a sunbath
but apparently it is not so regarded by the wise administrators who contrive
the destinies of that state. If they have nothing to hide why should they be
afraid of honest criticism? Can it not be reasonably inferred that what they
fear is not criticism but publicity? Commonsense would demand that if there
are defects they should remedy them or explain them away; that if they have
done good they should not hide their achievements under a bushel”.
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Hyderabad — of the Middle Ages

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N ASSOCIATED PRESS MESSAGE PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE ANNOUNCES
that His Exalted Highness the Nizam has proscribed THE
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HINDU from his dominion. In the case of Indian rulers who

are a law unto themselves, one may ask in vain for reasons
for this or that step, as one will look in vain for either reason
or justice or consistency in their actions. It may however be presumed,
since THE HINDU has not hitherto stood between the wind and His
Exalted Highness’s nobility, that the articles recently contributed by
Mr. St. Nihal Singh to these columns and the controversy over them
have contrived to upset the equanimity of His Exalted Highness and
his only less exalted advisers. These articles need not be introduced
anew to our readers. They speak for themselves and we have no
doubt have considerably edified them. That it was possible for them
to give offence we now learn for the first time from the action of the
one person to whom they ought most
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to have appealed. For what are these articles? They are by a

gentleman, a trained journalist of considerable standing and repute.
Mr. Nihal Singh is no stranger either to the readers of THE HINDU or
to the Indian and Anglo-Indian Press in general. His position as a
journalist is perhaps unique for an Indian for he is perhaps the only
Indian to whom the columns of the British Press are open in any large
measure. This is a fact of no small significance when one remembers
how reluctant the British Press, even the best section of it, is to discuss
Indian affairs or to afford opportunity for a fair presentation of the
Indian side of the question. Within the limits of his opportunities Mr.
Nihal Singh has been performing this task with a signal measure of
success. But there is a further fact connected with the episode that
throws a lurid light on the mentality of those who have sought
vicariously to punish his too great daring. He was for several months
a guest of the State and of Sir Ali Imam. He was allowed to go
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everywhere, see everything, and every facility was afforded to him for
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his observations. There was, however, apparently one mental
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reservation. He was to take notes, but he was not to print them. At
least, if he did, he was to exercise a wise discrimination and respect
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the unwritten firman. “Of the Nizam thou shalt speak nothing but
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praise.” Not being of that order of journalists which believes in

repaying hospitality with flattery laid on with a trowel, Mr. Nihal Singh
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thought he was free to express what he really thought. His articles

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speak for themselves. No one who has gone through them will for a
moment feel that the writer has set down aught in malice, or deny that
his sole object has been to point out defects where they exist, to give
credit where it is due, with the object of remedying these
shortcomings. There is nothing in them that any ruler ought to resent.
He may think the estimate wrong but he cannot deny that it is honest.
Now we hold no brief for Mr. Nihal Singh’s views and conclusions. His
conclusions may be right or wrong. His picture may be over-drawn or
the reverse. We leave that to those who are in touch with Hyderabad
affairs to discuss. As a matter of fact, as the columns of THE HINDU
will show, Mr. Singh has met with as considerable a measure of
criticism as of support and in the former category are included many
who have no official axes to grind and who are not impelled by virtue
of their official position to act as self-
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appointed publicity agents for His Exalted Highness. It will thus be

seen that the exalted ruler has no grievance real or imaginary either
against THE HINDU or against Mr. Singh. The latter is one whom he
himself delighted to honour but a short time back. Unless it is
suggested that the feeding was for the purpose of keeping his mouth
more usefully or less dangerously employed, it cannot be made an
accusation against Mr. Singh that he bit the hand that fed him. As for
THE HINDU His Exalted Highness’s attitude is even more
extraordinary, THE HINDU was fulfilling one of the ordinary and
legitimate duties of a journal by ventilating public affairs. It cannot be
said that it was either unfair or one sided. Defenders of the Hyderabad
regime had as ready access to its columns as its critics. What then
was the object of the proscription? “Thrice blessed are the people who
have no grievances, but four times they who are deprived of the
means of expressing them”; can it be that that has been exalted into
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an article of faith by His Exalted Highness? It would seem that the
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only possible conclusion to be drawn from the action of the Hyderabad
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authorities is that they have no use for anything so new-fangled as
public opinion, just as they have no use for methods of action which
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are favoured in countries which remain unblessed with paternal

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government of the Hyderabad type. Much as they may hate being

dragged into the garish light of day, from the grim religious light where
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tinsel can flaunt it undetected, they cannot in the conditions of modern

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progress have their own undisputed way. The fierce light of publicity
which has been shed on Hyderabad must have been to it in the nature
of a sunbath but apparently it is not so regarded by the wise
administrators who control the destinies of that state. If they have
nothing to hide why should they be afraid of honest criticism? Can it
not be reasonably inferred that what they fear is not criticism but
publicity? Commonsense would demand that if there are defects they
should remedy them or explain them away; that if they have done
good, they should not hide their achievements under a bushel. But the
uncommon sense of Hyderabad thinks elsewise. The matter raises an
issue of vital importance to the Indian Press. An action so far divorced
from reason, justice and commonsense, an action such as not the
most sun-dried bureaucrat in the most backward regions of British

India would dare to take,
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brings into fierce prominence the position of the Indian Press vis-a- vis
the Indian States. It was only the other day that a journal so
consistently loyal and friendly to Indian States as the Amrita Bazar
Patrika was surreptitiously forbidden entry into Patiala because like
the rest of the Indian Press it displayed a lively interest in the Nabha
abdication. Now THE HINDU is proscribed from Hyderabad because
it is displaying an unhealthy, or shall we say, morbid curiosity in the
tangled skeins of Hyderabad politics. We hold that it is in itself an act
of gross maladministration to put a ban on the entry of honest journals
into the State without any sort of notice or warning to the alleged
offender. If the Indian Press makes an unfair attack on a ruler he can
revenge himself on it not only in his own State but in British India. Why
should such protection as in the Princes’ Protection Bill, which was
thrust through the teeth of an unwilling Assembly, be afforded to
States which are not only object lessons in things as they ought not to
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be but are at liberty to launch an offensive against any journal without
or
the faintest shadow of justification? This is a matter which it is the duty
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of the whole Press of India, whatever may be its individual political
complexion, to take up.
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“He (Montagu) was genuinely attached to India and inside the Cabinet he so
stoutly championed her cause that he lost grace with the coalitionists and
this championship ultimately cost him his office... As his principles solidified
into ‘schemes’ and the schemes into ‘enactments’ they were seen to have
been cast in progressively less attractive moulds. But Mr. Montagu, with all
that was a great and undoubted friend of India. His advocacy secured for a
time for India a status superior to that of a dependency. He was instrumental
in admitting Indians into the inner councils of the Empire and if his efforts
lacked solidity and permanency it must be conceded that he is not wholly to
blame”.
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NOVEMBER 17, 1924
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The late Mr. E.S. Montagu

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HE NEWS OF THE SUDDEN DEATH OF MR. E. S. MONTAGU, FOR close
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on six eventful years the Secretary of State for India, will be

received with the deepest regret throughout the country. The
country was not in the least prepared for it. We know that
since his return from the British financial mission to Brazil some
months back he was not doing well and that, on account of illness, he
was obliged to cancel a visit to South Africa which he had planned.
These facts were, however, hardly such as to lead us to infer that his
condition was grave. The first intimation that his illness had developed
dangerous symptoms was conveyed to us in the message which we
published on Saturday. That message was followed yesterday with
the announcement that a career which showed such brilliant promise
but two years back had abruptly come to a close on the morning of
the 15th instant. For, reckoning by age and ability and character, Mr.
Montagu might have lived many more years and, indeed, if Mr.
Asquith’s hopes of Liberalism be not an idle
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dream, have risen to the highest rank of responsibility in the Empire.

The brief sketch of his career, which we publish elsewhere, will show
how rapidly he rose in the ranks of his party and in reputation. Mr.
Asquith, as whose Private Secretary Mr. Montagu served in the
beginning of his career, early marked him out as a man of promise.
And before he completed 31 years, Mr. Montagu had been appointed
Under-Secretary of State for India under that exacting scholar-
statesman, Lord Morley. This office Mr. Montagu filled with noteworthy
distinction. He had an onerous task: for, his chief being a peer and
thus obliged to sit in the Upper House, the duty of defending his policy
in the Commons fell to Mr. Montagu. Mr. Montagu made the most of
his opportunity and so satisfactory had been his work that when the
Secretary’s place fell vacant on the next occasion by the resignation
of Mr. Chamberlain following the Mesopotamia Report, the post was
offered to Mr. Montagu. From his acceptance of the office in 1917 to
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the date of his resignation, Mr. Montagu had a most strenuous time of
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it. He had earlier fitted himself for the post, not only by the
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opportunities he had at the India Office as Under-Secretary, but also
subsequently in the short interval while he was out of office. His now
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famous criticism of the Indian system of government in his speech on

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the Mesopotamia Report showed that he had put his experience in

India — he visited this country while he was Under-Secretary as well
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as later as Secretary
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— and his knowledge about India to good purpose. He had conceived

an Indian policy of his own and was only waiting for an opportunity to
put it into effect. His opportunity came though unfortunately as later
events proved it did not enable him to satisfy India. He enunciated
excellent principles of constitutional reform, most of them
unexceptionable and even beautiful while they remained in the realm
of theories, and, judging by his speeches alone, there was perhaps no
greater champion of constitutional freedom for India than he. He
condemned the bureaucratic system of Government; he showed utter
contempt for what he called “government by dispatch”, he waxed
enthusiastic over his substitute therefor, namely, “government by
vote”. He had a soft comer for the civil service of whose interests he
regarded himself as the sole protector so much so that when on

one occasion Sir C. Oman
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claimed to represent the Services, he rose to his feet and protested

that he, as the Secretary of State, was their sole protector. But he
wanted the civil servant to keep to his place of advising “how the
secretariat can carry out most efficiently the orders and wishes of its
political superiors.” Mr. Montagu had a grand conception of the Empire
to which he gave expression more than once. He envisaged its future
as that of a commonwealth of democratic, self-governing dominions.
He was genuinely attached to India and inside the Cabinet he so
stoutly championed her cause that he lost grace with the Coalitionists
and this championship ultimately cost him his office. Of the lasting
quality of his achievements we need say little. As his principles
solidified into “schemes” and the schemes into “enactments”, they
were seen to have been cast in progressively less attractive moulds.
But Mr. Montagu, with all that, was a great and undoubted friend of
India. His advocacy secured for a time for India a status superior to
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that of a mere dependency. He was instrumental in admitting Indians
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into the inner councils of the Empire and, if his efforts lacked solidity
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and permanency, it must be conceded that he is not wholly to blame.
As we said on the occasion of his resignation “with all Mr. Montagu’s
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failings — they were numerous and we have been unsparing in our

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criticism of his views and methods — we cannot withhold from him our
admiration for his undeniable love of India, his tireless devotion to
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duty, his great tenacity of purpose and his uncommon parliamentary

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abilities. If he discerned the attainment of India’s great destiny at too

great a distance to be appreciated by those of us who are able to see
things more clearly as well as near at hand, he at least distinguished
himself from the rest of his colleagues by being a man of vision.” It
was a tribute to his services for India that, when he was unjustly
hounded out of his office by the rising tide of reactionarism in Mr. Lloyd
George’s disreputable Coalition, the legislatures of India, from the
Assembly downwards, placed on record their sense of gratitude to
him. There have been many “friends of India” whose claim to that title
rests on far less substantial foundations than Mr. Montagu’s and India,
always grateful to those who try to serve her, will cherish the memory
of one who had so much vision and whose devotion to her interests
was so entirely wholehearted.
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The new Viceroy, Mr. Wood (later Lord Irwin) was said to be interested in
improving agriculture, which was his forte. THE HINDU: “India is a subject nation
and ought to be grateful for small mercies But her malady today is
political subjection from which she wants to be relieved if she should improve
economically, industrially and even agriculturally. It is no good to think of
improving agriculture in its technical side alone; there may be a good deal in
removing the evil, as far as it could be done, of minute sub- division of land
and in introducing intensive methods. But the ryot, even under the present
condition, can stand up if the intolerable burdens imposed on him without his
consent are lightened, if he is provided with an incentive to develop his
holding. This cannot be done without altering the whole system of
administration for there can be no relief in taxation till the huge expenditure
on defence is considerably reduced ”.
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NOVEMBER 14, 1925

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Side-tracking
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ROFESSOR GANGULEE HAS REASON TO CONGRATULATE HIMSELF on
the success of his efforts to get Lord Birkenhead interest
himself in Indian agriculture, for Mr. E. F. L. Wood has been
appointed as Viceroy, and what is a loss to the British beet
sugar industry is, we are told, sure to prove a gain to the most
important industry of India. In fact, Mr. Wood promises, if accounts of
him are to be believed, to teach the peasant to grow two blades of
corn where one grew before and thus entitle himself to be called a
saviour of this country, if not of mankind. India is a subject nation and
ought to be grateful for small mercies. Sir Frederick Whyte testifies in
his article to The Evening News, a cabled summary of which, sent to
a contemporary, will be found elsewhere, to the patience of Indians

and to their sense of gratitude. But her malady to-day is political
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subjection from which she wants to be relieved if she should improve

economically, industrially and even agriculturally. It is no good to think
of improving agriculture in its technical side alone; there may be a
good deal in removing the evil, as far as it could be done, of minute
sub-division of land, and in introducing intensive methods. But the
ryot, even under the present conditions, can stand up if the intolerable
burdens imposed on him without his consent are lightened, if he is
provided with an incentive to develop his holding. This cannot be done
without altering the whole system of administration, for there can be
no relief in taxation till the huge expenditure on defence is
considerably reduced, which will come only with the control over the
budget by the people’s representatives, which, in its turn, depends
upon Home Rule. It is therefore a profound mistake to think that any
of the economic problems are capable of solution till the root evil of
foreign domination is removed. But that is a reform against which the
British Government has set its heart, as is clear from Mr. Wood’s
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appointment. The Times blurts out the truth when it says that the
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Viceroy-elect would have three questions to tackle. One is agriculture,
his special forte, the second is the situation presented by ill-governed
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Feudatory States, a matter which certainly requires scrutiny and the

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third is the modification of “the administrative methods of the political

constitution of the Indian Empire,” a high-sounding phrase which
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conveys nothing more than that, taking the constitution as it is,

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consideration would be given as to the improvements which have to

be made in order to work it better. In other words, the majority report
of the Muddiman Committee would be examined, not with a view to
the adoption of all the proposals made therein, but to select such of
them as. in the opinion of the bureaucracy, may be introduced without
danger to the Raj. That sums the high policy which Mr. Wood is being
sent to India to carry out. India has no reason to indulge in any hope
hereafter that Great Britain, if it can help it, can be persuaded to revise
the constitution before 1929.
It is no doubt true that Lord Birkenhead told the House of Lords
that the Government had not arrived at any decisions on the question
and that they would do so after consulting the Legislative Assembly.
A formal despatch may yet emanate from the India Office,
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as one did during the time when Viscount Peel was Secretary of State
on the Mazumdar resolution. But it does not need a prophet’s mind to
read the contents of that document after the official attitude during the
historic debate in the Assembly, the frigid speeches of Lord Reading
and the latest pronouncement of Mr. Baldwin. The official slogan is:
work the reforms and show us you are fit for self- government. India’s
reply is, in spite of what Lord Sinha may say to the contrary, that she
does not recognise the right of England to dictate to her or test her
capacity, much less to set the pace of political advance. But is there
any honesty behind this churlish demand to work dyarchy? Sir
Frederick Whyte has shown up the hollowness of this burden of the
official song, and demonstrated the urgent need of advance, in any
view of the case. In his article to which reference has been made
above, he has reiterated his views even more clearly and
emphatically. Bengal may have damned itself
— a view, incidentally, with which we differ — but Madras, Bombay,
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the United Provinces and the Punjab have admittedly done well. Why
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do you withhold further Reforms from them, if you are sincere in your
professions? On the other hand, if you think that Indians are unfit, you
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have no sufficient material to arrive at that conclusion. Before you do

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that, “before any man, Indian or European, presumes to pass

judgment upon contemporary political India, he should give Indian
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public men scope to show what they have in them. They should be
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given much larger opportunities of proving their quality before you can
pronounce them to be unfit.” We cannot have a better or more
informed condemnation of British attitude than this striking
pronouncement. Nor does Sir Frederick think much about the things
said of Mahatma Gandhi’s movement, for Indians would not be worth
their salt if they did “not protest against the pressure of the alien.” You
occupied — the present tense would be more exact — all important
posts in the Army and the Civil Services and after thus denying Indians
every opportunity to show their responsibility, you complain if they, like
the trodden worm, turn against you. Sir Frederick has done a service
to India by thus exposing the brazen illogicality of the “trustee.”
“Who that has followed his career with some care can deny that far from
drawing England and India nearer to one another, Lord Reading has, by the
manner in which he has dealt with the Indian people and their concerns,
sensibly widened the gulf separating them? The greatest blunder which he
committed .... is his failure to enlist the services of Indians of experience and
undoubted patriotism, notably of that pure and noble soul, Mahatma Gandhi,
in the cause of India’s progress. The Viceroy courted an ignominious failure
by underrating Mahatmaji’s influence and hold on his countrymen. By
persisting in that folly he has destroyed India’s faith in British intentions and
professions ”
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MARCH 26, 1926
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Lord Reading’s administration

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The Viceroy while maintaining and consolidating the good

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relationship which exists between the princes of India and their

States, has at the same time to lead a proud people throbbing
anew with race consciousness and with national
consciousness as far as in him lies, along the only successful
road, the well-ordered road to the highest destiny that awaits
any country, partnership in the British Empire: What nobler
work can any citizen of this country be called upon to undertake
if it succeeds, and it is bound to succeed, what a triumph for all
that is best in humanity! and if it fails — God forbid it should fail!
— how indisputably the world would be the poorer! —E. S.
Montagu.
T IS A COMMONPLACE IN THE HISTORY OF HUMAN ENDEAVOUR that promise

inevitably tends to outrun performance. Since it is impossible,

humanly speaking, to obtain absolute parity, one has necessarily to
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pass judgment on results according to the size of the hiatus that may
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intervene between the two. Furnishing as he does a most pathetic
object-lesson in the tragedy of an idealist degenerating into a
helpless and pathetically self-satisfied opportunist, Mr.
Montagu’s utterance quoted above has an ironic appropriateness
as coming from one victim of missed opportunities to his successor.
For these words were spoken at a function held in honour of Lord
Reading prior to his departure to India five years ago. How has His
Excellency discharged the task, the noblest task which “any citizen of
this country (Great Britain) can be called upon to undertake”? Has he
succeeded, or has he failed? Is humanity (that collective entity without
invoking which no oratory would be complete) richer or the world
poorer to-day after five weary years of stewardship of India on the part
of one whose proud claim it was to act as the harbinger and the high-
priest of justice in general and British justice in particular? We may
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say at once that India does not heave one sigh of regret at his
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departure, that he is leaving her shores unhonoured, unwept and
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unsung and that, though she has no particular reason to be
enthusiastic over his successor, there is nevertheless a widespread
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feeling of relief that a tenure of office, which has been one of lost
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opportunities, of unparalleled repression, of the prostitution of law, has

drawn to a close. In his unimpressive but self-gratulatory farewell
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speech yesterday at Delhi, Lord Reading laid the flattering unction to

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his soul by boasting that he had omitted no step which was likely in
his view to conduce to the successful realisation of Dominion status
by India. Now there are two roads to that goal, one the way of
generous recognition of the nation’s demand and the other of denying
it and goading the people by repression and oppression. Only in the
latter sense can His Excellency’s remarks be true. Who that has
followed his career with some care can deny that, far from drawing
England and India nearer to one another, Lord Reading has, by the
manner in which he has dealt with the Indian people and their
concerns, sensibly widened the gulf separating them? The greatest
blunder which he committed, one which his successor, if he is wiser,
would do well to avoid in the interests of his own reputation and of
both the countries, is his failure to enlist the services of Indians of

experience and undoubted patriotism, notably
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of that pure and noble soul, Mahatma Gandhi, in the cause of India’s
progress. The Viceroy courted an ignominious failure by underrating
Mahatmaji’s influence and hold on his countrymen. By persisting in
that folly, he has destroyed India’s faith in British intentions and
professions and by ignoring the united demand of a proud people
“throbbing anew with national consciousness,” he has dealt a serious
blow at the prestige of his country the credit of which with the Indian
public is very very low indeed at this moment, as testified to even by
the most moderate of Moderates. The following brief review of the
chief events of Lord Reading’s administration would show how the
above estimate of his achievements is by no means overdrawn.
Lord and Lady Reading have, of course, discharged their social
obligations in the fashion required by custom and the spontaneous
tributes paid to Her Excellency and the amount of sympathy
expressed for her when she fell ill a few months ago, bear evidence
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to the popularity she has won by her work for the sick, the poor and
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the needy. It is said that but for Her Excellency’s desire Lord Reading
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would not have remained in India for the full period, but the new Act,
passed by an accommodating Parliament, allowing heads of
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Governments to take leave, which is already resulting in an epidemic

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of migrations from India on the part of Governors, came in at the right

moment and helped to break the monotony. Pomp and circumstance
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is the traditional badge of Viceroyalty born of the comfortable notion

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that the inheritor of the Grand Moghul burden of rule, should live up to
the Grand Moghul’s tradition of influence. Pomp and circumstance
Their Excellencies did not certainly thrust aside and not only did they
pay homage to them in their own way, but wished very much that their
guests should exhibit themselves at their best and thus add to the
grandeur and gaiety of their parties. The story is told how a certain
Prince, the romantic account of whose acquisition of a garland of
pearls they had heard, rushed a motor car to his capital for the
purpose of fetching the precious jewel in order that it may adorn the
person of the ruler at a function the next day.
It would be a mistake, however, to think that because His
Excellency followed the usual precedents in regard to his social
duties, he was either free or cordial or communicative at such

functions or at interviews with leading men and women, Indian or
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European, official or non-official. In fact, he maintained a reserve and

a coolness which offended not a few and his sphinx-like attitude and
aristocratic hauteur could not be expected to have contributed to his
success. It is incredible, but it is nevertheless true, that the Viceroy
would not talk on political topics with Indians even when far-reaching
decisions were pending on questions which had greatly agitated the
public mind. He told the members of the Central Legislature yesterday
that he kept “an impartial mind free from the trammels of parties or
interests.’’ This was true enough at the stage when he began to study
a question, but he invariably came to the conclusion suggested by his
advisers, though in doing so he would assume an independent
attitude and even disagree with them on subsidiary matters such as
the manner and method of refusing the demands of the people. But
what does the beggar care so long as alms are refused him, if the
pompous and imperious mother-in-law does it, it is not different from
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the refusal of the daughter-in-law. Sir Charles Innes has told the world
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how he was struck by the memory, method and manner of Lord
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Reading. We are unable to say anything of the first quality, but of his
method and manner the less said the better. The unconscionable
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delay in the disposal of papers, the unaccountable deferring of

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passing orders in regard to important questions and appointments are

the common talk of Simla and Delhi; there would be some
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compensation if the decisions ultimately reached were satisfactory,

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but that they were utterly disproportionate to the time spent — or

unspent — is only too well-known to the public.
Of the Viceroy’s Liberalism, it is not necessary to say much. In
certain quarters much was expected from his influential and intimate
association with India, drawing, as he has professed to do, his political
inspiration from Gladstone, but even within a few months of his
Viceroyalty it had become pretty clear that there was nothing in his
politics which was even remotely related to robust Liberalism, but that
what distinguished him were those political virtues which made
Charles II’s reign a shining success from his own point of view. Else,
the public should have expected a stern stand when Lord Curzon
described the Government of India as a subordinate branch of the
British Government, a title which ill-fitted with the spacious times
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which the new Viceroy was to assist in ushering; else he should be

expected to have experienced not only difficulties but twinges of
conscience in serving five different Prime Ministers and four different
Secretaries of State, as he himself stated yesterday, belonging to the
three political parties of his country and necessarily of divergent
political views and tendencies. It is a strain on the principle of loyalty
of servants of the Crown to seek to apply it to persons holding such
an exalted position as the Viceroyalty of India. Either Lord Reading
had his own way with his superiors, a supposition which, if true, would
be eloquent of his reactionary attitude, or he was pliant, which appears
to be the more correct assumption. It has appeared to many to be a
marvel, as damaging to his reputation as it is inconsistent with his
antecedents, that Lord Reading should have proved to be such a
docile agent of the Secretary of State for the time being; this
phenomenon is variously explained, but the meek acquiescence is the
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triumph of the unseen but ever present influence of the Civil Service.
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The paucity of positive achievements during the Viceroyalty has been
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admitted by Sir D. E. Wacha who, conscious of a bankruptcy of
tangible achievements to hold up for adulation, could only bid his
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countrymen to wake up after fifty years when, on a fine morning, Lord

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Reading’s great and noble deeds for India would suddenly leap to light
in all their glory. If supine surrender, at every point, of the interests
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constitutes success then has Lord Reading deserved well of this

country. As things are, his country and his countrymen have reason
to be grateful to him in that he has ensured them conditions
adequately to discharge what in the Pecksniffian post-war
phraseology is called “trusteeship” but which a franker generation was
content to dub “exploitation”.
As a new comer, who sincerely wished to study things for himself,
Lord Reading kept himself aloof for some time from the corroding and
anaesthetizing influence of the bureaucracy. He even, with that avidity
for immaculateness generally ascribed to new brooms, kept it at some
distance, preferring to judge for himself. The steel-frame speech of
Lloyd George, in which that super-opportunist said that he could see
no period when India could dispense with the European element in

the Civil Service, was unpalatable, there is reason to
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think, to the Viceroy who secured a revised version of it for Indian

consumption. He further sent a circular to local Governments on the
future of the Indian Services — known as the O’Donnell circular —
embodying some admirable sentiments and enunciating some wise
principles. Lord Reading at first resisted the extravagant conditions
required by the services in regard to the scheme of proportionate
pensions. But the pressure from above became irresistible, and the
Viceroy yielded where the public had a right to expect him to stand
firm. Here again there was an ignominious surrender, European
members of the Services having appealed to the Secretary of State
over the head of Lord Reading’s Government, who, they openly said,
could not be trusted to champion their cause. The Lee Commission,
agreed to by the Viceroy without reference in the first instance, we
understand, to his Executive Council, came as a packed body and
recommended extravagant salaries and emoluments all of which have
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since been accepted and given effect to in the Parliamentary Act since
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passed, in spite of protests of the Legislative Assembly, thrice
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repeated, and of local Legislative Councils. It is noteworthy that the
Government of India have plainly stated that all the proposals in
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regard to the Indian Medical Service are not going to be adopted,

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obviously because they prejudicially affect Britishers. Moreover, they

are gradually receding from the position they took up in regard to
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Europeans appointed for and serving under Local Governments who

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are presumably to be granted the Lee concessions against which

Simla stood out at one time. It is curious that though the Viceroy has
always appeared to be over and above the Services, keeping them at
a distance, he has not only sought to grant them higher emoluments
at the expense and against the declared wishes of the Indian tax-
payer, but has fallen a victim to their machinations, accepting their
view as to the unrest and the methods of combating it and resisting
with them, the Indian demand for Swaraj. But while the European
element has thus been pampered, very little progress has been made
in the matter of the Indianisation of the Services, though the preamble
to the Government of India Act, which he has been never tired of
quoting, has enjoined on the authorities the necessity for closer
association of Indians with the administration.
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Before, however, reference is made to the reign of terror

inaugurated under the auspices of His Excellency and the stem refusal
to grasp the hand of fellowship extended by Indian leaders, it would
perhaps be useful to examine whether in other matters the Viceroy
was able either to conform to his own standard of public duty or to
satisfy Indian public opinion. Let us take law and order and the
administration of justice. Early in his career, Lord Reading had told the
public that he was determined to render as impossible as
circumstances would permit the judicial scandals in racial cases and
to reform judicial procedure. The Civil Justice Committee and the
Indian Bar Committee owe their inception to him and their reports
contain recommendations which are yet being examined; except in
certain important particulars, it is only right to say that the changes
advocated by them might, if adopted, make judicial procedure free
from the evils which beset it to-day. But we can scarcely congratulate
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Lord Reading on his policy in regard to racial distinctions in judicial
or
trials, for all these distinctions have not yet been removed, his
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Government having weakly surrendered to the British Government in
regard to the widening of the definition of the European British subject
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so as to include colonials and to the ousting of the jurisdiction of courts

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lower than the High Court in cases against soldiers. In regard to the
repeal of repressive laws, it is now a matter of notoriety how the
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removal of Deportation Regulations, the Seditious Meetings Act and

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Part II of the Criminal Law Amendment Act from the Statute book was
refused in the first instance and how attempts to secure the reforms
afterwards were defeated by having recourse to the help of the
Council of State. One who has been bred up in the atmosphere of
British justice could not tolerate, it may be presumed, the use of
firearms on a crowd without warning; but a legislative measure
actually brought forward by the Government themselves was
afterwards withdrawn and non-official attempts in the same direction
have been unsuccessful. The rule of law is yet to be applied to land
revenue and the Bill in this respect sent up from Madras has yet to be
sent down from Simla. It is astonishing that Lord Reading’s
Government should still hesitate to allow Local Governments to
separate executive from judicial functions though at one time they

told the Assembly not to trouble itself with this
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question as it concerned the Provinces. What is behind this

retrogression except the vigilance of the bureaucracy which has learnt
to perfection the art of bending even the stoutest champions of the
rule of law to its purpose? The little reputation Lord Reading had
completely disappeared when he refused to interfere with the
prostitution of the preventive sections of the Criminal Procedure Code,
of which more anon.
Lord Reading belongs to a race which had experienced oppression
of a galling kind through the long course of history, and as such he
should be ordinarily expected to sympathise with Indians in their
struggle for liberty at home and abroad. What the Viceroy’s
contribution to the former is we shall see by and by, but it is a matter
for profound regret that he never allowed himself to express hearty
condemnation of the unrighteous policy followed by the Colonies and
Dominions in dealing with Indian nationals; he could never bring
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himself, except at a very late stage and then in a half-hearted manner,
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even to reach the height attained by an Englishman predecessor of
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his, Lord Hardinge. There was more of eternal balancing of the pros
and cons in his utterances on the subject than the plain talk that the
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circumstances demanded. The emigration policy of the Government

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of India during the last five years can be summed up by saying that
precious little has been achieved. The equality resolution of the
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Imperial Conference of 1921 is a dead letter; Mr. Sastri’s mission to

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the Dominions has, while leading to improvements in Australia, been

barren so far as Canada is concerned; the position in Kenya is not a
whit better, while that in South Africa is darker than it was ever before.
In regard to Kenya, the proposal to send an officer to report on the
desirability of Indians settling in the Lowlands mooted by the Viceroy
was withdrawn only after an indignant protest by the public. The
Government have steadily refused to put into force the Retaliation Act
passed by the Indian Legislature or impose countervailing duty on
South African coal, even though it was necessary in the economic
interests of this country. The circumstances under which the Paddison
deputation was sent to South Africa are now well known; it was a move
calculated to bring humiliation on India, especially as this step was
taken after the Union Government had declined to accept the round
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table conference proposal. The Viceroy’s reference to the object of

this deputation as being to smooth the way for repatriation, his
distinction between South Africa-born and other Indians, and his
acquiescence in the principle of selection of the personnel of the
deputation dictated for him by the Hertzog Government were greatly
resented in the country. And the story of the refusal of a passport to a
prominent Indian public worker who wanted to go to South Africa and
enlist the support of Christian organisations in the country on behalf
of the Indian cause, will, when told in full, which we hope would one
day be done, rouse the indignation of the public. The fact is that he
had no real living interest in the cause and his cold calculating nature
was not suitable for the growth of the righteous wrath against wrong
which is the mark of truly noble minds.
Of the military policy of Lord Reading’s Government much need
not be said. The forward policy has been subjected to much criticism
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and it is by no means established that success has attended the
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efforts to bring the turbulent tribes under control, even after the
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uncivilised warfare carried on by bombing from the air. The only
tangible results of Lord Reading’s policy, so far as the public are
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aware, are the Khyber Railway on which the Government have poured
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money like water and the magnificent if costly motor roads which
traverse Waziristan and are meant to dominate the tribal tract. The
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possibilities of these brilliant undertakings for catering to the pleasure-

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bent tourists have been amply demonstrated, but of their value either
as instruments for the pacification of the area or, much less, as adding
perceptibly to our military strength, we have as yet very little evidence.
The tribes, as Lord Reading has had occasion recently to know, are
by no means scared by these enveloping movements; indeed, they
ask for the extension of the railway building activities to other areas
for, as they assured Lord Reading, they contribute immensely to their
gaieties no less than to their convenience. Time alone will show
whether, far from contributing to our security, these enterprises have
done anything more than helped to relieve the tribes of part of the
drabness and boredom of their life and thus made them more fit than
ever to ply their age-long trade. The War Office still dominates the
Government of India and refuses to accept the proposals of the latter.

The more important resolutions
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of the Legislative Assembly on the Report of the Esher Committee,

adopted with the approval of the Government, have yet to be brought
into effect, while the recommendations of the Territorial Force
Committee still adorn the Secretariat shelf. The Government have
been strenuously opposing non-official suggestions regarding
Indianisation of the Army, while the eight units scheme, which has
been a colossal failure, has been laughed to scorn by the Indian
public. The Army expenditure, the Commander-in-Chief has
pontifically stated, cannot be reduced to the limit of Rs. 50 crores as
suggested by the Inchcape Committee. The puny proposals regarding
the Indian navy, especially the Indianisation part of it, are too recent
to need any elaboration at our hands. If Sir P. S. Sivaswami Aiyer, to
whose labours on this aspect of the subject the public is. much
indebted, is disgusted with the policy pursued by the authorities, it
must be taken that the last word has been said on it.
It is perhaps true that under Mr. Montagu’s inspiration Lord
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Reading looked forward to intimate co-operation with the Indian
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legislature, so regulating the relations between his Government and
the representatives of the people as to result in complete
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understanding and necessarily in the working of the reforms in the

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spirit in which they were conceived. Sir Frederick Whyte had early
foreseen the difficulty of an irresponsible Executive getting on
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smoothly with an Assembly containing an elected majority. Lord

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Meston in his article to the current number of The Contemporary

Review says: — “A regular body of pledged supporters of the
Government cannot be looked for so long as the Government is
amenable to the British Parliament and to the will of its own
Legislature.” A policy of give and take can alone, in these
circumstances, tide over the delicate transition stage. The first two
years saw the spectacle of taxation being mounted up and the repeal
of many objectionable repressive laws on the basis of compromise,
the members of the Assembly, belonging as they did to the moderate
section, being temperamentally unequal to pitching the demands of
the people high. Obviously the bureaucracy in India could not
contemplate with equanimity the existence of cordial relations
between the Executive and the Legislature because it was leading to

the sensible dimunition of its prestige and power. And then began
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that constant and irritating interference with the decisions of the

Assembly which has become the normal feature of Government
business. The Princes Protection Bill, which the Assembly would not
even look at, was placed on the Statute Book with the assistance of
the Council of State, a packed body which has never failed the
Executive. The Finance Bill of 1923, containing the enhanced salt tax
was also similarly dealt with, despite the vehement protests of the
Assembly and the whole country, a transaction which was
unnecessary because only a paltry deficit had to be covered up and
which was flagrantly opposed to the principle of no taxation without
representation which, Lord Reading knew so well, was the very breath
of Englishmen. Dr. Rushbrook Williams, unaware of the extent to
which exceptional powers were going to be utilised in the coming
years, wrote as follows in his annual review for 1922-23: — “It is
extremely doubtful whether they can be utilised in future, in anything
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but the very gravest of emergencies, without detriment to the general
or
political situation. This fact is the more important on account of the
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natural, indeed, inevitable tendency for the Central Legislature to
increase the scope and influence of its deliberations at the expense of
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the sphere which technically has been reserved from its control.” But
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a whole host of legislative measures which the non- official members

of the Assembly promoted in the second period were ruthlessly
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destroyed, thanks to the servile help of the Elders who faithfully

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repeated their master’s voice. The Criminal Law Amendment Bill, the
bill to abolish reservation of third class carriages to Europeans and
Anglo-Indians, the Special Laws Repealing Bill and the Fire Arms Bill
were thus got out of the way, the Viceroy having come to look upon
the exercise of his special powers as a necessity in the circumstances
which faced him. The Bengal Criminal Law Amendment
Supplementary Bill, to which the Assembly objected as it related to
the policy of repression in Bengal, was certified and enacted, the
Council of State again proving a faithful ally. And only the other day,
the Council adopted a motion, previously rejected by the popular
House, favouring the official proposal to pay enhanced salaries to two
members of the Privy Council. It was hoped by the champions of the
Reforms that the special powers would not be frequently used, but
certification and
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restoration have become very common, reducing the prestige and

usefulness of the Assembly. The Viceroy prided himself the other day
on the fact that he was following the practice of nominating to the
Council of State non-officials where he could nominate officials but the
way in which he has chosen members recently, deliberately keeping
out those who were likely to hold independent views and preferring
non-entities, has completely exposed the real object of the
manoeuvre, which is to counteract the accession of strength to the
party of fighters by the return of a number of Swarajists. It is therefore
no matter for surprise that the Upper House and Lord Reading had
come to constitute themselves into a mutual admiration society.
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The British Government appointed an all-white commission under the

chairmanship of Sir John Simon to go into the question of constitutional
reforms for India, THE HINDU: “The statutory commission on Indian reforms is
an insult to India. It stands for the betrayal of the most solemn pledges, the
repudiation of the fundamental principles of Britain’s own constitutional
practice, the cynical disregard of those eternal moral scruples which should
regulate the conduct of states no less than of individuals. ‘Cooperation and
more co-operation’ has been the constant refrain of Britain all these eight
years and at last here we have in concrete form her idea of the kind of co-
operation she expects from us — the cooperation of the slave in chains with
the overseer who superintends his agony whip in hand and not the co-
operation that exalts equals and draws the ties of friendship tighter.”
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NOVEMBER 9, 1927
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A monumental farce
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NDIA HAS HAD TO SUFFER MANY INDIGNITIES AT THE HANDS OF Britain but
it was reserved to Mr. Baldwin’s Government to strike upon the
most irritating and malignant of them all. An all-British Commission
made up of amiable mediocrities is the response
that Britain has seen fit to make to India’s unparalleled sacrifices in
the service of the Empire, her undaunted efforts at attaining a position
of equality in the eyes of nations and her unconquerable hopes for the
future. And yet she will throw up her hands in despair and pretend to
commiserate India on her short-sighted folly when the latter answers,
as she must, insult with contempt and injury with inflexible
determination to carve her own future, regardless of Britain’s frowns
or favours. No one can read the laboured, unconvincing and half-
hearted statement issued by Lord Irwin in defence of his masters’

decision to send out an all-British
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Commission to judge of India’s fitness for further reforms without

feeling infinite compassion for him and realising with all the terrible
grimness of finality that it is fatal folly to look for our political salvation
outside our own determined and united efforts or to expect the vested
interests that hold India in their grip to rise to the heights of self-
eliminating altruism and help this country to realise its honourable
ambitions. The mental processes by which, according to the Viceroy,
His Majesty’s Government arrived at their decision are as revealing as
the decision itself. It has taken them nearly eight years to realise that
“the uncertainty of what constitutional changes might be imminent
may have served to sharpen” communal antagonism. But when this
patent fact was being repeatedly impressed upon their attention by the
nation’s leaders they wilfully shut their eyes to it and refused to do
anything.
Even more significant is Lord Irwin’s declaration regarding the
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nature and object of the Commission and its task. It takes for granted
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that “Parliament must, in any circumstances, be the final arbiter” of
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India’s destiny, and that Indians, far from claiming a predominant
voice in the shaping of their own future, should be grateful to His
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Majesty’s present Government for their graciously deigning to take

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account of their aspirations. Lord Irwin says, “For myself I cannot

doubt that the quickest and surest path of those who desire India’s
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progress is by the persuasion of Parliament.” In other words, the

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Preamble is to be regarded as immutable for all time like the Laws of

the Medes and the Persians. And yet, we have it on his own assurance
that the Government of India Act (much less the Preamble thereto)
“never professed to incorporate irrevocable decisions.” India has
never agreed and will never agree that the British Parliament should
be the arbiter of her destiny. And for a good reason. Let us glance for
a moment at Parliament’s qualifications for the task and also how it
proposes to discharge it. Parliament is to decide the fate of three
hundred million people, but it requires to be assisted by a Commission
which would not only “be unbiased and competent to present an
accurate picture of facts to Parliament” but also “willing to take
whatever action a study of these facts may indicate to be appropriate.”
In other words, the Commission, while nominally acting as the

eyes and ears .of
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Parliament, will in sober fact be the real judge and arbiter. For a
Parliament, whose ignorance of India is abysmal whose constitutional
scruples have been set at rest and vanity flattered by the appointment
of a Committee of its own members and which has shown itself
servilely subservient to the present Tory Government, will deem its
task done when it has crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s in the
Commission’s report and consign India with a sigh of relief to the limbo
of oblivion. How far is this Commission, which will be entrusted with
one of the most onerous tasks of the twentieth century, fitted to
discharge the duties? A casual glance at the list of names will suffice
to show that the most malignant ingenuity could not have thought of a
worse set of persons. But for the Chairman, the Commission is
composed entirely of third-rate men who have absolutely no
knowledge of India and who, if they had been the free choice of
Parliament, would have blasted for all time its reputation for
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discrimination, while its compulsory acquiescence in their selection
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must scout its pretensions to be regarded as India’s judge in the eyes
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of all thinking men. And the Commission’s claim to freedom from bias
is as debatable as its competence. Sir John Simon, great lawyer and
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constitutional expert though he is, far from having any sympathy for
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the victims of imperialism, is an orthodox successor of Mr. Asquith in

this respect. Four of the members are Conservatives, so that the
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others, even if they were minded to dissent from the views of those
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representatives of Toryism, would find themselves in a minority. It is

not for nothing that the proprietor of the most influential of
Conservative newspapers, a paper which has been consistently
hostile to Indian aspirations, should be on the Commission; from this
brilliant stroke Mr. Baldwin’s Government undoubtedly anticipate that
British opinion would be carefully prepared to accord a favourable
reception to the Commission’s findings and quietly bamboozled into
the belief that the Commission was received with delirious enthusiasm
in India. As for the two Labourites, who have been pitch-forked into
the Commission to give it a representative complexion, men of their
modest position in public life could hardly be expected to swim against
the tide.
Having thus secured in advance impartiality and a high standard

in the Commission, the Government graciously recognise, in the
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words of the Viceroy, that “Indian opinion has a clear title to ask that,
in the elaboration of a new instrument of Government, their solution of
the problem or their judgment on other solutions which may be
proposed should be made an integral factor in the examination of the
question and be given due weight”. But the precise value of this
admission may be judged from the fact that, in Lord Irwin’s view, the
opinion of British official members is entitled to exactly as much weight
as those of Indian leaders. This dictum, taken in conjunction with the
proposal to ask the Central Legislature to set up a Select Committee
from its elected and nominated non-officials to make representations
to the Commission, points to an implication of which the Viceroy was
evidently not aware — that the Government are so fully convinced of
the identity of outlook of the Commission and of British officials in India
that they consider representation of the latter before the Commission
a superfluity. If this precaution be deemed insufficient there is, of
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course, the safety-valve alluded to mysteriously by the Viceroy when
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he said that “the task of taking evidence on the more purely
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administrative questions should be undertaken by some other
authority which would be in the closest touch with the Commission.”
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This latter body will in all probability be composed exclusively of

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members of the steel-frame; in which case, what time a Select

Committee of the Legislature would be presenting petitions and
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making representations with bated breath and whispering

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humbleness, the bureaucracy, strong in the consciousness that the

Commission was its sworn friend, would engage gaily in the task of
doctoring corroborative evidence to entrench itself more firmly than
ever in its position of top-dog in unfortunate India.
The Statutory Commission on Indian Reforms is an insult to India.
It stands for the betrayal of the most solemn pledges, the repudiation
of the fundamental principles of Britain’s own constitutional practice,
the cynical disregard of those eternal moral scruples which should
regulate the conduct of States no less than of individuals. “Co-
operation and more co-operation” has been the constant refrain of
Britain all these eight years and at last here we have in concrete form
her idea of the kind of co-operation she expects from us — the co-
operation of the slave in chains with the
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overseer who superintends his agony whip in hand, and not the co-
operation that exalts equals and draws the ties of friendship tighter.
Let India give the only possible reply to the arrogant gesture of the
British Cabinet. They count upon our mutual differences, our personal
and communal jealousies and the much-tried faith of our Moderates
in Britain, to keep us apart and make us fall an easy prey to their
scheming and make ourselves the laughing-stock of the world. Shall
it be said of us that we sold our birthright for a mess of pottage and
merited the curse of unborn generations? To these questions the
Indian National Congress has only one reply to give — it will have
nothing to do with the Commission. It is for other parties to consider
whether they will range themselves with the Congress which is
determined to liberate India or with those who are fully resolved to
keep us in bondage. Let them not be misled by the specious plea that
the Indian Legislature has been given its rightful place in our rulers’
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counsels by this device of a select committee. Apart from the fact that
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such a Committee will in no way be representative of India, it will have
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no more rights than any other body or any individual, however
insignificant, since it will have no power to influence the
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recommendations of the commission in the slightest respect. As will

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be seen from a special cable published elsewhere, our Labour friends

in Parliament roundly condemn the exclusion of Indians from the
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Commission, but by long experience we know that the Labour Party

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is a broken reed for us to lean upon; otherwise, would it have allowed

two of its members to accept places on the Commission? Once again
let it be remembered that our salvation lies in our own hands. In the
name of the glorious India of the future which every loyal son sees
with the mind’s eye, we implore all Indians irrespective of caste, creed,
community or party, to rally to the cause of the Congress which is the
cause of the country.
The following is THE HINDU editorial on its Golden Jubilee. “Honest and fearless
criticism of men and measures, untainted by personalities and directed solely
by consideration of the common weal, will, in the future as in the past, be our
constant aim. And it shall be our endeavour to fight with all the strength and
skill that may be vouchsafed to us for the freedom of the Motherland, to
uphold all causes that are deserving of support and to contribute all that we
can to that fullness of life of which a great nation is born.”
OCTOBER 8, 1928
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UNDAY THE 7TH OCTOBER 1928 WAS A PROUD DAY FOR THE HINDU
and all who are associated, in however, humble a capacity,
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with its conduct. It brought to them an overwhelming

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realisation of the unique place this journal occupies in the

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esteem and affection of our countrymen. The hearty manner

in which the general public and leaders of all shades of political
opinion cooperated in the Jubilee celebrations both in the City and all
over the Presidency gave the occasion the character of a national
festival. It was an exceptionally brilliant gathering that responded to
the invitation of the proprietors to attend the reception given by them
at THE HINDU office; for this signal mark of courtesy we should like
to express our warmest acknowledgments to the distinguished guests.
Nor are we less sensible of the supreme honour done to THE HINDU,
its early founders and great architects, by the public of Madras at the
meeting in Gokhale Hall where, in the presence of a vast, enthusiastic,
cultured and democratic audience, an address was presented to the
proprietors, editor and staff of this paper and speeches were made
by eminent leaders eulogising in over
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generous terms such services to the cause of the nation, as in the face
of odds, we have been enabled to do by the unwavering sympathy
and support of our countrymen. Profoundly conscious as we are of our
onerous responsibilities as the inheritors of a great tradition and
looking as we do for daily inspiration and guidance to the fragrant
memory of the great men who so largely made THE HINDU what it is,
the heartfelt tributes paid to the two stars of the first magnitude in the
Indian journalistic firmament — the late Messrs. G. Subramania Aiyar
and S. Kasturiranga Iyengar — the eminently fitting way in which the
public of Madras have decided to perpetuate their memory, are doubly
precious to us. Those great men are the beacon-lights who shine far
into the future with their radiant message of hope and faith; we into
whose hands their sacred charge has passed are but humble feeders
of the flame. We are too painfully aware of our own limitations to
appropriate as our due all the kind and good things that our friends
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and well wishers have been saying of us. We realise that it is not so
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much THE HINDU with all its weaknesses and imperfections that they
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have been so wholeheartedly praising, as the ideal which THE HINDU
has ever set up before itself and earnestly endeavoured to live up to
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amidst all the storm and stress of circumstance. Perfection is not the
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portion of our mortal estate, but the joy of the ideal lies in the
knowledge that its pursuit is unending and constitutes its own greatest
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reward. Without exposing ourselves to the charge of immodesty we

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may be permitted to say that it is in this spirit of high endeavour that

the present conductors of THE HINDU have always been trying and
will always continue to do their duty by the public. Honest and fearless
criticism of men and measures, untainted by personalities and
directed solely by consideration of the common weal will, in the future
as in the past, be our constant aim. And it shall be our endeavour to
fight with all the strength and skill that may be vouchsafed to us for
the freedom of the Motherland, to uphold all causes that are deserving
of support and to contribute all that we can to that fullness of life of
which a great nation is born. We are acutely conscious of the
immensity of our task but the thought while it chastens, need not
deflect us from the goal, sustained as we are by the knowledge
that the country
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expects THE HINDU to do its duty and is prepared to back it nobly in

the strenuous days ahead.
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“Are we to believe then that Indian princes are prepared to entrust their fate
into the hands of an uninformed and unfamiliar white Democracy in England
instead of getting into some kind of federal relationship and treaty
arrangement with British India and the future Parliament of their own
countrymen? We refuse to believe that the Indian princes feel themselves
in such a humiliating position of helplessness and backwardness as to seek,
against a Government composed of their own countrymen, the protection
which the coloured races need against their white exploiters.”
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The Butler report
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HE FULL SUMMARY WHICH OUR SIMLA CORRESPONDENT HAS

of the report of the Butler Committee, will, we have no doubt,
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be read with absorbing interest by our readers and with not a

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little surprise and indignation. Various forecasts were made

at various times of the nature and scope of the expected
recommendations of the Committee, but few would have been
prepared for the definitely reactionary, mischievous and insidious
principles which underlie and dominate these recommendations. It
would be remarkable indeed if the Indian princes proved to be blind to
the implications of the two principal proposals in the report for which
unfortunately they were led to express their preference, taken in
conjunction with the very definite and unqualified assertion of the
rights and privileges of the paramount power of the British
Government over them. The Committee have refused to define the
limits or the principles of such paramount authority of the British Raj
and have declared that it should continue as elastic and uncontrolled

as it has till now been. But they have recommended that this
paramount power should now be exercised through the Viceroy and
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not the Governor-General-in-Council and that the relationship thus

established should not be transferred without the agreement of the
princes to a new Government in British India responsible to the Indian
Legislature. The princes wanted a strict definition of their treaty
relations with the Crown, and the maintenance of those relations in
their integrity strictly by the Crown and not through a democratic
Government in India which they most unjustly and unfortunately
distrusted. They have now been told that while the power of the
paramount power will not be defined or controlled by any definite
juristic or international principles, the actual exercise of that will vest
as they demanded in the arbitrary control of a Viceroy and free from
any control or pressure which a popular Government of their own
countrymen in British India expected to act in their interests could
exercise upon him. In other words, the princes asked for bread for
themselves — ignoring the claims of their own subjects and their
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fellow-countrymen in British India. They have been given a stone that
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is calculated to act as a deadweight upon the progress of their own
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countrymen in British India and their own States in consequence. It is
surprising that a proposal originating from designing brains and
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pregnant with mischievous possibilities, such as that which Sir Leslie

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Scott foreshadowed long ago, should have found such easy

acceptance by the Butler Committee. The Nehru Report foresaw this
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danger vividly and condemned the insidious plot in no uncertain terms.

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It warned the Indian princes against being made the cat’s paw in any
such nefarious tactics.
We do not propose to-day to examine the legal and constitutional
aspects of the two cardinal propositions propounded in the Butler
Report. The first, as the Nehru Report puts it, in plain English, means,
“that the past and present Governments of India were acceptable
because they were essentially foreign in complexion and not
responsible to the Indian electorate and that the future responsible
Government of India would not be acceptable to the Indian princes
because it will consist of their own countrymen and because it will be
responsible to an electorate of their own countrymen.” The other
proposal is that the Crown should act through the Viceroy as its agent
and not through the Governor- General-in-Council in its obligations,

contractual or otherwise,
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towards the Indian princes. This, if analysed, imputes to the princes

an amount of unjust and unnatural sentiments which, we think, they
do not really or will not on reflection entertain. If, as the Butler
Committee have found, these obligations have been performed, to
quote the words of the Nehru Report, “by white agents to the apparent
satisfaction of the brown princes, on what principle and law, we ask,
may that contract not be performed by brown agents, to the equal if
not greater satisfaction of the brown princes?” Are we to be told that
the Indian princes with all their pride of ancestry and aristocracy and
with all their vaunted love for the motherland are prepared to put their
faith in the ministers — say, of a government of Tom, Dick and Harry
in England and not in ministers consisting of their own countrymen in
India responsible to a legislature which from its very nature is bound
to have far more regard to the interests, traditions, rights and
privileges of the successors of the ancient rulers of India. For, what
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does this so-called claim of having direct relations with the Crown
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through the Viceroy amount to? The legal theory of a so-called
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“personal confidence”-as between the rulers of Indian States and His
Majesty the King Emperor may of course be dismissed as ridiculous.
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It has not been noticed by the Butler Committee itself. But it is possible
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that the princes may have a wholly superficial notion that His Majesty
the King Emperor, apart from the social and ceremonial part that His
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Majesty discharges in his relations with the Indian princes, has any
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direct part or lot in the policy or actions of His Majesty’s Government

in regard to the exercise of the paramount powers that vest in the
Crown. If there is any such notion we do trust that those who are
responsible for the recommendations in the report would frankly
disabuse them of the same, because no man in his senses believes
that to-day in the British constitution His Majesty the King controls or
guides the policy of his Government or Ministry. That power has long
ago passed into the hands of Parliament. Are we to believe, then, that
Indian princes are prepared to entrust their fate into the hands of an
uninformed and unfamiliar white democracy in England instead of
getting into some kind of federal relationship and treaty arrangement
with British India and the future Parliament of their own countrymen?
The position that will, under the report be assigned to the Viceroy
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vis the Rulers of Indian States and their territories by the Committee
in consequence of the grant of responsible Government to British
India, is not dissimilar to that assigned to the Governor-General of
South Africa or other colonies in regard to the protection of native
races and their territories. We refuse to believe that the Indian
princes feel themselves in such a humiliating position of
helplessness and backwardness as to seek, against a Government
composed of their own countrymen, the protection which the
coloured races need against their white exploiters. We know as a
matter of fact that some princes do not feel so. It is possible that
some of the Indian rulers may hope that the British suzerainty thus
altered may in practice not be as rigorously exercised as it is being
done by the Foreign Department of the Government of India to-day.
But any such expectations are doomed to disappointment in the face
of the most unqualified assertion of the paramount power contained
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in the report. Even to-day although the Governor-General-in-Council
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is the authority dealing with the Indian States, the Viceroy through
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the Foreign Department exercises, practically unchecked by his
colleagues, all the powers that are vested in him under the statute.
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The source of the right of the Governor-General to deal with the

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affairs of Indian States to-day does not lie in any inherent or personal
rights of the Crown, but in the actual rights statutorily transferred to
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the Crown by a Parliamentary enactment of 1858 from the East India

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Company that preceded the Crown in its relations with them. There
can be no doubt therefore that in practice the authority of the Viceroy
will be wholly dependent on the authority of His Majesty’s
responsible Minister, resting on the support of a democratic
Parliament. It follows therefore that the change now asked for has
absolutely nothing either in principle or sentiment that could
commend it to the Indian princes and we can only hope that they will
realise that the gift that they have been offered now is that of the
proverbial wooden horse which the Greeks presented to the Trojans.
In regard to other outstanding questions and the proposals made
for the settlement of disputes and differences between the princes and
the Indian Government, the report of the Butler Committee has hardly
added to our knowledge or to the means of their solution in the future.

They have relegated the financial questions connected
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with the imposition of direct and indirect taxes by British India and the
States to a special Commission to be hereafter appointed. And they
have made proposals for the constitution of conferences and of
special tribunals for the decision of non-justiciable and justiciable
claims and disputes between them inter se and between themselves
and the British Government. In both these matters they have, if we
may say so, been wholly anticipated by, if they have not actually
followed, the proposals made by the Nehru Committee in their report
and it is unnecessary to deal with them at any length to-day. It will be
no fault of anyone if the report conveys to him the impression that it is
but a part of a concerted plan of action that is being pursued to defeat
or delay India’s claims for Swaraj into which the princes have been
most unfortunately dragged. Above all, the interests and the future
position and rights of the people of Indian States have nowhere found
any recognition except in the most casual way either in the report or
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in the claims which the princes put forward before the Butler
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Committee. It is therefore necessary for the leaders of the people both
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in British and in Indian India to immediately take steps to persuade
and convince the princes of the essential wisdom and justice of their
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making common cause with their own subjects and with their brethren
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in British India and claim for themselves and for British India a Swaraj
that is free from the domination or intervention of British interests and
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that gives the fullest scope for the development of freedom and
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prosperity for the whole of India.

The District Magistrate of Tanjore, Mr. J. F. Thorne I.C.S., issued a circular

that the Satyagrahis marching to Vedaranyam (on the sea coast in the
district) under the leadership of C. Rajagopalachari to break the salt law
should not be given hospitality or any help and if anyone did so he would be
put in jail. THE HINDU : “If we know the intelligent and partiotic people of Tanjore
aright they are not likely to be frightened away by this kind of mischievous
and disingenuous propaganda from their adherence to strict dharma that
those who ask for food and shelter shall not be turned away empty-handed,
much less those who ask for it as of right in the name of the motherland.”
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APRIL 11, 1930or
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An egregious circular
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HE DISTRICT MAGISTRATE OF TANJORE HAS IN FURTHERANCE of his
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peculiar notions of safeguarding law and order to which we

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referred yesterday, caused to be printed and distributed in the

district a notice to the public in Tamil, which we
reproduce elsewhere with a close translation. The notice begins by
blandly asserting that the Salt satyagrahis who propose to start from
Trichinopoly for Vedaranyam on the 13th instant constitute an
unlawful assembly. This, as we pointed out yesterday, is
fundamentally wrong, since the proposed violation of the Salt Act does
not come under the category of any of the offences mentioned in
Section 141 and secondly, even if its meaning should be strained so
as to render the Satyagrahis an unlawful assembly, they would
become so only if and when they are presently to become engaged in
breaking the law by actually manufacturing salt at Vedaranyam. Mr.
Thorne himself seems to dimly apprehend that his conception of what
constitutes an unlawful assembly may not square with that of
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the law of the land; for if he were convinced that the Salt Satyagrahis
constituted an unlawful assembly when they began their march, he
could arrest them himself and send them for trial. It is evidently an
uncomfortable feeling that such a charge might not stand that has
prompted him to hamper and obstruct the Satyagrahis by issuing a
warning to the people in the localities lying on their route with a view
to compelling them to refuse the Satyagrahis even elementary needs.
And he proceeds to do this by what we cannot help characterising as
a perversion of the plain meaning of Section 157 of the Penal Code.
This Section, as we pointed yesterday, can only apply to cases of
harbouring and assisting people who have been or are about to be
hired, engaged or employed by some others to join or become
members of an unlawful assembly already existing or hereafter to be
brought into existence and it is not ex hypothesi intended to apply to
those who have, as the District Magistrate says, already become an
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unlawful assembly themselves and have committed an offence of
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which he can himself take cognisance at once. It is plain, therefore,
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that no offence of harbouring under Section 157 can be committed in
the face of the Magistrate’s own admission that they have already
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become members of an unlawful assembly; and as there is no design

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or intention to screen any of them from punishment on the part of the

villagers who may give them food and lodging, they are not liable to
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punishment for any offence whatever.

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Naturally he does not stop with merely expounding the law. He

embroiders a few diplomatic devices thereupon, even as his confreres
in Gujarat and the Andhra country have done, each according to the
light of his inspiration. He poses as the champion of outraged local
patriotism. For he proclaims that Tanjore does not want to be worried
by these pestilential folk, and God willing, they shall not be worried, if
he, Mr. Thome, could help it. Lest, however, some misguided folk in
the district should not know what is good for them and persist in
receiving the Satyagrahis as the dictates of common humanity and the
immemorial laws of hospitality require, he concludes by telling them
(a perfect example of the iron hand in the velvet glove) that if they do
not behave like good boys why, then, they will be put in jail. If we
know the intelligent and patriotic people
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of Tanjore aright, they are not likely to be frightened away by this kind
of mischievous and disingenuous propaganda from their adherence
to the eternal dharma that those who ask for food and shelter shall not
be turned away empty-handed, much less those who ask for it as of
right in the name of the motherland.
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The historic pact between Lord Irwin, the Viceroy and Mahatma Gandhi in
1931 brought to an end the salt satyagraha. THE HINDU: “We are sure now that
all obstacles have been surmounted, the two parties will be able to proceed
to the great constructive effort to establish India’s future constitution in
accordance with the nation’s desires and needs in the spirit of conciliation
that has today been inaugurated.”
MARCH 4, 1931
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T IS HARDLY POSSIBLE TO EXAGGERATE THE IMPORTANCE OF the news
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flashed throughout the country in the early hours of the morning

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today that agreement had at last been reached in the peace

conversations between Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin. No two
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persons could better represent India and Great Britain at this juncture.
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That a settlement has been made possible by the fact that these two
men in true religious spirit strove with a determination to achieve
peace and goodwill between two great peoples where bitterness and
mutual distrust had been brought about by policies and incidents of
the past is no less significant. It was the hope that such personal and
fruitful contact might be established between Gandhiji and the Viceroy
that sustained thoughtful minds in both countries in the dark days that
are past. Since the time when Lord Irwin impressed with the reality of
the Indian struggle for freedom and with the duty he owed his country
and India to remove the bitterness and end the conflict that he then
clearly foresaw went to England in 1929 and returned to India with a
definite policy of advance unhampered by the mistakes of the past,
the country has, as Mahatma Gandhi declared and the

Congress approved,
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expressed its appreciation of the sincerity and goodwill that have

inspired him. We have often expressed the view that these great
qualities that he exhibited should be utilised to evolve concrete
political policies and be made the basis of the settlement which the
Congress under the lead of Mahatma Gandhi and the lead of those
great leaders that alas are no more — Deshbandhu Das and Pandit
Motilal — has always striven for. We have repeatedly urged that
between a generous interpretation of Lord Irwin’s policy and a just
view of the national demands as interpreted by the Congress leaders,
the difference was so little that it was eminently the task of Mahatma
Gandhi, Pandit Motilal and Lord Irwin to unite in removing it and that
the national struggle should be brought to a speedy and successful
end by this means. There existed no doubt such mistrust and
suspicion, justified unfortunately by the policies and utterances of Lord
Irwin and his government engendered by the stress of the struggle
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that went on and under the pressure of a system of administration and
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of its agents and advocates who would not reconcile themselves to
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the political changes that were coming on so rapidly and certainly. But
the determination, sacrifices and suffering of the nation under the lead
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of the great apostle of peace and non- violence made repression and
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reaction futile and Lord Irwin has eventually been able to prevail and
have his way in bringing about peace. We are sure, now that all
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obstacles have been surmounted, the two parties will be able to

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proceed to the great constructive effort to establish India’s future

constitution in accordance with the nation’s desires and needs in the
spirit of conciliation that has today been inaugurated. It will be the
country’s prayer that God would give Mahatma Gandhi health and
strength to lead the national cause and realise the nation’s purposes
with the same vision, wisdom and unstinted cooperation of all leaders,
parties, and communities that he has received at this juncture. It will
also be the country’s devout hope that after Lord Irwin lays down the
Viceroyalty that has culminated in this great and historic step in
national pacification, he will be able with even more freedom and
energy to assist in the completion of the national constitution of the
Indian people whom he has loved and befriended.
The British Premier, Ramsay MacDonald’s Communal Award which provided

for separate electorates for the Depressed Classes led to Gandhiji (who was
in prison) going on a fast unto death if the provision was not changed. A
conference of leaders of Caste Hindus and the Depressed Classes (including
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar) evolved a satisfactory settlement which was approved
by the Mahatma who broke his fast. THE HINDU: “Now that the stress of an
impending calamity has worked something like a miracle in the course of a
few days, is it idle to imagine that if a similarly earnest endeavour were made
to promote mutual agreement on a wider scale between the various
communities it could not fail of results?”
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The Poona pact

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HERE IS UNIVERSAL REJOICING IN THE COUNTRY OVER THE
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brought about by Mahatmaji’s inspiring and heroic lead. The

one prayerful thought that is uppermost in the mind of every
Indian today is that Gandhiji should come safely out of the
travail he imposed on himself for the country’s sake and should be
spared to fight the battles that are yet to be won in the cause of
freedom. The Government have intimated their acceptance of the
settlement and we hope that before these lines are before the public
Gandhiji will have broken his fast. The Poona Pact ushers in a new
era in the history of India’s struggle. Not only does it lay the axe at the
root of those psychological factors which have so long bolstered up
untouchability; it demonstrates as Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru rightly said,
our ability to compose our domestic differences. This has been
vigorously denied by those who do not look with favour on India’s

aspirations and we have been repeatedly twitted with the failure to
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agree among ourselves which, it is pointed out, was responsible for

the communal award. Now that the stress of an impending calamity
has worked something like a miracle in the course of a few days, is it
idle to imagine that if a similarly earnest endeavour were made to
promote mutual agreement on a wider scale between the various
communities, it could not fail of results? The driving impulse behind
the Bombay conference was the common desire to save Gandhiji’s
life. Cannot the desire to secure the reality of self-government be
mobilised effectively to achieve a wider unity? We trust that this lesson
will not be lost on the leaders of the various communities.
The Poona agreement has a moral for the Government also, if they
will only look at it squarely. What was regarded by them and by many
others as a settled fact has been unsettled in a manner which should
make them realise that they would be throwing away a splendid
opportunity to bring peace and contentment to India, if they persisted
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in their refusal to take any step to secure the cooperation of Gandhiji
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and the Congress. The so-called dual policy has been a disastrous
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failure; terrorism still stalks the land (the latest victim of which is Mrs.
Sullivan whose dastardly murder at Darjeeling is reported elsewhere),
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while political discontent has become chronic and bitterness is

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increasing day by day. The Government can apparently think of

nothing better, by way of meeting the situation, than loading the
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ordinary criminal law with offences and penalties which are unknown
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to any other civilised code, and making a feeble attempt to revive the
dead Conference method, into which life can be breathed only if the
Government abandon repression in favour of conciliation. If the “third”
R. T. conference is to make a success of its job, which is to promote
agreed decisions on most of the important questions involved in the
transference of power from the British to the Indian people, which are
yet unsettled, it is obvious that the best organised and most powerful
political party in the country should be properly represented in it.
Gandhi’s influence will be an invaluable asset at such a crucial stage
of the proceedings; the Poona pourparlers showed the unique
contribution that it is in his power to make to the creation of the will to
agree, even as they demonstrated the fact that the capacity to take
quick decisions and the readiness to act in a spirit of give and

take will assuredly emerge at any
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conference summoned to deal with these outstanding issues if the

prize to be won is the substance of power and not the shadow. The
Government have intimated their acceptance of the Poona settlement
in so far as it affects the communal award and stated that other points
mentioned in the Agreement will receive due consideration. With such
triumphant proof before them of the immense contribution that
Gandhiji and the Congress can make to the cause of constructive
reform they would be blind indeed if they refused to take any further
steps to secure the cooperation of so potent a power for good.
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“Mahatma Gandhi and other Congressmen have agreed that mass civil
disobedience should be called off and this, in our view, imposes on all
Congressmen who do not propose to participate in civil disobedience, a clear
duty towards the Congress. Without in any way surrendering their opinion of
or faith in civil disobedience as they understand it, they should have no
hesitation in declaring that as a programme of organised mass action, civil
disobedience should now be given up and on that footing they should
proceed to restore the Congress to its position of primacy among the political
instruments that half a century of nation building has evolved for achieving
the goal of the country’s political ambitions.”
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The present political situation

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disobedience and courted imprisonment as a sequel to the

Viceroy’s refusal of his request for an interview to discuss the
situation. Some of his close colleagues have followed his lead
and others in larger or smaller numbers will go on doing likewise. We
have already pointed out the unwisdom and impropriety of the
Government’s decision to refuse the interview. We also took the
occasion to regret the Poona decisions as to civil disobedience and to
reiterate what we had previously urged viz., that in the circumstances
and conditions of the country -— now fully admitted by Congressmen
themselves and recognised by Mahatma Gandhi
— civil disobedience as a mass or organised movement should be
called off and that the Congress and Congressmen, without abjuring
their principles or faith as to civil disobedience, could revert to normal
political activities and in particular strive to achieve that concerted

political action which was so fruitful in 1928-1929. We
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emphasised that such reorientation was all the more urgently needed
today in view of the dominance of reactionary counsels in Britain.
Mr. Aney, as acting Congress President, issued after the Viceroy’s
refusal to see Gandhiji an official statement embodying his decisions
after considering the “recommendations of the informal conference”
and the “advice tendered by Mahatma Gandhi” — which advice he
has since amplified in a statement the substance of which has been
published in the Press. He has also written to Mr. Satyamurti clearing
certain doubts and declining, except upon a proper requisition from
the requisite number of members, to convene an A.I.C.C. meeting to
consider the position further. The contents of this letter, as well as a
statement by Mr. Jairamdas Doulatram as Secretary of the Congress,
are published elsewhere; they together with Mahatmaji’s exposition
exhibit the civil disobedience campaign and the programme of
constructive work in a different light from that in which they have been
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viewed by many Congressmen. Without the least desire to undervalue
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the faith and determination of those patriots who have already sought
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or may hereafter seek imprisonment on the new plan, we think it
urgently necessary that those Congressmen who have not gone to jail
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movement, should take stock of the present situation and act in a

manner consistent with the best traditions of the Congress and
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conducive to the achievement of the national political objective —

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Swaraj. It is wholly in this view that we venture to put before them the
definite issues that have arisen from the unfortunate decisions at
Poona. We have not had any accurate report of what have been
described by Mr. Aney as the “recommendations of the informal
conference” or of the “advice tendered by Mahatma Gandhi” and we
have no desire to rely upon any one-sided press reports of the same.
Taking the statements made by Mahatma Gandhi and Mr. Aney and
in conjunction therewith the statements of others who were actual
participants in the Poona conference, we feel it our duty to point out
that the basic principles upon which Mahatma Gandhi proceeded to
tender the advice that has been implicitly accepted by his followers,
are such as go beyond what the Congress or Congressmen as a body

can be irrevocably committed to.
The fundamental position which the Congress took in the past in
relation to non-violence and civil disobedience and which it is entitled
to revise and vary from time to time should be understood clearly so
that the need for the Congress being perfectly free to carry on its
primary political programme without the obsessions of any dogma or
creed could be correctly appreciated. Congressmen not participating
in the civil disobedience movement have been placed in an extremely
anomalous and unsatisfactory position by reason of the Poona
decisions. Technically, no doubt, these decisions are but personal
directions of the acting President, or dictator as he is sometimes
called, and questions as to the authority of the Working Committee or
of the All India Congress Committee being needed to confirm or vary
them have no doubt been raised and may be discussed from various
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standpoints. But we do not think that the discussion of these technical
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aspects is of much consequence, so long as Mahatma Gandhi has
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formulated or endorsed the decisions which on that account are bound
to command support from many Congressmen. What we think is
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necessary for Congressmen to visualise is not so much the right of the

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All India Congress Committee to discuss and alter these decision, but
the necessity for leading members of the A1CC facing the issues
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squarely and determining what the Congress ought to do at the

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present juncture in view of the changed conditions that are upon us.
According to the instructions of Mr. Aney, while the campaign of
civil disobedience is not unconditionally withdrawn, mass civil
disobedience has been discontinued for the time being, the resultant
position being stated to be that the right of individuals who may be
ready for every suffering and prepared to act on their own
responsibility to continue civil disobedience “is reserved”. If this was
all that was implied, the position would, to some extent, be analogous
to that taken by Mahatma Gandhi when he suspended the starting of
mass civil disobedience at Bardoli in 1922. But when Mr. Aney goes
further and says that “all who are able and willing to offer individual
civil disobedience on their own responsibility though without
expectation of help from the Congress organisations are
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expected to do so” and when Mahatma Gandhi amplifies this

instruction by saying that such people “would be acting on behalf of
and in the name of the Congress,” the position becomes extremely
confusing and perplexing. The rather vague and misleading terms in
which the instructions for the dissolution of Congress organisations
were couched have now been explained in a manner which has
naturally induced the Government to construe Mahatmaji’s statement
as favouring the revival of a campaign of general civil disobedience
by successive steps. We do not know whether Mahatmaji intended
that his action and that of those who might follow him should be
interpreted in this sense; if he had, he could hardly have instructed
Congressmen not practising civil disobedience to carry on
constructive work — including council entry, later on, if found
advisable or possible.
It is plain, however, that Mahatma Gandhi has throughout these
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several expositions ignored the clear distinction which he once very
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properly made between his own principles and faith in civil
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disobedience and the principles which the Congress had accepted for
achieving its aims. In his statement of 26th July last he has dwelt
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chiefly upon his own faith in the creed of non-violence and all that
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flows from it and not on the policy or programme which under very
specific limitations and restrictions the Congress accepted and
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adopted in 1920. Every one will agree with him — and the Congress
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and the country will ever be grateful to him in this behalf — on the
message of non-violence preached by him in the darkest days of
India’s travail. By adopting it as “the right route to our goal in 1920” the
country has gained in political stature, momentum and power; we see
the evidence of it in the mass consciousness of national self- respect
that has made itself felt both by our rulers and by the world at large.
But neither the country as a whole nor many leading Congressmen
will agree with the views which Gandhiji has put forward of the tenet
of non-violence and its scope in practical application or with his implied
contention that the country as a whole has actually adopted them or
that the Congress committed itself to these views for all time. That the
spirit of non-violence should spread throughout the world and
Satyagraha should be the basis of the future ordering of the world is

what idealists may always hope for.
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But that India should wait for her freedom until the spirit of non-
violence permeates every human being in India in the manner in which
Mahatma Gandhi wants it should, so that the rest of the world may
follow India’s example and do likewise, is a different proposition. It
cannot, at any rate, be contended that the Congress has been
irrevocably committed to it. Such a contention would amount to a claim
to have changed what has all along been an essentially national
political organisation for the achievement of political freedom, as it is
ordinarily understood, into an organisation for the achievement of a
spiritual or religious ideal. It can hardly appeal to those politically-
minded Congressmen who still feel that mankind will have to travel a
long, long way before such a lofty goal could be realised. None was
better aware of this than Mahatma Gandhi himself in 1920 when he
appealed to the Congress to adopt it as a policy in the then conditions
of India.
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In accepting his lead in 1920, the Congress did nothing more than
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accept nonviolence, very properly, as the basis of the programme of
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triple boycott and also of its prospective plan of a no- tax and civil
disobedience campaign. Successive resolutions of the Congress have
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not gone further than the resolution from which Mahatma Gandhi now
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seems to conclude that the Congress attitude towards nonviolence is

identical with his own. In his statement of July 26th he observes:
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“It may be objected that the heroic suffering of a few

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individuals, however praiseworthy in itself, is of no practical

value and cannot affect British policy. I differ from such a view.
In my opinion, the seemingly long or almost interminable
process adumbrated by me will in practice be found to be the
shortest. For I hold that true Independence i.e. Independence
in terms of and on behalf of the masses can be proved in India’s
case to be unattainable by any other method. The method of
non-violence which is an integral part of the Congress
constitution demands the course suggested by me. If ever we,
as a nation, reach that living faith in non-violence and banish
violence from our hearts we would not even need resort to civil
disobedience. The latter is required whilst we are trying non-
violence as a mere policy or expedient. Even
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as a policy, it is any day far more effective than violence. Under

the Dictator’s instructions secret organisations naturally
disappear. Every civil resister will be his or her own leader. He
or she will carry the burden of the Congress on his or her own
shoulders. Such civil resisters will be trustees of national
honour.”
We think that the Congress did not, either in 1920 or subsequently,
take any such irrevocable step with its incalculable consequences.
The resolution of the Congress in 1920 observed that “the only
effectual means to vindicate national honour and to prevent a
repetition of similar wrongs in the future is the establishment of
Swarajya” and it went on to declare that the Congress “is further of
opinion that there is no course left open for the people of India but to
approve of and adopt the policy of progressive non-violent non-
cooperation inaugurated by Mr. Gandhi until the said wrongs are
righted and Swarajya is established”. Leaving the Khilafat or other
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similar wrongs out of account as being no longer live issues, what
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would constitute the establishment of Swarajya has been declared by
the Congress concretely on various occasions —in terms, for
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instance, of the Nehru constitution at one time or of Independence or

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“substantial Independence” at another, relegating the question of the

British connection to a secondary place. But the Independence which
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Mahatmaji visualises in his last statement in terms of non-violence and

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the other principles which he holds as part of his creed, is not

comprehended in the Congress resolution. Indeed, in the course of a
famous note appended by the late Pandit Motilal Nehru to the Civil
Disobedience Committee’s report, he pointed out the exact scope and
character of the resolution of the Congress and of the policy followed
by it later on. We reproduce extracts therefrom elsewhere to show
that, to use Panditji’s words, “there has never been any doubt that by
accepting the programme of non-violent non-cooperation, the Indian
National Congress did not adopt all the views of Mahatma Gandhi
expressed by him in Hind Swaraj and from time to time in Young India
and elsewhere and that Congressmen are only bound by the
principles accepted and formulated by the Congress and not by every
word or sentiment which might have found utterance from the

lips of
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Mahatmaji”. Many of his theories, as he points out, have “yet to find

favour not only with Congressmen generally, but the country at large
and among them is the doctrine of Ahimsa and all that flows from it.
The one common ground on which all non-cooperators meet is that
violence in any shape or form is completely ruled out by existing
conditions and as wholly outside the pale of practical politics”. And the
Pandit proceeds to cite the authority of Mahatma Gandhi himself
— which will be found in the passages extracted elsewhere — and
rightly claims that it was on this and this basis alone that the policy of
non-violent non-cooperation was recommended by him and accepted
by the Congress.
It seems to us therefore difficult to contend, either on general
principles or with reference to the actual events connected with the
movement since 1920, that Congress is committed to the continuation
of civil disobedience so long as a single civil resister is available, that
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every civil resister who goes to jail Non the basis assumed by
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Mahatma Gandhi or even on more restricted grounds, would “be
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acting on behalf of and in the name of the Congress” because in this
view Purna Swaraj or substantial Swaraj or whatever it may be, has
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not been and will not be achieved until the entire country becomes
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non-violent in thought, word and deed. On the other hand, it is clear

that the Congress adopted its programme of boycott and civil
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disobedience entirely as a political-weapon for the achievement of

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what are essentially political ends, namely the attainment of full self-
government—call it Independence, substance of Independence or full
Dominion status under the Statute of Westminster or by any other
name you like — attained in such a manner that the country as a whole
would deem it to be a satisfactory settlement of its political future. That
the Congress as an institution could not and ought not to be put on
any other basis must be clear from the fact that the Congress is older
than the Calcutta Congress session and that the Congress has even
subsequently adopted programmes inconsistent with this pragmatic
view of non- cooperation and non-violence.
Mahatma Gandhi and other Congressmen have agreed that mass
civil disobedience should be called off and this, in our view, imposes
on all Congressmen who do not propose to participate in
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civil disobedience, a clear duty towards the Congress. Without in any

way surrendering their opinion of or faith in the principle of civil
disobedience as they understand it, they should have no hesitation in
declaring that as a programme of organised mass action, civil
disobedience should now be given up and on that footing they should
proceed to restore the Congress to its position of primacy among the
political instruments that half a century of nation-building has evolved
for achieving the goal of the country’s political ambitions. The
Congress has come to occupy a unique place in the affections of the
people because it has symbolised the will to be free, the resolve to
work for that freedom by all legitimate and constructive political
methods and the alert and resolute opposition to all attempts to
encroach on the just rights and liberties of the citizen, from whatever
quarter they might originate. Only by restoring the Congress to the
position in which it can discharge its primary functions will they be able
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to strengthen and organise it for the great political and social tasks
ahead. or
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“He (Rangaswami Iyengar) had ever a sunny smile and a friendly word for all
who came to him for help and advice and none went away but felt comforted
or fortified. Abstemious in his habits, and with little ambition except in the
country’s cause, his generous impulses responded readily — a little too
readily as those who were intimately associated with him might have felt at
times — to the constant calls that were being made upon his kindness. Like
his great uncle, Kasturiranga Iyengar, he liked to encourage talent wherever
he saw it and in his desire to conscript such talent for the service of the
country he had a missionary fervour.”
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FEBRUARY 6, 1934or
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A great son of India

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NDIA MOURNS THE LOSS OF ONE OF HER GREATEST SONS AND one of her
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foremost nationalists in the death, in the early hours of yesterday

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morning of Mr. A. Rangaswami Iyengar, after a short but painful

illness borne with characteristic fortitude. And THE HINDU
makes its appearance today under the shadow of a great
bereavement, one which has deprived it of the services of an Editor
who carried on with distinction the high traditions created for it by a
succession of illustrious Editors. Great opportunities for service came
to Mr. Rangaswami Iyengar and he acquitted himself greatly. But he
had also more than the usual share of sorrow and travail; a brilliant
son who was as the apple of his eye died in the full vigour of young
manhood struck down by tuberculosis; early in life there fell upon him
a monetary loss that well-nigh crippled him for life, a loss brought
about by that ardent desire for public service which was later to be
crowned by such rich achievements; and a naturally delicate
constitution, taxed by the arduous conditions of public life and the

sedentary habits to which life at the desk habituates one, was at all
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times a drag on his health and spirits. His only recreation was music
of which he was a well-known connoisseur, but he had little liking for
the latter day developments that, in his opinion, spoiled the purity and
beauty of the art as it is currently expounded, and he sought less and
less relaxation in it. He had ever a sunny smile and a friendly word for
all who came to him for help and advice, and none went away but felt
comforted or fortified. Abstemious in his habits and with little ambition
except in the country’s cause, his generous impulses responded
readily — a little too readily, as those who were intimately associated
with him might have felt at times — to the constant calls that were
being made upon his kindness. Like his great uncle, the late Mr.
Kasturiranga Iyengar, he liked to encourage talent wherever he saw
it; and in his desire to conscript such talent for the service of the
country, he had a missionary fervour.
The journalist-politician, who is a comparatively rare phenomenon
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in the West, has, in the peculiar conditions of India, had to play the
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role of leader of public opinion. For one thing, among a people who
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look upon public service as a patriotic duty, conditions have not been
propitious — though a change seems to be coming — to the
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emergence of a class of men who would make politics and politics

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alone their life’s business. For another, in the absence of a system of

universal education which could provide the politician with his raw
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material, the Press, with its appeal to a numerically small but

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extraordinarily influential intelligentsia, offered in the first half century

of Indian nationalism, the only effective platform for those who wished
to awaken the masses to a sense of their birthright. In the early years
of this century only those who chose to live dangerously could
undertake this form of public service. But if it had its perils it had its
fascination too. There was magic in the word Congress, and, to the
last, loyalty to the Congress was a dominant factor in Mr. Rangaswami
Iyengar’s life. This loyalty was reinforced by the conviction that the
organisation which commanded the allegiance of the largest and most
powerful body of public opinion in the country was, of right, entitled to
have a predominant voice in the shaping of her destinies. But while he
felt this and urged it day in, day out, with the whole force of his
personality, as the reason why the Government should seek not to

belittle the Congress but to persuade
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it into honourable cooperation if a definitive and amicable settlement

was ever to be reached, he was also realist enough to prefer, without
ever losing sight of the objective, the more practicable to the less
practicable method of achieving it. An ardent admirer of Gandhiji’s
saintly life, he realised to the full the nature and significance of the
revolution that the Mahatma had effected in the thoughts of men and
their ways of life; he paid his heart-felt homage to the heroic suffering
and sacrifice by which the common people testified to their faith in the
great liberator. But he never disguised either from himself or from
others the fact that he had his own differences with Gandhiji. To his
unique relations with the late Pandit Motilal Nehru, on the other hand,
the only analogy that offers in recent Indian history is the peculiar bond
that held Ranade and the younger Gokhale together. Panditji had in
overflowing measure that serene wisdom and that equanimity which
a profound knowledge of life brings with it; these qualities attracted
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Mr. Rangaswami Iyengar to him and Panditji in his turn was attracted
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by the alertness of mind, the constructive practicality, the amazing
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industry and the thorough grasp of constitutional history and theory
and of financial questions which Mr. Rangaswami Iyengar brought to
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a partnership which was responsible for some of the most brilliant

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achievements of the Swaraj Party in the Assembly.

If Mr. C. R. Das was the prophet who foresaw the need for a new
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orientation in Indian politics, Pandit Motilal the statesman who by his

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sagacity and drive organised it for victory, and Vithalbhai Patel, the
stormy petrel who was the spearhead of its onward thrust, it is not too
much to say that Mr. Rangaswami Iyengar supplied the sustained
intellectual effort and the patience that are required to build up a great
party. No wonder that he felt extremely unhappy over the recent
political developments, the growing bitterness and alienation of public
feeling, the enthronement of reaction in the counsels of Great Britain
and the consequent wrecking of the constructive work, such as it was,
done by the various Round Table Conferences and the weariness and
discouragement that have swept over the country. It was, however,
characteristic of the man that he refused to give way to despair and
believed that with the combined efforts of men of goodwill on both
sides it should be
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possible to end the impasse and open the way to a happier era. He
had hoped to work for this end with all his resources, but it was not to
be.
Of the supreme value of Mr. Rangaswami Iyengar’s work as a
journalist both in the field of vernacular journalism and as the Editor,
at a most eventful period, of a great English daily, the public do not
require to be told.
To THE HINDU which he helped to build up and which for the past
six years he directed with unrivalled authority, tact and foresight, his
loss is too deep to be adequately expressed. His thorough grasp of
constitutional and financial questions enabled him to give a wise and
effective lead to public opinion in a sphere which is terra incognita to
most and in which a false step would be fraught with the most serious
consequences to the country’s interests. He inspired confidence alike
in the public mind and in his fellow-workers; even in circles which did
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not hold with his policies, his sincerity, honesty of purpose and desire
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to be scrupulously fair were recognised and what he said was
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invariably listened to with respect.
The glowing tributes to his memory which have been received from
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all quarters show the immense reputation he had built up for ability
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and sterling service to the country and the universal esteem in which
he was held. In the troublous days ahead, the country will miss in him
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a wise counsellor, an able servant, his friends — and they were

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innumerable — a genial and kindly spirit, his colleagues a leader of

quenchless enthusiasm and inexhaustible patience and the world a
great gentleman. In their hour of grief the members of his family will,
however, have the consolation that their sorrow is shared by their
countrymen.
Irreparable as its loss is THE HINDU is greatly heartened by the
spontaneous sympathy it has received on all hands. On behalf of Mr.
Rangaswami Iyengar’s family and of ourselves we tender our thanks
to the public and to the numerous friends who have sent us touching
messages.
“The Congress has shown itself an incomparably keen and sensitive

instrument of India’s will in nothing so much as in the confiding faith with
which it placed itself under Gandhiji’s guidance and the loyalty with which it
has striven to realise his high ideals. True, it has not yet succeeded in
achieving all or even a large part of what it set out to do. But for the short and
bright interlude in Indo British relations during the Irwin regime, which
culminated in the historic Gandhi-Irwin Pact, there has been no realisation by
the mighty power of England that in the Congress there is a power no less
great, a power firmly grounded in the affection of the Indian people by virtue
of long, honourable and tested service; and that in handing over the control
of Indian affairs to the forces of nationalism represented by the Congress,
Britain would be truly fulfilling the purposes of her rule.”
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DECEMBER 27, 1935

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Golden Jubilee of the Congress

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“The Congress is the oldest political organisation we have

in India. It is what it means — national. It represents no
particular community, no particular class, no particular interest.
It claims to represent all Indian interests and all classes.”
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HIS OBSERVATION, WHICH MAHATMA GANDHI MADE AT THE Second
Round Table Conference, about the Indian National Congress
which celebrates its golden jubilee tomorrow amidst the
rejoicings of a nation, was a sober statement of
fact. Alike in its modest origin, its long, chequered and withal glorious
career and the unique place it occupies in the affections of the Indian
people today, it is sui generis among the political organisations that
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this country has known. For, it has always been more than a political
body, therein lying its strength. At the very first session of the
Congress, Mr. W. C. Bonnerji defined its objects in terms which were
succinctly restated by Mr. Anandacharlu later as being “to strive to
mitigate if not eradicate, race-prejudices, to disarm creed-antipathies
and to remove provincial jealousies” and thus “to develop and
consolidate sentiments of national unity”. And from the beginning it
never functioned in vacuo. As Mr. Gokhale pointed out at the Benares
Congress, “it was started to focus and organise the patriotic forces
that were working independently of one another in different parts of
the country, so as to invest their work with a national character and to
increase their general effectiveness”. A signal proof of its catholicity is
to be found in its seeking and in the early years obtaining the
cooperation of some of the most farseeing members of the British
community in India, both official and nonofficial. And indeed this is not
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surprising when we remember that, if any single man was responsible
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for founding the Congress, it was Allan Octavian Hume, a retired
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member of the ICS, of whom, when he died, the President of the year
said in the course of a moving tribute, “The father, the founder of the
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Congress, he who worked for it day and night, winter and summer,
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through good repute and ill, to tend, to nourish the child of his
affection, he who in the most critical and difficult period of its existence
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laboured for it as no other man did, has gone, and we all mourn his
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loss as that of a parent.” As for the non-official Europeans, their better

mind was expressed by Mr. George Yule, the first non-Indian to
preside over the Congress, when he emphasised that community of
interest was a more vital fact than difference of race. “We have no
more power and no more voice in the Government of the country than
you Indians have”, he said and he urged that “if there be but a small
minority in the country fitted to exercise the useful function of the
franchise, it is a mistake to withhold the privilege from them on the
ground that others are not fitted”.
That was a reply to Lord Dufferin’s sneer that the Congress
represented but a “microscopic minority”. The officials, who had
watched the beginnings of the national movement with indifference
bordering on contempt, were alarmed when they found it gaining
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rapidly in popular appeal. They began to dub it “disloyal’ and made

much of the fact that with the exception of an enlightened minority, the
Muslims as a body stood aloof from the Congress, under the
leadership of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. But the significant fact was not
that a majority of the Muslims stood aloof but that, for the first time
since the advent of British rule in India, a section of them came to be
persuaded that their interest as well as the interest of the country lay
in making common cause with other communities. Well might Mr.
Anandacharlu claim on this account that the Congress had within
seven short years shown itself to be “a mighty nationaliser”. The
attitude of the Muslims towards the Congress has undergone many
changes since. But it may be said with perfect fairness that in its
attitude towards the Muslims the Congress has never deviated from
its desire to carry them with it. The agitation against the Bengal
partition, which the Congress led, was an agitation not against the
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Muslims but against the dismemberment of a homogeneous people.
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And both by the part it played in regard to the Lucknow Pact of 1916
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and by its consistent attitude towards the Communal Award it has
given practical proof of its conviction that no minority should be
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coerced and that it is the duty of the majority to win the confidence of
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minorities. Its efforts have, no doubt, but imperfectly succeeded so far;

nevertheless, it labours to compose political differences in the spirit of
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Gandhiji’s advice at the Belgaum Congress, “We must tolerate each

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other and trust to time to convert the one or the other to the opposite
belief”.
The second great secret of the strength of the Congress is that it
is the product of evolution. While it may not be correct to say that the
goal of India’s progress was from the beginning clearly envisaged, the
desire to achieve freedom was undoubtedly the deepest impulse that
moved the founders of the Congress. It was in 1906 that Dadabhai
Naoroji, the Grand Old Man of the Congress, struck a challenging
note. “We do not ask for any favours. We want only justice. Instead of
going into any further divisions or details of our rights as British
citizens, the whole matter can be comprised in one word — “self-
government” or Swaraj, like that of the United Kingdom or the
Colonies.” But the categorical demands that were placed by Gokhale

before the Congress in the previous year could not, by any
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stretch of imagination, be regarded as even remotely approximating

to a demand for self-government. This disparity between the ideal and
the immediate objective, which strikes the student of Congress history
in the first three decades of its existence, must be explained with
reference to two primary facts — the belief, widely prevalent that India
could get reforms as gifts from Britain and the then character of the
Congress, as a movement representing the classes rather than the
masses. There was a deep-rooted belief shared by most educated
Congressmen of the time that England was sincerely anxious to
enlarge the bounds of freedom and all that was required was to
demonstrate to her that India really wanted freedom. In the absence
of representative institutions the Congress sought to fill their place by
functioning as an unofficial Parliament to ventilate grievances and ask
for redress. In his presidential address at the Congress of 1895, Mr.
Surendranath Banerji (as he then was) was at pains to explain that it
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was far from the intention of the Congress to arrogate to itself the
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position of His Majesty’s Opposition. “We do not oppose for the mere
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sake of opposition... We oppose bad measures. We support good
measures. We may oppose the policy of the Government but we
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impute no motives”. Starting with this conception of the work to be

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done it was natural that in the early years, the Congress should devote
itself exclusively to pressing upon the rulers the need for establishing
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representative institutions, reforming the administration, increasing

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the association of Indians with the Government and other similar

ameliorative measures. Its faith in British intentions was largely due to
the fact that in the regime of Lord Ripon, which was described as “the
Golden Age of Indian Reformers”, “the aspirations of the people were
encouraged, education and local self-government were fostered, and
the foundations of Indian nationality were firmly laid”. This faith
received a rude shock when England, under the influence of the
jingoism that was responsible for the Boer War, began to treat Indian
aspirations with contempt and put down the new nationalism with a
high hand. The Seditious Meetings Act and the Official Secrets Act,
the Partition of Bengal, the Press Act and the many other repressive
measures by which Lord Curzon sought to humiliate India and break
her spirit roused intense indignation throughout the country and the
attitude of
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the Congress underwent a slow but sure change. At first it was inclined
to throw the blame on the vicious system of bureaucratic government
and cherished the hope that if Britain’s attention could be effectively
drawn to the misdeeds of her agents in India, she would forthwith put
an end to them. But that too proved a delusion. As early as 1903, in a
fighting speech Lal Mohan Ghose declared, “We cannot shut our eyes
to the fact that whenever British interests clash with ours, India is
certain to kick the beam” and he urged his fellow countrymen to
remember that “a great deal depends upon ourselves.”
This flouting of Indian opinion forced the Congress to a realisation
of the fact that it lacked, to use a term very popular in later days,
effective sanctions. But it was honestly believed that political
education would in time percolate down from the intelligentsia to the
masses and Congressmen urged that a wise Government should be
prepared for this. Thus we find Lal Mohan Ghose observing in the
same address, “As the ideas of the educated minority today are bound
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to be shared by the masses tomorrow, it is the duty of all farsighted
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statesmen to take time by the forelock and by the concession of well
considered reforms to ensure the contentment of the people and to
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enhance their loyalty and affection for the Government”. Far from
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doing this, however, the Government seemed bent on alienating them

in all possible ways. The psychological harm done by foreign rule is
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far greater than even the material damage, especially when it affects
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a proud and sensitive people slowly awaking to its rights. It is no

surprise therefore to find that the Congress in its early days was
largely preoccupied with questions of status and racial equality. In his
address at the Amraoti Conference, Mr. Sankaran Nair (as he then
was) declared, “On this race question no concession is possible. No
compromise can be accepted so far as it lies in us. We must insist on
perfect equality. Inequality means race inferiority, national
abasement.” It was on this sore spot that blow upon blow fell. To a
Congress which had believed in the magical virtues of British
citizenship, it came as a painful discovery that there was one law for
the Britisher and another for the Indian in his own land, and that in
other parts of the Empire which he had helped to build up he was
treated as a helot. But all
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these pinpricks paled into insignificance beside the terrible grief

provoked by the Rowlatt Bills and the Amritsar tragedy of which
Thompson and Garratt in their “Rise and Fulfilment of British Rule in
India” write: “It formed a turning point in Indo-British relations almost
as important as the Mutiny... The reason for this was not merely the
number of the slaughtered at Amritsar or even the brutality displayed
in subsequent proceedings, so much as the assumption implied in the
behaviour of responsible Englishmen and in their evidence before the
Hunter Committee, that Indians could and should be treated as an
inferior race.” It was this tragedy that finally forced Indian nationalism
to the conclusion that India’s salvation must come from her own
efforts, and that self-government here and now could alone be the
solvent of her many problems. The Gandhian era in Indian politics had
set in.
It is hardly necessary to recount at length the splendid
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achievement of the Congress under the inspiration and guidance of
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Gandhiji and his great co-adjutors, Deshbandhu Das, the Nehrus,
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Pandit Malaviya and others. “In India there is a new-born spirit of self-
reliance”, Sir William Wedderburn had declared in his presidential
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address at the Congress held in 1910. That spirit was kindled and
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fostered with matchless courage, skill, and devotion by a great band

of patriots, the late Lokamanya Tilak and Srijut Arabindo Ghose, still
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happily with us, being the foremost among them. They were nobly
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aided by that redoubtable lady — need we say we refer to Dr. Besant?

— who brought to the service of her adopted country a gift of oratory,
a flair for organisation and a wealth of political experience that made
the Home Rule movement spread like wild fire. It was these devoted
leaders who awakened the Indian masses from their agelong slumber
and helped to convert the Congress, which had been the organ of a
small but highly cultured intelligentsia, into the mighty voice of a
nation. “Swaraj is my birth right”, declared the Lokamanya and he
taught the millions of his countrymen to demand it. And Gandhiji came
to put the coping-stone on the Lokamanya’s work. He showed the
millions, by the unexampled purity and austerity of his personal life,
his unflinching devotion to truth, his ocean-like humanity and his great
gospel of service and sacrifice, that self-government cannot come

as a gift from another,
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that it is the crown of a new discipline and a new way of life, and that
no task should be regarded as too hard, no sacrifice too great to win
freedom. He placed the freedom movement on a broad basis of
popular support by putting in the forefront of its activities the
programme of constructive work. Unlike the earlier Congress which
had fought shy of social reform on the ground that it might lead to
dissensions among nationalists and had paid only fitful attention to the
need for promoting economic regeneration, Gandhiji by insisting on
the importance of advance on all fronts and leading the crusade for
the uplift of the lowly and the downtrodden, made the Congress
universal in its appeal. We are not concerned to trace here the
inevitable vicissitudes that beset this unprecedented attempt to
translate a lofty philosophy into action on a nation-wide scale. But who
can forget or fail to remember with gratitude that if today the nation
holds its head high, in spite of temporary defeats, and is proudly
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conscious that it is master of its own destiny, we owe this splendid
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transformation to the magic touch of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi?
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The Congress has shown itself an incomparably keen and sensitive
instrument of India’s will in nothing so much as in the confiding faith
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with which it placed itself under Gandhiji’s guidance and the loyalty
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with which it has striven to realise his high ideals. True, it has not yet
succeeded in achieving all or even a large part of what it set out to do.
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But for the short and bright interlude in Indo-British relations during the
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Irwin regime, which culminated in the historic Gandhi-Irwin Pact, there

has been no realisation by the mighty power of England that in the
Congress there is a power no less great, a power firmly grounded in
the affections of the Indian people by virtue of long, honourable and
tested service; and that in handing over the control of Indian affairs to
the forces of nationalism represented by the Congress, Britain would
be truly fulfilling the purposes of her rule. But no reverse and no
hostility can damp the enthusiasm of our people or make them lose
heart. One of the greatest sons of India, Mahadev Govind Ranade,
foresaw the future of his country with prophetic vision and limned it in
glowing colours:
“With a liberated manhood, with buoyant hope, with a faith
that never shirks duty, with a sense of justice that deals fairly
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by all, with unclouded intellect and powers fully cultivated, and

lastly with a love that overleaps all bounds, renovated India will
take her proper place among the nations of the world, and be
the master of the situation and of her own destiny. This is the
goal to be reached — this is the Promised Land.”
It is the proud privilege of the Congress to lead the nation to this
goal, sustained by the undying spirit that animated the patriots who for
half a century have laboured in the cause of freedom. Could any true
lover of his country do less than give this national organisation his
whole-hearted allegiance?
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“There are two questions of great constitutional importance which must be

solved…. In the first place Ireland should be left to determine the form of her
government and incidentally to decide upon her relations with Great Britain.
Close observers of Irish politics have stated that Ireland, though some of its
leaders may talk about a republican form of government, is not at all likely to
vote for it if a plebiscite on the question should be taken tomorrow...... The
other matter affecting the constitution has a reference to the unity of
Ireland…. The advantages of bringing about unity between the Northern and
Southern Ireland are obvious.”
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FEBRUARY 25, 1936
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Mr. De Valera’s gesture

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STATEMENT MADE BY MR. DE VALERA TO THE POLITICAL
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Correspondent of Reuter, a report of which appears

elsewhere, should enable British statesmen to appreciate the
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Irish point of view more clearly than ever before. The Irish
Leader has explained his position in unambiguous
terms and the occasion is propitious for a final settlement of the
question, especially after Mr. De Valera’s courageous stand by the
League and the extension of the coal and meat agreement announced
a few days ago. The outstanding questions at issue are well known.
There is first of all the problem created by the refusal of Ireland to hand
over the land annuities to Great Britain, which precipitated the trade
war between the two countries. There have been several suggestions
made from either side for a solution of this question and it should not
be difficult for Ireland and Great Britain to arrive at an undersanding
as regards the tribunal to which the dispute should be referred. The
Irish Treaty is the next obstacle to be overcome. After the judgment of

the Privy Council, declaring the right
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of Ireland under the Statute of Westminster to pass its own laws, to

abolish appeals to the Privy Council, and to do any of the things which
the other dominions are entitled to do under the Statute, it is
meaningless that Great Britain should insist on taking its stand on that
document, to which a very considerable section of Irishmen was not a
consenting party. The highest judicial tribunal has declared that that
Treaty has in reality been superseded by the Statute of Westminster.
Then there is the question of defence. Ireland resents the control of
the defence of Ireland by the British Navy and the existence of facilities
for coastal defence by air, and oil fuel storage which Ireland is now
bound to provide. It may be that Ireland would consent to the
arrangements now in force provided that they were arrived at by
negotiation afresh on a basis of equality between the two countries.
Here again, the way is clear for an agreement. Mr. De Valera has
emphatically reiterated the view that an independent Ireland would
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never allow itself to be used as a base of attack.
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There are two questions of great constitutional importance which
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must be solved and to which Mr. De Valera has referred in his
statement to Reuter. In the first place, Ireland should be left to
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determine the form of her government and, incidentally, to decide

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upon her relations with Great Britain. Close observers of Irish politics
have stated that Ireland, though some of its leaders may talk about a
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republican form of government, is not at all likely to vote for it if a

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plebiscite on the question should be taken tomorrow. Considering that

the present fusion government in South Africa has allowed discretion
to its members to do propaganda for a republican form of government,
it should not be very difficult to satisfy Mr. De Valera that Ireland would
be perfectly free to exercise its right of self- determination. In any case,
a compromise can be reached on the basis of the Statute of
Westminster. The other matter affecting the constitution has a
reference to the unity of Ireland. Mr. De Valera says that if Northern
Ireland had been consulted before Ireland was divided only one-third
of the area of the six counties now constituting Northern Ireland, would
have shown a unionist majority. However, that may be, the
advantages of bringing about unity between the Northern and
Southern Ireland are obvious. Home Rule on the basis of the Statute
of Westminster has been suggested for Northern
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Ireland. A Federal Ireland is another proposal that has been put

forward. Any decision on this question can only be brought about if
Great Britain shows herself really anxious to end the present impasse
and the government of Northern Ireland is willing to come to terms with
Southern Ireland.
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“There are indications to show that China will be able to put up a more
effective resistance than in the past. Politically the anti-imperialist front has
been developed effectively; the latest demonstration of its genuineness is the
news that the Chinese Communists who fought the Nanking Government
from 1927 to 1936, are massing their troops against Japan If
the resistance shown so far can be maintained the dreams of the Japanese
may be rudely shaken.”
SEPTEMBER 11, 1937
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War in north China
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HE NEWS RECEIVED TODAY THAT THE JAPANESE HAVE STARTED a big
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offensive in North China again is significant. It brings out

clearly the fact that Japan’s objective in the present
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aggressive war is to detach the valuable provinces in North

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China from the sphere of Nanking’s influence. Japan’s attack on

Shanghai was meant to be a diversion, designed to divide Chinese
troops in two sections and also to gain time to land more troops in
North China to meet the unexpectedly effective resistance of the
Chinese. Now that enough troops have poured in the big offensive has
started and it is reported that they have already advanced fifty miles
from Chahar into the province of Shansi.
Japan’s determination to secure control over the Northern
provinces is born out of three very important considerations. Firstly,
that area is probably the richest in China, with its plentiful supply of
iron and coal. Secondly, Japan considers that the control of those
provinces will enable her to win over Outer Mongolia and later Inner
Mongolia and thus build up not only a strong buffer state against
Soviet Russia but a base from which she will be able to direct
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operations against her formidable rival. And finally, North China is

strategically important for realising Japan’s avowed policy of
dominating the whole of China. The first step in this process of
subjugation was taken two years ago when Japan was enabled to set
up a puppet Political Council for Hopei and Chahar, after a quick and
sharp conflict in which the Chinese were overpowered. But the period
that followed saw the growth of anti-Japanese elements and Nanking
was soon able to recover control. Hence this new move. Japan
considers that anti- Japanism must be nipped in the bud by an
overwhelming defeat. It is probable that what she contemplates is the
formation of more puppet “Political Councils”; direct administration is
too much of a responsibility. This idea probably lies behind Mr. Hirota’s
speech on September 1st. “We are fighting the anti-Japanese
movements in China. They exist largely in the Chinese Army and
General Chiang Kai-shek is their spearhead. By a fundamental
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solution of the China question we mean to bring about a state of affairs
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in which there will be no danger of a repetition of the present
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circumstances. In North China and in all China, our idea is that
Chinese should govern China. We want to see China governed by
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statesmen who can maintain friendly relations with us”. And for
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ensuring this “fundamental solution” — which only means a solution

that will suit Japanese policy — she is prepared to strain her resources
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to the uttermost and her Prime Minister states today that in his opinion
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the conflict will not end this year. Propaganda has done its work and
we find that the Japanese nation today is in the grip of that mad and
unreasoning patriotic fervour of a nation at war which brooks neither
conciliation nor compromise. It is too late to talk in terms of prospects
for peace. War must have its toll but the sympathies of all peoples who
respect elementary principles of justice and freedom will be with the
Chinese people.
There are indications to show that China will be able to put up a
more effective resistance than in the past. Politically the anti-
Imperialist front has been developed effectively; the latest
demonstration of its genuineness is the news that the Chinese
Communists, who fought the Nanking Government from 1927 to 1936,
are massing their troops against Japan. Chiang Kai-Shek’s forces are
much better trained now than in the past. In this
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connection it is interesting to note that Mr. Donald, the Australian

Adviser to Chiang Kai-shek, thinks highly of China’s capacity to wage
a war. The morale of the troops is good; her war record uptodate is
very creditable. Pitted against the superior equipment of the Japanese
they have fought with heroism, numerous examples of which have
been given in the cables in the last few weeks. Surprisingly enough
her air force has been very effective and worked havoc on Japanese
warships and planes. If the resistance shown so far can be maintained
the dreams of the Japanese may be rudely shaken. They have to
reckon not only with a brave and determined opponent in the field but
with what is fundamentally a rickety financial structure at home.
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“The relief with which the Munich Agreement has been hailed will necessarily
have to be tempered by doubts if permanent peace can be assured on
foundations of such unilateral sacrifice.”
SEPTEMBER 30, 1938
Munich Agreement
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HE SIGNING OF THE MUNICH PACT MARKS THE FIRST OCCASION on
which Herr Hitler has found himself in agreement with France
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and Great Britain over the Czechoslovak dispute. Though it
has not yet received the formal acceptance of the
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Czechoslavak Government, their consent may be assumed, if only

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because the alternative is war with Germany, without help from their
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allies. In the absence of fuller details of the arrangements proposed in

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the Agreement, it is impossible to assess the precise price paid for

peace, but there can be little doubt that it will be found to be high. Nor
can it be acclaimed as the triumph of diplomacy and negotiations over
force; as even The Times is constrained to observe that force has
been in the background from the beginning. But there can be no two
opinions about the immensity of the sacrifice that Czechoslovakia is
making and her contribution to efforts to prevent the catastrophe.
Throughout the troublous days of the crisis, her attitude, under the
wise and statesmanlike guidance of Dr. Benes, has been one of the
utmost possible restraint in the face of unprecedented provocation.
Equally praiseworthy has been her willingness to go the very limit in
making concessions to Herr Hitler, contenting herself with the
minimum conditions required for preserving her integrity as a

sovereign State. Even on the eve of the Munich Conference,
Czechoslovakia had given her consent to a plan
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sponsored by Britain and France which showed her anxiety for a

pacific solution; “At this critical juncture”, said the official statement
from Prague, “the Czech Government are placing the interests of
civilisation and world peace before the distress of their own people
and are resolved to make sacrifices, which never in history were
exacted from an undefeated State with such concentrated effort.” The
relief with which the Munich agreement has been hailed will
necessarily have to be tempered by doubts if permanent peace can
be assured on foundations of such unilateral sacrifice.
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“Whatever may be the duty of a political opposition it is not the duty of the
Press to oppose any more than it is to support without adequate reasons. In
every case it must be guided solely by consideration of the public interest. It
must always be for the public to judge how far THE HINDU has lived up to these
high ideals. But those in charge of it may be permitted to say that it has been
their aim to keep them steadily in view. The great heart of the public has
displayed a constant affection for this journal and acclaimed it as a national
institution.”
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DECEMBER 7, 1939
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Sixty Years
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T
HE HINDU COMPLETED SIXTY YEARS OF ITS EXISTENCE AS A
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newspaper just over a year ago. But as work on the spacious

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new buildings designed to house it had not been completed

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then, it was decided that on the occasion offered by the

opening of the new offices this journal should share
with its readers its pleasure in passing yet another memorable
milestone in the endless adventure, by the issue of a special edition.
The fifty-two page special number which our readers will receive with
today’s issue in commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee may well
stand as the outward and visible symbol of the close and friendly
communication between the paper and its farflung clientele from
which it draws alike its inspiration and its strength. The hundreds of
messages it contains from leaders in every walk of life, both at home
and abroad, have given those who are responsible today for the
conduct of the paper the keenest satisfaction, bearing testimony as
they do in generous terms to the efforts that have been constantly
made to maintain worthily the great traditions and discharge

adequately the onerous responsibilities of what has been always
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regarded as a trust. Such measure of success as has attended these

efforts is due entirely to the solid support that the public has given and
the unstinted confidence that it has reposed in THE HINDU. For this,
the Proprietors and all who are associated with them in this great
enterprise cannot be too grateful; and it will be their constant
endeavour in the future as in the past to deserve that support and
justify that confidence. They wish to acknowledge here their heartfelt
thanks to the public and their indebtedness to the many friends who
in their messages have spoken in the highest terms of such service
as THE HINDU has been able to render to the country’s cause.
An occasion like this makes the mind not only look back but also
look forward to the spirit of prayerful hope. The world and India in
particular are passing through critical times which must put to the
strictest proof principles and beliefs that in less strenuous days were
apt to be lightly held or taken for granted. Thus Democracy is on its
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trial in Europe and there are faineants who already concede its
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discomfiture without having given it the slightest chance. In this
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country there are those who argue that democracy is a western plant,
an exotic which cannot survive transplantation. But democracy is
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essentially a spiritual idea, a way of life that is as akin to the Hindu

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and the Muslim traditions as to that of Christian Europe in the Middle

Ages, which was closer at heart to the democratic principle than the
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much later Europe of Hobbes and the absolutists. Prof. Laski has
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observed of mediaeval Europe: “The idea of a legally unlimited will

was wholly alien to its way of thinking. From the lowest to the highest
men are bound by a hierarchy of laws in which divine law is in the
summit. This in the long run promoted popular rights by obviously
emphasising the idea of constitutionalism”. The effort to find
institutional means for expressing the democratic view was long
baffled in Europe by various causes. In India it has to contend against
the suspicion and distrust of the minorities and the forces of
reactionary opportunism which seize upon the distrust to create
divisions in our country. But if the minorities will only reflect a little they
will see that no other system guarantees so effectively the rule of law
which is the ultimate safeguard of all rights including minority rights.
And democracy means and implies the fullest national freedom.
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It is no answer to this to say, as some apologists for communal

intransigence do, that what the minorities object to is not democratic
government as such, but government by party. Long ago Burke
answered this objection succinctly when he said that party
government was “essentially necessary for the full performance of our
public duty accidentally liable to degenerate into faction.” To
safeguard against that degeneration is the primary duty of a
responsible Press. The Achilles heel of democracy is popular
ignorance, an inevitable consequence of which is that with politicians
the long view is usually at a discount. In most western countries
universal literacy has not solved this problem; far from making for a
truly educated electorate, it has in fact created a public singularly
susceptible to propaganda, and a type of sensational journalism which
by its success has tended to put journals of opinion in the shade. In
India, we are more fortunate in this respect. The newspaper reading
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public is a much smaller one numerically; but it follows the discussions
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of public issues with an intelligence and a zest which are becoming
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rare in lands with a longer journalistic tradition where the mass that is
“educated enough to read greedily but not to read seriously” has all
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but swamped the discriminating few. Those critics of Indian journalism

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who, overlooking this important difference, are all for “brightness,” and
would like to see more of vim and snap in the expression of views
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forget that it is not by bludgeoning the reader’s mind but by reasoning

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with it that the soundest and most lasting results can be achieved. For
the authority of a newspaper is directly dependent on its ability to carry
conviction to the largest circle of intelligent readers, as The Times said
on a famous occasion, “if we do not represent the opinion of the
country we are nothing”. The ascertainment of public opinion (as
different from the prejudices of the moment) and the evocation of the
atmosphere favourable to its emergence are therefore tasks that a
newspaper which is not content to adopt a purely hand to mouth policy
must set about with circumspection as well as earnestness. The many
and complex issues on which it has to pronounce in the course of the
day’s work do not admit of a naive directness of treatment, a simple
Yes or No. Where the choice is not between black and white but
between various delicate shades of colour, slap-
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dash methods and the unstable impetuosity which discards opinions

as lightly as it adopts them may work considerable harm; while in a
country where the clamour of contending passions animated by race
and creed often drowns the voice of common sense, a judicial temper
is an absolute necessity.
Free discussion is the life-breath of democracy. And it
presupposes a readiness to set out the pros and cons fairly and to
give the other fellow credit for honesty however wrong-headed you
may consider him to be. In a country which has deliberately eschewed
the way of violence as unsuitable, whether for winning Swaraj or for
securing internal harmony, it becomes the more incumbent on the
Press to maintain steadily this appeal to the higher instincts. And the
practice of the best journalism the world over shows that honest and
trenchant criticism is perfectly compatible with good temper and
fairness to opposing points of view. Conversely, a partisan Press is a
weak Press. “To perform its duties with entire independence and
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consequently with the utmost public advantage, the press can enter
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into no close or binding alliances with the statesmen of the day, nor
can it surrender its permanent interests to the convenience of the
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ephemeral power of any Government”, a statement which though

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provoked by the circumstances of mid-Victorian England is of

universal validity. By the same token, Governments should not be
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denied support, simply because they are Governments, if “the justice

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of their principles and the ability of their administrations fairly entitle

them” to that support; for whatever may be the duty of a political
opposition, it is not the duty of the Press to oppose, any more than it
is to support, without adequate reasons. In every case, it must be
guided solely by considerations of the public interest. It must always
be for the public to judge how far THE HINDU has lived upto these high
ideals. But those in charge of it may be permitted to say that it has
been their aim to keep them steadily in view. The great heart of the
public has displayed a constant affection for this journal and acclaimed
it as a national institution. It was a famous editor, C. P. Scott of the
Manchester Guardian, who said, “The public has its rights. The paper
which has grown up in a great community, nourished by its resources,
reflecting in a thousand ways its spirit and its interests, in
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a real sense belongs to it.” It shall be always our earnest endeavour

to fulfil the high obligations we owe to the public.
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“If the Muslims are a minority they must be willing to agree to any
arrangement which would give them the right to declare what safeguards
there should be for themselves, the matter being left for decision to an
impartial outsider in cases where a difference of opinion arises. If on the other
hand the Muslims were to maintain that they should be dealt with as a
separate nation, the contention which The Times has voiced that Britain had
‘undertaken to defend the interests of the minorities’ would become
meaningless so far as the Muslims were concerned. She would have no
option, then, but to leave it to the Muslims to settle the future with the Hindus
and the other communities.”
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JANUARY 22, 1940
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The communal problem

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HE CONGRESS WORKING COMMITTEE IN AUTHORISING GANDHIJI to
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seek further clarification on certain points contained in the

Viceroy’s recent speech in Bombay has shown that it
recognises that the Viceroy’s speech offers a foothold from
which a settlement might be reached. And it has demonstrated that
the great national organisation is as anxious as Gandhiji himself to
achieve a settlement if it could be had with honour and that “it is not
spoiling for a fight” any more than he is. And we have no doubt that
any settlement that satisfies Gandhiji and the Congress will satisfy the
predominant bulk of public opinion in the country. Whether it will
satisfy Mr. Jinnah and the Muslim League is another question. The
correspondence between Gandhiji and Mr. Jinnah published to-day
should make it clear beyond a peradventure that no settlement which
proceeds on the basic assumption that India is a unity and must
remain so can have the approval of Mr. Jinnah or the League. To the
disgruntled leaders of sub-communal and sectional groups within the
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Hindu community, who, in their unreasoning fury against the

Congress, were prepared to immolate themselves on the altar of Mr.
Jinnah’s intransigence, he has given a resounding slap in the face.
Their recent hobnobbing with himself was as he has more frankly than
kindly explained “partly a case of ‘adversity bringing strange bed-
fellows together’ and partly because common interest may lead
Muslims and other minorities to combine.” But, while he is willing to
use them for his purposes and give them a leg-up as against the
Congress, he is, as he expressly says, under no illusions that this re-
alignment, in which many have been tempted to see the germs of a
legitimate political opposition, means any such thing. India, he is
convinced, is not a nation, nor even — though that seems to less
subtle mortals like flying in the face of geographical facts — a country.
“It is a sub-continent, composed of nationalities, Hindus and Muslims
being the two “major nations”. And — though he does not say that in
so many words — the two like oil and water cannot mix.
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As usual, he does not tell us what is the solution that he would
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himself suggest for the Indian problems on the basis that India is not
and can never be one nation. But he wants Gandhiji to find the
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solution, telling him, “More than anyone else you happen to be the
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man to-day who commands the confidence of Hindu India and are in
a position to deliver the goods on their behalf’. But Gandhiji has
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repeatedly disclaimed any such authority. He does not recognise that

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religion constitutes a nation; and Mr. Jinnah, instead of proving as he

fancies that Gandhiji is guilty of an inconsistency in taking this stand
in view of his admission that religion is the mainspring of his activity,
only succeeds in convicting himself. “I could not be leading a religious
life”, he says he told the late Mr. E. S. Montagu when that statesman
visited India, “unless I identified myself with the whole of mankind and
that I could not do unless I took part in politics.” He overlooks the
obvious fact that any religion that imparts this universality of outlook
cannot become the differentia of a particular nation, and the politics of
a truly religious man cannot be communal politics.
“I sometimes wonder,” says Mr. Jinnah, “What can be common
between practical politics and yourself, between democracy and the
dictator of a political organisation of which you are not even a four-
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anna member.” But what are we to think of the democratic professions

of this ‘practical’ politician who would make the entire future of the
country hinge upon the acceptance by the Congress of his
organisation as the sole representative of the Muslim community
irrespective of the wishes of the community itself? The Congress is
invited to do this so that Mr. Jinnah may kill two birds at one stroke,
the Congress on the one hand would write itself down for a communal
body and the most extravagant attitude that Mr. Jinnah and the
League may choose to take up — as in maintaining that the Muslims
are a separate nation — would have to be regarded as a demand
coming from the united Muslim community. The Congress cannot do
what he asks it to do; for, apart from any question of self- respect, to
concede the claim of this major ‘nation’ as Mr. Jinnah calls the
Muslims would be to open the door to similar claims by all the other
‘minor nations’, and that would be the surest way of letting chaos
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loose. When mankind is realising that unbridled political nationalism
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has played untold havoc and nations well differentiated by race,
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tradition and geography and with centuries of separate existence and
development behind them are exploring the possibilities of closer
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union and even a world federation, it would be midsummer madness

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to balkanise India in order to oblige Mr. Jinnah and his friends.

Nor can Mr. Jinnah’s claims be consistently endorsed by Britain.
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Even The Times is constrained to admit that “some of his recent

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utterances have given the impression that the British policy of

defending the lawful interests of minorities has encouraged him to
think that the members of the Muslim League are entitled to veto any
and every constitutional advance simply because they are a minority.”
When it is a question of seeking Britain’s support to thwart progress
Mr. Jinnah and the League argue that the Muslims are a minority;
when it comes to discussing the future with the Congress, they put up
the claim that the Muslims are a nation. Now if the Muslims are a
minority, they must be willing to agree to any arrangement which
would give them the right to declare what safeguards there should be
for themselves, the matter being left for decision to an impartial
outsider in cases where a difference of opinion arises. If, on the other
hand, the Muslims were to maintain
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that they should be dealt with as a separate nation, the contention

which The Times has voiced, that Britain had “undertaken to defend
the interests of the minorities” would become meaningless so far as
the Muslims were concerned. She would have no option, then, but to
leave it to the Muslims to settle the future with the Hindus and the
other communities. Indeed, for a much more important reason, she
can have no truck with Mr. Jinnah and the League so long as they
stick to the notion that the Muslims are a nation; for she has always
insisted that nothing should be done to jeopardise India’s unity. In his
Bombay speech the Viceroy reiterated his conviction that there could
be no definitive solution of the Indian problem which did not
comprehend the States. How, then, could Britain consistently
encourage the claims of those “who are vowed to work for the
disruption of India”. If her statesmen see the true inwardness of the
extravagant demands that Mr. Jinnah and the League are putting up
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in the name of the Muslims and against the wishes of vast sections of
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that community, they will realise the futility, if not worse, of insisting
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that a settlement of the communal problem — in the shape of the
Congress coming to an agreement with Mr. Jinnah and the League
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and India. If they realise this and are genuinely prepared to explore all
possible ways of arriving at a solution acceptable to all parties, we
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have every confidence that the Congress will wholeheartedly help

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them in this attempt.

Mr. R. Galletti, Joint Magistrate of Gudur (Andhra) hit the headlines with his
eccentric behaviour towards satyagrahis in the individual satyagraha
movement in which they courted arrest by shouting anti-war slogans. He
lectured to them in his court, attended their meetings and gave them advice
and in one instance allowed them to shout anti-war slogans and told them
they could march to Delhi.
FEBRUARY 3, 1941
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M
R. GALLETTI WHEN HE STARTED HIS ADVENTURES AMONG
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satyagrahis was something of a joke. And he obviously

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enjoyed himself. Possibly he does so still; we do not know.

But the public is no longer amused by his antics nor can it
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overlook him as a harmless bore. For, unlike most

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private bores, Mr. Galletti is pleasantly conscious of his authority as

dispenser of justice — of his own peculiar brand — and of the
magisterial privilege of laying about him with the butt-end of abuse
when the pistol of argument misfires. The law of contempt, if not
divinity, doth still hedge a magistrate; which no doubt explains why the
amenities in Mr. Galletti’s Court have been mostly unilateral, though
possibly his eccentricities suggested a touch of that inspiration before
which men have always done reverence. The ancients, Mr. Galletti will
remember, pictured Justice as blind, they never gave her squint eyes.
But he himself does not seem to have heard of the elementary rule
that judge and prosecutor should not be one; nor of the other
commonplace that this judge should not become a law unto himself
any more than the man whom he tries. In his evangelical zeal for
saving the souls of the politically misguided,
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he seems to have thought himself permitted alternately to pray and

curse, threaten and cajole, sneer and grow maudlin, impale his victim
on Morton’s fork and souse him in the purest milk of satyagraha a la
Galletti. And now, not content with such easy success, he has turned
peripatetic tub-thumper, shouting through his big megaphone; and the
irony of it is that while he derides the satyagrahis for repeating
somebody else’s slogans, he himself mouths with infinite relish
slogans which are far older and far less true. As he is obviously unable
to see the impropriety of a magistrate functioning like a vaudeville
artist, it is high time that the Government transferred him to a sphere
more suited to his talents and tastes. To Mr. Galletti himself a word of
friendly advice would not be amiss. As a keen student of the old
fabulists, he should be familiar with the story of our simian cousin in
the Panchatantra which, in its zeal for setting the world to rights, came
to grief with a wedge. Moral: the cobbler should stick to his last.
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Mahatma Gandhi and the Congress leaders were arrested in Bombay on

August 9. 1942 after the All-India Congress Committee passed the “Quit
India” resolution. THE HINDU: “Having got the A.I.C.C. to adopt that resolution,
Gandhiji made it clear that he was resolved to explore every avenue to a
peaceful settlement, including personal discussion with the Viceroy and
stated that a mass movement would be started only as a last resort. But the
Government were obviously unwilling to give him a chance to do this. Without
making the slightest attempt to understand the new resolution or consider it
seriously with a view to finding out whether it offered better prospects of
settlement than the Wardha resolution seemed to do, the Government have
resolved to force a fight on the Congress just as the Willingdon Government
did after the Second Round Table Conference.”
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AUGUST 11, 1942

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A colossal blunder
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T
HE ACTION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA IN ARRESTING Gandhiji
and the members of the Congress Working Committee, barely
a few hours after the Bombay resolution was adopted, was a
colossal blunder. It is not the first time that the
Government have thus misjudged the situation, but so extraordinary
are the circumstances in which they have elected to precipitate a crisis
that the verdict of history will be that they acted even more
irresponsibly than they had done on previous occasions. Mr. Amery
throws out his chest and declares triumphantly: “By their prompt and
resolute action the Government of India have saved India and the
Allied cause from grave disaster”. Would that we could believe it. For,
disastrous as would undoubtedly be the trouble, which Mr. Amery is
confident, “could be dealt with by the Government of India through the

police and the courts,” the damage the Government
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have inflicted on popular morale and the cause of the Allies, which by
a curious irony they profess to have served, may prove far more
disastrous and irreparable in the long run. For, by the manner in which
they have met the Congress demand, the Government have
proclaimed to all the world that they, notwithstanding all their
professions to the contrary, will not for a moment tolerate the raising
of a purely political issue in a crucial way that makes it necessary for
them to face it squarely.
The Government have said that “they would regard it as wholly
incompatible with their responsibilities to the people of India and their
obligations to the Allies, that a demand should be discussed, the
acceptance of which would plunge India into confusion and anarchy
internally and would paralyse her war effort in the common cause of
human freedom.” And Mr. Amery, not to be outdone by his henchmen
at Delhi, has emphasised that “the real concern is not the demand,
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which cannot be taken seriously, but the action which the Congress is
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resolved upon and for which preparation has been for some time in
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progress.” What is this preposterous demand that cannot be taken
seriously? It is that Britain should declare that, so far as she is
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concerned. India is free from this moment, and should accompany this
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with a transfer of power which would invest that declaration with

reality; if she was ready to do this the Congress said it was prepared
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to co-operate in carrying on the fight against the Axis by the Allied

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Powers using India as their base and to give all military and other aid
that was in her power. By what stretch of imagination can this demand
be represented as calculated to produce internal anarchy or to
handicap the war effort? Be it remembered that Britain, through Sir
Stafford Cripps, had declared that she would be prepared to confer
independence on India after the war: in other words, she had
conceded the principle of the Congress demand. She had also
appeared to agree to transfer to Indian hands all power forthwith other
than that which it was essential for Britain to keep in her own hands
for the successful prosecution of the war. The issue had therefore
narrowed down to this: what was the irreducible minimum of control
that Britain should retain for the duration of the war so that the fight
could be carried on with the maximum of efficiency? Instead of facing

this problem steadily and trying to find a
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solution in concert with Indian opinion — the Congress was more than
willing to do all it could to help find such a solution — Sir Stafford
Cripps incontinently ran away from it, making Gandhiji’s non-violence,
the minorities’ opposition et hoc the pretext. The resolution adopted
by the A.I.C.C. at Bombay last week-end was expressly designed to
leave no room for either genuine misapprehensions or such wanton
misrepresentation as Mr. Amery has been repeatedly guilty of. Having
got the A.I.C.C. to adopt that resolution, Gandhiji made it clear that he
was resolved to explore every avenue to a peaceful settlement,
including personal discussion with the Viceroy and stated that a mass
movement would be started only as a last resort. But the Government
were obviously unwilling to give him a chance to do this. Without
making the slightest attempt to understand the new resolution or
consider it seriously with a view to finding out whether it offered better
prospects of a settlement than the Wardha resolution seemed to do,
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the Government have resolved to force a fight on the Congress just
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as the Willingdon Government did after the second Round Table
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Conference.
The laboured apologia that the Government of India have offered
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for the action they have taken is really a damning indictment of the
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fundamentally vicious system which they represent, a system which

not only the Congress but all true patriots in whatever camps they may
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be found wish to put an end to. The Government approvingly describe

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themselves as “a Government stronger and more representative than

ever in the past, a Government predominantly Indian and non-official.”
And yet this same Government have no hesitation in declaring that
“for the demand of the Congress leaders there is no warrant;” indeed,
they go on to repeat parrot-like Mr. Amery’s gibe that “that demand is
difficult, if not impossible, to reconcile with a full sense of responsibility
on the part of the leaders of the Congress Party.” We have shown, we
hope, that the Congress demand, on the contrary, is nothing new, that
Britain at one stage was prepared to concede — or at any rate made
an elaborate show of conceding — it in substance. If nevertheless the
present Government of India — which, for all its being ‘predominantly
Indian and non-official’ is a creature of the British Power—-is prepared
to denounce that demand in such unbridled terms, because Britain
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finds it convenient to provoke a showdown now, that only shows

conclusively the correctness of the stand taken by the Congress
during the Cripps negotiations, when it insisted that the Government
of India could not be an indigenous or national Government even if the
members of the Executive Council were cent per cent Indians, if that
Government did not have the confidence and backing of the people.
The Government of India condescend to admit that “the Congress
Party has for long occupied a position of great prominence and great
importance in India’s political life;” they are even prepared to concede
that “at this day its importance is substantial.” Have the signatories to
this pompous statement asked themselves what, applying the same
test, the world would rate their own importance to be, individually or
collectively? Precisely nothing, however estimable and patriotic the
individual members of this “predominantly Indian and nonofficial”
Government may be. It is to say the least ridiculous that such a
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Government should try to discredit the Congress by airily remarking
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that they cannot accept “the claim of the Congress Party to speak for
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India as a whole.” If the Congress cannot speak for India as a whole
surely the Government of India can have far less justification for
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speaking in the name of the Indian people. And only a Government at

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Delhi that can speak for the united people of India can save the
country from the crisis that threatens to engulf it today. That is India’s
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demand and Britain cannot hope to burke it or help the Allied cause
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by spurning it. Jailing Congress leaders is easy; but it has not paid in
the past and will not pay any more now. The problem they present
must be faced by Britain boldly, sympathetically and in a spirit of true
statesmanship. Otherwise the prospect for both countries is indeed
dark.
Prof. Bhansali undertook a fast unto death demanding an enquiry into

allegations of molestation of women by British troops in Chimur in Central
Provinces. The Government imposed a ban on newspapers from publishing
news of the fast. The All-India Newspaper Editors’ Conference as a protest
against the ban directed its members to black out official speeches, honours
list, circulars and Government House functions from their papers.
THE HINDU: “Those who little mindful of the great question of principle involved,
have criticised the Press for a decision which inevitably meant some little
inconvenience to the public, should have known that it could be no pleasure
to the newspapers to place such voluntary restrictions on their own
usefulness and that only a paramount sense of duty to the public could have
sustained them in their effort to vindicate the right of the public to be kept
informed, even during the war and consistently with the need for respecting
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military secrets, of everything that might be of interest or concern to them.
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JANUARY 14, 1943

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Vindicated
T
HE NEWS THAT PROF. BHANSALI HAS BROKEN HIS FAST AS the result
of a satisfactory settlement with the C.P. Government over the
Chimur issue will be received with profound relief and
thankfulness throughout the country. A man of singular purity
of life and indomitable courage, he was resolved to make the ultimate
sacrifice to vindicate the honour of womanhood than which nothing
has ever been more sacred in Indian eyes. Only a burning faith in the
justice of the cause he had espoused and the essential goodness of
human nature could have sustained him in the terrible ordeal of a
sixty-three days’ fast. It is characteristic of the nobility of the man that

suffering has bred no bitterness in him and that the
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predominant feeling in his mind at the moment of triumph is one of

humble thankfulness that he should have been instrumental in
awakening the public conscience to a great moral issue. So staunch
an upholder of the eternal verities is a priceless possession of which
any nation may be proud; and all India is indebted in no small measure
to all those men of goodwill whose assiduous mediation brought about
the happy result of saving his life and, in particular to Dr. Khare and
Mr. Munshi, whose unwearied efforts in this behalf are beyond all
praise.
The Government of the Central Provinces may also be
congratulated on their recognition, belated and half-hearted though it
be, that the interests of justice transcend mere considerations of
prestige and that public opinion cannot be rendered powerless by
being muzzled. Prof. Bhansali has agreed to give up the demand for
a public enquiry presumably because the C. P. Government have
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wisely given up the untenable attitude they had previously taken up in
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regard to that demand questioning as they had done the bona fides of
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the complainants and of the independent investigations made by
respectable members of the public and repudiating the allegations as
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grossly improbable - and have now contended themselves with

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pointing out that after this lapse of time a public enquiry might not be
of much use for bringing the offenders to book. By declaring, in the
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communique they have issued, that “there was no intention on the part
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of the Government to attribute any ulterior motive to the women of

Chimur generally”, the C. P. Government admit the grievous injustice
they had done to these much-wronged women by attributing unworthy
motives to them in their previous communiques. And it is to be hoped
that their affirmation of their resolve to enforce discipline among the
forces employed for restoring law and order and particularly to see
that women suffer no insult at the hands of these forces will be
followed up by practical steps designed to ensure that no room will be
given for complaints of the kind which the unfortunate people of
Chimur were obliged to make in those dark days of September. The
restoration of public confidence in the affected areas will be no easy
matter; but with the removal of restrictions on visitors from outside and
the mission of goodwill which Mr. Aney has undertaken by

promising to visit the
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area in Prof. Bhansali’s company we may hope that everything

possible will be done to obliterate the bitter memories of the past and
restore normal conditions.
The issue raised by Prof. Bhansali’s fast was one that far
transcended provincial boundaries; and the manner in which it has
been settled will, one would fain hope, have a salutary and lasting
effect on the attitude of authority throughout the country generally
towards the people’s right to have their grievances promptly enquired
into and to demand that no impediment shall be placed in the way of
their ventilating grievances till they are remedied. As part of the
settlement the C. P. Government have lifted the ban on the press
relating to Chimur and the Bhansali affair — a ban which should never
have been imposed, not only because it offended the first principles
of democracy and freedom but also because it constituted a flagrant
violation of the agreement that the Government of India had made with
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the organised Press of the country and which the latter, in the face of
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many provocations and pinpricks, had consistently respected.
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Because the C. P. ban was an intolerable affront, the Standing
Committee of the All India Newspaper Editors’ Conference was
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compelled to vindicate the self-respect of the Press by recommending

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a striking protest. That it was thoroughly justified in doing so was

demonstrated not only by the fact that the vast number of newspapers
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in the country — no less than 150 out of 170- adopted the

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recommendation but also by the fact that the few newspapers which
for extraneous reasons were unable to fall in with the suggestion
nevertheless condemned with one voice the action of the C. P.
Government which had provoked retaliation. Now that the
C. P. Government have withdrawn the obnoxious orders, the object of
the protest has been served, and the President of the A. I. N. E.
Conference has therefore announced that it will no longer be
operative. Those who, little mindful of the great question of principle
involved, have criticised the Press for a decision which inevitably
meant some little inconvenience to the public, should have known that
it could be no pleasure to the newspapers to place such voluntary
restrictions on their own usefulness and that only a paramount sense
of duty to the public could have sustained them in their effort to

vindicate the right of the public to be kept informed,
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even during war and consistently with the need for respecting military
secrets, of everything that might be of interest or concern to them. The
rights of the public and the Press have now been admitted, though
tardily, by the C. P. Government and it is to be hoped that in future
neither will be lightly called in question by that Government or by any
other.
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“Kasturba Gandhi, practically unlettered and stubbornly old fashioned as she

was had the dignity and integrity of a truly simple soul. Her life was one long
act of faith.”
FEBRUARY 24, 1944
Kasturba Gandhi
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N THIS HOUR OF SORROW THE HEARTS OF THE MILLIONS OF HIS
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countrymen will go out in respectful sympathy to Gandhiji. Not
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many months ago he lost a loyal friend whom he dearly loved. To-
day, the gracious companionship of sixty years is broken by a blow
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which, for all that it had seemed inevitable, must be hard to

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bear. Lonely by his very eminence as all great men must be, the loss
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of the devoted wife who had so long shared with him the exaltations
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as well as the rigours of the life heroic must make him feel lonelier
than ever. Kasturba Gandhi, practically unlettered and stubbornly old-
fashioned as she was, had the dignity and integrity of a truly simple
soul. Her life was one long act of faith. Made for happy domesticity,
for the best part of her long life she knew less than most women the
comforts of privacy or the amenities of ordered existence. It was one
long fight in a cause which, in the early days, she but imperfectly
understood; but through all the trials and tribulations of which she had
a greater share than falls to most mortals, she was sustained by a
supreme fidelity to duty as she conceived it and by a child-like trust in
the man by whose side she trod so bravely. Few passages in “My
Experiments with Truth” are more touching than those in which
Gandhiji pays tribute to the loving devotion that carried her through
many an emotional crisis which the merciless logic of a mind set

on self-mastery imposed upon her
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loyalty. No match to her illustrious husband in intellect, she yet found

little difficulty in adjusting her pace to his; what she lacked in subtlety
she made up by her honesty and intuitive sympathy. Shrewd and
unassuming, homely and yet full of the wisdom that comes from the
heart, serene through much suffering borne without bitterness, she
was a true helpmate to the great man whose life fate had linked to
hers and a tower of strength to all who needed sympathy or succour.
In every sense of the word she was a great lady. We offer our
respectful condolences to Gandhiji in his great loss.
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“The use of the atomic bomb has shown how incalculable can the power ratio
be among nations in an age where scientific advancement is so rapid. In the
light of this development the whole basis of a security organisation centred
on force needs drastic reconsideration; the stress should rather be on
disarmament, of which little was heard at San Francisco. One of the saddest
features of the present day, compared to 1918, is the reign of pseudo-realism.
At least Wilson and others talked of the ‘war to end war’ and disarmament of
nations. Today the Allies believe in gathering greater force which can only
result in a greater conflagration.”
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AUGUST 15, 1945or
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The Japanese surrender

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J
APAN HAS BOWED TO THE INEVITABLE. FACED WITH THE threat of
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annihilation in a hopeless struggle against a combination of the

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major Powers of the world, she has wisely decided that a

surrender now will give her people a better chance of survival
than a prolongation of a desperate and unequal contest. Thus ends
the most brutal and nerve-racking war in history, but our feelings of
gratitude and thankfulness are tempered by anxiety for the future. It
was logical that this mechanised war should be brought to a dramatic
halt by the deadly application of modern scientific research. But this
raises new problems endangering world security. If the atomic bomb
hastened Japanese surrender and thus brought general peace, its
manufacture and use have become one of the cardinal problems
facing the future security organisation. Fervid nationalists in Britain
and America are already talking as if the balance of power vis-a-vis
the Soviet Union has been altered in their favour because they have
now exclusive possession of the secret. That way lies the suicide of
the human race; for it is apparent that
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very soon every nation, small and big, will find means to manufacture
atomic bombs and compete with one another in the production of
weapons dealing mass destruction. The use of the atomic bomb has
shown how incalculable can the power ratio be among nations in an
age where scientific advancement is so rapid. In the light of this
development the whole basis of a security organisation centred on
force needs drastic reconsideration; the stress should rather be on
disarmament, of which little was heard at San Francisco. One of the
saddest features of the present day, compared to 1918, is the reign of
pseudo-realism. At least Wilson and others talked of the “war to end
War” and disarmament of nations. To-day, the Allies believe in
gathering greater force to meet force which can only result in a greater
conflagration.
Japan’s surrender raises many problems; in fact, the main
developments shaping the future of the Far East are yet to take place.
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One of the questions will be the position of Soviet Russia, whose
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intervention in the war has lasted only a few days. She has many
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scores to settle with Japan, having eaten humble pie on many
occasions in the days of her Republic’s infancy. It is certain that she
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will recover Port Arthur and Dairen which the Czars lost in 1905. She
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will also occupy Sakhalin Islands and take over the Chinese Eastern
Railway. As a world Power driving to the Pacific, she will also be
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anxious to increase her growing influence. She is bound to insist on

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friendly governments in Manchuria and Korea, while it is almost

certain that her ally, Outer Mongolia, will lay claim to the Chinese
provinces of Chahar, Jehol and Suiyan to form a Greater Mongolian
Republic. Russia’s attitude to the Chinese Communists will depend on
the course of the talks with Dr. T. V. Soong, but already Yenan is
giving an indication of its policy which is to improve its position in the
neighbouring areas. The dramatic end of the war and the intervention
of Russia are bound to profoundly affect the course of events inside
China, which may end in civil war or forge a democratic unity between
the two factions which will enhance the prestige and power of the
nation. The fact that Soviet Russia took a lead in mediation is bound
to increase her influence on Japan. If the Soviet is anxious to see that
a powerful militarist Japan does not continue to threaten her security,

she may be equally anxious to
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Hello Readers,
telegram @ 4 AM.
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Youtube Link-
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prevent the contingency when Japan becomes a puppet in the hands

of the Anglo-American Powers.
More important for the future than the alteration in the balance of
power is the resurgency of the subject peoples of the Far East. There
is no mistaking the trend of mass opinion in these parts. While there
is welcome relief that Japan’s career of conquest is at an end, Tokyo’s
clarion call “Asia for Asiatics” has made a profound impression. Very
soon the Western Powers will be occupying their former colonies. We
dare say they will have little difficulty in disarming those colonials who
took up arms against them, but it will not be so easy to disarm colonial
nationalism, which has taken a deep root. The white man has lost
prestige, at any rate millions of dependent races realise that he is not
so powerful as they imagined and that mechanised efficiency is not
his monopoly. The events of the last three years, and it must be said
Tokyo’s broadcasts however mischievous they were at the moment,
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have created a new awakening and a new confidence. The Annamites
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in Indo-China will no longer be satisfied with a colonial status: they will
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revolt if they are not given freedom. The people of Java will hardly
accept without protest the small doses of “self-government” doled out
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by the Royal Dutch Government. India is already on the threshold of

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nationhood, confident of discharging her duties as a major Power of

the East. China, already one of the Big Five by courtesy, will soon rise
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to her full stature. It is but proper that it is the representatives of these

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nations speaking for the hundreds of millions of their peoples who

should finally decide the future of the Far East. The main problem of
the backward races in these areas is to assure self-government and
take energetic steps to raise the standard of living. This goal of
freedom and prosperity cannot be left to be worked out by the agents
of imperialist Powers whose main interest has been to gather profits
for investors in Europe. White hegemony in the colonies is
incompatible with the future peace and prosperity of the world.
“As every one who has read any history knows, aggressive wars and
conspiracies have never been regarded as crimes in law. They may be
regarded quite properly as morally unjustifiable but the hard fact remains that
there is no world code under which prosecution could be launched. And it is
elementary canon of justice that a man can be tried for an offence only if he
breaks a law which was recognised as such at the time that he committed
the offence.”
OCTOBER 3, 1946
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Nuremberg
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HE TRIAL OF THE FORMER LEADERS OF NAZI GERMANY which began
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in November 1945 has at length concluded with a series of

verdicts that are unprecedented in modern history. In the trials
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that were held after the war of 1914-18 a few Germans

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were punished for atrocities but the doctrine of the responsibility of

Governments for waging war was not pushed to the point of judicial
trial and the Kaiser left quietly for Holland despite the promise implicit
in the English slogan of “Hang the Kaiser”. This time, however, the
victorious Allies decided to stage a trial, the purpose of which was
apparently to pin the guilt of war inescapably on the leaders of the
nation they had defeated. It is astonishing that they have neglected to
make this trial, which they claim will set a precedent in international
relations, something that might resemble a proper judicial process.
The prosecutors and the judges are both drawn from the Allied nations
and neutrals have been carefully excluded. The British Prosecutor, Sir
Hartley Shawcross, sought to excuse this last December when he said
“this Tribunal acting, as we know it will act notwithstanding its

appointment, in a world in which
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hardly any neutrals were left, by the victorious Powers, with complete
and judicial objectivity, will provide a contemporary touchstone”. The
italicised phrase referring to neutrals was included in the text of the
speech as circulated to the Press but a correction was later issued
deleting it, which shows quite plainly how conscious the Allies were of
the weakness of their procedure. If the German leaders had really
started a world war, the whole world had a right to judge them, not
excluding the German, Italian, Austrian, Czech and other peoples.
The Soviet Government were, during the war, always anxious to insist
that their quarrel was not with the Germans but the Hitlerites. Yet at
Nuremberg, no German or even the persecuted German Jew was
permitted to sit on the Bench.
The indictment against the Nazi leaders was divided into four
counts: “the common plan or conspiracy”, crimes against peace, war
crimes and crimes against humanity. The first and second charge the
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defendants with deliberately planning a conspiracy to wage a war of
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aggression and violate accepted treaties, the third was concerned with
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the murder, enslavement or plunder of civilians or prisoners of war in
occupied countries and the last assigned responsibility for illegal acts
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against Germans and German Jews even before the war. As everyone
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who has read any history knows, aggressive wars and conspiracies
have never been regarded as crimes in law. They may be regarded
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quite properly as morally unjustifiable but the hard fact remains that
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there is no world code under which prosecution can be launched. And

it is elementary canon of justice that a man can be tried for an offence
only if he breaks a law which was recognised as such at the time that
he committed the offence. The Allied Tribunal have ignored this canon
on the ground that they were erecting new precedents and cited a
whole list of treaties and pacts which they said had been violated. The
list includes the Versailles Treaty, the Locarno Treaty, the Kellogg
Pact, the non-aggression agreement with Poland, the Munich
Agreement and the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 1939 among others. It
is obvious that such treaties, entered into by individual nations or
groups of nations without the sanction of any world Parliament, have
always been treated as scraps of paper when they conflicted with the
self-interest of the signatories. In fact, treaties are usually signed with

endless reservations that negative
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any value that they may have as legal documents. For instance, the
Kellogg Pact to outlaw all war was thick with such reservations. In May
1928 Sir Austen Chamberlain, the British Foreign Secretary, wrote to
the U.S. Ambassador reminding him “that there are certain regions of
the world the welfare and integrity of which contribute a special and
vital interest for our peace and safety. His Majesty’s Government have
been at pains to make it clear in the past that interference with their
regions cannot be suffered. Their protection against attack is to the
British Empire a measure of self-defence. It must be clearly
understood that H.M.G. accept the new Treaty upon the distinct
understanding that it does not prejudice their freedom of action in this
respect.” Similarly, the American Government reserved their right to
act in the maintenance of the Monroe Doctrine and France reserved
her own right of self-defence. All this made the Kellogg Pact ridiculous
as a means of stopping wars but it has nevertheless been exhumed
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at Nuremberg to strengthen the case of the prosecution. The truth is
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that all the policies and acts that led to the second world war are
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international in their motivation and causation as in any previous war,
and it is perfectly sustainable that the groups in Britain, France and
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elsewhere who connived at the failure of the Weimar Republic and

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encouraged the rise of Fascism in Germany are as guilty of

conspiracy as the Nazis themselves. Yet when Ribbentrop’s lawyer
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requested the Tribunal to subpoena such British figures as Lord

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Vannsittart, Lord Beaverbrook, Lord Kemsley, Lord Londonderry and

others, he got the reply that the Court had no powers to command
their presence.
In the light of these considerations the severity of the verdicts on
the German leaders, twelve of whom have been sentenced to death
by hanging, comes as a shock to world opinion. It might have been
supposed that having staged an impressive trial to demonstrate their
guilt, the Allies would have treated them as political offenders are
usually treated, that is, with exile, imprisonment or loss of citizenship.
But the Nuremberg verdict is full of contradictions; the Tribunal
declined to declare the German General Staff, the Cabinet or the
Storm Troopers “criminal” as groups but found that individuals in these
groups could be regarded as guilty. Is this because the Allies are

afraid of the precedent that they are setting up for the future? We
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have no wish to maintain that Allied conduct during the war and after
reached the same level as the German. But it cannot be said to differ
in kind. Concentration camps were not unknown in the British Empire,
collective fines were levied in India not long ago, British planes
bombed villages in Java and wiped them off the map; even today there
is German slave labour in Britain and prisoners of war have not yet
been repatriated. The Americans have the use of the atom bomb in
Japan to answer for. A Japanese doctor said after the raid on
Hiroshima: “I see that they are holding a trial for war ciminals in Tokyo
just now. I think they ought to try the men who decided to use the atom
bomb and they should hang them all.” This statement was editorially
quoted in the Manchester Guardian which commented, “it was a
thought that could have flown as far as Nuremberg”. When British
Liberal opinion can see the wrongness of the trial, its full absurdity is
even more patent in countries like ours where European politics are
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sufficiently remote to be studied with some impartiality. International
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justice can only be administered when there is a genuine political
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world order. Nations which seek to arrogate to themselves the powers
and rights that properly belong to an international court only succeed
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in spreading the suspicion that they are promoting their own interests
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under the pretence of carrying out the mandate of world opinion.

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“To-day, a hundred years after his passing away, we remember Sri

Thyagaraja with feelings of profound pride and gratitude which are tainted by
no narrow considerations of patriotism or parochialism. In his universality he
is like Shakespeare. Rooted in the rich soil of the Tamil country watered by
the Kaveri, which runs like a silver thread through many a song, the mighty
tree of his genius gives rest and refreshment to all who seek its hospitable
shade.”
DECEMBER 22, 1946
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Thyagaraja
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NCE OR TWICE IN A MILLENNIUM THE HUMAN SPIRIT GATHERS itself
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up in a mighty upheaval; and a poet, a saint or a master-

singer is born. He is made of the stuff of revolution. He
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contains in himself all the past and the future. His brief
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sojourn on earth is a benediction. Our common human kind learns to

walk erect seeing in him the complete man, “in apprehension, how like
a God!” He profoundly affects our destiny by giving us eyes. The
extension of consciousness by which evolution takes a leap forward
is always the work of a seer, the kranta darsee. Today, a hundred
years after his passing away, we remember Sri Thyagaraja with
feelings of profound pride and gratitude which are tainted by no narrow
considerations of patriotism or parochialism. In his universality he is
like Shakespeare. Rooted in the rich soil of the Tamil country watered
by the Kaveri which runs like a silver thread through many a song, the
mighty tree of his genius gives rest and refreshment to all who seek
its hospitable shade. In music we have the nearest approach to a
universal language; melody is the soul of music; and Thyagaraja is the

soul of melody. As Mr. T. V. Subba Rao
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has well pointed out in his address to the Music Academy, the
triumphal progress of his immortal song has just begun. Some of the
finest minds of the West have felt its compelling attraction. Thyagaraja
may well prove to be our greatest single contribution to the cause of
world harmony.
In the music of Thyagaraja tradition and invention find a unique
balance. Mr. U. Rama Rao, in his opening speech at the Academy
celebrations, rightly reminds us that he studied with loving reverence
the work of the great master-composers who had laid the foundations
of Carnatic music, Purandaradas, Kshetragnya, Theerthanarayana
Yati. He mastered the theory of his art not merely from books but from
the practice of the virtuosi of his time. He soaked himself in the
inspiration of the Ramayana and the Bhagavata. And, if one may
judge from internal evidence, he received early in life what can only
be described as spiritual initiation leading to a unitive experience that
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lodged itself firmly at the very core of his being. There was no divorce
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between his life and his art; song was sadhana. He made endless
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experiments; he was always striking out along new lines. But there
was no uncertain groping after perfection. To those of his
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contemporaries who might have regarded his talent as mainly lyrical

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the majestic sweep of the epic style, as of an army on the march,

displayed in the ‘Pancharatna kirtanas’ must have come as a blinding
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revelation. Though he handled the Madhyama Kala and the Adi tala
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by preference he is equally at home whatever the tempo or the time-

measure. Many a raga of which little more than the name was known
before his time began to dance its way through the human heart under
his life-giving touch. Of each one of them he made a fit vehicle for a
recondite emotion which others may have felt before but none could
so well express. And even now the mystery at the heart of such ragas
well-nigh eludes us; so much so that when the uninspired executant
attempts to render them he can do little more than reproduce the
appropriate Thyagaraja kriti in outline. As for his pieces in the ghana
ragas, one can only say “Here’s God’s plenty!” The inexhaustive
fertility of his imagination, the variety, richness and grace of his
phrasing, the revelation at every turn of unsuspected possibilities
in the mode
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handled - these combine to open up endless vistas for the musical

explorer.
Behind that magnificent achievement was a soul that had found
itself. Unfashionable as it is to talk of such things, we must insist that
those who would ignore the mainspring of Thyagaraja’s inspiration,
the mystic’s love of God, can never hope to understand him or feel a
fraction of his haunting charm. A sublime certitude marked the march
through life of this humble man who could look with unerring insight
into the heart of the peasant and the prince, the footpad and the
fashionable roue. He was tempted neither by the pomp of power nor
by the vanity of wealth. He strove with none; his heart was full of
compassion. He yearned to bring to his fellow-men the peace that
passeth understanding. In the company of the dedicated spirits of all
time, Prahlada, Narada and Suka, his immortal genius ministers to our
need for sweetness and light.
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“India starts on the endless adventure of freedom crippled and maimed in the
sight of the world. She is however a great believer in the healing touch of time
and in the magic of natural affinities. As the political passions of the day die
down and the little things that divide diminish to their natural stature in the
vista of the years to come, the notes of the multi-toned harmony which is
India, will swell again to a diapason. No political boundary, no difference of
creed, no bitterness from the past, can withstand the pervasive and gracious
influence of the genius of this land — its grave regard for abiding values, its
faith in tolerance, its resolve to walk in the ways of righteousness.
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JULY 19, 1947or
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Freedom
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T 4 O’CLOCK ON FRIDAY EVENING THE ROYAL ASSENT WAS given to
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the Indian Independence Bill. After a century of storm and

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stress the ship of Indian freedom has come into port. Battered
heavily by wind and tide, scarred and seamed in
many a fierce encounter with embattled hosts, she has suffered
grievous losses and has had to jettison much precious cargo. She is
not spick and span as we had pictured her in the morning-time of our
hopes. It is on the whole a sad homecoming. There are treacherous
shoals about and the pilot is more than a little weary. But she is a
brave little ship for all that, for she carries the high hopes and
ambitions of four hundred millions. On her proud mast-head there
broods, like the Spirit of Peace, the white soul of India.
Though the British Parliament has created two States India is one
and will be one as she has always been one. The political unity and
administrative uniformity that came in the wake of the British conquest
has passed along with it. It need not have happened if
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greater patience and forbearance could have been shown on both

sides. If the Britisher had displayed greater imagination and if
frustration had not been allowed to blight the ardours of many a
generous heart the division of India, which is as repugnant to reason
as it is harrowing to the feelings, might never have come about. But
partition is a tragic fact. India starts on the endless adventure of
freedom crippled and maimed in the sight of the world. She is however
a great believer in the healing touch of time and in the magic of natural
affinities. As the political passions of the day die down and the little
things that divide diminish to their natural stature in the vista of the
years to come, the notes of the multi-toned harmony which is India will
swell once again to a rich diapason. No political boundary, no
difference of creed, no bitterness from the past can withstand the
pervasive and gracious influence of the genius of this land — its grave
regard for abiding values, its faith in tolerance, its resolve to walk in
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the ways of righteousness.
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The future may conceivably see the blunders of the past undone.
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It may restore a united Indian polity based on reconciliation and
voluntary co-operation. At any rate it is a legitimate aspiration; even
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the British Prime Minister has said that his country would look forward
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hopefully to such a development and welcome it gladly. We are sure

that even those who have been so keen on a division of India know in
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their heart of hearts that a divided India is a weakened India,

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weakened not only in material defence but in her ability to be a power

for good among the nations. It is to be fervently hoped that this will all
the more readily induce them to offer ungrudging cooperation in the
strenuous practical tasks that must be wisely tackled before the shell
of freedom can become clothed with flesh and blood. Miss Jinnah has
been telling her Muslim sisters in Pakistan, “We have got our home
and we have now to make it an ideal place to live in.” Yes, and the
Muslims of Pakistan as well as Hindus in the rest of India should
remember that this “home” is no exclusive possession of any one
community and none who is lawfully there may be looked down upon
as an inferior or an outsider; for a house divided against itself cannot
stand. At this solemn hour of parting let us not harden our hearts
against each other; to do so would be to deny our common heritage.
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“In Mahatmaji’s many writings, in the memory of his heroic deeds, in the
powerful picture he has impressed on the sensitive minds of his generation,
there is for us a perennial stream of inspiration. He is a reminder to us that
an exalted ethic can go hand in hand with practical good sense, that
ruthlessness in action is compatible with a boundless love. Men like him are
a perpetual rebuke to the faint hearted of every generation; they are the ideal
made flesh!”
FEBRUARY 2, 1948
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“T
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HE MAHATMA HAS BECOME IMMORTAL”. THE CRY THAT rose from

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a million throats as the flames consumed the old frail body

that had housed that mighty spirit confidently anticipated
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the verdict of posterity. The tributes that have

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flowed from all quarters of the globe show how unique was the stature
of this man who became a legend in his life-time not by withdrawing
from the world in proud seclusion but by bestriding the consciousness
of humanity like a colossus, his feet planted firmly on earth, the refuge
of the lowliest and the lost, his head crowned with the stars. King
George with fine feeling described as irreparable the loss that the
Indian people — “indeed mankind”— had suffered. Prime Minister
Attlee said: “His moral and spiritual leadership have been an inspiring
example in a distracted and troubled age.” The American President is
confident that “peoples all over the world will be inspired by his
sacrifice to work with increased vigour towards brotherhood and
peace which the Mahatma symbolised”. In the Security Council a
representative of the ancient civilisation of China spoke of the

Mahatma as the pride of Asia and affirmed that “his
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principles had universal significance.” The oppressed and exploited of

all nations feel that the most powerful voice raised in the cause of
justice in our time has been stilled. The only world citizens we have
had or are ever likely to have are the saints, who touch a chord in
every heart. The Mahatma has joined this shining company and
become a universal possession. “Friend of all things that are, ever at
peace with himself, of love and compassion all compact,” to-day his
work done he walks with God.
A great nation feels orphaned and desolate; its heart is wrung with
an intolerable anguish and its head bowed in desperate shame. These
few last months when brother’s hand was raised against brother were
working with tragic inevitability to the climax that came with the foul
deed of last Friday. Those who watched Gandhiji closely knew that it
was for him the Via Dolorosa. But his faith in the future never wavered.
And it is that faith which must sustain us now, setting aside unavailing
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grief and wounding recriminations. It is in that spirit that Gandhiji would
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have wished us to work. Speaking during the Civil War, Abraham
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Lincoln, another great liberator who died by the assassin’s hand, said:
“I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events
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have controlled me. Now, at the end of three years’ struggle, the
ha
nation’s condition is not what either party or any man devised or

expected — God alone can claim it. Whither it is tending seems plain.
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If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills that we of the
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North shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history
will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and
goodness of God.” It was in this spirit that Gandhiji laboured during
those last few months — conscious of the perils that beset the nation
he had led so valiantly, convinced more than ever that it can never be
really harmed except by itself and confident that in the long run truth
and righteousness will prevail. He had abundant faith in his people.
And now the time has come when we must justify it or perish. He has
gone but his example remains. Not for nothing did he inculcate self-
reliance as the supreme virtue. Other countries like China have found
the inspiration to action in the political testament of a great leader. In
this respect we are even more fortunate. In Mahatmaji’s many
writings, in the memory of his heroic deeds, in the powerful picture

he has impressed on the
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sensitive minds of his generation, there is for us a perennial stream of

inspiration. He is a reminder to us that an exalted ethic can go hand
in hand with practical good sense, that ruthlessness in action is
compatible with a boundless love. Men like him are a perpetual rebuke
to the faint-hearted of every generation; they are the Ideal made flesh.
India to-day is like a bundle of faggots from which the binding cord
has been loosed. The spirit of turbulence and disorder, not having
been exorcised but only kept down by main force during the long
period of foreign rule, is finding protean expression. And in a world
ruled by power politics, it is only strength that is respected. At such a
time the country needs staunch leadership and she is supremely
fortunate in this respect; for she has in Mr. Nehru and his trusted
colleagues men, valiant and true, who have grown in the shadow of
the Mahatma and yet have not been stunted. They have learnt from
him that, while the basis of moral authority is principle, a sense of
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direction is as important as fixity of purpose. Statesmanship to-day
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must be dynamic. An amorphous mass of aspirations has to be
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integrated; life has to be made meaningful for the millions who have
led a twilight existence; new tracks must be laid for the questing spirit.
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Let us remember that Gandhiji’s immense strength was derived from

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the fact that his ear was ever close to the earth to catch the heartbeats
of humanity. And he scorned the letter that killeth. He created his own
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tools and made no fetish of them. He had a supreme mastery of

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technique; but he knew, none better than he, that no technique is

useful for all time or in every circumstance. The modern world and
India’s own unorganised state are full of opportunities as well as perils
for her people. If only her leaders act with faith and courage, the
Mahatma’s mighty dream of establishing righteousness on earth may
yet come true.
“Nobody claims that the constitution is perfect or even that it is the best that
could have been devised if all the talent and patriotism theoretically available
in the country could have been harnessed to the task. This, like all previous
attempts at constitution-making, was largely moulded by the circumstances
in which it was born..... If in spite of the conscientious and prolonged labour
of so many men of goodwill there are to be discerned in the product elements
of patchwork, unresolved contradictions and imperfectly apprehended trends,
it can only be set down to the confusion of ideologies which is characteristic
of our age and for coping with which we are as a people even less well
prepared than the nations which have long enjoyed political freedom.”
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NOVEMBER 29, 1949
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The new Constitution

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LMOST THREE YEARS AGO WAS STARTED AN OPERATION which was
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brought to a successful close last Saturday. The new Indian

Constitution is in many ways a remarkable achievement. It is
the work of a body which was set up when the country
had not achieved independence. And when independence came it
came in a manner that involved the repudiation of some postulates
which had long been regarded as basic. But, in spite of the sudden
and terrific shock of partition, the Constituent Assembly did not allow
itself to be thrown off its balance, though it did not hesitate to use the
opportunity to cast off certain inhibitions. Thus, while the country had
unwillingly agreed to partition in order to avoid strife and discord, it
would not countenance the two-nation theory. And through the
Assembly it reiterated the resolve that every one who had thrown in
his lot with the new India should enjoy equal rights and responsibilities
irrespective of caste or creed. While on the one hand
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it abolished communal electorates, on the other it reiterated its

adherence to the ideal of what was, not very happily it must be
confessed, described as “the secular State”. While continuing to retain
the Federal structure, the Assembly came to favour vesting as large
powers as possible, consistently with the maintenance of the Federal
form, in the Centre. Time may show that in some ways the Constitution
has gone farther in the direction of centralisation than may be
compatible with the fullest regional and cultural autonomy. But that
kind of mistake, if a mistake is shown to have been made, can be
rectified without causing an upheaval; whereas it would have been an
act of irresponsibility if the Assembly had ignored the baleful
possibilities of giving fissiparous tendencies their head, of which the
events of 1947 gave us so bitter a foretaste. After all, the main trend
of political thinking in this country ever since nationalist agitation
began over a century ago has been in favour of strengthening all the
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elements that make for unity. The Constituent Assembly and in
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particular the Drafting Committee with Dr. Ambedkar at their head may
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well congratulate themselves on keeping this major objective
consistently in view.
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Nobody claims that the Constitution is perfect or even that it is the

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best that could have been devised if all the talent and patriotism
theoretically available in the country could have been harnessed to
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the task. This, like all previous attempts at constitution-making, was

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largely moulded by the circumstances in which it was born. As Dr.

Ambedkar pointed out in his concluding speech, the Constituent
Assembly, being predominantly composed of a compact political
party, the Congress, has naturally been guided in its main objectives
by the preferences of that party. At the same time it has included a
numerically small but useful minority of men who do not belong to the
Congress but who are generally in sympathy with the vision which the
Congress has cherished of the future. These, being no yes-men, have
brought to the debate knowledge and independence of judgment
which have proved useful correctives. If, in spite of the conscientious
and prolonged labours of so many men of good-will there are to be
discerned in the product elements of patchwork, unresolved
contradictions and imperfectly apprehended trends, it can only be

set down to the confusion of ideologies which is
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characteristic of our age and for coping with which we are as a people
even less well prepared than the nations which have long enjoyed
political freedom.
Dr. Ambedkar referred to the Socialists’ open declaration that they
must have unfettered freedom “not merely to criticise but also to
overthrow the State.” That is hardly the way to build up that stability
and continuity on which alone any kind of well-ordered national life
can be based. Dr. Ambedkar rightly emphasised that if we are not to
lose the freedom we have got at long last, we must rigorously abjure
all unconstitutional modes of protest or resort to violence. But he forgot
his own injunction when speaking with considerable feeling on the
subject of the down-trodden classes he declared, “These down-
trodden classes are tired of being governed.” If a class war was to be
averted, he went on, room must be made without delay for the
realisation of their aspirations. While the need for ensuring social
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justice will not be disputed, the implicit claim that every one who feels
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a grievance against the existing order and thinks that relief is too tardy
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may resort to remedying his own condition by force, cannot but
damage our frail edifice of freedom, whether it is the Socialists who
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make it or the depressed classes. This instinctive preference for a

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violent solution of political or economic problems is, of course, no

isolated phenomenon peculiar to this country. It is part of the mental
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climate of our time. Man’s alienation from Society and from Nature is
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so complete that violence has come to be regarded as, on the one

hand, necessary for the individual if he is to assert his individuality
against a hostile universe and, on the other, natural as the instrument
of power in the hands of a totalitarian dictator claiming to speak for the
mass. As a French writer points out, “Even in the more democratic
States, social disintegration and irresponsibility, the forerunners of
terror, are playing an increasing role.” Every man who wishes well of
his country must resist the obscure urges in himself of this anti-social
impulse. And men who claim to be leaders and intellectuals should
see that they have a special responsibility for safeguarding our newly
enfranchised masses, who are all too little prepared for the burden
that is being placed upon them, against the temptation to run after
political mystagogues and impostors. The common man, unlike the

handful of the intelligentsia, has still his
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roots in a great tradition of patience, tolerance and gentleness. While

he must be helped to come into his own politically and economically
he must not lose his precious spiritual heritage.
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“We have had too many things to do. And we have tried to do too many things
at a time. Trained capacity has not matched with ambition. Power went to the
head of too many who had done too little to generate it but who swarmed to
it as flies to sugar. The sharing of responsibility is a spiritual process for which
men must devoutly prepare themselves. The greatest lack that Swaraj has
revealed is that behind the brilliant band of patriots who under the Mahatma’s
lead won freedom there has been built up practically no second line of
defence, no phalanx of younger statesmen to whom the torch could be
handed without a flicker and in whose hands it might be trusted to burn as
bright as ever.”
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JANUARY 26, 1950
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A Republic is born
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HE INAUGURATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA IS AN ACT OF high faith
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in the people of this country, a gesture of dedication of all the

nation’s talent and resources to the realisation of worthy
purposes. It amounts to an implicit pledge on the part of
every Indian that he will to the extent of his strength and capacity
uphold the honour of his country, augment her strength for good and
persuasively convey to a distracted world her immemorial message of
abhaya. A democratic Republic, which is what our Constitution aims
to build, is one in which the worth of the individual is not submerged
in the collective will but sustains it. In such a polity no man may walk
on crutches or regard public business as no concern of his. Every
citizen must remember that if matters go wrong with the State it is he
that is ultimately responsible. He must, therefore, not only acquire by
study enough familiarity with the working of the machinery of
Government through which democracy functions. He must

understand the basic problems which have to be tackled if the
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good life is to be realised here and now. He must have the strength of
character which alone is a nation’s true capital. And above all he must
have the will to put his shoulder to the wheel and push and pull, never
getting out of step with his fellows, never seeking short cuts, never
succumbing to the temptation to find scape-goats.
The special Supplement which we are issuing today is intended to
give our readers an idea of the onerousness as well as the grandeur
of the great adventure on which the people of India are setting out.
Nearly a hundred and seventy contributors, drawn not only from every
part of India and from every walk of life, but also from other countries,
notably Britain and America, have with ready courtesy responded to
our invitation to write. (Unfortunately some of the contributions were
received too late to be included in the Supplement; but we are printing
most of them in today’s issue). Each is an acknowledged expert in his
field and offers not only a synoptic survey of such achievements as
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we may legitimately claim but also an indication of the leeway that
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must be made up and of the methods which are likely to lead us swiftly
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to the goal. The poverty as well as the potentialities of our economy,
the urgent need for tapping our inexhaustible human wealth, the
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power of education for unfreezing the spirit after its age-long sleep,
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the lessons as well as the warnings that we must draw from the
successes and failures of other self-reliant peoples — all these
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matters, as set out in these hundred odd pages, will, it is hoped,

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provide the reader with a coherent picture of the social and cultural
pattern which is in the making on the loom of time.
The predominant note, as any discerning reader will observe, is
one of cautious optimism for the future. The first fine careless rapture
of August 1947 has sobered down with the exercise of responsibility
in conditions to have survived which is itself a triumph. We have had
too many things to do. And we have tried to do too many things at a
time. Trained capacity has not matched with ambition. Power went to
the head of too many who had done little to generate it but who
swarmed to it as flies to sugar. The sharing of responsibility is a
spiritual process for which men must devoutly prepare themselves.
The greatest lack that Swaraj has revealed is that behind the brilliant
band of patriots who under the Mahatma’s lead won freedom there
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has been built up practically no second line of defence, no phalanx of

younger statesmen to whom the torch could be handed without a
flicker and in whose hands it might be trusted to burn as bright as ever.
For Republican India it is as necessary, as it was for India struggling
to be free, to keep the crusading spirit alive. Only, the crusade must
be turned against the enemy within. The Constitution has provided us
with the shell of Democracy. It is up to us to invoke life into it. The
Puranic legends of Creation speak of the Virat lying prone on the face
of the waters, unresponsive to any of the lesser powers that entered,
until at last the Supreme Spirit entered and forthwith the Virat moved.
We may regard that as a parable of our present political situation. The
Republic of Weimar drew up an admirable Constitution which became
waste paper because the Republic had no fire in its belly. It is that fire,
that energy of life, that must be roused in the dormant consciousness
of the people if India is to build up a fair, equitable and viable polity
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and a full life for her millions.
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“The essence of democracy is that when a law has been adopted after the
fullest debate it should not lightly be interfered with even if it should be found
unsatisfactory in certain respects. For the sense of continuity on which any
stable society must rest may be rudely disturbed by a too restless quest of
legislative perfectionism. The argument gains in strength a hundred-fold
when the law in question is the fundamental law of the realm. It is a matter
singularly unfitted for party legislation. If the party in power today can bring
itself to change in important respects a constitution which is so largely of its
own making and which has not been in existence long enough to show
whether it is sea-worthy or not, what is there to prevent other parties which
may come into power tomorrow from scrapping other parts of it or even the
whole of it?”
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APRIL 14, 1951

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Changing the Constitution

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T HAS BEEN STATED THAT DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
which the Government of India are considering will, as soon as
they are finalised, be circulated to the Chief Ministers of the
various States to elicit their opinion. But public opinion, as different
from that of the various Legislature Parties which the
Chief Ministers may consult, will not have much chance of expressing
itself on matters of such paramount importance if the Government, as
has been stated, are bent upon incorporating the changes in the
Constitution before the end of next month. We advisedly say that the
changes are of paramount importance, since many of them aim at a
drastic modification of the fundamental law in the direction of
curtailment of the rights of the individual as against the State. It is true
that the proposed amendments are being undertaken on the ground

that a number of judicial decisions have
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put a constriction upon some of the Fundamental Rights which,

according to the Government the framers of the Constitution had not
anticipated. It is true, too, that the judicial decisions militate against
the implementation of policies to which the Congress, which played a
leading part in framing the Constitution, has long committed itself. But
to admit this is not to admit the rightness or the propriety of attempting
to introduce amendments in haste to get over the difficulties arising
from the judicial decisions. It is barely a year since the Constitution
came into operation. It cannot be said that it was vamped up in a hurry.
Some of the finest legal brains in the country worked upon it
continually and the written Constitutions of many of the most
democratic countries in the world were examined for light on particular
problems. It was after considerable debate that it was decided that
fundamental rights should be incorporated in the Constitution itself.
The general opinion in the country was that these rights were defined,
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if anything, too narrowly and with too many restrictive qualifications. If
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in spite of all this caution it is found that much controversial legislation
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adopted by the Central and State legislatures is vitiated by
incompatibility with the rights of the citizen as laid down in the
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Constitution it must not be too lightly assumed that the fault lies in the
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Constitution. An explanation that would be far nearer the truth is that

the Government in exercising the power of legislation has been so
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obsessed by its sense of urgency of social objectives that it has paid

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too little attention to what is due to the individual. As Constitution-

maker and as law-maker, it has allowed its mind to function in water-
tight compartments.
The essence of democracy is that when a law has been adopted
after the fullest debate it should not lightly be interfered with even if it
should be found unsatisfactory in certain respects. For the sense of
continuity on which any stable society must rest may be rudely
disturbed by a too restless quest of legislative perfectionism. The
argument gains in strength a hundred fold when the law in question is
the fundamental law of the realm. It is a matter that is singularly
unfitted for party legislation. If the party in power today can bring itself
to change in important respects a Constitution which is so largely of
its own making and which has not been in existence long enough to
show whether it is seaworthy or not, what is there to
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prevent other parties which may come into power tomorrow from
scrapping other parts of it or even the whole of it? In fact both the
Communists and the Socialists have been going about threatening to
do just this if and when they have the power.
We are not for a moment suggesting that the Constitution should
be regarded as sacrosanct for all time. All that we are concerned to
stress is that constitutional change is something that is not safely
attempted under the stress of strong political emotion or without
prolonged investigation of the national as distinct from the party
reactions to the change proposed. A Parliament which came into
existence in extraordinary circumstances and for a very different
purpose and a Government which has had no opportunity so far of
ascertaining through the recognised method of a general election the
measure of popular support behind its policies would be singularly ill-
advised to restrict the rights of the citizen in the name of the people,
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especially after the Supreme Court, which is vested with the sole right
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to interpret the Constitution, has upheld the individual’s rights. The
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proper time for considering an amendment of the Constitution would
be after the general elections in which a mandate may be legitimately
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sought on the major policies on which the proposals for amendment

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hinge. The fact that some of these policies have long figured in
Congress manifestoes does not lessen the need for securing such a
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mandate in the very different conditions prevailing today. On the one

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hand the Congress Party itself is by no means so united as it was in

the days before the transfer of power when it first put these planks on
its platform. And in the actual trial some of these policies, for example,
prohibition have been found so difficult in the working and so meagre
in the results that today there is a considerable cooling of ardour in the
Congress camp itself. On the other hand adult franchise will, for the
first time, bring to the polls millions whose views on major issues,
supposing they have any, are yet to be ascertained. As Senor
Salvador de Madariaga has pointed out, the degree of democracy in
any country must be judged not only by the number of people
necessary “for the consent to authorise a decision to become law” but
also by the criterion whether “that consent was more or less
spontaneous, informed and enlightened”. Judged by either test the

attempt to amend the Constitution in a
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hurry must be regarded as contrary to the spirit of the Democratic

republic which the framers of the Constitution aimed to establish. It is
to be hoped the Congress and the Government will re-examine the
matter carefully from this point of view.
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“Since Pakistan’s aggression and her (Kashmir) consequent accession to

India, the latter has taken over the defence of the state and must continue to
discharge it till the danger of aggression disappears. But the action of
Pakistan first in invading the state and then being in unlawful possession of
a portion of her territory, shows that the danger of resumption of aggression
is very much present and will continue so long as Pakistan’s troops or those
trained and controlled by her (however camouflaged as “Azad” forces)
continue in being.”
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NOVEMBER 12, 1952
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Kashmir
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F THE ANGLO-AMERICAN RESOLUTION ON KASHMIR NOW BEFORE

Security Council had merely recorded the progress made so far
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by the U.N. Mediator — such as it is — and appealed to India and

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to Pakistan to enter into direct negotiations for a settlement,

India would have had no objection, because she has always been
anxious to arrive at an understanding with Pakistan. But the resolution
goes further and queers the pitch (generally against India); for, it
circumscribes the scope of the negotiations not only by laying down
the limits to the strength of the armed forces on either side of the
cease-fire line but decides beforehand that they shall consist of troops
on both sides and shall be concerned with the maintenance of the
security of the State, as distinct from the maintenance of law and order
during the plebiscite. Worse still, it lays down a time limit for the
negotiations, carrying with it the implication that, if they prove
infructuous, the Security Council would feel free to take its own
decision in the matter. Apart from the fact that this savours of
arbitration, which India has unequivocally rejected, it practically
concedes the various claims made by Pakistan, ranging from
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equality of status with India to near-parity with India in the matter of

the character and quantum of the forces to be retained after
demilitarisation. Furthermore, by placing a time limit, it has obviously
yielded to the clamour in Pakistan against the alleged dilatoriness of
the Security Council and the importance of the “time factor”; it is
significant that Pakistan’s official news agency early last week
“recalled” that her Foreign Minister, Sir Zafrullah Khan, had carried
with him to the last Geneva meeting of the Security Council a brief
from his Government to press the Security Council for a “clear-cut”
decision and to impress on it the “importance attached by Pakistan to
the time factor as far as a settlement of the Kashmir dispute is
concerned.” In fact, we are told by the news agency, before Dr.
Graham began his most recent series of tripartite talks in Geneva,
Pakistan had suggested a “time limit of one month for the talks.” What
Dr. Graham, drawing on his experience of the complicated nature of
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the problem, was reluctant to do, Sir Gladwyn Jebb (and there is no
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mistaking his authorship of the resolution) has done — by fixing
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precisely the one-month time limit demanded by Pakistan. Nor is this
the only respect in which his resolution goes back on the conclusions
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reached both by Dr. Graham and the United Nations Commission on

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Kashmir — conclusions which have borne out India’s contentions.

Take this question of the responsibility for the security of the State
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from external aggression and a threat of possible invasion. India’s

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contention has always been that, by virtue of the continuing

sovereignty of the Kashmir Government (which has been clearly
conceded in the relevant U.N. Commission resolution) that
Government bears the sole responsibility for security over the whole
of the State. Since Pakistan’s aggression and her consequent
accession to India, the latter has taken over the defence of the State
and must continue to discharge it till the danger of aggression
disappears. But the action of Pakistan, first in invading the State, and
then being in unlawful possession of a portion of her territory, shows
that the danger of a resumption of aggression is very much present
and will continue so long as Pakistan’s troops or those trained and
controlled by her (however camouflaged as “Azad” forces) continue in
being. Hence India must not only insist on the withdrawal or
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disbandment of these latter but must keep the minimum of her own
armed forces consistent with her duty to defend the State from a
possible invasion. On the Pakistan side no such considerations arise
because, firstly, she has no legal status in Kashmir, and, secondly,
she herself being the aggressor, there is no question of her taking any
responsibility to guard the State against aggression! Of course,
Pakistan has repudiated this position during the later stages of the
U.N. negotiations and actually claimed the right to have the same
number of troops as India after demilitarisation. Incidentally, she has
been emboldened to take up this position by the persistent failure of
the Security Council to deal with her on the basis of her being the
aggressor, for which there is plenty of evidence in the facts and
findings of the various U.N. Commissions and representatives.
Be that as it may, so late as September 4, presenting his final
proposals for a settlement at Geneva, Dr. Graham himself described
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the responsibility and functions of the respective forces to be left on
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either side of the cease-fire line as follows: On the Pakistan side there
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shall be “the minimum number of forces that are required for the
maintenance of law and order and of the cease-fire agreement, with
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due regard to the freedom of the plebiscite.” On the Indian side there
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shall be “the minimum number of Indian forces and State armed forces
that are required for the maintenance of law and order and the cease-
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fire agreement, with due regard to the security of the State and the
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freedom of the plebiscite.” The words we have italicised bring out

clearly that, in Dr. Graham’s view, India should, unlike Pakistan, have
the right to keep her armed forces because the security of the State is
her responsibility and not that of anybody on the other side of the
cease-fire line, least of all, of Pakistan. India responded to these
proposals handsomely. She agreed that they were “conceived in the
right spirit” and as a basis for the evolution of a suitable definition of
the function of the forces on both sides of the cease-fire line, they
contained the germs of a settlement. The Pakistan delegation,
however, demanded that the phrase, “with due regard to the security
of the State” should be deleted from the para describing the functions
of the forces on the Indian side. Dr. Graham reported that no
agreement could be reached on his last draft proposals, which he

was not prepared to revise on the lines
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suggested by Pakistan. Again Sir Gladwyn Jebb has come to the

rescue of Pakistan by specifying in his resolution a definite number of
troops both for Pakistan and India and by laying down that they should
be “of the same kind.” By way of rubbing it in, he has asserted that
“the British Government had never thought that the proposal to limit
forces on the Pakistan side of the cease-fire line to an armed civil
police force, while leaving military forces on the Indian side, was
consistent with a really free plebiscite.” In other words, he questions
the bona fides of India’s insistence on keeping her troops in the State.
How can India, with any sense of self-respect, even look at a
resolution, one at least of whose sponsors has already taken a
pontifical attitude about a fundamental issue? She has done the only
thing by totally rejecting it.
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“Though the credit of actually reaching the summit of the apparently

unconquerable mountain belongs in general to the Hunt Expedition and in
particular to Hillary, an experienced and indomitable mountaineer, and
Tensing, it would be no exaggeration to say that part at least of the credit
should be allotted to all the previous expeditions to Everest. The data and the
knowledge gathered by everyone of these expeditions have been of great
assistance to succeeding attempts.... The memory of men of heroic mould
like Mallory and Irvine and the sherpas who lost their lives during the previous
assaults on Mount Everest, will naturally come into our minds. They died so
that others might succeed.”
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JUNE 3, 1953
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Everest conquered
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VEREST HAS AT LAST YIELDED TO MAN’S INDOMITABLE SPIRIT.
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Sherpa Tensing and New Zealander, E. P. Hillary, of Colonel

John Hunt’s ninth British Expedition, have reached the
summit of the tremendous peak. The news has come on the
eve of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth and will add to public
rejoicing in Britain. From the time Peary reached the North Pole and
Amundsen the South Pole two years later in 1911, Everest has been
one of what W. H. Murray, himself an Everest expeditioner of note,
has called “one of the last great adventures left to man”. In India and
Asia there will be particular satisfaction over the fact that Sherpa
Tensing was one of the two members of the Hunt Expedition who
actually reached the top of the world. Along with Lambert of the first
Swiss Expedition he had already climbed to a height of about 28,215
feet; but they could go no farther upon the occasion. When they
returned to a lower camp Tensing lay for a whole day in a state of

coma and had continually to be awakened and forced to drink.
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Though the credit of actually reaching the summit of the apparently

unconquerable mountain belongs in general to the Hunt expedition
and in particular to Hillary, an experienced and indomitable
mountaineer, and Tensing, it would be no exaggeration to say that
part at least of the credit should be allotted to all the previous
Expeditions to Everest. The data and the knowledge gathered by
every one of these Expeditions have been of great assistance to
succeeding attempts. The path to the top, the type of equipment to be
used, the most favourable weather conditions and the qualities
essential in all those who make up an Everest Expedition; on these
and other points much was learnt only by actual experience. There
was a sober and cautious optimism that the Hunt Expedition, manned
and equipped in the best manner possible in the light of experience
gathered during the last thirty-two years, stood a good chance of
winning its objective; and that hope has now been fulfilled. Never at
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any moment was there any inclination to underestimate the hazards
or
of this very difficult task. The memory of men of heroic mould like
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Mallory and Irvine and the sherpas, who lost their lives during the
previous assaults on Mount Everest, will naturally come into our
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minds. They died so that others might succeed.

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Despatches from the leaders of the Expeditions, which have

appeared from time to time in THE HINDU, have always been read
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with great care, even when they spoke only of preliminary (but
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absolutely vital) reconnaissance and ultimate failure. When the

chronicles of final success reach us in due course they will be followed
with breathless interest. Some of these mountaineers have had a
streak of poetry in them and their powers of expression were
appropriate to the task they had undertaken. Mallory, for instance, was
an outstanding example. Murray, Shipton, Chevalley and others have
been equally competent. When the descriptions of the final assault
reach us from Col. Hunt, Hillary and Tensing, a saga of human
endurance would be unfolded before us. It would be of interest to
know, for instance, whether oxygen was used for the final climb. And,
above all, what were the feelings of the two on the top who, from this
peerless “snowy summit old in story” looked down upon the rest of
the world? It has been said that “the true value of
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these Expeditions will not be found at any moment of victory, or of

defeat, but in the striving and the discovering for which all men are
made”. But nothing can equal the satisfaction that comes to men when
success crowns their striving, especially when what they strive after
has been on a grand scale, something not within the reach of normal
men. Such satisfaction will be shared by Col. John Hunt and the
members of his Expedition. The congratulations of the world will
deservedly pour in on them.
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“If there must be a curb on the individual in the. interests of others it is better
that it is one operating by usage and custom and therefore engaging our
passive consent. A state which sets out to destroy traditional restraints in the
name of freedom and modernity but makes no bones about imposing its own
notions of what kind of restraint is good for the citizen may be merely an
agent for unsettlement without being an instrument of reform.”
AUGUST 10, 1954
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The state and the individual or
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PEAKING AT THE MYSORE UNIVERSITY THE OTHER DAY, MR. M. C.
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Chagla, the Chief Justice of Bombay, made an eloquent plea

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“against hurried attempts to change human nature and

improve individual morality” by legislation. He said the
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primary duty of the State was to create an atmosphere of security in

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which the individual can develop himself. But the Welfare State, he
went on, was committed to securing economic justice for all; and he
suggested that to the extent that this required curtailing the economic
liberty and the property rights of those classes that were better off,
legislative and administrative interference would be justified. Mr.
Chagla would, however, admit the need for restraining the individual’s
liberty in those matters that fall within the sphere of his personal life,
such as morality and religion, only to the extent they were “against the
interests of society” and not because they were in the view of the State
wrong or immoral Restraint would be permissible, he pointed out by
way of illustration, in the case of a man who was drunk and disorderly
in a public place. But if he was merely drunk without making a public
nuisance of himself and without wasting money on drink which he

should use to support his
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family, the State, said Mr. Chagla, must leave him alone because “he
is harming only himself”; he must be “allowed to benefit by his own
experience and to form his own moral judgment.”
But here a doubt obtrudes. Even if the man does not rob his
children of their food, the daily spectacle of his thus degrading himself
by over-indulgence might do far greater harm, psychologically
speaking, to the children and to others who must bear with him. There
might therefore be a case, in the interests of these sufferers, for
bringing to bear upon him those influences which might be more
effective than State pressure or coercion because they would be
grounded in a true knowledge of psychology and appeal to the man’s
deepest instincts. Religion and morality are just such influences. And
while it may be readily conceded that the State as such is not qualified
to speak for religion and morality, it must be realised that they have a
definite place in society as well as in the lives of individual men and
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women. And the least the State could do is not to impede the working
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of these social and moral forces from a mistaken notion of the
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meaning of secularism. More often, the growing intolerance of the
State against other forms of organisation derives from an obscure
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feeling that they might serve to weaken its hegemony. The emergence
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of the totalitarian State has been made possible because the

traditional forms of social organisation, which in the old days acted as
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a curb on State power, have fallen before the onset of head-counting

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democracy. And political democracy itself, having made away with its
rivals one by one, destroyed the old organic society and reduced the
individual to the status of a mere atom, easily succumbs to the will of
any obstreperous minority that might seize State power. The
existence of the tertium quid — numerous non-political forms of
organisation — is absolutely essential for the maintenance of a
healthy relationship between the State and the citizen.
It is the dim realisation of this truth that has set sociologists groping
for ways and means of restoring the old, intimate and freely chosen
group life, based on community of interests, ideals or beliefs. In our
country the new-found zeal for panchayat raj, where it is not inspired
by the desire consciously to emulate the Soviet type of unit
government, may well be a harking back in a nostalgic way to the old
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traditional ideal. But our reformers would eat their cake and have it.
They want panchayat raj, as well as unlimited power to a centralised
administration to interfere in the ordering of the individual’s concerns.
To live a truly free life, unswayed by rule or convention, is so difficult
that in the complex conditions of modern life not even the most
doughty libertarian attempts it consistently. We are all of us mostly
creatures of use and wont. We are guided by what our church, our
club, our social set, our traditional mentors, say. And on the whole it
is well that it is so. If there must be a curb on the individual in the
interests of others it is better that it is one operating by usage and
custom and therefore engaging our passive consent. A State which
sets out to destroy traditional restraints in the name of freedom and
modernity, but makes no bones about imposing its own notions of
what kind of restraint is good for the citizen, may be merely an agent
for unsettlement without being an instrument of reform.
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Mr. Chagla maintained that the State must content itself with a
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directive to the citizen to educate his child, that it should not go further
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and demand that he should give him one type of education, not
another. But the parent’s ideas of education may be so fantastically
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cranky that freedom to him to indoctrinate his child in his beliefs may
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be far more cruel than allowing the State to do the indoctrination; after
all no State has ever enough time to be thorough in these matters!
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The real remedy surely is to see that public education is as far as

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possible free from State control, diversified, informed by the social

ideals and mores that are closely associated with the child’s folkways.
To deprive the child, in the name of secularism, of the opportunity of
getting religious and moral education, for instance, is to do untold
damage to his personality by withholding an essential element for his
spiritual growth. Likewise, plans for expropriation of certain sections
in the name of equality are not immune to the criticism that Mr. Chagla
levelled against the State’s blundering interference with the personal
freedom of the individual. Taking away from Peter and giving to Paul
may be good for Paul, not necessarily for Peter. A competence has by
philosophers of all ages been regarded as the prime condition of self-
fulfilment. The plans for equalisation evolved by any Government in
power, may, on the other hand, be deeply influenced
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by the passions and prejudices of the dominant clique. Hence the

golden mean has always been favoured by those schools of thought
that valued freedom. They believed in taxation, aided by the traditional
restraints against covetousness and greed, as the least harmful way
of preventing gross inequality. The prescription should still hold good,
if only our statesmen realised that the Great Society of the future must
be a plural society and the success of the State must be judged by its
ability to stimulate the growth of vigorous voluntary organisations of a
non-political character.
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“Goa is part and parcel of India and the people who live there are as much
Indians as those living in the rest of this country. These latter have every right
to demand that the former should be reunited with them to share the
blessings of freedom.”
JUNE 3, 1955
Goa
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ORTUGAL CLAIMS A SORT OF DIVINE RIGHT TO RULE OVER Goa.
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What she does with that piece of India and the people living
there is regarded by her to be nobody’s business but her own.
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And so far she has done things pretty much in her own
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way, especially in the matter of suppressing the freedom movement

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among the Goans. But Goa is part and parcel of India and the people
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who live there are as much Indians as those living in the rest of this
country. These latter have every right to demand that the former
should be reunited with them to share the blessings of freedom. Of
course, the Government of India are of the same view and have done
everything to bring about this consummation with all their resources.
But they have had to take account of the fact that a foreign power is
in possession in Goa. This has somewhat limited their choice of the
method by which to bring about re-union, in the sense that the problem
partakes of an international character and India has been following,
with some success, the policy of peaceful negotiation in the settlement
of her disputes with other countries. Naturally it is a policy which calls
for great patience but it has by no means been barren of results. A
problem very similar to that of Goa has been solved satisfactorily in
the case of French possessions in India. But Portugal is different from

France and there are those who
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believe a firmer handling is called for; the record of Portugal seems to

provide justification for this view. Its repercussions in India have been
seen in the growing public resentment against Portugal and the
insistent demands that a more active policy should be adopted to
make her yield. At the popular level a move has been launched to
enter Goa in fairly large numbers and seek to aid the liberation
movement by the same method by which India won her freedom,
namely Satyagraha. Our Prime Minister has. therefore, been called
upon to explain why the official policy cannot be changed at present.
In his Press Conference on Tuesday, Mr. Nehru said, “We attach great
importance to the basic principles governing our policies, international
policies especially. We have gained some credit in the world for
following those basic principles and we do not wish to be hustled or
hurried into forgetting or bypassing those principles. Naturally, one
has to adapt that basic policy from time to time to a changing situation,
but the basic policy must remain”. The pursuit of this policy has led to
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a clearer understanding and appreciation in foreign countries of our
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objective in Goa than was the case previously. To that extent it has
weakened Portugal’s hope of getting the Western Powers’ sympathy
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and support on which she mainly relies.

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There remains the question of the Government of India’s attitude

to the Satyagraha movement. Mr. Nehru sees no objection to
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individual Indians showing their sympathy for the Goans by actively

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participating in the freedom movement. But he is against the entry of

Indian nationals into Goa in large numbers, though it would be easy
enough to do so and paralyse the administration. His first reason is
that it would enable Portugal to say that the movement is engineered
by outsiders and to hide the fact that an overwhelming majority of
Goans, irrespective of their religious faith, desire merger with India.
The more serious reason, from a practical point of view, is the fact that
the Portugese Government and officials have little understanding of
Satyagraha and other peaceful methods of agitation. And it is to be
feared that a situation might result in which large scale shooting and
killing might take place and rouse passions in India and elsewhere.
The Goan authorities have already given a sample of their brutal way
of handling Satyagrahis on a small scale.
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But the Portugese Government would be making a big mistake if

they thought that these views of our Prime Minister amount to a
guarantee for an indefinite continuation of the present stalemate. They
would do well to take heed of Mr. Nehru’s warning that it is nothing of
the sort; “It is my business what happens in Goa and it is only our
definite policy of peaceful approach and restraint which prevents us
from taking other steps. I think it is completely open to us to take such
steps in the economic domain as we consider proper. We have taken
some; we may take others”.
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“Mr. Morarji Desai’s probity and high idealism are as well known as his
inflexibility of purpose and his efficiency as an administrator. We may be
certain that he would not have embarked on the hazardous fast had he not
been convinced that less desperate measures would not avail against the
unhappy trends revealed by the recent disturbances in Gujarat.. .. But it
seems to us that in the interests of the people themselves and in order to
further his own efforts to wean them away from headstrong courses, he
should now give up his fast.”
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AUGUST 24, 1956
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Mr. Desai’s ordeal
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belief that
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R. NEHRU, WE WOULD FAIN HOPE, IS WARRANTED IN HIS

the Ahmedabad situation is improving and that Mr. Morarji
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Desai will be enabled to break his fast in a day or two. The

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doctors’ bulletins on Mr. Desai’s health are fairly

alarming. And, so far as one can judge from the published reports, the
student element which has been foremost in fomenting the opposition
to bilingual Bombay has not appreciably relaxed its efforts. The Prime
Minister seems to have stated that “the purpose for which Mr. Desai
had gone on fast would be achieved in a day or two”. That purpose
was to make those concerned see the error of their ways in denying
Mr. Desai a peaceful hearing when he came to Ahmedabad to explain
the reasons that had led him and his colleagues to support the
bilingual solution. Mr. Desai’s thesis was that the citizens of
Ahmedabad would have flocked to hear him in large numbers if
picketers had not forcibly prevented them. In this picketing and
unlawful coercion the Prime Minister sees the hidden hand of the
Opposition Parties. Mr. Desai himself thinks that violence such as had
broken out in Ahmedabad when Parliament approved
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the bilingual solution must be stemmed in the larger interests of the

people. He has said that though he was himself generally opposed to
political fasts he felt he had to lay this tribulation upon himself in order
to move the hearts of the errant. Mr. Nehru, though he too has often
strongly expressed himself against facile resort to fasting and
satyagraha, seems unwilling to interfere because he thinks it is a
matter of conscience in this case.
Mr. Morarji Desai’s probity and high idealism are as well known as
his inflexibility of purpose and his efficiency as an administrator. We
may be certain that he would not have embarked on the hazardous
fast had he not been convinced that less desperate measures would
not avail against the unhappy trends revealed by the recent
disturbances in Gujarat. He understands the Gujaratis as no other
living leader does and we have no doubt that his affection for them is
only equalled by his understanding. It is therefore easy to read his
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state of mind. But it seems to us that in the interests of the people
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themselves and in order to further his own efforts to wean them away
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from headstrong courses, he should now give up his fast. It may be
regarded as having already largely achieved its purpose because
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violence has died down. No doubt student organisers of the opposition

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to bilingual Bombay are still active. They are staging counter-fasts and
promoting monster petitions. But if no special attention were paid to
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these things they might in the normal course subside into fairly
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harmless constitutional modes of protest that could be dealt with on

that basis. While it is important to maintain law and order, the
Government have to be specially considerate in dealing with excited
students. Unscrupulous politicians may have worked upon their
feelings of generous idealism but harsh handling of student ebullience
can only confirm them in their intransigence.
Even more significant is another observation made by the Prime
Minister. He said that the phenomenon of a people, who generally
backed the Government on other big issues, having kicked over the
traces in this matter of reorganisation of States “should make one sit
up and think as to what after all should be the exact relationship
between the people and the elected representatives on the one hand
and the Government on the other”. It, in fact, is the crux of democracy
that “nothing should be done”, as Mr. Nehru said, “to
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allow a hiatus to grow between the Government and the people”. If the
bilingual solution had been explained to the people of Gujarat in time
by leaders like Mr. Morarji Desai, they, being canny folk, might have
accepted it in spite of the proposal to include Vidharbha and thus
reduce the relative strength of the Gujaratis in the new State.
Unfortunately, in the sudden access of enthusiasm generated by what
looked like an ideal solution promoted by the initiative of back-
benchers and members of all parties it was a little too readily assumed
that Gujarat would not demur to what Mr. Morarji Desai had accepted.
That and the sudden disappearance of a separate State for
themselves which the people of Gujarat had been taught to look
forward to caused an understandable soreness which was no doubt
taken advantage of by hooligans and malcontents. The moral is that,
while no statesman can afford to mortgage his judgment to the man in
the street from the mistaken notion that he is exercising a delegated
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power, no political party can afford to take the people for granted. Mr.
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Morarji Desai is, of all leaders of Gujarat, the best qualified to restore
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the relations between the Government and the people to the normal.
We trust he will give up his fast, as a lessening of the present
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emotional tension is the indispensable preliminary.

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“We have published a number of letters.... from correspondents who question

the statement that English is the language of the oppressors. They protest
against any attempt to identify it with the shortcomings of British rule and
emphasise that the movement against that rule had its inspiration in English
literature and history and was led by men who spoke and wrote it with a
mastery which showed that they were using it not as an alien language but
as their very own. As Mr. C. Rajagopalachari and others have pointed out if
we could continue to use and profit from the railways, telegraphs and other
products of British rule in India, we do not see any sense in any merely
sentimental revolt against the use of English.”
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OCTOBER 25, 1957
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Official language
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A
S THE TIME APPROACHES FOR THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY
Committee to give its findings on the Report of the Official
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Language Commission, public opinion is declaring itself

increasingly in many parts of India and more particularly in
the South, against any hasty move by Government. Our
correspondence columns and the reports of meetings and
demonstrations organised in this connection testify to the strength of
the feeling that English must continue to be the official language of the
Indian Union for a long time to come and that its replacement by Hindi
when the country is not ready for the change-over would be
considered an unwarranted imposition. Non-party leaders of opinion
like General Cariappa, whose closely reasoned article we published
on Tuesday, have pointed to the proud and pre-eminent position that
English occupies in the world today as the language of international
thought, art and science and have warned us against cutting

ourselves off from the main stream of world communications. They
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“do not see any justifiable objection to having English as our national
language as long as the studying of our own languages, each of which
has a rich culture, is fully kept up and our youths are induced to learn
one or two other languages in addition to their own regional language”.
The other, day, the Chief Minister of Kerala, while conceding that
English was “the language of the oppressors”, himself came out in
strong opposition to the recommendations of the Official Language
Commission that it should soon give place to Hindi as the official
language at the Centre, because he felt that such replacement should
wait until the regional languages were in a position to take over from
English as the official language of the respective States. In any event,
Hindi could not serve as the official language at the State-level. We
have published a number of letters, including one today, from
correspondents who question the statement that English is the
language of the oppressors. They protest against any attempt to
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identify it with the shortcomings of British rule and emphasise that the
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movement against that rule had its inspiration in English literature and
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history and was led by men who spoke and wrote it with a mastery
which showed that they were using it not as an alien language but as
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their very own. As Mr. C. Rajagopalachari and others have pointed out
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if we could continue to use and profit from the railways, telegraphs

and other products of British rule in India, we do not see any sense in
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any merely sentimental revolt against the use of English. Such a revolt
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would only add to our troubles. When all our efforts must be
concentrated on economic and scientific development, we would only
be wasting precious time, not only in compelling our young men and
women to study Hindi but in raising Hindi itself to the level required to
enable it to function as the medium of higher scientific and other
thoughts.
The plain truth is that, right now and for some years to come, Hindi
cannot function as such a medium. Mr. Rajagopalachari, in his recent
speeches, has exposed the fallacy of those who reason that it is the
language spoken by the largest group of people in the country and he
has given facts and figures to show that they are vastly outnumbered
by those who do not speak Hindi. He has reaffirmed that this “majority
theory” could not be accepted because “there is a solid vaccum so

far as Hindi is concerned, from Nagpur to Cape
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Comorin”. It would be mere fanaticism to seek to impose Hindi on this

vast region. It would be in conflict with the spirit and letter of our
Constitution which assures all citizens equality of opportunity. The
people in South India and other non-Hindi-speaking people would
harbour a sense of grievance. All interested in the future of India and
in the development of harmony among our people expect the
Parliamentary Committee and the Government of India to proceed
with caution. There are other and more satisfactory ways of
developing the study of Hindi than imposing it with unseemly haste on
a large and unwilling mass of people as the official language of the
Union. We must reiterate that it is more desirable that Parliament and
the Government should have the ready and unforced support of all
sections in their decisions than that objectives, on which not all are
agreed, should be achieved according to some kind of schedule.
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“The sweeping trend for newspapers has therefore been to move the main
news of the day to the front page and today we join their ranks.”
JANUARY 14, 1958
Our Front Page
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HE HINDU APPEARS TODAY WITH A NEW FACE. THE FRONT
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devoted to news instead of to advertisements. This change,
though really just a technical one, has not been made light-
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heartedly to satisfy some passing whim but after
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considerable deliberation and in deference to the wishes of an

overwhelming majority of our readership. It has not been an easy
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change for us to make either, because our former format featuring

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advertisements on the front page has not only stood the test of eighty
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important and highly competitive years but has made THE HINDU a
distinctive publication among the great newspapers of the world. But
the reading habits of the public have been changing fast in the last
two decades, and a newspaper alert and sensitive to public opinion,
has to take note of what its readers desire and keep pace with the
spirit of the times. We have moved into an age when events go rushing
by in such headlong fashion that a reader today has often no time
even to pause “to open his paper” for the news but must get it the
moment he picks his paper up. The sweeping trend for newspapers
has therefore been to move the main news of the day to the front page
and today we join their ranks. Thus THE HINDU which throughout its
long career has striven to give a lead to its readers on matters of
moment, now takes a lead in the matter of
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its facial appearance. That is the significance of the change effected

in our format this morning.
We are aware that some of our readers, would prefer our format of
yesterday to continue. To them we respectfully submit that what has
happened is merely a change in arrangement, in make-up; a switch of
the middle page to the front. The content of the paper remains the
same and there will be no let-up in the high standards of journalism
the paper has tried to maintain through nearly a century of public
service. This is an assurance we would particularly like to give such
of our readers as do not wish to see our format altered and we would
ask them to give the new “face” a fair trial. Perhaps, when they get
accustomed to it, they too will begin to like it.
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“No intelligent student of the new Soviet Plan will fail to be impressed by the
fact that many of the objectives set out in it are desirable and practicable and
that they can be achieved regardless of ideological preferences. Much that
the Soviet Plan sets out to secure for the Russian people in the fifth decade
of the regime has long ago been achieved in West European countries and
in America without a bloody revolution and civil war or the terrible
regimentation of the people in the name of planning.”
JANUARY 31, 1959
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LLOWING FOR THE USUAL PERCENTAGE OF EXAGGERATION in Soviet
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statistics and the familiar extravagance in the claims of what

Communism can achieve, the targets which Mr. Khrushchev
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placed before the twenty-first Soviet Communist Party

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Congress as the aims of the new Seven-Year Plan are certainly of

world wide interest. It has long been the avowed aim of the Soviet
leaders to catch up with the West and go beyond them in as short a
period as possible. Mr. Khrushchev promised in his speech that if the
new Plan’s targets were achieved the Soviet Union would have gone
almost the entire way towards outstripping the United States. Whether
by 1965 the Soviet Union will achieve the per capita output of the U.S.
is extremely doubtful, though in terms of absolute output the Soviet
may reach the levels of American production in steel, cement, oil,
electric power and in agriculture. Although in the new Plan, the major
part of the outlay is on heavy industry, there is a welcome shift in
emphasis, compared to earlier plans, with regard to expansion of
consumer goods industries. Mr. Khrushchev promised Soviet

housewives more refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing
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machines, electric irons and floor polishers. More and better food and
clothing have also been promised. Above all, there is to be a big
development of house building to make up for the terrible shortage of
housing, which has been the most neglected aspect of Soviet
economic development. A rise in the wages of the lower income
groups, a reduction in the hours of work and advance towards a 5-
day working week, an increase in pensions for the aged, and
improvements in educational and cultural facilities are envisaged in
the Plan. A 62.65 per cent rise in the national income in seven years
envisaged in the Plan is certainly a very high rate of development,
though France and Germany have been able to maintain in the past
decade an annual rate of expansion of over 8 per cent. It should not
be forgotten, however, that the Soviet Union has always had the
advantage of an enormous territory and in recent years Mr.
Khrushchev has been concentrating on the development of hitherto
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little developed regions such as Siberia.
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A major conclusion to be drawn from the magnitude of the new
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Soviet Plan is that the concentration on heavy industry in the three
decades since 1928 has laid the foundations for a rapid growth of the
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economy and that, as in the U.S. and other Western countries, the
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economic system has developed the capacity for financing a high rate
of investment from year to year. That all this capacity has been built
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up at a heavy cost, by imposing considerable sufferings and privations

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on the people, is past history. That four decades after the Revolution
the Soviet people can look forward to a real — and it may be hoped a
substantial — improvement in their living conditions is the most
promising aspect of the new Plan. An even more significant conclusion
to be drawn from Mr. Khrushchev’s speech is that the realisation of
this hope depends on the prevention of a major war. When Mr.
Khrushchev spoke about peaceful competition between rival social
systems and their peaceful co-existence, he was not only
emphasising his ideological belief that in the long run the Communist
system will prevail, but also that in the short run he needs peace.
Since the death of Stalin and more so since the famous Twentieth
Party Congress, at which Mr. Khrushchev made the historic
disclosures about the crimes and brutalities of the Stalin era, there has
been considerable rethinking in the Kremlin in regard to internal
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as well as external policies. Internally there has been a steady

relaxation of the rigours of the Stalin regime and a break with the
methods of purges and secret trials and “liquidation” of political
opponents, which made the Soviet system so abhorrent to all
freedom-loving people. It is true that the way Mr. Khrushchev has
been handling Bulganin, Molotov, Malenkov and others belonging to
the so-called “anti-party group” has raised doubts whether it presages
a return to Stalinist methods. But there is room to think that Mr.
Khrushchev is genuinely anxious to break with the bitter legacy of
Stalin and that Molotov and others are opposing him in this policy. The
outside world as well as the Soviet people would be in a better position
to appreciate the issues involved if the struggle that is apparently
going on within the Soviet Communist Party were debated in the open.
But such freedom of debate, with the natural prospect of two or three
rival leaderships developing around rival policies and programmes, is
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anathema to Communists who have been wedded to ideas of a
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monolithic party and a monolithic State. The sturdy independence of
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Marshal Tito and the developments in Poland and elsewhere have
compelled the Russian leaders to recognise that there are “many
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roads to socialism”. Compared to the fanaticism of the Stalin period,

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when the familiar slogan was, “Whoever is not with us, is against us”,
this represents a genuine advance towards an admission of
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differences in approach and policy among Communist and Socialist

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parties. But the Russian Communists and their followers elsewhere

are yet to realise that there are many roads to human welfare and
progress and that socialism itself is only one of those roads. No
intelligent student of the new Soviet Plan will fail to be impressed by
the fact that many of the objectives set out in it are desirable and
practicable and that they can be achieved regardless of ideological
preferences. Much that the Soviet Plan sets out to secure for the
Russian people in the fifth decade of the regime has long ago been
achieved in West European countries and in America without a bloody
revolution and civil war or the terrible regimentation of the people in
the name of planning. The striking progress which Mexico, Puerto
Rico and other smaller countries have been making in recent years —
not to mention West Germany and Japan — shows that rapid

economic development can
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be achieved today by a disciplined people, with good organisation and

the necessary external aid, within the framework of a democratic
system. Thanks to the rapid advance of modern technology, the
problem of development in any democratic community today is not
any longer a quesion of ideology— eliminating one class or another
— but of developing the right type of organisation and providing the
right incentives. That frightful mistakes can be committed under the
Communist system and that it is no automatic guarantee against
inefficiency, waste or corruption, is borne out by Soviet experience.
Democratic countries like India which have embarked on development
plans to make up for the lapses of the past might learn much from the
experience of the Soviet and other countries. But there is no escape
from hard work, intelligent organisation and the widespread use of
technical and scientific knowledge for raising productivity in agriculture
and industry. This is the basic task, whatever the apparent character
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of the economic system, may be. The Soviet progress, such as it is,
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is success they have achieved in fulfilling the task than to the special
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character of the Soviet system.
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“The tendency to think of plans in terms of overall figures of outlay and large
national targets is resulting in too much of artificial and academic exercises
in paper planning — and in fanciful proposals for raising resources — which
detract attention from the really important job of preparing concrete
programmes of development at various levels based on needs and available
resources. The Planning Commission whose ramifications have grown with
each successive plan, has done little to encourage realistic planning from the
bottom. By its constant emphasis on expenditure as an index of development,
it has tended to create an atmosphere in which the mere spending of money
is considered as good in itself, without regard to the results of such
expenditure.”
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JANUARY 6, 1960
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Planning: Need for a new

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U
NLESS A FRESH APPROACH IS BROUGHT TO THE SUBJECT OF
planning in India there is every risk of our continuing to
commit the same mistakes as in the past. Recently there has
been much talk about the “take-off” stage and what is
required to achieve this position. Mr. Anjaria, in his
presidential address to the Indian Economic Conference, doubted
whether a country with such a low level of per capita income as India
could be considered as having reached the “take-off” stage the
moment it is able to maintain a rate of investment of 10 per cent of the
national income. If the “take-off” is interpreted as meaning the stage
of self-sustaining growth here again it seems highly premature to
imagine that such a stage could be reached within the next five or ten
years. It may be possible for us to attain “self-sufficiency” say, in
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food, clothing, iron and steel, cement and some other essential items
within a decade. But self-sufficiency would amount, in terms of per
capita consumption, only to a fraction of what obtains in the more
advanced countries. As for ‘self-sustaining’ in the sense of non-
dependence on foreign capital, it is neither desirable nor possible for
at least two decades. There is no need to feel ashamed about this,
because leading economists in the West now recognise that the
underdevelopment in countries like India is essentially a legacy’ of the
colonial system and that the advanced countries owe it to themselves
as well as to the harmonious development of an integrated
international economy to make capital and “knowhow” available in a
big way for the economic progress of the underdeveloped countries.
It would be realistic if Indian planning proceeded on a recognition of
the crucial part that must be played by external capital (in all its forms)
to maintain a sufficiently high rate of development in the country.
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The tendency to think of plans in terms of overall figures of outlay
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and large national targets is resulting in too much of artificial and
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academic exercises in paper planning — and in fanciful proposals for
raising resources — which detract attention from the really important
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job of preparing concrete programmes of development at various

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levels based on needs and available resources. The Planning

Commission, whose ramifications have grown with each successive
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Plan, has done little to encourage realistic planning from the bottom.
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By its constant emphasis on expenditure as an index of development,

it has tended to create an atmosphere in which the mere spending of
money is considered as good in itself, without regard to the results of
such expenditure.
The Prime Minister stated the other day that Rs. 900 crores had
been spent on agriculture since 1951 but there was little to show for it
by way of results. This hiatus between expenditure and achievement
is in fact the crucial defect of Indian planning. This hiatus will not
disappear merely by shifting the emphasis from financial targets, as
Prof. Mahalanobis and others urge. The argument that what is
physically feasible should be financially realisable bypasses the whole
gamut of economic reasoning that should determine decisions with
regard to physical targets. It may
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be, for instance, physically possible for us to achieve a target of 10

million tons of steel by 1965, because we have the necessary iron ore,
coal, etc. But whether we should proceed to plan for increasing
production to the limit would depend on a number of considerations,
including whether demand for steel would grow at a rate that would
warrant this expansion, whether the capital to be invested on extra
steel plants could not be diverted to projects which would provide
much larger employment as well as rise the national income by a
higher rate than investment in steel, and so on. The inflationary effects
of heavy spending on projects which involve a large outlay but which
will come into production after five or more years should also be
considered in a discussion of the subject. When Prof. Mahalanobis
contends that the trend of market demand is “scarcely relevant” to a
consideration of our target for steel, he apparently imagines that steel-
producing capacity is something desirable in itself even if we have no
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immediate use for all the steel that can be produced. Such an
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argument might be all right for a country with a plethora of capital
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resources, but in the present circumstances it is unwise and
uneconomical for India to create surplus capacities in the steel or any
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other industry. As a matter of fact one of our most urgent tasks is to

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see that the existing capacities in industries and agriculture are fully
utilised, because thereby we achieve increases in national income
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and in employment without any additional investments. Evaluation

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bodies have already pointed out the glaring failure all over the country
to make profitable use of the irrigation potential created by the multi-
purpose projects. What this means in terms of low returns on the
investment already made and the loss of potential additions to national
income can be easily imagined. In regard to industry, it has been
estimated by one authority that in seventeen selected groups of
industries, ranging from bicycles to wheat flour (including iron and
steel and general engineering), if the existing installed capacity were
fully utilised, an increase in output of Rs. 273 crores and an increase
in employment of 192,000 could be achieved. What this means to the
economy can be inferred from the fact that to achieve an equivalent
increase in production by new investment might call for an outlay of
Rs. 600 crores or as much as the cost of four new million-ton steel
plants. The case for utilisation
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of unused capacity applies with greater force to manpower. Apart from

the large number of unemployed and under-employed in the country,
the fact remains that the productivity of even those in employment is
very low. Prof. Mahalanobis admitted at the Labour Economics
Conference that “there was a good deal of general slackness and
disinclination for hard work”. He pointed out how our labour legislation
had been “too imitative of the highly developed countries ’, with the
result that many industries were obliged to retain a considerable
amount of surplus labour, which affected productivity as well as
efficiency. Our labour policy should be revised not only with a view to
ensuring a rise in productivity to which will be linked a rise in wages,
but also with a view to securing an increase in employment. Official
policy hitherto has aimed at ensuring optimum conditions for the
employed without regard to the effects of such legislation in inhibiting
opportunities of employment for the unemployed.
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A new approach to planning should be based primarily on
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maximising the opportunities for productive employment to the entire
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adult population of the country. Viewed from this angle, it could be
seen that centralised planning alone will not do the trick in a country
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of India’s size and diversity of conditions. Mixed economy is an

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inescapable consequence of the political and economic character of

the country. The role of the State should be that of a catalyst. It should
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not become an octopus that seeks to control everything. This means

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not only a concentration of effort on the part of the State to fill essential
gaps in the industrial structure and to establish the social overheads
such as education, roads etc., but also to promote a climate in which
there will be full scope for the creative energies of the people on the
widest scale. Our plans have failed so far mainly in this latter aspect.
There has been too much dependence on Central Governmental
direction and support and too little of local initiative and inspiration.
Neither the progress of agriculture, which is so vital for the solution of
our food problem, nor the diversification of industry, which is essential
for providing employment, will be possible unless the impulse for
improvement and organisation comes from the bottom, from the
village and district level. The problem of resources, which looms so
large in present discussions on the Third
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Plan, would assume manageable proportions if there were greater

decentralisation of planning and if the programmes of the Central and
State Governments were limited to what can be financed out of the
resources, internal and external, which they can obtain without resort
to inflation.
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“The Indian Communist party is, of course, up against the tough problem that
as the self-appointed party of the proletariat (industrial wage labour) it can
speak only for a tiny minority in the country where factory industry is still in its
infancy. Nor has it been gaining ground even in this field. Labour has found
that the party is less interested in their general welfare than in their political
backing. The party has therefore to look elsewhere to the educated
unemployed, to landless labour in the countryside, to linguistic and communal
groups who want special advantages.”
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APRIL 11, 1961
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The Communist Congress
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HE MOST INTERESTING FEATURE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
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Congress at Vijayawada is the open presentation of two rival

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programmes and policies by the leadership. The presence of

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Mr. Suslov, Secretary of the Russian Communist Party and

close associate of Mr. Khrushchev, showed the importance
attached abroad to the debate at Vijayawada. Mr. Suslov has stated
that his country is now passing from Socialism to the third and final
stage of building a Communist society (the first stage was “the
dictatorship of the proletariat”). He refrained, however, from
commenting on the resolution before the congress. The Dange-
Ghosh resolution supports the foreign policy of Mr. Nehru and calls for
a united front of leftists including the leftists in the Congress. The
Ranadive-Bhupesh Gupta resolution calls for a leftist united front
against the Congress to capture power to implement socialism.
However, debate on these policies has been postponed in favour of
discussing the two detailed programmes of objectives.
To the public it may appear rather odd that so much heat should
be engendered over these resolutions, which appear in any case to
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be rather unreal. The only other major leftist parties are the Socialists,
who will have nothing to do with the Communists. What, then, is Mr.
Ranadive’s United Front to consist of? Perhaps a clue may be found
in the Ranadive programme which calls for a Punjabi Suba, the
establishment of responsible governments in the Centrally-
administered Territories, and more assistance for the Scheduled
Castes and tribes. In other words, every communal, linguistic or
backward group is to get the benefit of Communist leadership and all
these disparate elements are to be used “to capture power”. The
Dange-Ghosh tactic is equally devious. The party is to woo the leftist
elements in the Congress itself, for as the draft frankly says a United
Front would have no reality unless the vast following of the Congress
masses and a section of the Congress leadership take their place in
it. The hope apparently is that in view of the factious quarrels among
Congressmen at present, there will be some opportunities to get the
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dissidents into united fronts led by Communists. The significance of
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support for “Mr. Nehru’s foreign policy” should also be appreciated.
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Mr. Nehru’s policy is Congress policy. But the resolution seeks to
imply that it is the triumph of a leftist policy within the Congress.
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The Indian Communist Party is, of course, up against the tough

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problem that as the self-appointed party of the proletariat (industrial

wage labour) it can speak only for a tiny minority in the country where
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factory industry is still in its infancy. Nor has it been gaining ground
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even in this field. Labour has found that the Party is less interested in
their general welfare than in their political backing. The Party has
therefore to look elsewhere to the educated unemployed, to landless
labour in the countryside, to linguistic and communal groups who want
special advantages. The Party’s success in Kerala and Bombay
showed that these methods can pay off, especially where local
Congress Governments show weaknesses. The Party is very
conscious of the examples of Russia and China. The Russian
Communists in 1917 seized the chance offered by the Kerensky
Government’s refusal to stop an unpopular and crippling war. The
Chinese Party benefited by the failures of the Chiang Kai-shek regime,
also after a major war. The rival resolutions before the Vijayawada
Congress are to some extent reflections of current
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Russian and Chinese policies. The Chinese favour an aggressive and

dynamic policy irrespective of the consequences. They believe this
can be done because the “Socialist Camp” is superior in military
strength to the free world. The Russians know that a big war would
prove fatal to both socialism and capitalism. They suggest therefore
that Socialism can be achieved everywhere without violence or civil
war. The official policy of the Indian Communist Party favours the
Russian line and Mr. Suslov is no doubt anxious to see that there
should be no straying from this path.
So deeply involved are both wings of the Indian Party in this world-
wide Communist controversy, that they fail to appreciate the realities
of Indian politics. Our politics is determined by our freedom
movement, the Constitution we framed and the economic policy we
have felt it necessary to adopt. It is a system which includes
parliamentary democracy. The fall of the Communist Government in
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Kerala showed however that a parliamentary majority is not
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necessarily the key to power, if other conventions and proprieties
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peculiar to India are not respected. The Russian model of planning
has also proved very instructive and useful to us, but unlike the
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The Marxist belief that economic interests are supreme has been
shown not to apply to India where both rich and poor are making
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voluntary sacrifices in order that the nation may prosper in future. The
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Indian Communist Party wishes to wreck this consensus by organising

a war of class against class - a difficult task because we have as yet
no rigid class system and do not wish to have one. The Party’s foreign
policy is equally unreal. When it has been proved in every possible
way that Indian territory has been occupied and that still more territory
is being wrongly claimed, the Communist Party cannot, if it has a
genuine national outlook, adopt the attitude of a third party who finds
that much may be said on both sides of the dispute. Nor can it function
as a defence lawyer for the Chinese. As long as the Party thinks in
terms of Chinese or Russian policies and fails to function within the
conventions and necessities of the Indian system, it will have no more
than nuisance value in Indian politics.
“It is clear….that the present operations are not mere frontier skirmishes but
a serious attempt to seize large chunks of India’s territory.... A massive
national effort will, however, be required if the Army is to obtain all its needs.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of our China policy (and it cannot be denied
that miscalculations have been made), the time has come for the people to
close ranks and give the Government solid support.”
OCTOBER 23, 1962
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N SATURDAY MORNING, LARGE-SCALE CHINESE FORCES
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overwhelmed our frontier posts at Dhola and Khinzemane

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and crossed the Namka Chu (Kechilang) river which is of

strategic importance. These places are in the North-East
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Frontier Agency, east of Bhutan, and are on the Indian

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side of the McMahon Line. At the same time, the Chinese

overwhelmed several frontier posts in Ladakh. Thus China has
unleashed an undeclared war against us in pursuance of her
expansionist aims. The Prime Minister has characterised the action as
“unabashed aggression by an unscrupulous opponent”. One of the
aims, no doubt, is to demonstrate to the smaller Himalayan States as
well as to other Asian States that China is a great Power which can
and will enforce her claims to border areas whatever the real legal
position. The aggressor can always choose where he will break
through with numerically superior forces, but the defender can exact
a heavy toll if he has strong points in the area, and this is what we
have done. The Chinese have the additional advantage that their
bases are close to the point of attack while our forces have difficult
and inaccessible mountain ranges to cross on mule-back or on foot.
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The strategic aim of the Chinese appears to be to seize the frontier

areas which they claim and dig themselves in before the onset of
winter when further fighting will be difficult. They have obviously
prepared for this campaign over many months, since their
headquarters in Tibet is a long way from China proper and is linked
with it only by three major roads. Chinese forces in Tibet are broadly
estimated at 200,000 men and to keep them equipped and supplied
would require long and careful preparation. This disposes of the story
that the Chinese soldiers were only hitting back at Indian attacks on
their frontier guards. It is clear from what happened on Saturday and
following days that the present operations are not mere frontier
skirmishes but a serious attempt to seize large chunks of India’s
territory. Although the Government of India have been increasing our
military preparedness in the recent past, the offensive in certain
specific areas took us by surprise. We obviously have defence posts
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over the whole region and stiff fighting may be expected in the coming
weeks. or
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A massive national effort will, however, be required if the Army is
to obtain all its needs. Whatever the rights and wrongs of our China
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policy (and it cannot be denied that miscalculations have been made),

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the time has come for the people to close ranks and give the
Government solid support. Already voices have been raised
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proposing political moves of all kinds, including the severance of

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diplomatic relations with China, refusal of further negotiations and so

on. Precipitate and strong action is the natural first reaction in a crisis
but it is not justified by long-term considerations. The Government’s
hands regarding diplomatic action should not be tied in advance.
At the same time, the Government should be more forthcoming
than they have been so far in the matter of giving information and
present a clear picture to the Parliament and the Press of what is
happening and how the Government are dealing with the situation.
Opposition parties should be taken into confidence as Mr. Nehru has
already done, except perhaps the Communists who have taken an
equivocal attitude to the issue of Chinese aggression. The Defence
Ministry should continue to brief the Press as to the progress of the
operations. All this is absolutely essential if the people’s confidence in

the Government is to be maintained. The Press, however, also
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has a corresponding duty not to circulate idle rumours which may have
the effect of lowering public morale. Reports from abroad show that
India enjoys widespread support and sympathy from other countries.
We have taken special care not to embroil our dispute with China in
the cold war, despite the flood of Chinese propaganda trying to make
out that we are depending upon other and more powerful Western
nations. It is for us to defend our own border obtaining equipment and
arms quickly from wherever we can and in greater quantities in the
light of the serious developments. The justice for our cause should be
evident to all, no less to Russia and other Communist States than to
the Western Powers. We had done our best to avoid a war, but we
could offer to negotiate only on honourable terms and not when our
soil is being increasingly occupied by the Chinese.
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“In recent years the gap between amateurs and professionals had become
quite spurious, with some leading amateurs making more money out of the
game than the professionals as England’s present captain Mr. E. R. Dexter,
frankly admitted recently. In abolishing the theoretical distinction between the
playing categories, the M.C.C. has therefore taken a realistic view.”
FEBRUARY 2, 1963
Cricketers All
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N AGE-OLD BARRIER HAS FALLEN AND GOOD RIDDANCE. Cricket will
have no Gentlemen and no Players any more but just
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by the decision now taken by the game’s governing body,

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the Marylebone Cricket Club, to do away with the amateur status.

Compartmentalisation of practitioners of the willow into Gentlemen (to
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wit, amateurs) and Players (meaning, professionals) has been as old

as the game itself and time was when the wall between the Mister
Smiths and the plain Smiths was so solid they had to use separate
dressing rooms and even had to enter the field through separate
entrances and no professional could ever captain a team. The first
crack in this tradition occurred, and appropriately, when Jack Hobbs,
the greatest of them all, was called upon at a pinch to captain England
against Australia in the Third Test of the 1926 series in the absence
due to illness of Mr. A. W. Carr. And the break with the past was
completed 26 years later when another professional, Len Hutton, was
chosen to lead England on a regular basis. In recent years the gap
between amateurs and professionals had become quite spurious, with
some leading amateurs making more money out of the game than the
professionals, as England’s present
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captain Mr. E. R. Dexter, frankly admitted recently. In abolishing the

theoretical distinction between the playing categories, the M.C.C. has
therefore taken a realistic view.
But the anachronistic distinction still prevails in many other
branches of sport. In tennis the position is even worse. Professionals
are barred from the Davis Cup and other tournaments like Wimbledon.
The result is an absurd situation. The No. 1 amateur is hailed as the
world champion even though it is well known he cannot stand up to
any one of the top professionals. And the irony of it all is that
amateurism exists only in name. Many amateurs are earning
comfortable incomes from tennis by extracting from tournament
organisers liberal expenses and other perquisites. Tennis is also
probably the only game in which an amateur is prohibited from playing
a match against a “pro”. This rule is leading to the game’s slow death.
With every prominent amateur turning professional and those left in
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the amateur ranks denied opportunity to play against their superiors
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and thus get their steel tempered, the standards of amateur tennis is
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steadily deteriorating. The “Grand Slam” winner, Laver, on turning
professional, could not win even once in his first ten encounters with
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the “pros”. The international tennis authorities would do well to take a

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leaf out of the M.C.C’s book and put an end to the present caste
system or at least permit “open” tournaments in which both amateurs
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and professionals can participate. The longer they delay it, the worse
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for tennis.
“It is given to few leaders to achieve in their life-time all that they set out to
accomplish in their youth.... Whatever may be the verdict of posterity a
hundred years hence on Jawaharlal’s achievements and failures, he has a
secure place in history as a great national leader who used his high prestige
and influence among the nations in the cause of world peace and
international understanding. His greatest achievement, undoubtedly, is the
fact that, despite the horrors of the partition and the surge of communal
passions and linguistic loyalties, he kept India united within a democratic
secular framework and set her firmly on the road to economic development
and modernisation.”
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MAY 28, 1964
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Jawaharlal Nehru
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N ANGUISHED NATION MOURNS TODAY THE SUDDEN PASSING of her
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most beloved son. The authentic voice that spoke for India
for many years before freedom and for seventeen years after
achieving independence, is stilled. To millions from the
snowy wastes of Ladakh to the warm waters of the Indian Ocean the
sad tidings will come with the poignancy of personal bereavement. For
no leader in our times had come so close to the millions of our people
so often and so intimately as Jawaharlal Nehru. He was a child of the
Indian revolution which found its true and historic expression in the
leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. But he was also a child of Western
Rationalism, Fabian Socialism and the new Humanism that is
struggling to take shape to take humanity beyond the conflicts of
ideologies to a juster and more harmonious world. In a sense he was
a favoured child of fortune, if not of destiny. He was blessed in his
parentage and the stimulating atmosphere in which he grew up.

Leadership came natural to him and he proved himself a
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man of the masses almost from the time he plunged into the Non- Co-
operation Movement. Crowds inspired him, even as they themselves
felt attracted to him in an inscrutable way. The years of the freedom
struggle had pre-determined him for the historic role he was to play as
Free India’s first Prime Minister.
Like the other great Titans of the freedom struggle — Patel, Azad
and Pant — Jawaharlal has died in harness, like a warrior at his post.
He had carried for far too long burdens which would have
overwhelmed a lesser man many years ago. A man of boundless
energy and meticulous discipline, he never spared himself in the
discharge of his multitudinous official duties. In addition, he had to
carry the burdens that fell to him as the supreme leader of his party
and a national symbol whose presence was there at any event of
importance anywhere in the country. It is useless to speculate whether
his end would have come so soon if he had taken the advice of many
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of his friends and withdrawn himself from the active leadership of the
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Government after the illness he had in 1962. One suspects that it was
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out of a deep sense of unfinished commitments that the Prime Minister
decided to carry on, even though he must have been aware that his
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ailing frame was no longer equal to the task.

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It is given to few leaders to achieve in their life-time all that they

set out to accomplish in their youth. Jawaharlal must be deemed
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exceptionally fortunate in this respect because he did achieve a great

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many things in a life of crowded activity and, in the last few years, as
the wielder of immense power and influence over a nation of four
hundred and fifty millions. Whatever may be the verdict of posterity a
hundred years hence on Jawaharlal’s achievements and failures, he
has a secure place in history as a great national leader who used his
high prestige and influence among the nations in the cause of world
peace and international understanding. His greatest achievement,
undoubtedly, is the fact that, despite the horrors of the partition and
the surge of communal passions and linguistic loyalties, he kept India
united within a democratic secular framework and set her firmly on the
road to economic development and modernisation. Unlike Gandhiji,
who was wedded to a doctrine of the simple life led in righteousness,
Nehru believed in the inevitability of a modern
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technological society based on the expanding progress of science and

the triumph of man over his environment. The impulse which he gave
to science and technology during the past fifteen years will remain a
permanent memorial to his record as Prime Minister, apart from his
other achievements. Mr. Nehru believed at the same time
passionately in individual freedom and social justice and he was
anxious that in the process of creating a modern industrial society, we
should not sacrifice other important human values. His eclectic as well
as pragmatic approach to social problems arose out of his faith in the
democratic socialism that must continue to serve as the inspiration
and guide-post for Mr. Nehru’s successors in the Government and
outside.
The Nation must and will bear with courage and resoluteness the
tragic loss it has suffered. It can pay no more fitting tribute to his
memory than by thus striving to overcome the crisis it faces today. The
ruling thought in everyone’s mind today must be a supreme concern
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for the Nation’s unity and discipline. The perils that we face are
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obvious enough, both externally and internally. Only an utter
dedication to the national interest and a ready willingness to accept
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the disciplines of democracy will enable us as a people to face

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successfully the challenges — political, economic and international

— that confront us. May the great spirits that moulded the destinies of
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our nation from Vyasa and Valmiki to Gandhiji and Nehru guide us on
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the right path!

“In a meaningful India-U.S. entente, supported by other democratic countries

like Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, lies the best hope for
democracy and freedom in Asia and peace in the world. It is towards forging
such an association that India and the U.S. should work. They have no time
to lose and they have no cause to fear that Russia, which is also deeply
interested in peace, will interpret such a development as inimical to its
interests.”
SEPTEMBER 30, 1965
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Towards closer Indo-U.S. Accord
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HE DEVELOPMENTS OF THE PAST FEW WEEKS HAVE BROUGHT an
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awareness, at all levels of opinion in the country, of the

necessity for a reappraisal of our foreign and domestic
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policies. The Prime Minister has taken the initiative in calling

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for such a review and has already given a new direction to what has
to be done on the home front. He has instructed the Planning
Commission to make an immediate “reappraisal of our plans in the
light of our recent experiences and having regard to the essential
requirements for the future”, thus introducing a pragmatism in
planning which has been rather conspicuous by its absence all these
years. A new approach to our external relations is equally important
and we would urge the Prime Minister to set the pace in this field also.
If world reaction to the present Indo-Pakistan conflict has proved
anything, it is that no country, except Malaysia and Singapore, was
prepared to come out openly to support us. This despite the fact that
the reports of both the U. N. Secretary-General and the U. N.
Observers in Kashmir have shown Pakistan to be guilty of
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aggression. Even the Soviet Union, after reiterating that Kashmir is an

integral part of India, chose to assume, like several other countries, a
posture of “neutrality” when it came to pulling up Pakistan. Neutrality
in a case of aggression like Pakistan’s really loads the dice in favour
of the aggressor.
We should however presume each of these countries was acting
in its enlightened self-interest. The United States and the Soviet
Union, which have been at loggerheads in the past over practically
every issue, have now come to realise that they have a common
interest in the preservation of world peace and in not letting any
conflict develop to such proportions as may engulf the world. In this
connection, it is a welcome trend that the United States, which during
the ‘fifties was prone to look at world problems through Britain’s eyes
probably out of deference to the latter’s long experience in
international affairs, has now begun to take a more independent look
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and has even on occasions strongly differed from Britain and chosen
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to go it alone. For instance, Britain is still inclined to be complacent
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about the threat to peace that China poses whereas the United States
has a very clear understanding of the Chinese menace and Peking’s
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independent countries of Asia. Russia, too, has found its socialist ally
entirely intractable and irresponsible and has every reason to be
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concerned over the policies and goals of a China which is totally out
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of step with the realities of a peaceful world. It is China’s creed that

the Chinese way of dealing with nations is the only right way and is
bound to prevail eventually and, in pursuit of its ambitions, it has been
going about committing open aggressions at least in one area and
subversion in other parts of Asia. The implications of the threat that
China poses can be seen from the fact that the Indonesian people
have already become a prey to its venomous propaganda and
Pakistan has fallen into its diplomatic net. It is China’s sinister
objective to bring the whole of Asia and Africa within its sphere of
influence. The United States has been the first to recognise this and
move to nip the Chinese nettle in the bud. Russia too is now beginning
to see it in similar light and seems anxious to curb the spread of
China’s influence beyond the Chinese shore.
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From the time of our Independence 18 years ago we have followed

a policy aimed at befriending the whole world, sometimes at the cost
of the national interest. But we now find ourself in a situation where
even over an issue of vital importance to us, namely our conflict with
Pakistan, we see no evidence of positive overseas support for our
cause. This is indeed a sad reflection on our foreign policy. Britain is
being blamed in many quarters for our predicament and there are
demands that we should withdraw from the Commonwealth. This
seems to be a cry of anger born out of frustration. It is undeniable
Britain has been playing a dubious role in the world debate on Kashmir
but it will not serve our long range interests to react emotionally to it
and talk of pulling out of the Commonwealth, though Indian withdrawal
would, we believe, deprive this amorphous association of much of its
prestige. Our approach to international problems should be mature
and dignified and it is up to us to show Britain, biased though it is in
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favour of Pakistan, how unwise it is in following a policy not calculated
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to win, in the long run, the support and friendship of a democratic
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country like India. There is certainly no need for us to make a political
opponent of Britain; nor need we feel bound by any ties we may have
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with it, should they come in the way of our pursuit of our national
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interests.
It is apparent we will have to face a hostile Pakistan and China for
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a long time to come. We should naturally build up our strength to stand

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up to these foes. It would at the same time make our task of resisting
aggression easier if we had the active support of some important
countries. We should therefore bend our efforts to making new
stauncher friendships than we have so far done. We should forge
special bonds — not necessarily military alliances — with countries
like the U.S. and Japan, whose major interests in Asia synchronise
with ours. We cannot, of course, expect any country to support us on
matters of vital interest to us unless we are prepared to support it on
matters of vital interest to that country so long as no conflict with the
principles we stand for is involved. Without such give and take we
cannot hope to win friends who will stand by us through thick and
thin. It is perhaps our failure in the past to order our
international relations on the basis of such quid pro quo that is

responsible for our present predicament.
It is imperative for us to convince the United States of the
unwisdom of arming a country like Pakistan, a theocratic dictatorship
which has made hatred of a peaceful neighbour the sheet-anchor of
its foreign policy. Pakistan’s capacity for mischief is directly in
proportion to the amount of military assistance it receives from abroad.
The Dulles concept of containing Communism through a network of
military bases has become obsolete in this age of guided missiles,
nullifying any value Pakistan may have had in America’s global
strategy in the past. Pakistan by its collusion with China, has also
established its unreliability as an ally and we hope Washington
realises the danger of basing its Asia policy with Pakistan as one of
its pillars.
If the containment of China is the major long-term problem in Asia,
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it becomes obvious that the U.S. and India should act in close concert.
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India today is an oasis of freedom in the midst of a desert of
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totalitarianism in Asia. As we had occasion to observe before, the
United States, which has stood out in postwar years as the authentic
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what is really at stake in India. India’s record as a secular democracy

is unmatched and on its continued well-being would seem to depend
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the survival of democracy itself in this vast part of the world. Therefore
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it is in the interests of preserving the treasured principle of government

by consent that India is enabled to become strong enough to withstand
the unholy pressures of its totalitarian neighbours.
In a meaningful India-U.S. entente, supported by other democratic
countries like Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, lies the
best hope for democracy and freedom in Asia and peace in the world.
It is towards forging such an association that India and the U.S. should
work. They have no time to lose and they have no cause to fear that
Russia, which is also deeply interested in peace, will interpret such a
development as inimical to its interests. Nor need it affect in any way
the understanding and friendship that have grown between the Soviet
Union and India over the past 15 years. Russia, in our opinion,
would only welcome such a
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development which is aimed at ensuring a world of peace and of

peaceful co-existence by holding at bay the one force threatening it
the most, China.
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“The Union Ministry of Health believes.... that there are five rats to every
Indian. This means that the losses through rodents (of foodgrains) amount to
21.6 million tonnes per annum. This represents nearly 25 per cent of the total
production. While this figure of losses.... seems to be too high in the light of
the accepted totals of food output and the per caput availability, there can be
no gainsaying the fact that the people as a whole have remained
undernourished to a larger extent than had been assumed all these years.”
OCTOBER 22, 1966
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HEN THE COUNTRY IS SHORT OF FOODGRAINS, IT CANNOT afford
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to lose any of it, and most certainly not some lakhs of

tonnes of them. The latest annual report of the Food and
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away 4.3 million tonnes each year. The assumption is that a rat
consumes 9 kilograms a year of foodgrains and the population of rats
is equal to that of human beings. The Union Ministry of Health
believes, on the contrary, that there are five rats to every Indian. This
means that the losses through rodents, amount to 21.6 million tonnes
per annum. This represents nearly 25 per cent of the total production.
While this figure of losses suggested by the Ministry of Health seems
to be too high in the light of the accepted totals of food output and the
per caput availability, there can be no gainsaying the fact that the
people as a whole have remained undernourished to a larger extent
than had been assumed all these years. It is not, however, the
arithmetic of the loss but the fact of it that matters, especially in these
days of food distress. It is here that the F.A.O.’s guidelines deserve of

immediate application. Losses through rodents
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can, according to the F.A.O., be removed through better sanitation

and control measures with rodenticides as the chief instrument. To
eliminate insects, micro-organisms and fungus, grains should be
stored dry at temperatures below 15° centigrade. On the general
question of storage facilities, the F.A.O. rightly emphasises that the
type depends on cost-benefit ratio. For instance, rice can be stored in
bulk rather than in bags only if large quantities of it pass through the
silos. If this be not the case, storage in bags with its higher labour
charges, greater spillage in packing, more difficult fumigation and
additional costs in extra transport and on bags would still be
economical enough. In any case, garnering the grain in proper storage
is the obvious way for enlarging its per capita availability.
The F.A.O. report also contains interesting suggestions for
enriching the quality of the foodgrain supplied to consumers in the
developing countries. Taking rice as an instance, it lays bare the evil
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of malnutrition inherent in the preference for polished rice which is
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generally deficient in the B group of vitamins as well as of A and
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ascorbic acid. There is consequently the high incidence in these
countries of protein-calorie deficiency diseases like beriberi, blindness
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and anaemia particularly in women of child-bearing age. The F.A.O.

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is aware of the fact that most rice eaters in the Near East and Far East
cannot afford any appreciable quantities of supplementary foods like
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milk and fruits. The only way out is to enrich the rice itself either by
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preventing serious loss of its protein content or by making good the

loss by chemical means where such loss is due to the polishing of rice.
The easier and cheaper method is to avoid protein losses in
processing. Despite vigorous propaganda, home-pounded rice rich in
protein has not been able to replace milled rice. It would be better
under the circumstances to reduce milling to the minimum by
replacing highly milled rice by milled parboiled rice and by reducing
the amount of washing to which rice is subjected before cooking. The
human palate in the developing countries does not appear to be willing
to make even this minimum adjustment in food habits. There is
therefore the need, in the interest of toning up nutritional standards,
for enrichment of raw rice through highly artificial methods. In Haiti,
the Philippines and Puerto Rico, the “premix” has
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been the weapon against beri-beri. Premix is highly milled rice

impregnated (by spraying) with a solution of the requisite vitamins in
the right concentration. Enriched rice in this case would consist of one
part of promix with one ninety-nine part of the highly milled rice. The
premix may conveniently be added in the rice-mill. Experience in the
Philippines has revealed practical difficulties in organising, subsidising
and enforcing enrichment regulations for this purpose in the mills.
Perhaps if our housewives can take after the example set by their
Japanese counterparts by doing all this at home themselves, the cost
of this enrichment will be low enough as in Japan. The biggest
obstacle is obvious of course — how are we going to supply the
ingredients of the vitaminous solution to every household and how
soon will the Indian housewife be prepared to learn and apply the
process of spraying? To arrest malnutrition under these conditions
people should be made to prefer as far as feasible parboiled rice while
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the schemes for improving the availability of protective foods at the
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cheapest possible prices should be helped to fructify early.
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“A valid criticism of the profession of politics in India is that it is not

professional enough — that the majority of its practitioners have not done
their home work. Few political parties in this country have made independent
studies in the fields of education, health, housing, foreign affairs, finance, etc.
Their programmes are not backed up by adequate research.”
MAY 9, 1967
A peculiar profession
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EPLYING TO THE WELL-DESERVED TRIBUTES PAID TO HIM for his
services to the nation as President of the Union, Dr.
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Radhakrishnan has appealed to politicians to give more

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weight to service and humility and less to prestige and

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power. The duty of the good politician, he said, was to alleviate the
sufferings of the people and raise their material standards. It must be
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admitted that of late the political scene has been marred by unseemly
contests for power and place. Mudslinging has replaced orderly
debate and the demonstrations organised by ambitious politicians,
both of the right and the left. At the same time, there are indications
that politics is gradually becoming a profession, rather than a crusade
for social and political reform. While, at one time, the majority of
politicians were well-to-do lawyers and land-owners, they are now
drawn from all ranks of society and much closer to the people whom
they represent. As a profession, politics does not demand special
academic qualifications, although lack of formal education is now the
exception rather than the rule as compared with the position a decade
ago.
The training of the professional politician is gained mainly in local

government bodies and now that there is a ladder rising from the
panchayat to the samiti, the Zilla parishad and State Assembly up to
the Central Parliament, the profession is not confined to the urban-
educated person, though he still has the advantage over his country
cousin. Long years of apprenticeship at the lower levels are necessary
before the average politician can hope to reach the seat of power and
influence. While he has to demonstrate to the people his capacity to
render services to them, he has also to be skilled in the art of what
has been called one-upmanship. The politician has always been
blamed for putting the interests of his party first, but this criticism may
be misconceived if it is conceded that each party adheres to a
programme which is supposed to promote the national interest. But if
the politician deserts his party in his own interests, he is not to be
commended. As in most other professions, there is a service aspect
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as well as power aspect. A politician who is not ambitious is not likely
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to get very far. His integrity, no doubt, depends on the methods he
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uses. It is always easier and more profitable to cater to special
interests than to work for the benefit of the underprivileged masses.
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But it is the latter who have the bulk of the votes and the politician who
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becomes identified with a privileged group is heading for defeat at the

polls. A valid criticism of the profession of politics in India is that it is
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not professional enough — that the majority of its practitioners have

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not done their homework. Few political parties in this country have
made independent studies in the fields of education, health, housing,
foreign affairs, finance etc. Their programmes are not backed up by
adequate research. This gives those parties who hold the reins of
power an immense advantage, since they have at their disposal the
information provided by the government departments. In a democratic
set-up, the politician must know what the people want, but he must
also have the data on which he can outline schemes to satisfy the
needs of the people.
“The Kantilal episode would have served a very useful purpose if it

contributes to making public life in India cleaner. As for Mr. Morarji Desai’s
particular problem…. his own hands will be strengthened for the future if he
separated his son from the semi-official status of personal secretary (to the
Deputy Prime Minister, it should be remembered) that he now enjoys.”
AUGUST 21, 1968
Son problem
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R. MORARJI DESAI IS NOT THE FIRST PERSON HOLDING highoffice to
be confronted with a son problem. Nor India the only
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country where such a problem has arisen. Queen Victoria

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and Winston Churchill of England, President Franklin

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Roosevelt of the United States, President Ayub Khan of Pakistan,

even Stalin, the Russian dictator, to mention a few instances within
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living memory, have all had to face in their time their full share of
political embarrassment over the activities of their progeny. Mr. Morarji
Desai’s current troubles have stemmed from his Kantilal’s business
connections and some Opposition members in Parliament have
sought to connect Kantilal’s success in business to the fact of his
being the Deputy Prime Minister’s son and secretary. Twice, on April
30 and July 24 last, did Mr. Desai make statements in the Lok Sabha
refuting the allegations made but that still did not clear up the matter.
Mr. Madhu Limaye, who has spear-headed the attack on Mr. Desai,
on Friday moved to get the Lok Sabha to censure Mr. Desai for “false
statements” about his son’s connections made to the House and also
to censure the Prime Minister for not having dismissed Mr. Desai on
that account. In rejecting Mr. Limaye’s motion by an impressive 193-

57 majority, the Lok Sabha has cleared
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Mr. Desai of the charges levelled against him and has accepted his
explanation of his son’s business activities. This should end the
matter, but will it?
Persons in position of high authority should be doubly careful to
see they do not give any room for the public to look askance at their
record. Caesar’s wife should not only be above suspicion but should
be seen to be so. Both the Prime Minister and Acharya Kripalani
emphasised this point during the Lok Sabha debate, when the former
said, “We all agree that while there is no bar to sons carrying on
business, there is as much obligation on such relatives as on the
Ministers themselves that there is no occasion for any doubt to be
raised that the relationship is utilised for the advancement of any
business interests” and the latter said that in public affairs “we have
not only to be correct but have to appear to be correct before the
public”. This dictum is applicable to all persons occupying responsible
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positions whether Ministers or career officials, at the Centre or in the
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States. It cannot be denied that public confidence in our administrators
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has been at a low ebb lately. There have been so many proven cases
of maladministration, corrupt practices, official toleration of indiscipline
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at various levels of society and so on that the rest of the world is even
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beginning to have doubts if India is a “going concern”. The Kantilal

episode would have served a very useful purpose if it contributes to
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making public life in India cleaner. As for Mr. Morarji Desai’s particular
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problem, while there can no longer be any doubt after the Lok Sabha’s
verdict that he did his best to ensure his son did not stray from the
straight and narrow path, his own hands will be strengthened for the
future if he separated his son from the semi-official status of personal
secretary (to the Deputy Prime Minister, it should be remembered) that
he now enjoys.
It is one of Parliament’s important functions to act as a watchdog
of the activities of the Executive and it is to the credit of the Opposition
that it has ever kept a vigilant eye open in this respect. But the rub
comes when members succumb to the temptation to overplay the
watchdog role and begin to chase the political will-o’- the-wisps. The
valuable time of Parliament gets wasted in the process and that can
never be in the national interest. This has happened all too often
during the past few years and parliamentary
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business has been held up by diversionary political cross-plays.

Surely Parliament, should address itself to the more pressing
problems on its hands. Among these may be mentioned the Bill to ban
company donations to political parties, measures to curb
communalism and to check floor-crossing by legislators, the proposals
for reorganisation of Assam and the amendment of the Inter-State
Waters Disputes Act. Four weeks have already passed since the
current six-week monsoon session began and much of the legislative
business on the agenda still remains to be completed.
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“The present position of weakness and abject dependence on the party’s

traditional opponents for sheer survival may and should move the Prime
Minister to have worthwhile second thoughts on the entire tragic episode. The
history of the country is replete with instances of one of the protagonists of
an internal quarrel preferring to play into the hands of an outsider with
calamitous consequences. Now that Mrs. Gandhi has to woo one opposition
or the other for merely staying in office, is it so difficult for her to ask herself
whether it is not easier to make up with her erstwhile party colleagues, men
and women who have suffered and sacrificed to win freedom and build up
the organisation, than to court the party’s sworn opponents?”
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NOVEMBER 18, 1969
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Congress vs. Congress

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HE GRIM GAME OF NUMBERS HAS BEEN PLAYED OUT AND IT has
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become clear that there are at least 60 Congress members of

the Lok Sabha who have firmly backed the decision of the “old
guard” to come down uncompromisingly on indiscipline
in high places. With these members no longer behind Mrs. Indira
Gandhi in a House of 522, of which the original Congress strength was
282, her Government has been reduced to a minority government
since the support of at least 262 members is needed for an absolute
majority. Though a combined Opposition vote to defeat the
Government may not materialise soon, because of the individual
predisposition of the various Opposition parties and perhaps of their
anxiety to avoid another election as long as possible, it is an
inescapable fact that Mrs. Gandhi’s Ministry can hereafter exist only
by courtesy of the Communists. There will, of course, be the price to
pay for such support on every crucial occasion, a price that may
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often make a mockery of the avowed policy commitments of the Prime

Minister’s group and compel the Government to engage continuously
in horse-trading. Is it for this position of perpetual weakness from
which to herald her brave new world of dynamic change that the Prime
Minister so assiduously worked all these weeks?
Now that the big break in the Congress has occurred and each
side in the grand old party sits apart in the Lok Sabha, this may really
be the time for the bitter contenders to pause and take stock of their
doings and the consequences. To the onlooker, Mrs. Gandhi’s over-
reactions ever since the majority decision of the Congress
Parliamentary Board at Bangalore on the party’s Presidential nominee
have been hard to understand.. She had her way when she wanted
Dr. Zakir Hussain for the Presidentship on an earlier occasion. If every
time she must have her way in such matters, is it her contention that
the Congress Parliamentary Board, a democratically constituted party
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body is to be only a rubber stamp of the Prime Minister? The point we
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seek to make is that her decision which resulted in the bringing down
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of the whole edifice of her party on this one issue, was destined to do
only incalculable harm all round. If her concern was really for a
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dynamic economic programme, was that not the one issue on which
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every section of the party, the “old guard” and the Young Turks alike,
was equally committed, as the unanimous approval of her “stray
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thoughts” and the 10-point programme showed? None takes seriously

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the veneer of ideological differences that has been sought to be

applied to the naked power struggle.
It could be that one of the motivations of her recent actions leading
to the ultimate split was based on a feeling that the “old guard” had
become dissatisfied with her leadership and had decided to replace
her sooner or later. No one need deny her exalted sense of mission
for initiating and carrying through the changes that the country badly
needs -— and so of her desire to stay in power at any cost to fulfil that
role. Even Mrs. Gandhi’s bitter opponents may concede that principles
apart, she has demonstrated a new grit and capacity to live with crisis
that can be assets in a leader. Tactical though it may be, her open
commitment to implement the accepted
Congress policy to which some of the “old guard” are even more
inexorably wedded, may also qualify her for the leadership of the party
more than ever before.
The present position of weakness and abject dependence on the
party’s traditional opponents for sheer survival may and should move
the Prime Minister to have worth-while second thoughts on the entire
tragic episode. The history of this country is replete with instances of
one of the protagonists of an internal quarrel preferring to play into the
hands of an outsider with calamitous consequences. Now that Mrs.
Gandhi has to woo one Opposition party or the other for merely
staying in office, is it so difficult for her to ask herself whether it is not
easier to make up with her erstwhile party colleagues, men and
women who have suffered and sacrificed to win freedom and build up
the organisation, than to court the party’s sworn opponents?
Hopeless as it may appear at this late hour, this may yet be the
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moment for both sides to see the utter unwisdom of this suicidal split
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and the wisdom of getting together again in the interests of a stable
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government at the Centre and for the firm pursuit of progressive
policies that everyone swears by. Having launched on one wrong step
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after another, obviously in a panicky sense of insecurity, it will be upto

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the Prime Minister to make some concessions — for she alone is in a

position to do so effectively — if the breach is to be closed. It may, of
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course, take a Mahatma Gandhi to confess to a Himalayan blunder

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and retrace faulty steps. If Mrs. Gandhi can still free herself from those
around her (intent for their own ends or on settling old scores) who are
leading her up the garden path and muster the moral stature to undo
the recent past of her making, she could still emerge as a real leader.
That would also bring back stability at the Centre and the climate and
the freedom from perpetual coalitionist politics, necessary for
purposeful action. Her oft-advertised concern for the poor of this land
cannot be sustained by stray sniping at the haves or other desperate
policies that her government would be driven to in the face of
proddings all round to prove her bona-fides. It can be shown only by
intelligent and well- planned activation of economic growth which,
alas, has already become the first casualty of the continuing power
struggle. So the real test of Mrs. Gandhi’s professions will be her

ability to arm herself
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with the strength to govern with purpose, by re-uniting the entire party.
The alternative may well be the fall of her government during the
Budget session of Parliament, if not in the present one followed by
elections, in which a disgusted people may say “A plague on both
houses”.
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“It will take some time for millions of earth dwellers to realise the full
significance of the fact that human beings like themselves have actually set
foot on the moon, that familiar heavenly body which has been celebrated in
poetry and legend for thousands of years as a symbol of inaccessible beauty.”
JULY 22, 1969
Giant Leap for Mankind

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and environment man has made many dramatic advances in the
past but they all pale into secondary importances before the epic
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feat of Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin who landed on the moon
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last night and after a successful visit are now heading back for home.
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The whole world applauds their achievement which is also the

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achievement of American science and technology. Neil Armstrong

described his first short step on the moon’s surface as a giant leap for
mankind and President Nixon has pointed out that the heavens have
now become a part of man’s world. It will take some time for millions
of earth-dwellers to realise the full significance of the fact that human
beings like themselves have actually set foot on the moon, that familiar
heavenly body which has been celebrated in poetry and legend for
thousands of years as a symbol of inaccessible beauty. In fact, the
physical environment of the moon is a cruel and hostile one for living
beings, since there is no air or water there and no gradations of light
and shade. Some have questioned the value of sending men to risk
their lives to land on so hostile a shore. But the scientists assure us
that the exploration of the moon will unfold many secrets of the
universe and that of a moon landing
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may also prove to be the first milestone on the road to the remote
world of the stars.
In any case the conquest of space (for the moon is 238,000 miles
distant from the earth) has called for an effort of technique that has
stretched scientific capacity to the utmost. The Apollo Project started
by President Kennedy eight years ago has called for the labour of
some half a million American scientists and laboratories as well as the
manufacturing capacities of 20,000 industrial firms. The present head
of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Mr. Paine,
believes that the cost of space flights will fall in the future and that
research stations and observatories can be set up on the moon
without heavy expenditure. In characteristic American fashion he
holds out the prospect of cheap space travel for everyone in the
coming decades.
The tremendous effort put out by the United States in the last eight
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years to make a touch-down on the moon was, of course, provoked
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by the successful Russian launching of Sputniks and the pioneering
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orbital flight of Yuri Gagarin. There were a number of failures of
American rockets before the technique was finally mastered. Now the
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Americans have landed men on the moon, while the Soviet Union has
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not been able to do more than circle the moon with an unmanned
satellite. It is rather unfortunate that Moscow has proved unwilling to
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inform Washington about the purpose of its latest lunar mission (Luna
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15) so as to remove any misapprehension about the purpose of that

flight. Yet the element of competition between the two leading
industrial powers was no doubt essential to the moon project, as was
the rivalry between Spain and Portugal in the days when both were
trying to circumnavigate the globe.
While the rest of mankind will applaud the message on the plaque
that has been left on the moon which reads. “Here men from the planet
Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace
for all mankind”, the fact remains that the rivalry of nations is still the
strongest spur to daring expeditions of the kind that has been
accomplished. There are eight planets and some thirty moons in the
solar system that are yet unexplored by man and the race will probably
continue. The advantage of the American triumph has been the global
transmission of information about every stage of
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the flight to millions of television-viewers and radio listeners. There

has been no break in communication, both of voice and vision,
between the earth and the men on the moon. The world has shared
the experience of the astronauts and rejoiced in their epic
achievement.
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“In this tropical country, it is considered sound socialistic policy to deny the
people what little science and technology offer to mitigate the rigours of heat
and promote productive work. Air conditioning, for instance, which should be
brought within reach of every office and factory and home by cheap mass
production and even state subsidy is deemed a luxury and sought to be taxed
out. And so it goes on in this ancient country of ours and it may go on being
ancient, as the cycle of summer and winter marks the passing years of
planned deprivation.”
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MAY 22, 1970
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HEY SAY IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS. HOW ONE WISHES IT

now. For what is worse is that it never shines but it scorches.
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Especially in May, the month of the dog days. And this year is
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said to be the most scorching ever in fifty years. The rising

toll of deaths from sunstroke in many States, from distant Bihar all the
way west across Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat
and down south across Vidarbha and Andhra Pradesh, indeed bears
grim and ample testimony to it. As many as 650 are reported dead
while the number of those on the brink in hospitals is countless, as the
merciless heat mows down more and more straining the over-
stretched resources of those institutions. Such casualties are but part
of the sad story. Thousands in parched Rajasthan clamour for water
to drink, since the lakes and tanks and wells have gone dry. And in
some places in Central India, the worst is yet to come, as the hottest
part of the year is still ahead.
May be that unlike unemployment or starvation deaths, one cannot

blame the Government for this seasonal visitation. The weather still
defies science and the satellite has yet to be launched
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that can eclipse the angry sun. But is there nothing that can be done
about it, beyond the numerical solace of the euphemistic metric
system that puts the mounting temperature in the forties, when it is
really a burning 110 or more? Not a year has passed without its toll of
deaths from sunstroke and yet have the people been told effectively
about the elementary precautions to be adopted, such as consuming
some extra salt to offset its hazardous loss in perspiration? And how
many of the toilers on the roads (so bereft of shady avenue trees) can
boast of a pair of chappals or some headgear to ward off the heat? As
for water even to drink, what a shame that two decades of planning
have still left thousands of villages without dependable supplies!
Perhaps one has to sweat it all out, until the monsoon sets in again,
quenching the thirsty earth and reviving man and beast. But cannot
one expect that the governments in the States and at the Centre also
will not forget that every coming year will have its hot summer and
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whatever could be done to make the next one at least less
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unendurable should be thought of. What the country loses is not
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merely so many lives. The entire work of the nation in factory and
office is slowed down during the summer months, as the heat
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enervates and immobilises all. But in this tropical country, it is

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considered sound socialistic policy to deny the people what little

science and technology offer to mitigate the rigours of heat and
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promote productive work. Air-conditioning, for instance, which should

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be brought within reach of every office and factory and home by cheap
mass production and even State subsidy is deemed a luxury and
sought to be taxed out. And so it goes on in this ancient country of
ours, and it may go on being ancient, as the cycle of summer and
winter marks the passing years of planned deprivation. It is some
consolation perhaps that since the sizzling days are with us now, the
monsoon cannot be far behind.
“The independent newspapers in general have become the favourite

whipping boy of politicians, high and low, during recent years. ‘Commitment’
is the catchword of the new political genus of self-styled socialist
revolutionaries and opportunist politicians. The democracy they would like to
order for the country is one with a ‘committed’ judiciary, a ‘committed’ press
and a ‘committed’ what you will, in short a ‘commitment’ all round, except
‘commitment’ by themselves to preserve all the liberties that go to make a
democratic society.”
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JANUARY 24, 1971
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Pressures on the press
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HE LETTERS FROM READERS WHICH APPEAR ON THIS PAGE

only a sampling of a large number we have received - throw
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timely light on the pressures which independent newspapers

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like THE HINDU have to cope with even in a democratic

country like India. The pressures come not only from politicians but
also from governments and are aimed at forcing the newspapers to
toe their particular lines. These pressures whose intensity seems to
grow or lessen according to the fluctuations in the fortunes of the
political parties and governments concerned, are sometimes exerted
subtly, at other times blatantly. It has been THE HINDU’s lot to
experience the latter variety of pressure in recent days. Some
observant readers have not failed to notice the sudden drying up of
Tamil Nadu Government advertising in THE HINDU during the past
few days and have wondered if it could have anything to do with an
editorial we wrote on January 5 last under the title “D.M.K. takes the
Plunge”. We have of course no way of knowing why exactly the

Government decided to depart from usual practice and curtail its
advertising in our paper but the sequence of developments would
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seem to indicate that the editorial has had a bearing, as some readers
suspect, on the Government’s decision. On the very next day after the
editorial appeared the Government, to our surprise, cancelled all the
advertisements it had booked in advance with the paper. On our taking
the issue up with the Director of Information and Publicity, two of the
cancelled advertisements were re-released but the Government
seems to have decided that THE HINDU shall not have the same
number of advertisements as its contemporaries, though it did enjoy
parity till the other day. And the Government’s classified
advertisements stayed switched off till January 22, after which date
one has trickled in. We are yet to receive the clarification we sought
from the Chief Minister of the reasons for the Government’s sudden
decision to taper off its advertising in our columns. We are of course
not the first newspaper in the country to be subjected to this kind of
governmental pressure. Some other State Governments in recent
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years have also tried it against newspapers in their region that were
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critical of the official policy. There is perhaps no government in the
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world which does not wish that the entire press should support its
policies. But a government using its official machinery as a lever for
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influencing editorial opinion of newspapers is quite different and

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serious matter. It is uncondonable in a democratic society.

As for the Tamil Nadu Congress (R) President, Mr. R. V.
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Swaminathan’s diatribe the other day against THE HINDU, the “Indian
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Express” and the “Dinamani” for their not having given his party’s
election propaganda meetings as much space and prominence as he
would have liked and his threat that they would be “crushed” after the
elections if they did not mend their ways, this too is not the first
instance of a frustrated politician venting his spleen on the
independent press. Some D.M.K. leaders also have lately been
making similar attacks at public meetings. This is a disturbing trend.
Such attacks may pay some shortterm dividends but they are bound
to prove not only counter-productive in the long run but also destroy
the fabric of orderly society. The independent newspapers in general
have become the favourite whipping boy of politicians, high and low
during recent years. “Commitment” is the catchword of the new
political genus of self-styled socialist revolutionaries and opportunist
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politicians. The democracy they would like to order for the country is
one with a “committed” judiciary, a “committed” press and a
“committed” what you will, in short, a “commitment” all round, except
“commitment” by themselves to preserve all the liberties that go to
make a democratic society. Mr. Swaminathan’s tirade against the
three newspapers could have been brushed aside as the outburst of
what one of our readers, in a letter we published the other day,
described as an “inconsequential politician” but for the fact that the
Prime Minister and others who shared the dais with him at the Madras
meeting and who spoke later said nothing to dissociate themselves
from his views. This causes some concern. Could it mean that they
concurred with what he said? If they did, Indian democracy is indeed
at a dangerous pass.
A free press is as essential a limb of democracy as a parliament
freely elected by the people or an independent judiciary. When
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political parties and governments set out to frighten the press into
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conformity, it is not press freedom alone that they are trying to cut
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down but it is democracy itself that they are out to subvert. If
newspapers that do not follow a particular party’s line are threatened
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with extinction, it is logical to wonder if the people who do not vote for
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that party will also face a similar fate should that party come to power.
It is to the credit of Indian public opinion that despite the sustained
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politicians, parties and governments, these newspapers have

continued to function freely, thus enabling press freedom to flourish.
It is in the hands of the people essentially that the future of our
democracy lies. As long as they remain vigilant and zealous in
safeguarding all their rights, democracy will be safe, politicians and
governments notwithstanding. But only so long as they remain so.
“Rajaji was a man of strong convictions and never hesitated to fight for them,
regardless of the consequences for his own political fortunes. This often
made him a controversial figure, but he emerged from every political tussle
he was involved in and even from some political mistakes he made all the
more respected for the courage of his convictions. For in no circumstance
was his integrity suspected.”
DECEMBER 26, 1972
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T WILL BE HARD FOR MANY PEOPLE TO BELIEVE THAT RAJAJI IS dead. He
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had been so intimate a part of the national scene for so long and
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every minute of his 94 years was so crammed with meaningful

activity and intellectual vitality that the public had come to look
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upon him as something eternal. South India has produced many

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illustrious sons in this century but none for whom can be claimed the
national status that Rajaji achieved. Political and social revolutionary,
freedom fighter, administrator, crusader for causes, religious teacher,
national leader, voice of conscience, his was a many splendoured life.
And in every field he walked, he has left his unique mark.
Rajaji started his adult life as a small town lawyer and was well and
fast on his way to the top of the profession when a meeting with
Mahatma Gandhi at Madras proved a turning point in his life, leading
to his throwing himself heart and soul into the national struggle for
freedom. His association with Gandhiji developed through the years
into such a close, give-and-take relationship that it became difficult to
distinguish who was the mentor and who the follower. Not that they
were always of the same mind. Indeed they differed on some issues
of vital significance to the national cause. As for instance in 1942
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when Gandhiji proposed his “Quit India” movement, Rajaji opposed

the whole idea and walked out of the Congress when it endorsed
Gandhiji’s programme. He similarly took issue with Gandhiji and other
colleagues on the issue of the Muslim League’s demand for a
separate State. He suggested that they should accept Pakistan in
principle and call Mr. Jinnah’s bluff by asking him to define it; and he
parted company again with the Congress when it rejected this
counsel. But differences like this never came in the way of the respect
Gandhiji had for Rajaji’s integrity and honesty of purpose and vice
versa. On the other hand, Gandhiji came to look upon him as his
“conscience keeper”, to use the Mahatma’s own words.
Rajaji was a man of strong convictions and never hesitated to fight
for them, regardless of the consequences for his own political
fortunes. This often made him a controversial figure, but he emerged
from every political tussle he was involved in and even from some
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political mistakes he made all the more respected for the courage of
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his convictions. For in no circumstance was his integrity suspect. But
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it was his integrity and intellect of the highest order that sometimes got
him into political hot water. He could not suffer fools nor could he
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countenance corruption and such other human foibles.

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In an age when many people go into politics for the loaves and
fishes it offers, Rajaji’s strict code of conduct and the uncompromising
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way he enforced it when he was in power created for him many

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gnawing enemies whom he could have coped with had he been a man
of the masses, like Jawaharlal Nehru or Sardar Patel. He had
therefore, no second line of defence, namely, the people, to fall back
upon, and more than once he found himself a lonely Casabianca
facing the fire. It is true he held some of the highest offices in the land
but the lack of a mass base and his distaste for political intrigues and
manoeuvres made politics impermanent for him. But that never
seemed to bother him.
To him politics was not simply the art of the possible. It was a road
for bettering the life of the people, a road paved with high moral
standards and he could not bring himself to acquiesce in any lowering
of those standards. The decay in moral and political standards in the
country during the last decade caused him much anguish and when
he saw that the citizen’s fundamental rights were
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also in danger of being whittled away he started a new political party.

Swatantra. If nothing substantial came of it during his lifetime it
certainly was not-for any want of his trying.
Rajaji’s outstanding role in the winning of independence, his
achievements as law-maker and as administrator, his contribution to
the sum of human thought all need no enumeration here. His
Catholicism, his familiarity with both Indian and Western thought and
his towering intellect helped him span the generations and always to
keep in the mainstream of world movements. Since politics was his
main preoccupation, he no doubt had his full quota of critics. But as
Mr. Krishna Menon said in a 93rd birthday tribute last year, “Rajaji,
whatever his politics, will live in history as a great patriot and scholar
and thinker” and he will be remembered as “one of the great men of
our time, whose contributions to history and to Indian nationalism,
gigantic as they are, have to be fully known and appreciated
hereafter”. With his death, the last of that legendary group of shining
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patriots who led our country to Independence is gone and the country
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is very much poorer for it. We may not see the likes of him again for a
long, long time to come.
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“The Executive and Parliament have unmistakably been invested with the
power of a giant. The hope is that they will not exercise that power like a
giant. It has to be used, as Justices Hegde and Mukherjee have pointed out,
in a manner that gives no room for legitimate complaint that it was exercised
with an evil eye or an uneven hand. The ultimate guarantor of such fair
application of power is, of course, the people.”
APRIL 26, 1973
Supreme Court’s judgement

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HE MAJORITY VERDICT OF THE 13-JUDGE BENCH OF THE SUPREME
Court on Parliament’s power to amend any provision of the
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Constitution and on certain related matters will have a mixed

reception among the people. Many will feel that the long
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struggle of great and selfless national leaders to secure for

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the people not only Independence but also a stable constitutional

framework that would ensure for them the basic human rights which
could not be withdrawn under any circumstances has after all become
all but vain within less than three decades of such free existence. The
architects of the Constitution most of whom were also the fighters in
the battle for freedom from foreign rule had no doubts about what they
wanted the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution to be.
Their intentions were crystallised in what Jawaharlal Nehru himself
told the Constituent Assembly. He spoke of those Rights as
“something that you want to make permanent in the Constitution”, and
in saying so, he was but in line with the considered opinion of the free
world’s great jurists. “The very purpose of a Bill of Rights”, in the
words of Justice Jackson of the

U.S. Supreme Court, “was to withdraw certain subjects from the
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vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach

of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to
be applied by the Courts. One’s right to life, liberty and property, to
free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly and other
fundamental rights may not be submitted to the vote; they depend on
the outcome of no elections”. The point is further brought out in the
statement of Justice Frankfurter that “man being what he is, cannot
safely be trusted with complete immunity from outward responsibility
in depriving others of their rights”. And that is the very rationale of a
Bill of Rights which seeks to protect the people against “all kinds of
fanatics and extremists, none of whom can be trusted with unlimited
power over others”. Such protection can by no means lie in their
forbearance, but has to be ensured by the limitations wisely imposed
by the Constitution.
And yet it is such violations of basic human rights, which had to be
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prevented or thwarted through the specific enunciation of some
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clauses in our Constitution, that were sought to be given full approval
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by certain of the recent Constitution amendments. Those who argue
that the hands of coming generations cannot be permanently fettered
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by any Constitutional restrictions forget that there are certain basic

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human values that no generation can deny, if they would still be

deemed a part of a civilised society. It is in the light of those inviolable
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guidelines that the attempts to whittle down the basic rights and the
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majority verdict of the Supreme Court have to be viewed. The 13

Judges have been unanimous in reversing the earlier ruling in what is
known as the Golaknath Case and upholding the power of Parliament
to amend any part of the Constitution, thereby validating the 24th
Amendment to the Constitution. But the more important feature is that
nine of the Judges have done so with the vital reservation that this
power to amend even the Fundamental Rights (conferred by Article
368) does not enable Parliament “to alter the basic structure or
framework of the Constitution”. What this specific limitation imposed
by the majority of the Judges means in practice, only time and further
battles of writs before the courts can show. But it is still a blessing that
the Supreme Court has safeguarded the right to go to it to plead for
justice and protection, wherever the executive or Parliament

undermines a basic right to
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such an extent that it amounts to an alteration of the basic structure of

the Constitution. By resisting the pointed attempts to deny the
jurisdiction of courts in such matters as the Government acquiring a
citizen’s property in the public interest for an “amount” and making the
whole essay non-justiciable, the majority verdict would seem to have
minimised the tyrannical impact of the provision. In the words of Mr.
Justice Hegde and Mr. Justice Mukherjee, “while it was no more open
to the court to consider whether the amount fixed or to be determined
was adequate, it was still open to the court to consider whether the
amount in question had been arbitrarily determined or whether the
same was an illusory return for the property taken”.
Thus in upholding the validity of both the 24th and 25th
Amendments, some limitations at least against the arbitrary exercise
of the power to amend the Constitution or to enact confiscatory
legislation have been imposed and the power of judicial review
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retained. These limitations are particularly significant in the partial
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invalidation of that part of the 25th Amendment which was brought into
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the Constitution as Article 31-C to confer sweeping powers of
legislation even on State legislatures for passing any law infringing
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Fundamental Rights in the name of implementing the Directive

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Principles embodied in Article 39(B) and (C). The ruling of the Chief
Justice, Mr. Sikri, that Article 31C amounts to indefensible delegation
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of an amending power that is the prerogative of Parliament to the State

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legislatures brings out only one of its objectionable features. As such

the invalidation of that part of the Article which denies the jurisdiction
of the court to go into the legitimacy and bona fides, as it were, of the
legislative declaration of intention comes as a silver lining, however
thin, in the overhanging clouds of hasty, discriminatory and
expropriatory attempts of passing majorities in the legislatures.
The net effect of the rulings of the highest court of the land still
amounts to the upholding of a considerable enlargement of the
powers of Parliament. But it is not as if the Constitution, even before
the 24th and 25th Amendments to it, had not provided for “reasonable
restrictions” on the citizen’s Fundamental Rights in the public interest.
The people may feel that what the government of the day is seeking
is not merely the power to impose such reasonable
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restrictions but even palpably unreasonable ones. It would indeed be

unfortunate if that were to come true. The executive and Parliament
have unmistakably been invested with the power of a giant. The hope
is that they will not exercise that power like a giant. It has to be used,
as Justices Hegde and Mukherjee have pointed out, in a manner that
gives no room for legitimate complaint that it was exercised with “an
evil eye or an uneven hand”. The ultimate guarantor of such fair
application of power is of course the people. A proper awakening
among them has to be persistently promoted by the education of
public opinion by the enlightened citizenry all the time, even as the
executive and the legislatures are persuaded to take up broad-minded
and mature attitudes in their governance of the land. Only that way
can the real content of democracy be preserved.
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“Is it Mr. Narayan’s ‘democratic’ aim that popular ministries should be

replaced by President’s rule until such time the national character undergoes
a sea change and produces a new set of highly ethical and able legislators?
If corruption and maladministration are what he is up against, one would
expect him to lead his followers to unearth hoarded grain and expose corrupt
and incompetent men in office through the appropriate or established forums.
He may well ask where such forums are that will help him achieve his
objective. That might be a tough question to answer. But by bringing down
the present elected legislature through demonstrations in the streets does he
expect that a successor legislature elected in due course would be free of the
ills he wants to eliminate?”
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JUNE 11, 1974
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Some thoughts for J.P.

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the Ministry
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F THE ISSUE IN BIHAR TODAY WERE SIMPLY THE DISMISSAL OF

and the dissolution of the State legislature, many may agree with
Mr. Jaya Prakash Narayan who wants both done. The record of
the ruling Congress Legislature Party, with its endless
factionalism and the Ministry’s consequent administrative
ineffectiveness, would justify the imposition of President’s Rule for a
fairly long spell before elections are held again. But for Mr. Narayan’s
ill-timed agitation which has made it both an issue of prestige and of
democratic propriety for the Government, even the Congress High
Command might have come to that decision on its own. Especially as
the Supreme Court’s opinion about the validity of the forthcoming
Presidential election, with one or more State Legislatures out of
existence, no longer imposes a constitutional compulsion to keep the
Bihar legislature alive till August 24.
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But the real question now is whether a duly elected legislature

should be dissolved just because a students’ agitation, however
eminently led, demands it. Mr. Narayan, who had so far chosen to
remain outside the mainstream of politics and thus shirked his
responsibility to shape it and the country’s affairs on what he deems
to be sound lines, now seeks to enter the house by the wrong door
and even bring it down on the heads of everybody. That a similar
agitation got away with it in Gujarat and got the Assembly dissolved is
no justification for another such attempt in Bihar. In Gujarat too, fight
against high prices and war on corruption in high places were the most
prominent slogans. It is doubtful if either battle has been won since
the dissolution, though the Ministers are no longer there to be charged
with responsibility for them.
Is it Mr. Narayan’s “democratic” aim that popular Ministries should
be replaced by President’s Rule until such time the national character
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undergoes a sea change and produces a new set of highly ethical and
able legislators? or
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If corruption and maladministration are what he is up against, one
would expect him to lead his followers to unearth hoarded grain and
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expose corrupt and incompetent men in office through the appropriate

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or established forums. He may well ask where such forums are that
will help him achieve his objective. That might be a tough question to
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answer. But by bringing down the present elected legislature through

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demonstrations in the streets, does he expect that a successor

legislature elected in due course, would be free of the ills he wants to
eliminate?
Bihar has had perhaps more mid-term elections than any other
State in India and governments too of various kinds, both led by
Congress and united fronts of the Opposition parties. And all of them
have been notorious for the same ills, because the people of Bihar by
and large vote on the basis of caste and manage to return more or
less the same set of casteminded legislators, many of whom, do not
think twice about crossing the floor or plotting against their elected
party leaders, for personal benefit. A repetition of the mixture as before
can hardly be ruled out in yet another election.
It is being said in defence of Mr. Narayan’s unhappy adventure that

one of his aims in launching the agitation is to educate the
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people politically, so that they will learn to beware of the self-seeking

and the corrupt, when they go to the polls next time. What seems more
likely is that he may be educating the Biharis in anarchy. His call to
the people not to pay taxes and the police to disobey official orders
amounts to nothing less. What kind of democracy, of the partyless
variety or any other, can he hope to usher in when the people and the
officials are taught or asked to run berserk?
If Mr. Narayan’s objective is to show the powers that be that he is
still a political force to reckon with, he may have demonstrated it by
the one lakh crowd that he was able to mobilise for his recent Patna
procession. But if he is keen about rescuing Bihar’s or the country’s
politics from its depths and re-shape it to meet the country’s needs,
the public would expect him to fight the elections, get the people’s
mandate for whatever constructive programme he has to offer and
show that the State and the country could be governed better.
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From the following that counter-demonstrations to his own could
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muster, it is clear that even the bulk of the Biharis is not entirely behind
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his toppling move. It is also clear that what inhibits the Government’s
firmer handling of the situation created by him is Mr. Narayan’s
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undoubted stature as a Gandhian and an upright man. Should he

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virtually exploit such public standing to usher in what are disorder and
disrespect for law and order and the democratic set-up as a whole?
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“From the summary (of the judgment) available at the moment it may appear
to many that so far-reaching a finding as the unseating of the Prime Minister
is based on purely technical grounds which are not substantive and appear
rather weak.”
JUNE 13, 1975
Justice Sinha’s verdict

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HE SETTING ASIDE OF THE ELECTION OF THE PRIME MINISTER, Mrs.
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Indira Gandhi to the Lok Sabha is bound to be startling in its
countrywide impact. Mr. Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the
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Thursday in an election petition filed by Mr. Raj Narain, M.P., has also
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debarred Mrs. Gandhi from contesting any election under the

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Representation of the People Act for a period of six years, on the

ground of having been guilty of corrupt practice. The staying of the
operation of the judgment for 20 days, however, provides the
necessary breather for all concerned to study and analyse the verdict
and its consequences and take suitable action.
One would wait for the full version of the lengthy judgment to be
able to assess the weighty arguments that shaped it. From the
summary available at the moment, it may appear to many that so far-
reaching a finding as the unseating of the Prime Minister is based on
purely technical grounds which are not substantive and appear rather
weak. The learned Judge has readily rejected a number of serious
allegations against Mrs. Gandhi, including one of abuse of religious
sentiments (by using the cow-and-calf election symbol) to influence
the voters and another of obtaining the assistance of the armed forces
of the Union to further her election prospects, because
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she had used an IAF plane to fly to Lucknow on a date related to the
election. Mr. Justice Sinha has also found that the posting of police
along the routes taken by the Prime Minister and at meeting places
was in the normal discharge of governmental duties to maintain law
and order. What is more, the security of the Prime Minister’s person
is of paramount national concern and has to be ensured at all times,
whether she goes about electioneering on her own behalf or in the
discharge of the duties of her high office. After all this, it does appear
surprising that the learned judge should deem the construction of
rostrums by the UP Government officials being on a “different footing”,
enabling Mrs. Gandhi to address meetings “from a dominating
position”, and to consider it a corrupt practice, serious enough to
warrant the invalidation of the election that was won not narrowly but
by a massive margin. To the people at large who have watched a
succession of general elections and also the many abuses of the
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official machinery by the ruling parties at the time in different States,
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like getting officials to canvass votes directly and to hold out official
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favours to a particular village, town or other group of persons or even
threats of official displeasure for that purpose, the technical violation
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involved in the erection of rostrums and supplying electricity to enable

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a candidate to do nothing more corrupt than talk openly to the people

is bound to be amusing to say the least. It seems, according to Mr.
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Justice Sinha, that it is not incorrect in terms of the law for the Prime
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Minister to use an IAF plane at great expense for electioneering (of

course on payment) and at Government cost with battalions of the
State Government’s policemen providing the stipulated security
arrangements at the venue but it is crucially illegal on her part to
ascend a rostrum, albeit constructed by the officials, and address the
meeting.
As unconvincing may appear the other ground on which Mrs.
Gandhi’s election has been held to be vitiated, namely, her
acceptance of the services of Mr. Yashpal Kapoor for her election,
when he was a gazetted officer of the Central Government. From the
known facts it is obvious that Mrs. Gandhi was keen that Mr. Kapoor
should resign from Government service if he was equally anxious to
do so and had in fact submitted his resignation. The bona fides of the
Prime Minister in having Mr- Kapoor as her election agent only
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after he quit his Government post seem well established. Here again,
it has been a technical knock-out hinging on such subtleties as the
date of submission of Mr. Kapoor’s resignation and its actual
acceptance and the date when Mrs. Gandhi finally made up her mind
about contesting from the Rae Bareilly constituency. The intention of
the Prime Minister in not permitting an official in harness to work for
her in the election and the steps taken to ensure that are quite clear
but apparently not good enough in law as it has been interpreted.
There has indeed been widespread concern over the abuses that
have crept into the electoral process in this country, like the abuse of
governmental power and of the mass media under official control, the
grant of election eve largesses to sections of the public by the party in
power and above all by the use of gross money power. If the election
of a Prime Minister, of all legislators, had been set aside on any one
of the above substantive grounds, it could be welcomed as a
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vindication of democracy. Since it is the content of the electoral law
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that makes possible a verdict such as in the present case, there is
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need for a careful scrutiny of the law and its revision to ensure that the
real intention behind it is carried out, that as far as possible, purely
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technical knock-outs, are avoided and that the deliberately errant ones
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are penalised.
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“The Chinese mind has never been easy for anyone to fathom. But it has
often happened since the Communists came to power that while Peking has
maintained a hostile posture towards another country, it has also at the same
time tried to establish a working relationship with that country. There is really
no issue outstanding between China and India that needs to be settled
immediately. If some formula can be devised by which Peking can grasp,
without appearing to make a volte face in policy, the hand of friendship
extended by India, the relations between the two are bound to change for the
better.”
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APRIL 18, 1975or
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India’s foreign relations

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OREIGN POLICY DEBATES IN PARLIAMENT GENERALLY GENERATE
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much heat but the latest discussion in the Lok Sabha turned
out to be a tame affair. This is not surprising though, for the
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Opposition really had no issue over which to castigate the

Government. India has had a fairly good year in the field of
foreign relations and ties have been strengthened with practically all
countries, China being the exception. And if there is any cause for
disappointment at all it is that normalisation of relations with the United
States and Pakistan has not progressed as fast and smoothly as it
should have. In the case of the United States, the high hopes raised
by Dr. Henry Kissinger’s visit last October soon suffered deflation
when the U.S. followed it up by lifting the embargo on arms to
Pakistan. The quantity of arms that is likely to be made available to
Pakistan may not be much and the Government of India evidently is
not too worried on this score. What gave a rude jolt to all those in the
Government and outside who were looking forward to a dramatic

improvement in Indo-American relations was, as Mr. Chavan pointed
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out in his reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha, the timing of the lifting
of the embargo and the consequential revival of the old concept of
creating a balance of power in the sub-continent. Apart from causing
a setback to the improvement of Indo-U.S- relations, Washington’s
decision has also had the effect of slowing down the process of
normalisation of relations with Pakistan. Mr. Chavan has said, with
some justification, that improvement of Indo-U.S. relations now
depends on the latter’s acceptance “of our national sensitivity”.
However, since it takes two to make a friendship, it would be wise for
us, in judging American intentions and actions, not to lose our sense
of perspective and also not to forget that the U.S. is a global power
with global interests. That closer Indo-U.S. co-operation is being
forged in the economic, educational and cultural spheres must be
taken as an indication that both Governments are anxious not to let
differences over the arms issue cloud overall policy.
Notwithstanding Mr. Bhutto’s tantrums and periodic diatribes
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against India and his fruitless efforts to tarnish India’s image abroad,
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relations with Pakistan have been inching forward. Apart from Israel,
Pakistan is the only country with which India has no diplomatic
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relations to-day and this situation would have been corrected by this
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time if Islamabad had only implemented all the elements of the Simla
Agreement. Mr. Bhutto has his hands full with domestic problems but
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can there by any doubt that he will be better able to deal with them
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once he has ironed out his differences with India and Bangladesh?
Mr. Chavan has pointed out that if relations with China have not
improved it is not for want of India’s trying. The Chinese mind has
never been easy for anyone to fathom. But it has often happened
since the communists came to power that while Peking has
maintained a hostile posture towards another country, it has also at
the same time tried to establish a working relationship with that
country. The Sino-American detente is an example. There is really no
issue outstanding between China and India that needs to be settled
immediately. If some formula can be devised by which Peking can
grasp, without appearing to make a volte face in policy, the hand of
friendship extended by India, the relations between the two are bound
to change for the better.
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It is natural that both official and Opposition spokesmen should

have sung paeans of praise to Russia for the valuable and timely help
it has been giving India in various directions. But the danger inherent
in becoming too dependent on one source should not be lost sight of.
India’s own self-interest lies in maintaining an evenly balanced
relationship with all the important powers, particularly the
U.S. and Russia. It is towards this end that the Government of India
should constantly bend its efforts, and in the final analysis its foreign
policy will be judged by the success it achieves in this regard.
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“We offer our sympathy to the thousands of people who were helpless victims
of the flash flooding of vast areas of the city. We are certain that some at least
of their suffering could have been alleviated if our weather forecasters had
not been miles off their mark in their predictions.”
NOVEMBER 27, 1976
A few thundershowers indeed!

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N THIS CENTENARY YEAR OF THE INDIAN METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT,
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we find it difficult to share the official enthusiasm of the Indian
weathercocks crowing about their achievements. The IMD’s
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Director-General three days ago talked of a “percentage

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improvement” in the accuracy of Indian weather forecasts but this

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claim does not make scientific sense in the absence of absolute

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figures on the correctness of predictions. A weather forecast from the

Madras Meteorological office, received by us towards 9 p.m. on
Tuesday evening, read as follows: “Cloudy, with a few showers or
thundershowers towards evening”. And it was said to be valid until
Thursday morning. By the time people were reading the forecast in
the newspaper on Wednesday morning the city was already being
lashed by the fury of heavy showers. And the whole of Wednesday
turned out to be a nightmare of torrential rain totalling 45 cms (18
inches) in 24 hours — the heaviest downpour since the beginning of
this century! We offer our sympathy to the thousands of people who
were helpless victims of the flash flooding of vast areas of the city. We
are certain that some at least of their suffering could have been
alleviated if our weather forecasters had not been miles off their mark
in their predictions. The Municipal Corporation, the Electricity

Department, and the officials entrusted with the task of watching the
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levels of rising rivers and lakes could have been better equipped to
face the crisis than they were had there been a reliable early warning.
The Madras forecasters’ failure in their interpretation of the deep
depression was total, if they are to be judged by the conclusion they
came to on a severe cyclone hitting the coast near Cuddalore.
Writing in THE HINDU some time ago, the Regional Director of the
IMD in Madras said: “From the pattern of echoes on the radar screen,
it is generally possible to locate the clear area or ‘eye’ at the centre of
a storm and by continuous observation the course of movement of the
storm can be inferred.... By keeping a continuous watch of the cyclonic
storm as seen on the radar scope, a forecaster can provide the public
a running commentary of the movements of the cyclone hour to hour”.
Cyclone warning radars with a range of 400 kms. exist in Madras,
Bombay, Calcutta, Visakhapatnam and Paradeep. If technical
equipment was not lacking and was in working order, an alert
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approach has surely been non-existent. How else can we, in turn,
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interprete the weather-interpreters’ conclusions? People were
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anxiously switching on their radios to hear the latest news about what
the weather was in store for them and such broadcasts as were made
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were only repeating the already outdated forecasts made several

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hours earlier. They had nothing else to go by.

Having predicted a severe cyclone was it not the duty of the
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meteorological officials to give an “hour to hour” commentary on its

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movements, departing from their rigid schedules of the usual twice- a-

day forecasts so that the radio at least could be up-to-date with the
information? In the critical hours of Wednesday, when heavy rainfall
was threatening the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh, the Hyderabad Met. Office seems to have been much closer
to the developments than Madras which has more sophisticated
weather-watch apparatus.
The weathermen also erred in their long term forecast for this
season because the organisers of the final New Zealand-India cricket
Test match, who had consulted them, had been “promised” fair days
in Madras during the latter part of November.
The Meteorological Department is busy with its centenary fete,
which included the inauguration yesterday of a new multi-storeyed
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building for it in New Delhi. It is talking of adding new sophisticated

equipment to improve the data collection work of the vast
organisation. It is also to have the benefit of better communication
facilities with its counterpart agencies in other countries and access to
more and better cloud pattern analysis pictures from satellites. When
will all these be coming? But even if they come soon, they will add up
to nought if the ability to coordinate, analyse, interpret, and broadcast
information does not improve substantially. Some months ago, a
conference of astrologers in Poona decided to set up an “observatory”
to issue short and medium range weather forecasts. Nothing more has
been heard of this organisation or of any of its bulletins. But the recent
performance of the meterological experts does not seem to be of a
much higher level than the guesswork which the Poona group may
have indulged in.
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“The effort to get out of the rut of a particular type of planning now threatens
to degenerate into an exercise that bears no relevance to the development
needs of a poor country such as India. A correct relation is yet to be
established between Industry and Agriculture and among different sections
of industry and the contraposing of agriculture (which must undoubtedly be
the foundation of India’s national economy for a long time to come) with
industry (which has already become the leading factor) is unwarranted and
most disturbing.”
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AUGUST 23, 1977
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Decentralisation or economic
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romanticism?
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MIDST THE DIFFERENCES AT THE TOP LEVEL OF THE RULING party
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over the basic structure of economic policy — differences

which have resulted in postponing the clinching of issues to
October — the voice of economic romanticism is clearly
identifiable, conjuring visions of a utopia whose guiding principle is the
supremacy of small scale production. The differences in the
viewpoints expressed in the position paper circulated in the Janata
Working Committee on behalf of the party Secretariat and in Mr.
Charan Singh’s note on the role of agriculture in economic
development are by no means inconsiderable, particularly where they
relate to the qualitative aspects of the structure of agrarian relations.
Nevertheless, what stands out in both is an attempt to reject the very
path of development India has taken since Independence as being
incapable of solving the problems of unemployment, mass poverty

and low growth rates. While few
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students of political economy would be inclined to contest the bluntly

presented conviction that India’s overall performance has not been
good enough and that the whole development effort is caught in a rut,
it is the nature of the alternative strategy discussed vaguely that must
cause concern.
The key incantation so far as the Janata is concerned is
decentralisation of economic and political power — initially promised
in the party’s election manifesto. This concept has been variously
propounded, referring now to the breaking of the dominance of factory
industry, now to the need to draw rural areas more closely into the
development effort, now to the dispersal of industry over a wide
region, over a backward region and so on. At one extreme in the
Janata spectrum of views is the concept of decentralisation that is to
be translated into practice by recognising the primacy of agriculture
over industry, by changing the balance of allocation of development
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resources radically in favour of agriculture and at the expense of
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heavy industry, by reserving industrial production now in the domain
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of large scale machine, or factory, industry, to the ‘decentralised’
sector, that is, to cottage and small-scale industries, and by allowing
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big industries to exist on pain of export. Such a development

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alternative must be characterised as pre-modern and even backward

looking not merely because it sees the advance of large scale industry
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as a curse, not merely because it confuses the overriding

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centralisation and concentration inherent in the historical evolution of

India’s modern industrial structure with its bigness (which is, of
course, a relative concept) and not merely because it refuses to see
in modern industry man’s great achievements in science, technology
and production. From the standpoint of the people, it might appear as
a prescription for the continued poverty of India, a blueprint to keep
the technical basis of India’s economy primitive and undeveloped and
to keep India away from the mainstream of world-wide advances in
modern production. It is very much in line with familiar homilies
showered on us by certain Western circles some years ago to the
effect that a country like India does not need a basis of its own for
heavy industry, but can rely on more developed economies to meet
its development needs. The line that a large part of India’s factory
industry must live by exports alone
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would place the industry and the workers employed at the mercy of
international market forces and therefore in an increasingly helpless
position. The implication that production for the home market can
develop at a primitive technical and organisational level while
production for export alone must be efficient and competitive is to turn
national development priorities topsy-turvy, is therefore clearly
unacceptable to the people.
Somewhere along India’s journey of industrialisation from the time
it was wisely observed that once machinery and a network of railways
were introduced into a vast country with rich resources there was no
question of withholding the development of modern industry which
would dissolve the hereditary divisions of labour, the real life prospect
of decentralisation and the primacy of small scale production got
derailed. The ruination of India’s handicraft and cottage industry was
a pre-industrial phenomenon — brought on by the savage thrust of
British colonialism in an earlier phase — and the process attained a
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new force in the second half of the nineteenth century and a new
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intensity since the end of the first world war. Today, the tenacity of
small-scale production in India is an expression not of its innate
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viability, but of the incompleteness, on account of basic structural

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reasons, of the industrialisation process itself. It is above all a tribute

to the plodding heroism of the working people involved in these
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sectors who are battling against tremendous odds, but heroism does
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not guarantee stability over the long term. Protection to the traditional
industrial sector against ruinous competition from large scale industry,
encouragement of methods involving the greater employment of
labour and abjuration of modern methods in the production of certain
specified non- essential commodities are welcome short term and
transitional measures which will not, however, confer on the
‘decentralised’ sector the boon of happy existence. And this applies
as much to agriculture — where Mr. Charan Singh’s strategy for the
development of an agrarian structure based on a free-wheeling and
highly individualistic ‘peasant proprietorship’ is being discussed — as
to the field of industry in which, according to the latest resolution of the
Janata Party, “what can be produced by cottage industry shall not be
produced by the small scale industry and what can be
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produced by the small scale sector shall not be open for the large
scale industry”.
The effort to get out of the rut of a particular type of planning now
threatens to degenerate into an exercise that bears no relevance to
the development needs of a poor country such as India. A correct
relation is yet to be established between industry and agriculture and
among different sectors of industry and the contraposing of agriculture
(which must undoubtedly be the foundation of India’s national
economy for a long time to come) with industry (which has already
become the leading factor) is unwarranted and most disturbing. At a
time when the country urgently needs a new planning vision based on
alertness to world-wide developments in science and production and
on an undogmatic evaluation of resources at the grass roots, the
debate on economic policy within the ruling party has ceased to be
edifying — since it seems to beg the big question of mobilisation of
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resources for planning.
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Whatever the shape of things to come the orderly and peaceful elections just
completed successfully in the world’s largest democracy deserve to be
followed by a sober acceptance of the verdict by both the victors and the
vanquished. Now is the time for the bitterness of the hot contest to yield for
reconciliation and co-operation in grappling with the many pressing problems
facing the nation.”
MARCH 22, 1977
The people’s verdict

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T
HE ELECTIONS TO THE SIXTH LOK SABHA HAVE INDEED sprung many
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surprises, the most unexpected being the defeat of the Prime

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Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, in Rae Bareli, which constituency

she has held hitherto with big majorities. With
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the bulk of the returns already on hand, the emerging trend is clear
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that the Congress Party’s unbroken rule at the Centre since

Independence is about to end, that it has been rejected by a majority
of those who voted and that the Janata Party, formed by the get-
together of the Jan Sangh, the Congress (O), the Bharatiya Lok Dal,
and the SSP is well set to hold the reins of power at the Centre. The
same people who massively voted Mrs. Gandhi and her party to power
with a two-thirds majority in 1971 have thought it necessary now, with
an equal sense of purpose, to deny her even a seat in the Lok Sabha.
It is also to be noted that the voters who discounted the Grand
Alliance’s slogan of “democracy in danger” in 1971 have this time
heeded the same slogan when raised by the Janata Party, a re-
incarnation of the same alliance under a new name. Evidently they
had reasons to believe that this time the cry had a lot more of
substance.
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Nevertheless, the impressive and unmistakable success of Mrs.

Gandhi’s Congress in the southern States which were exposed to the
same Emergency restrictions and the same Janata wave as were the
populous (and so decisive) northern States may also help isolate the
factor or factors that have pushed the Congress down notwithstanding
the perceptible benefits derived by the weaker sections from the
implementation of some of the schemes of the Prime Minister’s 20-
point programme. It is a pity that the era of press censorship had kept
the South (and the higher authorities themselves to an extent)
ignorant of the gross excesses of the family planning drive in the Hindi-
speaking States and other acts of repression. The southern States,
especially Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, have in fact achieved
far better results in family planning and brought down the birth-rate to
below 30 per thousand, while it still remains around 35 per thousand
in Hindi-speaking belt. But these results were obtained in the South
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by a judicious combination of motivation, monetary and other
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incentives, aftercare of sterilisation acceptors in well-conducted F.P.
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camps and some element of compulsion even. It is the hurried and
immature attempts in the northern States to make up for lost time by
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the use of indiscriminate strong-arm methods for mass compulsory

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sterilisation that are said to have so roused popular anger in the North
against Mrs. Gandhi whether or not she herself had had a hand in the
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misdeed.
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If this is indeed the crucial factor that has so clearly differentiated

the verdict of the southern and northern States in the present poll, it is
all the same unfortunate that there should occur such a region- wise
conflict to preferences. For what becomes very relevant and
significant is its possible impact on the unity of approach to national
problems, so necessary. With the Janata Party so sparsely
represented in the Lok Sabha from the four enlightened southern
States, their involvement in the business of the Central Government
is bound to suffer from the lack of adequate representation. It is
however to be hoped that men of vision and statesmanship will take
due cognisance of this new developing situation to ensure that the
interests of the South would not go by default as a consequence of an
entirely unexpected turn of events.
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Just now the sixth Lok Sabha appears to advance towards a

virtually two-party parliamentary system, if it is indeed a most
desirable thing in the evolution of our young democracy. The intensive
participation of the bulk of the entire nation in the elections that such
unprecedently heavy polling shows, is also a welcome indication of
the awareness and alertness of the Indian electorate. For it does serve
as a warning to any ruling party that it cannot take the people for
granted and that even good intentions (as in the F.P. programme)
cannot make up for bad implementation. A great deal depends on
whether the Janata Party is going to fulfill its pre-election promise to
effect de jure merger of the constituent parties soon after the elections.
When it does that, it would have taken the first step towards dispelling
genuinely entertained fears of instability at the Centre.
The people have unmistakably shown that the basic purpose of
using their vote is to set up good government by returning the ruling
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coalition in the Kerala Assembly elections with much bigger majority
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than before. And they have shown themselves to be clearly against
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the marxists, no doubt because of the feeling that, otherwise, they
would be retarding economic progress in the State. The rout of the
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DMK in Tamil Nadu is also proof that the people cannot be fooled for
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long. Apart from the findings of the Sarkaria Commission of corruption

and misuse of authority by the DMK while in power, Mr. Karunanidhi’s
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thinly disguised separatist proclivities have surely had everything to

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do with the overwhelming defeat of the party at the polls. All these
developments infuse a heartening confidence in the nation that the
ordinary people know how to apply their political prerogatives.
It is of course too early to say what the impact of the Lok Sabha
poll results is likely to be on the party alignments in the State
Assemblies and the possible changes in governmental set-up. The
coming months may hold many more surprises. Whatever the shape
of things to come, the orderly and peaceful elections just completed
successfully in the world’s largest democracy deserve to be followed
by a sober acceptance of the verdict by both the victors and the
vanquished. Now is the time for the bitterness of the hot contest to
yield for reconciliation and co-operation in grappling with the many
pressing problems facing the nation. The ruling party and the
Opposition are but two essential limbs of governance. The people do
expect them to establish new conventions and practices for the
constructive functioning of the two houses of Parliament.
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“In the new year the single most important characteristic of the political
situation is the instability and uncertainty in relation to basic questions that
have been brought into sharp relief by the third major split of the Indian
National Congress in its 92-year old history. Both Congressmen and
Janataites have been given much food for thought. The way they act and
decide on issues in the coming months will be closely watched by the people.”
JANUARY 4, 1978
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The meaning of this split or
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H
ISTORY, IT HAS BEEN OBSERVED, REPEATS ITSELF IN A
— the first time as tragedy, the
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DISCONCERTING fashion
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second as farce. If the 1969 split in the Indian National

Congress contained, for Congressmen and well-wishers of
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that party, elements of the tragic, the 1978 split reveals

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unmistakably farcical characteristics. For how else is one to

comprehend the various claims and noises made at the “National
Convention of Congressmen” that concluded recently? The forces that
assembled at Delhi in defiance of a specific party appeal dedicated
themselves, by verbal tricks and political sleight of hand, to restoring
coherence, direction and unitariness to the political process of the
country; to championing the interests of the “downtrodden” and of
minorities; to providing strong and patriotic leadership; and incredible
as it may sound, to refurbishing democratic political culture. The
nature and quality of their programme were expressed, above all, in
the act of declaring Mrs. Indira Gandhi — beyond the slightest regard
for legality, constitutionality and party procedure — the Congress
President. All this signifies that the forces of different complexion that
have banded
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together as followers of Mrs. Gandhi have adopted the strategy of

going to the people openly — in contrast to the hesitant and
ambiguous official, Congress leadership — in defence of Emergency.
Not merely is there no trace of remorse for the towering wrongs done
to the nation during the regime, there is social blindness and
arrogance at large, reflected in the statement on “the real cause of the
defeat, viz., the reactionary combine of internal and external forces”.
The outlook of Mrs. Gandhi and her henchmen who have captured an
unknown part of the Congress Party organisation is blatant. It is to
prey upon the complex and uncertain developing situation of the
present in order to develop muscle of disruption in the country. No
other interpretation can be placed on the political resolution and
speeches that rattled at the Delhi convention.
While it will be a mistake to think that Mrs. Gandhi’s group has no
real capacity for political mischief, it is well to remember that the
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present political situation is basically different from the situation that
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enabled her line to mislead and snare the people in the late sixties.
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Demagogy practised from the gadi is very different from demagogy
practised in a period of political defeat and exposure. It is the deep-
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going process of exposure taking place before the Shah Commission

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and the other commissions investigating Emergency misdeeds that

explains the desperation, the panic, the stridency that characterise the
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tactics of Mrs. Gandhi and her entourage.

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An analysis of the overall political development of the country

during the last decade highlights the following realities. The first reality
is that the 1978 split is an advanced development and working out of
the process of differentiation within the Congress Party that began
some years ago, in response to what was at that time claimed (many
would say, falsely) to be live ideological issues and in response to the
opposition generated against the inability of the ruling party to solve
concrete problems of the people concretely. This does not, of course,
mean that any real “politics of conviction” motivated, and issued from,
the 1969 split. Political, factional and personal factors contributed to
the emergence of two lines within the ruling camp at that time, one of
which went successfully to the people on a platform of populism and
demagogy — which is, after all, the art of playing upon the misery,
the feelings, the sentiments of
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the “downtrodden” while maintaining the existing state of affairs and,

more particularly, one’s own sway over everything that matters. The
second reality is that if Mrs. Gandhi’s group got the upper hand at a
particular juncture for a host of socio-economic, ideological and
political reasons, the opposition to her hold gained ground rapidly
throughout the Seventies culminating in the Emergency experience
and the electoral trouncing last March. The “politics of conviction” so
ceremoniously propounded by Mrs. Gandhi in 1969 was gradually
undone, as is clear now, on account of its own internal stresses and
contradictions, its unaccountable inaction in the matter of offering
positive policies, its authoritarian tendency in party and government.
It is equally clear that those in the official Congress cannot wash their
hands off their own responsibility for the condition that enabled a small
coterie of power-wielders to run amok and smother the natural urges
of democratic life. The third reality is that the political conglomerate
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that has replaced the Congress at the Centre has not shown itself
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capable, so far, of solving the basic problems of the country that
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eventually got the better of the Congress. The Janata Party has failed
to provide imaginative and constructive solutions to these. It has been
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tormented by internal strife and factionalism and is still to work out for
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itself an effective policy framework. The Janata Government has failed

to overcome the serious weakness injected into the body politic by the
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polarisation of electoral results between the North and the South; it

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has by its structure and functioning laid itself wide open to the charge
that it is basically a party of one zone of the country which ipso facto
becomes neglectful of the interests of the other, the South. While
taking note of the split in the Congress — which should, in the coming
weeks and as the Assembly elections draw near, push the official
Congress group closer to the Janata Party — it must not be forgotten
that the issues of poverty, deprivation, atrocities on Harijans, linguistic
inequality, self-reliance and neglect of the South do not become
unreal and discredited just because Mrs. Gandhi’s camp may choose
to adopt them demagogically. They are very real and cannot be
tackled promptly and competently unless the Centre acts in close
concert with the States, for which an essential pre-condition is the
effort to establish greater cohesion among all parts of the federal set-
up of the country.
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In the new year, the single most important characteristic of the political
situation is the instability and uncertainty in relation to basic questions
that have been brought into sharp relief by the third major split of the
Indian National Congress in its 92-year old history. Both
Congressmen and Janataites have been given much food for thought.
The way they act and decide on issues in the coming months will be
closely watched by the people.
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“The most precious asset for THE HINDU over its first century has been the heart
warming expression of public confidence in the relevance and integrity of its
role in national and social life. This has been a source of sustenance in times
of trial and the real inspiration for development in the long-term. Just as it
gave the strength to the newspaper to survive the numerous trials and
challenges thrown onto its path of growth by the colonial authorities it has
enabled it to withstand constraints and pressures from various quarters after
Independence”.
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SEPTEMBER 5, 1978
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A Hundred Years
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in an
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OR A NEWSPAPER, A CENTURY IS A MEMORABLE MILESTONE

exciting, ongoing adventure. Since that day a hundred years
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ago when six young men, fired by the ardent spirit of

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patriotism and fresh out of college, ran 80 copies off a

treadle machine in Triplicane, Madras, after seeking the aid of friends
to raise the rupee and three-quarters needed to buy paper, the
character of the newspaper, its physical and social environment and
the world at large have changed a great deal. The nation has won
freedom — along with numerous other developing countries — and
gone on into a totally new era of development. Momentous changes
have taken place in the fields of economy, politics, social life, culture
and scientific and intellectual development and these have had their
impact on the general condition of the people. The rapid advance of
science and technology, in particular, has opened up bright prospects
for making the earth a better place to live in and raising the quality of
life of the people. The world of communication has been

revolutionised, leading to speedier, more accurate, more
sophisticated and on the whole better methods of processing and
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disseminating information about nature and society. These

transformations have brought about enormous and yet-to-be-fully
comprehended changes in the scope, approach and technique of
journalism.
The most precious asset for THE HINDU over its first century has
been the heart-warming expression of public confidence in the
relevance and integrity of its role in national and social life. This has
been a source of sustenance in times of trial and the real inspiration
for development in the long term. Just as it gave the strength to the
newspaper to survive the numerous trials and challenges thrown onto
its path of growth by the colonial authorities, it has enabled it to
withstand constraints and pressures from various quarters after
Independence. During a particularly trying period, on June 4, 1919 to
be exact, a resolution by the citizens of Madras that “public confidence
in the policy of THE HINDU continues undiminished” provided a strong
boost to the newspaper’s confidence in itself. To- day, on this solemn
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occasion, it has become clearer to us than ever before that it is the
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happy and stable relationship between the newspaper and the public
— reflected in the large and enthusiastic response to this occasion —
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that is the real guarantee of its future. THE HINDU is honoured that
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the President, Mr. Neelam Sanjiva Reddi, has inaugurated the

centenary celebrations with an inspiring message and that a very large
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number of distinguished men and women in public life, as well as

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representatives of the general public, have joined in its happiness and

shared its sense of fulfilment.
Such a relationship with society is guided on our side by the desire
to put the criterion of public purpose at the centre of our practice of
journalism. For nearly seven of the ten decades of its existence, THE
HINDU made its own contribution to the Indian people’s struggle for
freedom. After Independence, it has had to function in a greatly
transformed situation, with new perspectives and tasks. One of the
key changes in its role has been professionalisation. In the early days,
those who came to serve this newspaper entered a vocation and an
opportunity to make their own contribution to the fight for freedom.
Today, THE HINDU is part of a well-established profession where
journalistic and technical
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competence has to be matched, in ways better than we know today,

by new kinds of commitment to the public interest.
Practice over many a long and significant decade has made the
Indian press conscious that public purpose encompasses a broad-
based approach to national responsibility as well as larger and
growingly complex social concerns. In our own practice national
responsibility has come to mean a striving, in policy and principle, to
help safeguard the independence and integrity of the nation. It has
meant rising above narrow, sectional and sectarian concerns and
forming and developing a well-rounded national approach. Such an
approach is important at all times, but it becomes crucially important
during times such as the present when what is public interest itself
becomes the focus of acute contention from many sides. It might be
contended perhaps that these consequences are inevitable in a
developing society, especially as they have proved unavoidable in
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many developed societies also. In a multi-structural and multi- interest
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society such as we have in India, the full weight of myriad social
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problems — including those handed down by the heritage of the past
— presses down on interpretations and analyses of the public interest
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and impinges with particularly stressful force on the practice of

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journalism. What sustains the independence and social relevance of

a newspaper in this context? The generic function of a newspaper, it
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has been pointed out, is essentially to provide an accurate and

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reasonably comprehensive account of the days’ events in a context

which invests them with meaning, and to offer a forum for the
exchange of comment and criticism. It is the interpretation given to
national and social responsibility that is all-important to the health of
the press. Where national life itself becomes an arena for differing
standpoints and views to have it out, resulting in heated controversy,
the role of the press becomes ever more delicate. Quite often, it is
subjected to the test of intolerance that demands support to one set
of views and policy prescriptions to the exclusion of every other. This
seems, in fact, to be an occupational temptation for Governments to
lapse into periodically. The reason is the failure to remember that a
newspaper’s responsibility to society cannot at all be equated with
responsibility either to a political party or to the Government of the

day. A serious newspaper is nothing if it does not
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preserve its relative independence and chart its course with the
understanding that its duties and responsibilities are different from
those of a Government— although there certainly come times when it
is called upon to strengthen Authority in the national and public
interest. Support or opposition to a set of policies, or a course of
action, must be viewed in a sober perspective, especially by those
who, being on a different of opposite side of an issue, disagree
strongly with a particular editorial opinion. Here it must be
remembered that a choice has to be made as between contending
views — which is not at all a transgression of the principle of fairness
since no personal prejudice or favouritism has any role to play. A
newspaper, it has also been observed, thrives on disclosure and
criticism. Although criticism tends to get pushed into the status of an
unwanted guest (suffered at best behind impassive countenances)
and sometimes raises feelings of indignation and pique, the
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independent and critical spirit must nevertheless be cherished as a
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newspaper’s breath of life. But then this right to criticism which is
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inherent in a democracy must be guided by larger considerations of
public weal.
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Above all, the practice of criticism must be guided by the realisation

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that a newspaper, being a part of society, cannot arrogate to itself any

brand of superior wisdom, much less infallibility or claim any special
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privilege — apart, of course, from the legitimate rights and conditions

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that the press has won historically in order to develop its vital role. Any
sound newspaper learns quickly enough to cultivate a sense of
respect, closeness and humility in relation to the society and the public
it serves. In a country of many languages where the literate sections
of the population are still in a minority, the newspaper reading public
is a much smaller proportion of the total population than it is in
advanced countries. Considering the limitations, what we have found
truly remarkable is the intelligence, the sensitivity, the zest with which
our readers as a growing force have followed public issues. In relation
to such a readership, the sound and healthy approach was taught to
us by our predecessors. In an Editorial written on the occasion of the
Diamond Jubilee celebrations in December 1939, they noted: “it is not
by bludgeoning the reader’s mind but by reasoning with it that the

soundest and
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most lasting results can be achieved...The ascertainment of public

opinion (as different from the prejudices of the moment) and the
evocation of the atmosphere favourable to its emergence are
therefore tasks that a newspaper which is not content to adopt a purely
hand to mouth policy must set about with circumspection as well as
earnestness. The many and complex issues on which it has to
pronounce in the course of the day’s work do not admit of a naive
directness of treatment, a simple Yes or No. Where the choice is not
between black and white but between various delicate shades of
colour, slapdash methods and the unstable impetuosity which
discards opinion as lightly as it adopts them may work considerable
harm. The practice of the best journalism the world over shows that
honest and trenchant criticism is perfectly compatible with good
temper and fairness to opposing points of view”. THE HINDU, which
has now completed a century, stands firmly by this approach.
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Hello Readers,
telegram @ 4 AM.
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Hello Readers,
telegram @ 4 AM.
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Youtube Link-
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The
Second
Hundred
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ED I TO RIAL S FROM TH E HI NDU
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197$ — 2016
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1st Printing: October 2017
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© Kasturi & Sons Ltd. 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
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reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior permission of Kasturi & Sons Ltd.
Published by N. Ram at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860 Anna Salai, Chennai -
600002 and Printed by K. Srinivasan, Srikals Graphics Pvt. Ltd, 5 Balaji Nagar
First Street, Ekkattuthangal, Chennai - 600032, on behalf of Kasturi & Sons Ltd,
Chennai - 600002.
Editor: Mukund Padmanabhan
The
Second
Hundred
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ED I TO RIAL S F RO M TH E HI NDU
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! 978 - 2Ot6
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I£asturi & Sons Ltd.

859-86o Anna Salai • Chennai 6oo 002
The Second Hundred
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N LIVING MEMORY, AND MOST LIKELY EVER SINCE THE BIRTH OF The Hindu
in 1878, the editorial has been treated as the most important
column within its pages. Unlike many other newspapers, which
pay decreasing attention to editorials ostensibly because they
are read by very few, The Hindu has and continues to put in
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considerable effort into their creation — from commissioning to
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writing to editing. This is probably why this newspaper’s editorials
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are followed closely and taken seriously by the country’s
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intelligentsia.
Editorials constitute the voice of the newspaper, its views on the
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events of the times. It is misguided to look for absolute consistency

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as views change for a variety of reasons — for instance, with the

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discovery of new facts, with the emergence of new ideas, with

transformations in the external environment and, even, the induction
of a new editor.
If there is a thread of evenness, it consists in The Hindu’s
commitment to back up its views with reasoned argument and to be
steadfast to the core values that have made it the great newspaper it
is. As its first very editorial, titled ‘Ourselves’, said with an arresting
matter-of-factness: “The principles we propose to be guided by are
simply those of justice and fairness.”
This is the second book of The Hindu’s editorials. The first,
spanning a period of a century (1878-1978), featured 100 editorials
written on a wide variety of subjects. This book features 100 more.
Most of those that have found their way into this volume have been
selected because of the historical significance of the subject matter
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or event they have dealt with. A few others selected themselves to

showcase the range of issues that we have commented on. And a
few more — because every project like this must be inspired with a
degree of curatorial whim — merely as a result of us thinking they
were interesting.
The credit for making this selection goes to The Hindu’s National
Editor, Suresh Nambath, who went through a large number of
editorials before putting this volume together. To set the context in
which the editorials were written — something that may not be
obvious to the reader — each of them is published with a couple of
lines that provide a background. These ‘backgrounders’ were
contributed by Suresh and our Associate Editor Narayan Lakshman.
We hope you will enjoy reading this book of editorials. It is many
things at once — an unusual glance into the country’s history, a body
of coherent and reasoned opinion on a wide variety of subjects, and
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an insight into how this newspaper looked on the events of the day.
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Mukund Padmanabhan
Editor, The Hindu
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CONTENTS
1. A Hundred Years
2. Mr. Desai resigns
3. The landslide and what lies ahead
4. Barbarity Unlimited
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5. A disappointing report
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An Asiad of keen, exciting competition
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7. Results pregnant with meaning
8. Assam: What next?
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9. The non-aligned: groping for meaning

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10. An important accord

11. A famous victory
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12. Indian in space

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13. Crackdown in Punjab

14. The coup in Andhra Pradesh
15. A colossal tragedy
16. The Bhopal tragedy
17. Historic popular mandate
18. A dangerous situation
19. Hold elections in Kashmir
20. A grievous breach of propriety
21. A courageous undertaking
22. Bofors — closing in on the payoffs
23. A tribute to MGR
24. A philistine decision
25. India and China — an excellent development

26. The verdict is unmistakable
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27. Free at last

28. Looking for a way out
29. What lies ahead?
30. Operation Desert Storm
31. An inevitable collapse
32. Facing up to the aftermath
33. Sparing the poor
34. The end of an era
35. Unforgivable
36. An assault on the Indian state
37. Time to resign
38. Where clowns cry
39. A landmark verdict
40. Obscurantism to the fore
41. The magic of Antarctica
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42. End of an era in A.P.
43. A negative verdict or
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44. Outcry against Hussain
45. What a shame!
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46. The new President

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47. Mother Teresa

48. A Booker for India
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49. The verdict

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50. A high stakes gambit

51. The people’s economist
52. A decisive verdict
53. Terror aboard Flight IC 814
54. Casino cricket
55. The billionth baby and after
56. Mr. Basu makes his bow
57. Nature’s fury
58. Oh, Kolkata
59. R.K. Narayan, 1906-2001
60. The tragedy in Nepal
61. An attack on the civilised world
62. A humane reading

63. Ugly terror strikes again
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64. Deadly spiral

65. Tilting at windmills
66. The next President
67. Rising intolerance
68. A World Champion is born?
69. Stunning political sacrifice
70. End of Veerappan
71. Death from the sea
72. Playing it out to perfection
73. Death in the name of sport
74. A violation of the mind
75. Eminently implementable
76. A highly improper step
77. Bindra makes history
78. Off to the Moon
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79. A famous victory
80. An affront to the Indian state or
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81. India chooses Congress
82. End of the war
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83. A unique number

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84. Intriguing compromise could work

85. Divorce in a trice
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86. The future of the past

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87. Behind India’s World Cup

88. The stand-off over corruption
89. What the end of bin Laden means
90. No to death penalty
91. An inspirational icon
92. The truth must be told
93. Transformational politics
94. Salutary judgment
95. Preserve the Idea of India
96. Democracy wins in Sri Lanka
97. Feeding the frenzy
98. No jokes please, we’re Indian
99. A method in the shock therapy

100. Jayalalithaa, 1948-2016
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This editorial published in 1978 was to mark the first 100 years of The
Hindu. It records that the “expression of public confidence” has been a
“source of sustenance” and has given the newspaper the strength to
“survive the numerous trials and challenges thrown onto its path of growth
by the colonial authorities” and “enabled it to withstand constraints and
pressures from various quarters after Independence.”
SEPTEMBER 5, 1978
A Hundred Years
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OR A NEWSPAPER, A CENTURY IS A MEMORABLE MILESTONE in an
exciting, ongoing adventure. Since that day a hundred years
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ago when six young men, fired by the ardent spirit of

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patriotism and fresh out of college, ran 80 copies off a

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treadle machine in Triplicane, Madras after seeking the aid of friends

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to raise the rupee and three-quarters needed to buy paper, the

character of the newspaper, its physical and social environment and
the world at large have changed a great deal. The nation has won
freedom — along with numerous other developing countries — and
gone on into a totally new era of development. Momentous changes
have taken place in the fields of economy, politics, social life, culture
and scientific and intellectual development and these have had their
impact on the general condition of the people. The rapid advance of
science and technology, in particular, has opened up bright
prospects for making the earth a better place to live in and raising
the quality of life of the people. The world of communication has
been revolutionised, leading to speedier, more accurate, more
sophisticated and on the whole better methods of processing and

disseminating information about nature and society. These
transformations have brought about enormous and yet-to-be-fully
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comprehended changes in the scope, approach and technique of

journalism.
The most precious asset for The Hindu over its first century has
been the heart-warming expression of public confidence in the
relevance and integrity of its role in national and social life. This has
been a source of sustenance in times of trial and the real inspiration
for development in the long term. Just as it gave the strength to the
newspaper to survive the numerous trials and challenges thrown
onto its path of growth by the colonial authorities, it has enabled it to
withstand constraints and pressures from various quarters after
Independence. During a particularly trying period, on June 4, 1919 to
be exact, a resolution by the citizens of Madras that “public
confidence in the policy of The Hindu continues undiminished”
provided a strong boost to the newspaper’s confidence in itself. To-
day, on this solemn occasion, it has become clearer to us than ever
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before that it is the happy and stable relationship between the
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newspaper and the public — reflected in the large and enthusiastic
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response to this occasion — that is the real guarantee of its future.
The Hindu is honoured that the President, Mr. Neelam Sanjiva
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Reddi, has inaugurated the centenary celebrations with an inspiring

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message and that a very large number of distinguished men and

women in public life, as well as representatives of the general public,
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have joined in its happiness and shared its sense of fulfilment.

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Such a relationship with society is guided on our side by the

desire to put the criterion of public purpose at the centre of our
practice of journalism. For nearly seven of the ten decades of its
existence, The Hindu made its own contribution to the Indian
people’s struggle for freedom. After Independence, it has had to
function in a greatly transformed situation, with new perspectives
and tasks. One of the key changes in its role has been
professionalisation. In the early days, those who came to serve this
newspaper entered a vocation and an opportunity to make their own
contribution to the fight for freedom. Today, The Hindu is part of a
well-established profession where journalistic and technical
competence has to be matched, in ways better than we know today,
by new kinds of commitment to the public interest.
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Practice over many a long and significant decade has made the
Indian press conscious that public purpose encompasses a broad-
based approach to national responsibility as well as larger and
growingly complex social concerns. In our own practice national
responsibility has come to mean a striving, in policy and principle, to
help safeguard the independence and integrity of the nation. It has
meant rising above narrow, sectional and sectarian concerns and
forming and developing a well-rounded national approach. Such an
approach is important at all times, but it becomes crucially important
during times such as the present when what is public interest itself
becomes the focus of acute contention from many sides. It might be
contended perhaps that these consequences are inevitable in a
developing society, especially as they have proved unavoidable in
many developed societies also. In a multi-structural and multi-
interest society such as we have in India, the full weight of myriad
social problems — including those handed down by the heritage of
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the past — presses down on interpretations and analyses of the
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public interest and impinge with particularly stressful force on the
practice of journalism. What sustains the independence and social
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relevance of a newspaper in this context? The generic function of a

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newspaper, it has been pointed out, is essentially to provide an

accurate and reasonably comprehensive account of the day’s events
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in a context which invests them with meaning, and to offer a forum

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for the exchange of comment and criticism. It is the interpretation

given to national and social responsibility that is all-important to the
health of the press. Where national life itself becomes an arena for
differing standpoints and views to have it out, resulting in heated
controversy, the role of the press becomes ever more delicate. Quite
often, it is subjected to the test of intolerance that demands support
to one set of views and policy prescriptions to the exclusion of every
other. This seems, in fact, to be an occupational temptation for
Governments to lapse into periodically. The reason is the failure to
remember that a newspaper’s responsibility to society cannot at all
be equated with responsibility either to a political party or to the
Government of the day. A serious newspaper is nothing if it does not
preserve its relative independence and chart its course with the
understanding that its duties and responsibilities are different from
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those of a Government — although there certainly come times when

it is called upon to strengthen Authority in the national and public
interest. Support or opposition to a set of policies, or a course of
action, must be viewed in a sober perspective, especially by those
who, being on a different or opposite side of an issue, disagree
strongly with a particular editorial opinion. Here it must be
remembered that a choice has to be made as between contending
views — which is not at all a transgression of the principle of fairness
since no personal prejudice or favouritism has any role to play. A
newspaper, it has also been observed, thrives on disclosure and
criticism. Although criticism tends to get pushed into the status of an
unwanted guest (suffered at best behind impassive countenances)
and sometimes raises feelings of indignation and pique, the
independent and critical spirit must nevertheless be cherished as a
newspaper’s breath of life. But then this right to criticism which is
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inherent in a democracy must be guided by larger considerations of
public weal. or
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Above all, the practice of criticism must be guided by the
realisation that a newspaper, being a part of society, cannot arrogate
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any special privilege — apart, of course, from the legitimate rights

and conditions that the press has won historically in order to develop
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its vital role. Any sound newspaper learns quickly enough to cultivate
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a sense of respect, closeness and humility in relation to the society

and the public it serves. In a country of many languages where the
literate sections of the population are still in a minority, the
newspaper reading public is a much smaller proportion of the total
population than it is in advanced countries. Considering the
limitations, what we have found truly remarkable is the intelligence,
the sensitivity, the zest with which our readers as a growing force
have followed public issues. In relation to such a readership, the
sound and healthy approach was taught to us by our predecessors.
In an editorial written on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee
celebrations in December 1939, they noted: “it is not by bludgeoning
the reader’s mind but by reasoning with it that the soundest and
most lasting results can be achieved… The ascertainment of public

opinion (as different from the prejudices of the moment) and the
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evocation of the atmosphere favourable to its emergence are

therefore tasks that a newspaper which is not content to adopt a
purely hand to mouth policy must set about with circumspection as
well as earnestness. The many and complex issues on which it has
to pronounce in the course of the day’s work do not admit of a naive
directness of treatment, a simple Yes or No. Where the choice is not
between black and white but between various delicate shades of
colour, slapdash methods and the unstable impetuosity which
discards opinion as lightly as it adopts them may work considerable
harm. The practice of the best journalism the world over shows that
honest and trenchant criticism is perfectly compatible with good
temper and fairness to opposing points of view”. The Hindu, which
has now completed a century, stands firmly by this approach.
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A little over two years after it formed the first-ever non-Congress

government in 1977, the Janata Party was splintered into several groups,
each with its own leader. The inevitable followed: a collapse of the Morarji
Desai government, and the installation of a minority government led by
Charan Singh backed, for the moment, by the Congress.
JULY 16, 1979
Mr. Desai resigns

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HE PRIME MINISTER HAS RESIGNED. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME
annals of post-freedom Indian history that the head of the
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Central Government has had to take this step. The political

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parleys that had New Delhi and the country on tenterhooks

over the last few days did indicate that Mr. Morarji Desai’s position
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had become untenable and that if he was going to be adamant and

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ignore the pleadings of so many of his colleagues in the Government

and the party, he would have had to face an ignominious defeat in
the Lok Sabha to-day, from which he would not have emerged
untarnished. By tendering the resignation of the entire Council of
Ministers he has made the individual resignations pointless. But
there will probably be varying interpretations of what exactly is the
status of some Ministers and members of the Lok Sabha who have
announced resignation from the parliamentary party but which are
yet to be accepted. (The question may become very relevant when
those concerned start working out the arithmetic part of the factional
power equations). The President, Mr. Sanjiva Reddi, has, true to
convention, asked Mr. Desai to continue, pending his appraisal of
what is an unprecedented political tangle, in resolving which he will
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doubtless be consulting the legal luminaries who are at the disposal

of the Head of State.
Few would have expected that the exciting events of recent
weeks in Karnataka would be followed so quickly by more
momentous developments in New Delhi. Every day a new decision
among the leading political personalities was being taken,
threatening the very existence of the Janata Government. What
looked like an impregnable fortress — after the smashing verdict of
the 1977 Parliamentary elections, which was confirmed in an
unmistakable fashion by elections later to nine State Assemblies —
is now in ruins, with the Janata Party splintered into several groups,
each group under a “leader.” The Jan Sangh component of the party,
as was expected, stands apart, still well-knit and tightly controlled.
That could be double-edged, and would be seen as favourable by
some and disturbing by others. By far the biggest piece of the bunch
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of splinters is the section that has gathered round the Charan Singh-
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Raj Narain axis, which ipso facto is bound to play a very crucial role
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in the confabulations and the manoeuvres we are all going to
witness this week in the march to the seats of Central power. It is
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clear now that, with the Jan Sangh component of the Janata being
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quite unpopular with most of its colleagues, the Congress is well-

positioned to participate in the Central Government once again. In
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fact, so strong is the feeling against giving the Jan Sangh group
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(because of its links with the RSS) a place in any new set-up that
attempts on the part of some to take up the reins of office with its
support are not likely to be of lasting use. Whoever is going to be
chosen as the head of the new Government, it is the Congress party
and the Charan Singh-Raj Narain grouping that look like standing as
the two broad pillars to which the smaller “like-minded” groups have
to agree to attach themselves, if the intention is to ensure political
stability at the Centre, at least till the time of the next elections.
Indeed, this is the kind of situation, perhaps, which comes very close
to the realignment of forces that many in the country have been
talking about ever since it became obvious that the Janata Party, the
way it was ruling at the Centre, had forfeited the confidence placed
in it by the people, particularly those of the North, two years ago.
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There will be the inevitable rush to grab the important niches of

Central patronage. The people at large have had no part to play in all
this because the latest result is not the product of any poll in which
they were asked to express their view. But that will come in the not
too distant future and the men and women who have enacted the
recent drama in New Delhi should know that, at that time, they will
be scrutinised and judged in no uncertain manner; the vast masses,
though still largely illiterate or formally-uneducated, have become
highly politicised and have enough sense and receptivity to ideas to
place their bets intelligently. It is up to the forces hoping to realign
themselves into a viable entity to prove that what happened in the
national capital was not just a show of aimless brinkmanship, but a
confrontation from which some concrete gains were to be achieved,
if not right now, as soon as they settle down to the tasks of governing
the country. They cannot forget the cardinal point of such a political
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exercise, which is that they can hope to make headway only by
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implementing, firmly though gradually, programmes that will be seen
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and felt by the people as beneficial to them. The people will not
stand any more for manifestos, platform speeches or statements in
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the legislatures and the press, so many of them just empty rhetoric.
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The crushing defeat she suffered on account of the Emergency excesses

seemed a distant memory in 1980 as Indira Gandhi rode back to power with
a comfortable majority against a divided opposition.
JANUARY 9, 1980
The landslide and what lies ahead
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HE LANDSLIDE IN FAVOUR OF THE CONGRESS (I) HEADED BY Mrs.
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Sabha has certainly proved many a pre-poll assessment
absurdly wrong and has almost certainly gone beyond the
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most optimistic expectations of even the winning camp. The

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manifestations of rapid popular disillusionment with the character of

governance that marked the period 1977-79 and the inevitable
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beneficiary of these trends have been rather obvious for some time,
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but it is the depth of the qualitative change emerging from the

interplay of various socio-economic and political factors during the
past three years that has provided the most stunning part of the
surprise element. At any rate, the massive majority won by the
Congress (I) has transformed the overall political picture of the
country. A Central Government will soon be formed with
overwhelming clout and, at least on paper, characterised by rare
stability. The changed political configuration, and in particular the
rout of the opposition with the exceptions of West Bengal, Kerala,
Tripura and parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, anticipates a new
phase in India’s political development — where the temptation to ride
roughshod over dissent and opposition might be powerful even to
start with and calls for the most conscious adherence to the rules of
the game by all concerned.
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The results derived from the Congress (I) wave will, however, be
qualified by two kinds of immediate contra-realities. The first will be
the variance between the political composition of the Lok Sabha and
that of the Rajya Sabha — a problem that Mrs. Gandhi might be
confronted with early enough. The second significant tension might
surface in the area relating to the current political results achieved in
all those States where the Congress (I) and its allies have pulverised
the opposition and the existence of non-Congress (I) Governments
in such States (barring Andhra Pradesh and possibly Karnataka,
now that Mr. Devaraj Urs has resigned). The precedent set in 1977
under instructions from the Janata Home Minister, Mr. Charan Singh,
was not approved at that time by anybody other than the ruling party
at the Centre and is hardly the one to follow under the
circumstances, especially in a federal set-up where swings could
appear and disappear (as has, indeed, been amply proved) in a
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matter of mere months. In any case, the attitude of a powerful Centre
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to the States is a sensitive and vital issue even where the two levels
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of Government are in the hands of the same party. It is, after all, the
State regime that has to carry out or implement most of the policies
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or decisions made by the Centre. Nevertheless, these qualifying

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factors do not affect over much the fact that 1980 signals a sharp
reversal of the process that threw the Emergency regime out of
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office in March 1977. At that time, the South had constituted — for
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various complicated reasons — the exception and it bears emphasis

that once again the land south of the Vindhyas has elected
overwhelmingly in a particular direction. Be it by design or otherwise,
this region went grossly underrepresented in the Central
Government during Janata rule, but with the solid contribution — 132
seats — it has made to Mrs. Gandhi’s tally, she may be expected to
put an end now to that sort of skewed pattern in the Cabinet.
While paying due heed to the mood and feelings of the people
who have this time expressed their verdict on a clinching all-India
scale, The Hindu would reiterate the essential thrust of the
arguments and facts it placed before the public a few weeks ago in
the three-part editorial titled “In Painful Quest of Political Solutions.”
The talent held by a vast, populous, multi-structural and uneven

society needs the most generous space and democratic
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methodology to develop; attempted solutions that ignore the

fundamental challenge in the situation are likely to come to grief
sooner rather than later. In fact, the chief lesson spotlighted by the
election results is that the hard-pressed ordinary people will no
longer brook delay in changes and improvements in their lives and
are going to be increasingly demanding in the matter of real
performance on the part of the politicians vested with power. In this
context, those who attribute the present verdict solely to the personal
quirks and angles of a few ageing personages are missing the
elementary point about the lesson of the Janata debacle — the need
to produce meaningful answers along the promised lines within
progressively short time spaces. At least after the event, it can be
unambiguously recognised that, given the kind of uninspiring and
petty performance the many-headed conglomerate showed itself
capable of in office, its collapse at the hands of the people was only
a matter of time. At best for it, 1980 might have — with somewhat
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more favourable incidental developments — come in 1982.
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And the nation, and those who are going to be put in control of it
shortly, would do well to remember — especially bearing in mind the
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dangers that lurk in regional and international affairs -that the factors
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that led to the unedifying eclipse of the Janata constitute (for all the
obscuring effect created by the electoral landslide) the very reasons
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that render any euphoria on the part of Mrs. Gandhi’s party

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inappropriate. In the first place, Mrs. Gandhi as Prime Minister will be

taking charge of an economy that is very sick — highlighted by the
collapse of the industrial growth rate in the current period, galloping
prices affecting every section of society and most of all the rural
poor, a 20 per cent rate of inflation, the mass of misery left over by
the drought, formidable unemployment and, above all the absence of
a planning process worth the name. The task of managing this
economy will undoubtedly be the real measure of the quality of the
new regime. Secondly, it will be instructive to see how in a social
context scarred extensively by conflict and tension, the slogan of
restoring ‘law and order’ is to be worked. Apart from caste and
communal disharmonies and the disturbingly rising crime rate, there
will be the larger political problem of tackling chauvinism of the type

that has gained the upper hand in Assam. By now, enough
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experience has been gathered to show that the methodology of

establishing ‘law and order’ through strong arm measures or through
repression and intolerance yields only superficial — and typically
counterproductive — results. The third important area that the new
regime will be called upon to handle is the structure of civil liberties
and democratic rights, including the people’s right to dissent and
criticism. Another kind of challenge is located in the complex field of
external relations. The Congress (I) response in all these areas will
be watched and assessed closely by the public in the period
immediately ahead.
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The nation’s conscience got a rude awakening when the news of the
blinding of under-trial prisoners in Bhagalpur district in Bihar came to light.
Indian officialdom was known to condone, or worse, sanction third-degree
torture for extracting information, but the torture in Bhagalpur represented
an unfathomable low in human behaviour that highlighted the urgency of
prison reforms.
DECEMBER 2, 1980
Barbarity Unlimited
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HE COUNTRY-WIDE INDIGNATION THAT WAS AROUSED following the
disclosure of the inhuman treatment meted out to undertrials
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public. Although third-degree methods are known to be

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employed by the police to extract information from the suspects,

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penal history in India has not recorded such barbarity as has been
practised in Bihar. Even if the reports of the savage behaviour of the
guardians of the law are held to be exaggerated, the statement by
the Chief Minister, Dr. Jagannath Mishra, emphatically confirms the
modus operandi — prisoners being blinded in a most cruel manner.
The most shocking part of it all was, while the police were running
berserk to maim the undertrials, not a murmur was raised by those in
authority. Dr. Jagannath Mishra’s assertion that it was wrong to say
that 87 undertrials were blinded and that the correct figure was 31
reveals a remarkable degree of insensitivity to an issue which has
come to be regarded as a blot on civilised conduct. Nor is it an
extenuating circumstance that some of the alleged criminals were
submitted to this traumatic experience outside the jail. The statement

of the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Rajya Sabha on
Monday that the State Government was investigating into the matter
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only betrays a high degree of callousness in dealing with what is an

affront to human dignity. It is equally amazing that the Government
took no notice, even though as early as in July, according to Mr.
Makwana, the matter was reported to the District Judge in
Bhagalpur.
Something is really rotten in the way prisoners are treated. Apart
from the ghastly incidents that have now been admitted to have been
perpetrated the Supreme Court has quite some time ago drawn
attention to this aspect of jail administration when it observed that
jurisprudence cannot slumber when the very campuses of punitive
justice witness torture. Many questions remain to be answered by
those at the helm of affairs. When nine victims filed a petition before
the District Judge seeking legal aid, why was not any action taken?
What was the response of the superintendent of police when his
attention was drawn to this request? What is the sanctity of the
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Supreme Court directive issued in a judgement as early as in April
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1979 that every State Government will have to carry out its
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constitutional obligation to provide free legal service to every
accused person who is in peril of losing his liberty and who is unable
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The mere fact that some police officials get transferred or suspended
is not going to bring succour to the hapless victims who are doomed
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forever. The nation has a right to know what steps will be taken to
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prevent recurrence of police atrocities that are assuming new forms

and becoming more and more menacing and dehumanised and how
the deviant guardians of the prison system will be kept in check.
Reservation has always been a contentious issue, but nothing brought this
out in stark reality as the report of the Backward Classes Commission,
headed by B.P. Mandal. The report, presented in 1981, gave no weightage
to the more economically backward among the backward classes, and was
not implemented for almost a decade.
JANUARY 9, 1981
A disappointing report
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HE REPORT OF THE BACKWARD CLASSES COMMISSION
by Mr. B. P. Mandal does not seem to have done anything
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more than follow the beaten track. On the vital issue of

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reservations, it has failed to show any fresh thinking. The

concept of job quotas as a means to uplift some sections of society
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is no new one, but the rigour and thoughtless manner in which it was
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practised by some State Governments did raise indignant protests in

the past. When the Janata Government in Bihar, for instance,
announced some two years ago that a large chunk of the
government posts of various categories would be reserved for the
backward classes, there was such a violent upheaval that the
Government had to hastily abandon the whole move. In Tamil Nadu,
on the other hand, the Chief Minister adopted the same technique to
outwit his political opponents who had made it an election issue,
though at one time he was firm that such reservations based merely
on caste considerations were unfair. Mr. Charan Singh, during his all-
too-brief career as Prime Minister, made an abortive attempt to bring
in an ordinance on reservation for backward classes in the all-India
and other Central services. In fact, the Mandal Committee itself was
appointed in the context of similar developments, and it is most
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unfortunate that it has gone through nothing more than a repetitive

exercise.
The report has not cared, as it should have done, to give due
consideration to the economic criterion in determining who should
constitute a backward class. One of the members did reveal some
concern for equity in suggesting a graded system of fixing
backwardness which, if worked out properly, would mean that only
those who are really handicapped even among the backward
classes listed as such would be entitled to the benefits. In other
words, weightage to the more backward among the backward would
be given rather than allow the aggressive among them to corner the
jobs. Obviously, the other members of the Commission were not
moved by this sensible suggestion. The economically advanced
among the backward classes certainly need no props and can take
care of themselves as is the case with those similarly placed among
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the so-called forward classes. Secondly, the poor among the higher
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castes or classes who are often more deprived than some among
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the backward ones certainly need to be helped out, and it must be
strange logic that they cannot get it just because of the accident of
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birth in a particular class. There is no denying that the traditional gap

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between the privileged and the underprivileged should be narrowed.

And in a society characterised by wide economic and social
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inequalities the fruits of development seem to go almost inevitably to

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the already well off and well entrenched groups. Yet the correct way
of treating this malady is not to create a perpetual class distinction
nor widen the classes that are listed as backward. This will only
foster the growth of a new exploitative power with a vested interest in
being backward. When people with requisite merit are denied jobs,
which is what the Mandal Commission’s proposals lead to, class
conflicts and tensions are bound to escalate further. The
Government is well advised to take an objective look into the whole
matter of job reservations instead of succumbing to political
pressures that might be stepped up on the strength of the
Commission’s report.
India hosted the Asian Games for a second time in 1982, a much bigger
event than it was when it first did in 1951. The sporting spectacle telecast
nationwide, at a time when television was still a young medium in the
country, left a deep impact on the country’s psyche, inspiring more
youngsters to take to athletics and games.
NOVEMBER 19, 1982
An Asiad of keen, exciting

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PORT IN THIS POPULOUS CONTINENT SHOULD GET A MIGHTY boost
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from the spectacle that opens today in New Delhi in which

5,000 men and women from 33 nations will compete for
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gold, silver and bronze in 22 disciplines. New Delhi has

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already hosted an Asiad, but that was in 1951 when only a tenth of
the present number took part. The Asian Games have since
expanded rapidly and the ninth Asiad has thrown particularly
complex and weighty challenges to the host nation. Added on to the
organisational burden have been the security concerns — as a result
of the ill-conceived Akali agitation to be intensified during the Games
and also the temptation that a meet of this magnitude holds to
terrorists of various hues to draw attention to the causes they
espouse.
A big and hectic construction programme has given Delhi an
Olympic standard sports complex of which the Rs. 20 crore
Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and the Indraprastha Indoor stadium are
particularly notable. The preparations have by no means been

smooth and even at the outset some prominent politicians and
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parties such as the Lok Dal expressed opposition to the very idea of
hosting the Asiad on the ground that the expenditure was wasteful.
And there has been an endless stream of controversies, both minor
and significant, with the organising committee itself going through
three changes of chairmen and several changes of members and
officials. The various national sports federations felt ignored by the
organising committee which, they charged, was bent upon doing
things its own way while the committee in turn accused the
federations of not being cooperative enough. Happily, none of the
problems has persisted or has assumed such proportions as to
seriously hinder the preparations or the organisation of the meet.
The facilities that were completed in record time have been tested
out in the trial games held in September and later in the women’s
sports festival and found satisfactory. These meets showed up some
organisational deficiencies — particularly in the matter of regulation
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of crowds, liaison with the sportsmen and operation of sophisticated
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equipment, which need to be set right urgently. The organisers
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should have learnt the right lessons to be able to run the Games
without any hitch.
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In the competition itself, a keen tussle is in prospect for the top

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spot between China, a relative newcomer to the meet which has

made rapid strides during the past few years, and Japan, which has
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dominated sports in the continent from the inception of the Asiad.

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Japan’s strength lies, among others, in swimming, athletics, wrestling

and golf while China bids fair to excel in games such as table tennis,
badminton, basketball and volleyball as also in the jumps in which it
has world class athletes. An intensive struggle seems likely between
the two in gymnastics and the final medals tally would be difficult to
predict. Among the rest, the two Koreas, Thailand and Iran should
put up a good show while there is said to be a fair chance of India
finishing third some distance behind Japan and China. The Indian
wrestlers, on their performance at the Commonwealth Games in
Brisbane, should do well and so should the middle distance runners
and the members of the equestrian team. However, more than the
haul of medals it is the bringing together of the vast continent’s
sportsmen and the catalytic effect of the Games — telecast
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nationwide through 41 stations — on sports in the country that will be

India’s real gain.
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As significant as the victory of N.T. Rama Rao’s Telugu Desam in Andhra

Pradesh was the defeat of the Congress in southern India’s most populous
State. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had voted for the Congress even in
1977, when most of the rest of the country voted against it, but in 1983 the
voter fatigue with the Congress began to show in the two south Indian
States.
JANUARY 8, 1983
Results pregnant with meaning

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HE UNSEATING OF THE CONGRESS (I) IN THE TWO SOUTHERN States
long regarded as safeholds and its decisive failure to wrest
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the northeastern State of Tripura from the Left Front headed

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by the CPI (M) is, beyond ambiguity, a major political reverse

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for the party ruling at the Centre. The defeat must appear the more
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galling for the fact that the Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, chose
to stake her reputation heavily in these elections and, in some ways,
made them appear as a kind of referendum on the quality of her
party’s rule. Behind the rout in Andhra Pradesh and the shock in
Karnataka, there was a simple common factor at work: the
disenchantment of the people with their rulers and with their lot. It is
this that provided a solid base standing on which Mr. N. T. Rama
Rao’s Telugu Desam — an infant in the political field, barely nine
months old — was able to carve out a remarkable, run-away triumph
unprecedented in Indian political experience; and it is this which
enabled a hardly united Opposition in Karnataka to score an upset
good enough to yield it the gaddi against all odds. For the losers as
well as winners, the writing that has been on the wall for quite some
time now must be read seriously: there is political restiveness
beneath the surface, wherever you dig in the country. The people are
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demonstrably eager for results (their patience with misrule or not-

good-enough rule getting progressively short), they are quite willing
to try out fresh political packages or slogans or faces, and they are
far from conservative in giving short shrift to those who do not inspire
or satisfy them. Given such a mood, it is no surprise that ‘stability’
(which is often interpreted as the trait of staying with one party) is
much less of a sacred cow with the ruled than it is with the rulers. It
has become increasingly clear over the last few years that, in a
country as vast, as multisided and as complex as India, there is no
reason to frown on the phenomenon of political pluralism. Another
striking feature of the political health of the country is this: recent
elections have demonstrated that while unequal deployment of
resources tends to place competitive political forces in unequal
situations to start with, this is neutralised to a heartening extent by
the fact that popular votes (including those of the large number of
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illiterate people and the weaker sections) cannot be purchased and
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the traditional “vote-banks” have had to go out of business.
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There are, of course, several more specific reasons for the
shocks that the electorate unleashed in the two southern States.
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These include factors such as the handling of the issues involved in

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the “farmers’ agitation” (in Karnataka), the assaults on democratic

rights and repressive practices (in both States) and the widespread
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knowledge that the administration was not clean. But the present
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task calls for something beyond an analysis of the factors

responsible for the political swing. The Telugu Desam assumes
office with the advantage of a better than two-thirds majority in the
Andhra Pradesh Assembly and with a leader who has been able to
sway the electorate all by himself: its legislators include youth and a
number of professionals and highly educated people. If it can
develop a constructive development vision and get on with the job of
providing a State of splendid resources (and fairly good growth
rates) with a type of administration that is ever responsive to
people’s welfare needs and expectations, its future will be promising.
In Karnataka, the situation is somewhat more tricky but if the Janata-
Kranti Ranga combine — which will undoubtedly be asked to form
the Ministry, as the single largest grouping with a near-majority —

can assure itself the backing of the other Opposition parties and
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avoid the infighting and the ideological traps that did the earlier
Janata experiment in it can also contribute positively to the
development and political processes despite its being a coalition. In
Tripura, the Left Front can be expected to consolidate its advantages
and the projects it has under way. In every one of these cases, it
must be understood in all quarters that there is no sound alternative
to the people’s verdict being respected fully.
There are major common issues and problems facing those, with
varying political and ideological background, in the four southern
States who have been entrusted by the people with the task of
governance. The barriers constituted by language and other types of
narrow pulls should not be allowed to stand in the way of a broad
and liberal-spirited cooperation among these States, for instance on
the concrete issues of food, energy, water and industrial products.
Along with the problems and advantages that are to be shared (in a
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manner compatible with the interests of the people of each State),
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there are the experiences and lessons of the development process.
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In this connection, the Zonal Council can be profitably activated (or
revived) as an instrument for promoting cooperation and debate on
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the issues that matter. The best way in which the victors can show
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respect to those who sent them into the corridors of power would be
to turn their attention, in a businesslike way, to development priorities
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of this kind.
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Election to the Assembly in Assam was held in 1983 amid a call for a poll
boycott in support of an agitation against illegal immigration and for the
removal of foreign nationals from the electoral rolls. The election saw a
drastic fall in the voting percentage, and violence on a larger scale.
FEBRUARY 28, 1983
Assam: What next?

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background of what has happened over the last two weeks, can
be relevant neither to the people of that State nor to the country,
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even if the process or development happens to be well within the

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limits of the Constitution. The holocaust in Darrang and Nowgong

districts in which several hundreds — including children and women
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— were brutally done to death is unprecedented. This might not all

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be directly traced to the final decision to hold the elections or the

provocative acts of the agitators who were bent upon frustrating the
efforts to complete the poll, but there is no denying that certain
forces were waiting to seize any opportunity that might come their
way to strike, which they did with ghastly effect. The most disturbing
feature was the fresh lease of life to communalism which was
maintaining a relatively low profile ever since the agitation was
started some three years ago. The plains tribals too rose in revolt
adding a new dimension to the unrest. The agitators would no doubt
argue that these grim happenings could have been avoided if the
Government had refrained from taking the poll plunge and not
resorted to the adventurist step much against the popular will — as
the voting pattern clearly revealed. But do they realise that, in

resisting the democratic exercise in the manner in which they did,
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they have only helped create new tensions and new problems that
are going to make the basic foreign nationals problem all the more
difficult to solve?
A ministry in these circumstances cannot be any more than a
non-starter. The Congress (I) which has bagged 90 seats in a House
of 126 can hardly claim to speak for the people most of whom failed
to exercise their franchise, be it by design or through lack of choice.
The new legislators have no representative character worth the
name. Mr. Hiteswar Saikia, who heads the Cabinet by virtue of his
being elected leader of the party, is no better than the Taimurs and
Gogois who preceded him with a dismal record. And everyone
knows that any future settlement of the foreigners issue is a matter
for negotiation primarily with the student leaders. Nor will the new
ministry be in a position on its own strength to rebuild the State’s
internal fabric so rudely shaken by the gruesome events. The Centre
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will still have to keep a watchful and vigilant eye and play a
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significant role in communicating at the appropriate time with those
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that matter in the pursuit of evolving a solution. There have been
demands for dissolving the Assembly by the Opposition parties.
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Mere dissolution or even reimposition of President’s rule is, of

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course, no answer to the critical situation in which the State finds

itself. The mistrust and the acute alienation in Assam must first be
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reduced and this is a challenging task that can be achieved only by

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concerted action on the part of the student leaders, the Governments

— Central and State — and the Opposition parties, and without
providing any occasion for the army, which is standing by, to
intercede.
India under Indira Gandhi again played a leading role in the Non-Aligned
Movement, with the country hosting a meeting in New Delhi of close to a
hundred nations, united only by a vague notion of neutrality in a period of
the Cold War, and divided on almost all geo-political issues.
MARCH 7, 1983
The non-aligned: groping for

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LOSE TO A HUNDRED STATES ARE MEETING IN NEW DELHI AS the
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non-aligned movement, a multi-headed creature struggling

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to cope with a thousand political and socio-economic pulls

and with regional and international environments heavily
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laden with tension and uncertainty. The preparation for the start has
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been difficult and contentious, with the Foreign Ministers’

Conference getting quite bogged down in the Kampuchean seating
question before wearily letting the issue rest on the formula that
should have been accepted within half an hour as the only sensible
course for so divided a movement — keeping the seat reserved for
Kampuchea vacant, at this summit also. Those who tried to score
narrow debating points against the India-led compromise proposal —
which, as New Delhi has been at pains to point out, is not the
equivalent of the official national position of recognising the Heng
Samrin Government — have clearly done the movement no service.
Their arguments in favour of inviting the coalition nominally headed
by the Prince without a territory, Norodom Sihanouk, but actually
guided by the blood-stained, hands of Pol Pot and Khieu Samphan

have been neither convincing nor capable of putting together a
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“consensus” of the members. In fact, it is something of a revelation

to the non-aligned that those supporting the seating of the Sihanouk
coalition barely outnumber those favouring bringing in the Heng
Samrin regime, suggesting a stand-off. Pushing the matter further
would have done irreparable damage to the movement. And
Kampuchea was only the most conspicuous of the issues of
controversy and division. Many states, including Iraq, Morocco and
Libya, have approached the meet with their own immediate or
particularist interests or angles or tilts and have displayed varying
degrees of dissatisfaction with the draft of the political declaration
handled by India as host and chairman. To some extent this is
unavoidable and perhaps even a tribute to the scope and complexity
of the movement — which now comprises a striking variety of
country sizes, populations, cultures, experiences, systems, qualities
of leadership and relations with big powers, including ties that are or
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approach bilateral military alliances. If states like Malaysia,
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Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Congo (Kinshasa), Morocco, Sudan and
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Egypt are for all practical purposes tied to the U.S.-led camp, it can
hardly be denied that Cuba, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Syria, Ethiopia
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and South Yemen are at least equally committed to the Soviet side. It
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follows that only a very broad and flexible arrangement can

accommodate the various political entities in a situation where
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regional and global tensions have intensified and objective and

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subjective relations have become exceptionally entangled and

difficult.
If this is the reality, what can the non-aligned expect to
accomplish in this seventh summit? Broadly speaking, two tasks
seem to ask for priority attention. The first is the contribution of the
movement to the lowering of international tensions and to the
maintenance of peace. At a time when public opinion in many
developed countries has asserted itself in an unprecedented way
against the danger of nuclear war and the global military build-up,
the non-aligned nations must range themselves unambiguously and
effectively on this side. It is possible to be cynical about the kind of
practical influence they can wield with the Reagans or Thatchers of
the world — or with the Andropovs, for that matter — but to give in to
the feeling would be to acknowledge defeat in the very definition of
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non-alignment. It goes without saying that this role cannot be

exhausted by general appeals in a draft for disarmament and
freedom from nuclear war. Allowing for the contradictory standpoints
of the members, a political programme should be adopted for
bringing concrete and sustained pressure on the chief actors to
negotiate arms limitation measures earnestly and to slow down the
pace of their military build-up. A corollary is for some within the
movement itself — such as the Iraqs and Irans — to cease going at
each other’s throat and to give a rest to overweening regional
military or political ambitions. The second major task is to see if a
broadly compatible approach can be pursued in international forums
to the resolution of economic issues. If a positive contribution of the
sixth non-aligned summit was the earnestness with which the theme
of a new international economic order, and North-South issues, were
picked up, further progress is suggested by the several specific
points for consideration in the draft economic declaration — a
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bank of developing countries, a special high-powered panel (on the
lines of the Brandt Commission presumably) for studying the details
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of South-South cooperation, a non-aligned science and technology

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centre, a research and information system and so on. All this will, of
course, be no substitute for the working out of a fresh initiative and
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strategy for global negotiations on economic issues which must be

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conducted mainly with the aligned.

The signing of the Krishna water accord by the Chief Ministers of Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, N.T. Rama Rao and M.G. Ramachandran, was a
milestone in sharing river water resources among States.
APRIL 20, 1983
An important accord
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Tamil Nadu of the long-awaited agreement to supply Krishna
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waters to Madras is truly historic. The proposal was first
mooted some 30 years ago and seven years have passed
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since the Prime Minister announced that the three riparian States of
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Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka were willing to spare

five thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water each to Madras to
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meet its drinking water needs. Since then several rounds of

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discussion and technical meetings between Andhra Pradesh (which

is to release the 15 tmcft of water agreed upon from the Srisailam
reservoir) and Tamil Nadu have proved infructuous on one count or
another. The rate of turnover of Congress (I) Chief Ministers in
Andhra Pradesh has clearly been a factor contributing to the delay in
the clinching of the deal. It is to the credit of Mr. N. T. Rama Rao,
founder-leader of the Telugu Desam, that upon assuming the
stewardship of the State he acted decisively in ensuring that the
earlier promise was honoured to mutual advantage. For long there
was an acute difference of opinion as to the mode of bringing the
waters — whether it should be through open channels or a conduit
pipe system. Although a closed pipe system has certain advantages
such as minimising the risk of pollution en route and pilferage, it has

been found to be several times more expensive than bringing the
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waters through open canals. Andhra Pradesh has been particularly

eager to utilise the project for irrigating certain specified areas which
is possible by transmission in a channels system.
Yet another nagging factor that held up the project related to the
sharing of the costs and this has now been settled on an equitable
basis, to the satisfaction of both the parties. The two States will bear
the cost in proportion to the quantum of water used, and based on
this formula Tamil Nadu’s share will be in the region of Rs. 220
crores, while that of Andhra Pradesh will be around Rs. 500 crores.
Considering the fact that this is to be spread over a period of three to
six years by which time the scheme is expected to be completed, the
financial burden does not seem excessive. The technical details
regarding the conveyance of water have been broadly on the lines
agreed upon earlier. The water intended for Madras will be let into
the Pennar and will be picked up in turn at the Somasila dam. The
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reservoir to be built across the river Khandaleru (for storing the water
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needed to irrigate lands in Nellore and Chittoor districts) will also
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serve as a water bank for Madras. A common canal will bring this
water to the borders of the two States. In the meanwhile it will be
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necessary to raise the bunds of the reservoirs at Red Hills, Poondi

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and Cholavaram and Chembarambakkam lake suitably to make

room for the Krishna waters. It is to be noted that though the
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stipulated quantity is 15 tmcft, Madras will receive only 12 tmcft after

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taking into account the evaporation and seepage losses involved in

carrying it over a distance of about 400 km.
Judged by the broad framework of the agreement, it could be
said that the scheme is excellently conceived. This year’s
unprecedented ordeal in Madras should in fact stir the Tamil Nadu
Government into commencing work without further procrastination.
The civic authorities have no doubt been making strenuous efforts to
ensure a passable distribution of the existing meagre water supply to
citizens, although many specific weaknesses, and inadequacies are
apparent in this system. The precarious dependence on the
monsoon for drinking water needs of nearly four million people in
Madras should certainly give place to a more dependable source of
supply and the Tamil Nadu Government should engage itself in this
vital developmental task on a priority footing.
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If India is a cricketing superpower now, the seeds of its success were sown
in 1983 with the World Cup win at Lord’s. The result was no fluke: India
beat West Indies, the reigning champion, twice in three meetings, as Kapil
Dev inspired a bunch of swing bowlers to make the most of English
conditions.
JUNE 27, 1983
A famous victory
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HE LONG-SHOT VICTORY AT LORD’S — PRODUCING A NEW world
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champion in limited overs cricket — has given the nation’s
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internationally. If there was a modest input of chance in the

outcome, there can be little question that the success was creatively
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and hard worked for and richly deserved on the strength of the
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resources and advantages available to India in relation to the chinks

in the armour and the mental attitudes of the other teams. Limited
overs cricket is clearly a different ball game (as the Americans would
say) from traditional Test cricket which has a theoretically
indeterminate status, even if this is less so than in the era when a
Test between England and Australia could stretch to nine days. “The
essence of one day cricket,” according to a serviceable critical
assessment, “is the ability to score runs fast and to bowl with a
mixture of control and aggression which, adroitly handled, can tie the
opponents hand and foot. To achieve both these objectives a skipper
has to be a master of a team with ineptitude to fail.” India’s
performance through the 1983 Prudential World Cup can be viewed
as an actualisation of this blueprint through some episodes of

tension and doubt. Which is to say that given the depth and the not
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inconsiderable striking qualities of its batting (epitomised on this

particular Saturday by the audacity of Srikkanth’s opening
onslaught), the formation of a medium pace containment force with
the ability to produce some surprises in the air, off the seam and in
terms of variable bounce (witness the man of the final award to
Mohinder Amarnath, principally for his slow medium surprises), the
tight fielding, the wonderfully positive qualities of Kapil Dev’s
leadership and the intelligence, team spirit and confidence that saw
the whole effort through, the triumph becomes not at all the “fluke’’
that British cricket journalism makes it out to be but perfectly
explicable. Such qualities are capable of serving the future
handsomely whatever the type of the game. Having said this, any
realistic well-wisher of Indian cricket must immediately raise the
question how the problems and serious gaps in the national team for
conventional Test cricket are proposed to be dealt with in the coming
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home series against Pakistan and the West Indies. At the top of the
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priority list will be, of course, the task of re-forming a potent spinning
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combination — which has, unfortunately in some respects, been
shown to be quite dispensable in limited overs cricket even for a side
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with non-existent fast bowling endowments. To rule out anti-climaxes

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there must be the realisation that, unless you happen to be Lloyd’s

world-beating West Indians of 1979, what it takes to scale the
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conventional game you must come back to.

The other question relates to the future of the World Cup cricket
competition itself, which is now (at least temporarily) without
sponsorship — with the large English insurance company deciding to
call it a day after sponsoring the three Prudential World Cup
competitions held from 1975. In the assessment of those who have
studied the economics as well as the organisational specifics of the
tournament, only two cricket-playing countries — Australia and India
— have the qualifications to stage a Prudential-scale event if
England is ruled out. With the popularity and the intensely
competitive traits of limited overs cricket firmly established — the
former Australian captain, Bob Simpson, sees it accurately as the
promotional arm of traditions cricket” which has “possibly saved”

English county cricket from financial ruin — it is very much to India’s
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advantage to seize the moment and come up before the

International Cricket Conference with a feasibility study and perhaps
a conditional working plan for sponsoring the 1987 World Cup
competition. With the mass support for the game in urban India — no
other country sees the crowds turning out consistently for Test
cricket on this scale — and the potential for tapping advertising and
other forms of promotional backing from business enterprises the
generation of rupee resources to answer all the requirements of the
competition should be quite manageable. The charge on foreign
exchange reserves that will be involved at a juncture when the
country’s position on this front is likely to be constrained might raise
eyebrows. However, keeping in mind the highly positive experience
of staging the Asiad, the proposition can be examined as a sporting
one which deserves to be given every chance by the Government,
even if it need not be expected to come up with hand-outs or
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subsidies for the occasion.
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Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to go to space, as part of a

collaborative effort between India and the Soviet Union on space research.
This was a milestone in the country’s space programme with India
subsequently becoming a powerhouse in launching satellites and
exploratory missions.
APRIL 5, 1984
Indian in space
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EVEN COUNTRIES — THE SOVIET UNION, THE UNITED STATES, Britain,
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France, Japan, China and India — have developed rockets
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capable of putting satellites in orbit round the earth. Of

these, two — the USSR, and the U.S. — have the facilities
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for manned space flights. The Soviet Union has several feats to its
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credit in space adventure. The first satellite to be shot into space, on

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October 4, 1957, was the sputnik. The maiden space voyage by man
was by Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. The Soviets also sent
Valentina Tereshkova on a spacecraft, on June 16, 1963. She was
an ordinary assembly line worker. The Americans had their first
woman astronaut in Sally Ride 20 years later. The second Russian
woman in space, Svetlena Savitskaya, was an aircraft pilot, and her
father had been chief of the Soviet Air Force. The Russians have
conducted more manned space missions than the Americans and
their man-days in space, more than 2,000, is twice as much as the
American achievement. Not that all the space firsts are Russian. The
landing on the moon was by the American, Neil Armstrong. The
Americans have also been ahead in the operation of space stations,
the development of the space shuttle and in long shots to distant

planets.
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The Americans and the Soviets have had different perceptions on

accepting persons from other countries as part of the crew or as
passengers. Recent American flights have carried a couple of West
Germans and a Frenchman. The first Briton expects to be taken on a
flight soon. The Soviet Union has made it a policy to recruit
astronauts from other countries. Initially, these people came from the
nations closely allied to the USSR in the Warsaw Pact —
Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany and Bulgaria. They were
joined, later by nominees from Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia and
Romania. On Tuesday evening, an Indian, Squadron-Leader Rakesh
Sharma, joined the select band of spacemen. The whole country will
join in the chorus of excitement over this event which is a landmark
in Indo-Soviet cooperation in space research which began two
decades ago. The early collaboration was on the tiny rockets from
the Thumba range near Trivandrum. On April 19, 1975 came the
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launching of Aryabhatta, closely followed by Bhaskara I and II, the
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Indian-made satellites. More than 200 people have been flown into
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space in the past 23 years. Ancient Greeks and Indians did indeed
have Flights of fancy in their mythology, of man hurtling through
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space. Legend has it that yoga can create conditions of

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weightlessness. One of the interesting contributions from the Indian

participation is that Sqn. Ldr. Sharma will engage himself in doing
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several yogic asanas and his experience is expected to add to the

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knowledge of the medical and scientific aspects of this practice of

physical discipline. The ride to space is a significant and valuable
experience in itself. It should spur the Indian science establishment
on to greater efforts that it can truly call its own.
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had to take the extraordinary step of sending
the Army to the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar as Sikh extremists and
terrorists took refuge there. Operation Blue Star followed weeks of unrest in
Punjab as militants went on a killing spree targeting members of the civil
society and indulging in acts of terrorism.
JUNE 5, 1984
Crackdown in Punjab
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IVIL SOCIETY BROKE DOWN IN THE STRATEGIC BORDER STATE
Punjab several weeks ago. Armed terrorists, championing
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large, killing political, religious, police and journalistic

targets as well as uninvolved people including children, setting fire to
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railway stations and tampering with stretches of railway track,

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ambushing buses and other vehicles of road transport, spreading

semi-fascist terror and carrying out publicly issued threats and brutal
acts of “revenge” in the tradition of the Middle Ages. The Golden
Temple complex in Amritsar, now the headquarters of the sinister
figure of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and the sanctuary of
armed desperadoes, has served as a highly visible symbol of the
inability of the law, the Constitution and elementary norms of
civilisation to get on top of the crisis. Friday’s gory gun-battle lasting
seven hours between armed pro-Bhindranwale thugs attacking from
within the temple complex and the para-military forces dramatised
the situation dangerously. This may have been the prelude to the
decision of the Centre to send in the Army and impose what
amounts to martial law in Punjab. The sweeping powers given to the

Army and the bureaucratic administration and the near-Emergency
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nature of the initial steps ordered, including the banning of all civilian
vehicular traffic for 36 hours and the prohibition (within Punjab) of
news and editorial coverage of the crisis and the response to it, point
to the extreme gravity in the situation. How will Operation Get Tough
go? Will it arrest the deterioration in an intolerable situation? Or will
it, while restoring temporary control, lead to long-term embitterment
among large numbers of people in the State and to other disturbing
political outcomes?
Whatever the exact mission entrusted to the Army by the Central
Government, it would be best if this were carried out with the
minimum fuss and rhetoric, with professional swiftness, in the
manner of those who are doing an unpleasant job and intend to be
so effective at it that their presence in running the business of State
and civilian life will be transient. One of the healthy things about the
Indian political tradition is the strict distinction maintained since
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independence between civilian and military tasks, which means that
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rarely, very rarely, have the armed forces been invited to take a crack
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at a political challenge. This is in glaring contrast to the political
tradition in other countries in the South Asian region and in many
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other parts of the developing world. The present operations in

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Punjab notwithstanding, the Indian tradition must be upheld. The

imposition of a news black-out for a period of two months is ill-
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conceived especially in relation to the issues raised for the

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independence and freedom of the press in the country. It would be

one thing, in this extremely troubled situation, to take stringent action
against those in Punjab who by their writings foment communal
disaffection or encourage the terrorists as a matter of policy: the laws
of the land should be strong enough to take care of this kind of
problem. But what is the justification for seeking to gag all
independent reporting and criticism of the Government’s response to
the Akali-sponsored agitation, the larger crisis in Punjab and the
operations of the security forces? We would urge the Central
Government and the Army authorities to adopt a liberal and broadly
trusting attitude to the press which will surely respond in a way — if it
has that kind of influence — favourable to an ending of the crisis.
Meanwhile, even as the army is in charge of liquidating the menace

of armed terrorism, some of the priority tasks are cleansing the
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Golden Temple complex of the desperadoes and all those bent upon
promoting communal strife, strict gun control in the State by going
after the caches as well as the sources of supply, and safeguarding
grain movements in and out of what is indisputably India’s most
successful agricultural State. While this goes on, the Central
Government must work out in detail a strategy that will lead to an
enduring political settlement of the issues figuring in the Punjab
crisis, in consultation with the broadest sections of the Opposition
and intellectual opinion in the country. The Government, by its
wobbly and ineffective policies, and the Akalis, by their irresponsible
political attitude, their penchant for mixing up religion with politics
and their tragic refusal to make a clean break with the Sikh
extremists, are both accountable for the present state of affairs. The
nation will hope that the breakdown of the rule of law and civil
society in Punjab will be swiftly ended and that the stern, indeed last-
resort, response to the crisis will not fail — under the circumstances,
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it simply cannot afford to fail. There must be a fresh approach all
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round to a negotiated political settlement of the issues. Much political
business, affecting the region and the nation at large, waits on such
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an outcome.
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As the ruling party at the Centre, the Congress often resorted to toppling
governments led by opposition parties, using the office of the Governor for
partisan ends. But the misadventure in Andhra Pradesh against the
government of N.T. Rama Rao backfired spectacularly.
AUGUST 17, 1984
The coup in Andhra Pradesh

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HERE CANNOT BE THE SLIGHTEST DOUBT THAT THE dramatically
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engineered dismissal of the Telugu Desam Government in
Andhra Pradesh led by Mr. N. T. Rama Rao and the patently
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partisan conduct of the Governor in relation to the competing

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claims have dealt a severe blow to democratic practice and

institutions. If, in the aftermath of the unjust act, the political situation
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in the State becomes even more murky, it is the Centre and those
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who have gone along with it in this political destabilisation game who
must bear the responsibility. Why and how Mr. Rama Rao put himself
in a position where his opponents could effect such a coup, involving
the walking away of a sizable section of his Ministers and MLAs is a
matter that bears critical examination. But that is not the real issue
now. That the film star-turned-politician, even in his currently frail
condition recovering from major heart surgery, is not going to take
this lying down is clear from his march with his legislative supporters
to the Raj Bhavan and his gesture of courting arrest in the company
of Opposition leaders. How will popular opinion respond to being
cheated, through such methods, of the results of the overwhelmingly
decisive electoral verdict of January 1983? The developments of the
next few days could have a substantive impact on the behaviour of

those MLAs who are vacillating between the two camps; the
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response should certainly be revealed in the Lok Sabha elections

that are round the corner. Mr. Rama Rao has claimed the support of
well over the number of Telugu Desam MLAs and others (including 9
belonging to the two Communist parties) required in a House of 295
to run a majority government as demanded by the Constitution; all,
or an impressive number, of them accompanied him in the march on
the Raj Bhavan. Deplorably, he has not been allowed the opportunity
to present his legislative supporters before the Governor — let alone
demonstrate his majority on the floor of the elected Assembly.
Instead, Mr. Ramlal — the former Congress (I) Chief Minister of
Himachal Pradesh who was made to resign that office under a cloud
in April 1983 — has chosen to declare himself “satisfied” that Mr.
Rama Rao lost his majority and, on the basis of this determination,
has asked the man leading the revolt, Mr. Nadendla Bhaskara Rao,
to form a Ministry. The basis of this determination is unexplained,
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arbitrary and unjust. What next?
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Qualitatively, in a constitutional sense, the Centre’s action in
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Andhra Pradesh is worse than the steps taken some weeks ago to
topple the National Front Government of Dr. Farooq Abdullah in
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Kashmir. However deplorable that development was, the fact was

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that Dr. Abdullah could not, before he was dismissed, demonstrate

physically he had the number of MLAs to hold his majority. Mr. Rama
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Rao, on the other hand, has still a powerful claim to legitimacy and
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majority status in that his letter to the Governor contains a request

for physical verification, in the presence of the Secretary of the
Legislative Department, of his supporters and is accompanied by a
signed list of 149 Telugu Desam and 19 other MLAs pledging their
support to his Ministry. (Before that he offered, correctly, to prove his
majority in an Assembly session as early as on August 18.) This
means it is open to him to rally his followers and the people and
defeat the Congress (l)-sponsored Ministry of his erstwhile Finance
Minister on the floor of the Assembly as soon as it meets. If that
happens, it will expose the toppling game, make the Governor’s
action appear that much worse, and make the authors of the
calculations look foolish indeed. The expectation evidently is that
with Mr. Bhaskara Rao in the saddle and in a position to attract

MLAs through offers of office and in various other ways, there should
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be no problem in mustering the minimum legislative support. If this

happens, it would be most unfortunate; it would appear to legitimise
methods and considerations that should be ruled out of democratic
court, and it would tend to vindicate, in the short term, the politics of
destabilisation. One must hope, for the sake of democracy and the
nation, that Mr. Rama Rao — for all his faults as a Chief Minister and
the arbitrary style and course that permitted such an impressive
strength to be cut by major political defections — can keep his
numbers within and outside the State Assembly. It is a test not
merely for his fighting qualities as a leader, but also for those who
claim to be in politics for the sake of their principles.
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The brutal assassination of Indira Gandhi by her own security guards

seeking to avenge the storming of the Golden Temple complex hurt the
nation’s collective psyche like no other event since partition. The dominant
feeling was a foreboding of a national crisis and a period of political
instability.
NOVEMBER 1, 1984
A colossal tragedy
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assassination of
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HE VOID CREATED IN NATIONAL LIFE BY THE BRUTAL
the Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, by her own security
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guards in her own official residence is one that millions of

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Indians are going to find it extremely difficult to accept, or

adjust to. Across the nation that is in reality a subcontinent, it is
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already clear that the tragedy has hit the common people as a close
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personal bereavement does, that is also mixed with anger, shame

and a foreboding of a time of troubles—or at least one of confusion
and uncertainty in a political sense. The vile event, that must be
related in any honest reckoning to the latest expression of the
Punjab crisis, is apart from being a major personal and political
tragedy a setback to the democratic process to which India has been
proudly committed since Independence. The Hindu shares the
nation’s deep grief, its sense of anger and disorientation, its resolute
condemnation of the fanaticism and violence that struck down Mrs.
Gandhi, its homage to a tenacious, battle-scarred political warrior
fallen at her post, and the renewal of its commitment to democratic
values, institutions and practices. Even as a stunned nation mourns
the loss of its longstanding Prime Minister — a lady who while she
made enemies left a powerful stamp on national affairs and was
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perhaps the developing world’s best known representative and

spokesperson in international councils — it must reorder its political
affairs in a mature and level-headed way that cannot allow
demoralisation or pessimism or vacillation to take over, as the
enemies of the nation, internal and external, surely wish would
happen.
A time of national emotional upset and grieving is no time for
attempting an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses, the
lights and the shades, of a major political career. In Mrs. Gandhi’s
case, any tribute must start with noting the length of her dominance
of national political affairs — somewhat shorter than, but quite
comparable to, the length of her father’s Prime Ministership — her
strong personality that grew from a relatively low key political
position in the mid-Sixties to a towering stature in the Seventies and
Eighties, her inclination to controversy and her ability to arouse
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strong feelings, for and against, in relation to the content and style of
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her politics, her interesting but arguable record on some basic
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democratic issues, and the international eminence that she attained.
Some of her major political characteristics were not in much doubt,
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either among her admirers or her critics. Mrs. Gandhi as a politician

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was a far cry from a provincial or parochial person and differed from
many other politicians with high national ambitions or claims in being
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acceptable to all parts of the country. She also took pride in the
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modernity of her outlook on politics, society, culture, science and so

on — as one perceptive foreign interviewer noted, “from her
comments, it was clear to me that she saw herself as a new and
modern breed of politician, more flexible, pragmatic, and rational
than most old-style politicians.” Her approach to international
relations and foreign policy was, in broad terms, realistic,
independent, rooted to the ground and successful in keeping India’s
flag aloft. The basis of the development of her politics — a basis
related to the strengths and weaknesses of all her political decisions
— was her rapport with the masses, her ability to arouse their
feelings and sentiments and to fashion political platforms and
slogans making a potent appeal to them. The major dip in her career
came with the imposition of the Emergency, which brought about a

rupture, at least temporarily, in her relations with the masses. But
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she bounced back into the national political arena in a big way and
thereupon her political career seemed headed for a new stage of
development — a less fresh, more complicated and uncertain stage
— when the question, what next? or what if Mrs. Gandhi does not
secure a clear majority in the coming electoral battle? was being
posed quite widely. Some wondered or worried about her impact on
political institutions and party structure, connected to the obvious fact
that the Congress party became, in the Seventies and Eighties,
dependent almost entirely on her “magic with the masses” and
method of making all substantive decisions individually — or in
consultation with one of her sons. Others noted a possible tendency
to concentrate on international affairs — issues concerning the
nonaligned movement, the Commonwealth and there were also
major foreign visits to world capitals — during this latter phase,
which raised interesting kinds of political questions for the country.
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Where would this stage of development of Indian politics have led, in
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the normal democratic course? Tragically, there is no way of
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answering the question competently — that is in a non-speculative
way. Later, historians, political scientists, journalists and a host of
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objectively and critically at India’s track record during the Indira

Gandhi era. And they are likely to find much that will endure and
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survive the criticisms.

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To date, the Bhopal tragedy remains India’s worst, single-event

environmental disaster. It killed more than 3,700 people, and left several
thousands seriously injured and permanently affected from the gas release.
The tragedy raised issues of corporate responsibility, and criminal
negligence.
DECEMBER 5, 1984
The Bhopal tragedy

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HE HORRENDOUS TRAGEDY BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE LEAK
gas at the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal has
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history. The immediate priority is to provide treatment to the

seriously ill, many of whom are battling for their lives, rehabilitate
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them and provide relief to the affected families. An enquiry is on to

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determine if there was any criminal negligence involved in the

operations of the plant. But the fact that the highly toxic methyl
isocyanate continued to leak for nearly an hour and turned the
neighbourhood into a virtual gas chamber makes it clear that there
has been an inexcusable failure to discharge the responsibility on
the part of those engaged in an inherently hazardous activity. Nor
can the State Government, which is charged with the task of
inspection and enforcement of regulations and of ensuring safety in
factory operations, escape blame. The Central and the State teams
will doubtless be examining whether the safety features provided in
the plant were adequate — a worthwhile exercise would be to find
out if these matched the safety standards built into a similar plant of
the company in the United States — and the maintenance and

operations were sound.
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The accident at the atomic power plant at Three Mile Island in the
U.S. — where, in contrast, the safety systems came into play to
prevent a major disaster and loss of lives — led to a fundamental re-
examination of the design, operations and safety features in nuclear
stations the world over and the dangers associated with nuclear
power plants have been greatly reduced. The Bhopal tragedy should
trigger such an evaluation in the chemical industry, particularly where
highly toxic and hazardous materials are involved. As an immediate
measure, the Union and the State Governments should take up the
inspection of such plants, starting with those in the thickly populated
areas. Studies by international agencies have revealed that the
regulations on the production and use of pesticides are much less
stringent in the developing countries than in the West — this is part
of the attraction for chemical firms — and that even if the regulations
exist on paper they remain unenforced as the technical and the
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administrative machinery are weak. A close look at the regulations
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covering the production, handling and use of dangerous chemicals is
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clearly called for; in a matter affecting the lives and the health of the
people, no slackness and no compromise should be allowed on such
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considerations as cost. And the inspection wings of the State

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Governments have to be strengthened. Industry as a whole needs to

be prodded to re-examine the safety and the health aspects in the
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factories and take quick measures to correct any flaws. Monday’s

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tragedy has also brought out the folly of locating a plant producing
an extremely toxic chemical so close to a major city, exposing a large
population to risk. A wider awareness of the dangers must be
brought about among the citizens and political parties and public
action groups have ever to be vigilant and point to specific weak
spots, callousness or inherent dangers in industrial operations
without at the same time allowing a hysteria to be built up against the
chemical industry or any other.
Rajiv Gandhi won an unprecedented mandate in exceptional circumstances

after India’s body politic came under test following the assassination of his
mother and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. It was not just a sympathy wave,
but a mandate for a united, democratic India.
DECEMBER 30, 1984
Historic popular mandate

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RONICALLY, IT’S AT THE END OF A YEAR OF UNPRECEDENTED shocks to
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the body politic and to the morale of the people, triggering
worldwide speculation about the ability of Indians to hold
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together and come through the crisis, that the most powerful, the
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most sweeping and one-sided, the most stunning mandate for one
Centre and one party in the nation’s history has been won. Mr. Rajiv
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Gandhi’s triumph is unique in character, scale and quality, the kind of

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parliamentary electoral outcome that goes beyond anything that his

mother or even his grandfather was able to turn out for the Congress
party and that is not going to be repeated for a while given the rules
of the Indian political game. If these figures had turned up in a
political novel, they would have invited perhaps critical taunts at the
author’s inclination for the fanciful if not for melodrama. The
character of the Congress (l)’s victory in the Eighth General
Elections is such as to bring the elected national political system
very close to a one-party model. And the scale of the triumph is quite
unprecedented in respect of the proportion of votes polled nationally
by the winning party and, always disproportionate to this, the number
of seats bagged. It used to be a standard observation after each of
the seven general elections that the winning party was brought to
power on a minority of the national vote; that routine has been upset
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by the latest numbers. And given the difficult-to-predict way in which

votes translate themselves into seats for the winners and losers, the
new figure of speech to denote a ruling party position beyond
challenge in the Lok Sabha will be not two-thirds, or even three-
fourths, but a four-fifths majority. The electric quality of Mr. Rajiv
Gandhi’s political success can simply be expressed in terms of how
the Opposition stands in the new Lok Sabha. For virtually all the
national parties opposing the Congress (I), it has been a hard
struggle towards the elementary dignity of a double digit Lok Sabha
existence. The unambiguous defeat of many prominent Opposition
leaders, notably the presidents of the BJP and the Janata, must
intensify the feeling of decimation and demoralisation in their camp.
As a State, Andhra Pradesh constitutes about the only exception to
the all-India trends that show a marked preference in favour of the
Congress (I) compared with the position preceding this general
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election. The success of the Telugu Desam leader, Mr. N. T. Rama
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Rao, the Chief Minister, in creating a popular wave of his own to
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keep the Rajiv (or Indira?) wave out of the largest of the southern
States does stand out as a major political event. In West Bengal, the
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Left Front headed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has

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held its own, but not without suffering a severe erosion in its political
position in the State, and especially in the urban areas. In Kashmir,
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has done well, which means the minority group led by Mr. G. M.
Shah, the Chief Minister. could be in trouble. But these results up-
value Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s remarkable political achievement rather
than take away anything significant from it. It’s a truly historic popular
mandate won across-the-board, in every zone and social cross-
section in a vast country that provides the world’s largest electoral
experience.
The 1984 verdict is dramatic confirmation of the finding of political
researchers that the Indian voter is learning to exercise his or her
choice in an increasingly direct, evolved and clear-cut way that gives
rise to truly national patterns of political behaviour. He or she
participates more directly than ever before in the electoral process
and expresses a political mind sharply and decisively. Reflecting this

evolved character of electoral behaviour, public opinion polls have
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begun to catch up with the popular mood more accurately, an

observation that can be sustained by examining the results turned
out by some of the major national polls this time, including the
Frontline-IMRB public opinion survey published in The Hindu on the
eve of the elections. But what are the qualitative factors making for
the ruling party’s overpowering victory in the Eighth General
Elections? The most important would appear to be the powerful
mass urge for keeping India united and as one, free from the
dangers of internal threats such as the Punjab crisis and external
aggression. This is linked up, of course, with the “sympathy factor”
that has worked magically for Mr. Rajiv Gandhi — in favour of his
taking over as Prime Minister after the vile and brutal slaying of his
mother, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The 1984 result expresses at
one level a tremendous national, mass protest against the
assassination of Mrs. Gandhi by a band of anti-national, separatist
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terrorists. The other side of this phenomenon is the overwhelming
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endorsement of the son and political inheritor at the level of the
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common man and woman, rendering criticisms and allegations of
“dynastic rule” and so forth irrelevant. Under the tragic
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circumstances, there was no credible Opposition challenge on a

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national scale. Whereas Mr. Rajiv Gandhi campaigned simply on his

party’s ability to hold India strong and united, the Opposition found
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itself performing in a cramped and inhibited way, bringing up few

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issues that made sense to the voters. Too much is perhaps made of
the alleged disunity of the Opposition parties this time, indices of
their effective unity suggested a better prospect for them, thanks to
seat adjustments, than in 1980 — but there is no question that the
inability of the Opposition campaigners at the national level to inspire
voters with their programmes and policies explains the larger-than-
life margin of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s victory. The other major point that
needs to be made even now, before a new Government takes over,
is that while it is a vote for rootedness and much that the people can
identify with emotionally from the recent past, it must also be read as
an impressive mandate for change — in the sense expectations
have been aroused of vastly improved performance from the
Government.
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The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka began assuming proportions of a

humanitarian crisis in the eighties with the Government of J.R.
Jayewardane pursuing a military solution. Tamils resorted to armed
resistance against the government offensive on their lives, livelihoods and
liberties.
FEBRUARY 28, 1985
A dangerous situation
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RI LANKA’S POLITICAL AND HUMAN CRISIS FOCUSSED ON THE plight
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of the minority Tamil people in the northern and eastern
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provinces who are living through a Government-sponsored

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offensive against their lives, basic liberties and socio-

cultural identity has reached alarming proportions. The official policy
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of seeking a military solution to an internationally recognised socio-

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political and democratic question and of closing the route of talks to

arrive at a negotiated settlement invests the situation with very little
hope. The Jayewardene Government’s stance over the past few
months has seemed specially designed to achieve a number of
major ill effects for the island nation — its dismemberment through
the systematic terrorisation and alienation of a three million strong
minority population, the sharp worsening of its economic and
developmental climate, the brutalisation of social values through a
policy of overt chauvinism, and the incalculable folly of worsening
relations with a friendly neighbour, India, which has every
demonstrable interest in helping Sri Lanka stay united. The armed
forces have stepped up the level of their atrocities — killing, looting,
raping, torture and numerous other crimes — against innocent

civilians in the northern and eastern provinces in the name of
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combating “terrorism.” By all accounts, the Jaffna area has been

converted into a prisonhouse, with the people caught in a viciously
expanding and quite undiscriminating “security” onslaught. Hit and
run raids by the small and conspiratorially organised band of armed
militants who go by the name of “Liberation Tigers” have had the
effect of intensifying the hostilities and providing a cover for an army
going on a wider rampage in the Tamil areas. A report by Amnesty
International that is yet to be released details several instances of
armed force savagery and “reprisal killings of innocent Tamil
civilians, including old men, women and children, carried out by
security personnel” and notes that “the scale of these killings is
unprecedented.” The military campaign, that makes a mockery of
civil society in Sri Lanka, goes hand in hand with a hawkish policy of
Sinhala colonisation in the northern province — that aims to settle
about 30,000 families of armed civilians trained in the use of firearms
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at this stage of the anti-Tamil programme in an attempt to alter the
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strategic situation. The setting up of a prohibited zone around the
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island’s northern coast and the declaration of the Jaffna peninsula as
a ‘security zone” where the armed forces have a completely free
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hand to terrorise and shoot have revealed the intentions of the

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Government. As though this were not enough, the Jayewardene

regime has mounted a vituperative campaign against India for its
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alleged support to “terrorism”; has repulsed its efforts to use its good
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offices to find a via media acceptable to both the Tamils and the
Sinhalese; has arranged to procure arms from a curious mixture of
sources; has made greater use of the sinister Israeli connection; and
has under cover of patrolling the relevant waters against the
“terrorists” attacked and killed Indian fishermen and intruded into
Indian waters.
Before the extraordinary developments in the second part of
December that saw the submission of certain official negotiating
proposals, next the sudden decision to wind up the All Party
Conference and then following the dismissal of the rabid chauvinist,
Mr. Cyril Mathew, the Cabinet decision to drop the Jayewardene
proposals in their entirety, the Sri Lanka official policy on the Tamil
question had at least two tracks to operate on — the military and the
political — which meant that, however bad the situation in the Tamil
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areas, it was still open to an attempt to negotiate a political

settlement by narrowing the gap between the two sides, it is the
qualitative change in the situation that the Government of India has
to consider now. India’s locus standi in the matter is derived from
several realities — solidarity with the Sri Lanka as well as Indian
Tamils facing State-sponsored terrorism, the flow of refugees, the
impact of the Jayewardene Government’s various “security-related”
moves on the regional situation. The TULF leader Mr. A.
Amirthalingam, has called attention to the worsening of the situation
and asked for “a more positive role” by India to stop the mass killings
and other atrocities against the Tamils.
What can be done at this critical juncture? If the assumption is
valid that the crisis focussed on the Tamil Question is capable of
being resolved through political negotiations aimed at finding a fair
and democratic via media within the framework of a united Sri
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Lanka, the fines of communication must be re-established
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immediately — through an Indian initiative, if necessary — to further
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this aim. Mr. Jayewardene, who has in his dealings with the Tamil
leaders gone back on promises and understandings repeatedly,
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should realise that while, on the one hand, he cannot dream of

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suppressing the democratic and political aspirations of the three

million Tamils of his country by force, he cannot, on the other, afford
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to indulge in unfriendly acts against India. Some kind of

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disengagement and de-escalation can still be achieved — by calling

off the military campaign against the Tamil population of the north
and the east and, especially, by suspending the programme of
Sinhala colonisation of these areas. Such steps would make political
sense if they are taken in the context of resuming talks with the
TULF leaders who have been acting throughout with considerable
restraint. The set of working ideas or broad proposals contained in
Annexure C, which was evolved in detailed consultations with India
in late-1983, is available as a reasonable basis for negotiations. The
core of Annexure C was the formation of regional councils in
provinces (especially in the northern and eastern provinces), with no
requirement that there would be a nationwide referendum to
authorise or strike down the union. There was, of course, a

significant gap between what the TULF leaders wanted (namely, one
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regional council merging the northern and eastern provinces) and

what Mr. Jayewardene was willing to promote, but this was not
qualitatively, a problem that need have defied a compromise
solution. Regrettably, Mr. Jayewardene’s later proposals — featuring
a measure of inter-district coordination and a second chamber
claiming dubiously to “ensure a more equitable exercise of political
power by all members or sectors of a multi-ethnic society” — did not
add up to very much. The Sri Lanka President must remember that
the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact of the Fifties — which was
really Annexure C-plus and offered the best chance in recent times
of settling the Tamil question on a just and equitable basis within the
framework of a united nation — was shot down by what was a
blatant play of political chauvinism. The consequences of botching
up another major opportunity where India’s good offices would be a
real asset in making the settlement stick must be reviewed very, very
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seriously in Colombo.
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The Centre’s mishandling of the Kashmir situation was shown up in the

attempts to prop up a proxy government headed by G.M. Shah. The cynical,
manipulative politics had long-term impacts on the sensitive State. The
proper course of holding elections to end the political uncertainty did not
happen until much later.
SEPTEMBER 17, 1986
Hold elections in Kashmir

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HE IMPOSITION OF PRESIDENT’S RULE IN JAMMU Kashmir
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following the expiration of Governor’s rule which could not be
extended beyond a period of six months under the State’s
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Constitution might have provided a means of getting over a

legal hurdle but has certainly not solved the political impasse in the
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sensitive State. The previous Government led by Mr. G.M. Shah, the
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leader of the breakaway group of the National Conference, which

came to power with the help of the Congress (I), could not last more
than 19 months. Although the political opponents of Dr. Farooq
Abdullah did their best to bring about his downfall after he had won a
clear majority in the 1983 poll to the State Assembly, it soon became
apparent that Mr. Shah was no match for him in political acumen or
popularity. Mr. Shah showed an utter inability bordering on
reluctance to deal with the secessionist and fundamentalist elements
in the Kashmir Valley and he even made a desperate attempt to
merge with the parent National Conference to enable Dr. Abdullah to
form a Government without the support of the Congress (I). But this
ploy did not work and the Governor dismissed his Government even
as Mr. Shah was delaying the submission of his resignation. In

opting for Governor’s rule instead of a presidential takeover
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straightway, the Centre wanted to steer clear of an acrimonious

controversy that would arise if it chose to override past practice. An
early restoration of popular Government was also on the cards.
Events in the last few months have however shown that this was a
delicate task which required a more careful handling of the dominant
political forces. The Congress (I) with a strength of 28 in the
Assembly even toyed with the idea of forming a Government with the
help of the 14 defectors who formed the core of the G. M. Shah
group. The folly of such a course was soon realised and it was felt
that the credibility of the Congress (I) which received a big blow the
moment it joined hands with Mr. Shah would suffer an even greater
setback. The only other way of restoring popular rule was to bring
back Dr. Farooq Abdullah to his original position, but the latter’s
immediate reluctance left the Centre with no alternative but to
impose President’s rule.
Dr. Farooq Abdullah’s declaration that he has total faith in the
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Prime Minister did give rise to the speculation that he would be
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willing to join hands with the Congress (I) in an effort to end
Governor’s rule. This was soon dispelled and since he enjoys the
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powerful backing of the National Conference and continues to be its

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undisputed leader, he does not want to play into the hands of any
political party, certainly not the Congress (I). He has said on more
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than one occasion during recent weeks that fresh elections would be
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the only way to end the current stalemate. Politically speaking, this
seems a very good time for him and his party to go to the polls. The
Centre has to take a fresh look at the problem for, given the political
equations in the now suspended Assembly, no party is in a position
to form a stable Government and it is nobody’s expectation that the
continuation of President’s rule even for the permissible period is
going to alter the picture. In the circumstances, the only proper
course would be to order a fresh poll to remove the uncertainty. Any
attempt to continue with the manipulative politics that the Centre has
pursued in the past in Jammu and Kashmir would be
counterproductive.
The Constitution clearly circumscribes the powers of the President, but the
advisory or cautionary role is important in all respects. President Zail Singh
did invoke his authority in not only writing to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on
issues of national importance, but also asking it be shared with Parliament.
This was at a time when institutional relations between the President and
the Prime Minister were at an all-time low.
MARCH 14, 1987
A grievous breach of propriety

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OMING SO SOON AFTER THE HIGHLY IMPROPER HANDLING OF the
Venkateswaran affair, which culminated in the
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rid of the Foreign Secretary, the mess made of sensitive

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constitutional, political and personal relations with the President —

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the highest constitutional personage in the Republic and a symbol of

long established values — is guaranteed to inflict serious damage on
the image, the political stock and the credibility of the Prime Minister.
The controversy triggered by the publicisation of the letter of March
9, 1987 from the President, Mr. Zail Singh, to Mr. Rajiv Gandhi raises
important national issues which the former has raised in a
straightforward communication which he has asked — in the
discharge of his constitutional right and function — to be shared with
Parliament. The President has very rightly routed this message to
Parliament — and the nation — through the Prime Minister. Article
86 (2) of the Constitution provides specifically for such a step: “The
President may send messages to either House of Parliament,
whether with respect to a Bill then pending in Parliament or

otherwise, and a House to which any message is so sent shall with
all convenient despatch consider any matter required by the
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message to be taken into consideration.” The words “message” and

“otherwise” in this provision are significant: in the latest case, the
substance of the message is the President’s formulation of “the
factual position” on “the relations between the Prime Minister and the
President.” According to Mr. Zail Singh, the factual position is
“somewhat at variance with” what the Prime Minister stated during
the relevant discussions in the two Houses of Parliament in early
March. What this amounts to saying politely is this: the Prime
Minister, who was “aware” of the factual position, misinformed or
misled Parliament and his performance on such an issue concerning
constitutional and institutional relations had to be corrected. The
controversy relating to the Prime Minister’s relations with the
President has been expressed in recent parliamentary proceedings.
Although the Speaker, Mr. Balram Jakhar, has claimed (after the
damage was done breezily by the Prime Minister himself) that he
would “not allow the name of the President to be brought in here in
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any form and by anybody” and has disallowed the immediate
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concerns raised by the Opposition, there is no question — if any
serious democratic norm is applied — of keeping this particular
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controversy out of Parliament. The issues have been raised frontally

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and they cannot be dodged through any misguided attempt to

protect the Prime Minister and his Government.
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Nobody wants a President to exceed his constitutional role, which

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is limited; under the Indian Constitution, it is the parliamentary

system and the popularly constituted authority of the Prime Minister
and the Council of Ministers that is substantively decisive. But the
President of India is not a ceremonial figurehead who can be ignored
or humiliated or mistreated by those who claim to be the people’s
directly elected representatives. The President has, in brief, the
function of advising, counselling, moderating, and raising issues,
doubts and objections to which there must be a serious and speedy
response. He or she has the right to know the inner thinking and
decisions of the political government on a range of domestic and
international matters — and has the right to information on such
matters. The “duty of the Prime Minister” to furnish information on
matters of state is spelt out unambiguously in Article 78 of the

Constitution; it is also an elementary courtesy (which Prime Minister
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Indira Gandhi, whatever the criticisms directed at her, did not fail to
perform consistently). Obviously, there is a political and personal
dimension to the institutional relationship that need not be ignored in
a discussion of the constitutional or formal position. Virtually all the
Presidents of India thus far have come from a political background
— certainly Mr. Zail Singh who, as Union Home Minister and also
earlier, was involved in matters of political controversy. It is quite
understandable that there might be variances, even sharp, between
a Prime Minister’s perception of political problems and issues and a
President’s. It is now well known that Mr. Zail Singh had differences
with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her Government’s handling of
the Punjab crisis. He has brought up what are clearly differences
with the administration of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on matters
such as the Mizoram accord; the earlier policy of drift on Jammu and
Kashmir; the insinuations or statements concerning the Rashtrapati
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Bhavan made by Mr. K. K. Tewari, now Minister of State for Industry,
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and Mr. H. R. Bharadwaj, Minister of State for Law; and, of course,
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the obnoxious mail interception Bill. It was deplorable that coded
messages received by the External Affairs Ministry from foreign
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missions were withheld from the President (despite reminders) for

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approximately a year, until Mr. A. P. Venkateswaran as Foreign

Secretary corrected the breach of propriety and lack of elementary
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courtesy. In his March 9 letter to Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, Mr. Zail Singh has
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directly faulted the Prime Minister for the following breaches of “well-
established practices and conventions” and even “constitutional
provisions regarding furnishing of information to the President.” Mr.
Rajiv Gandhi did not brief Mr. Zail Singh on the relevant affairs of
state before and after visits abroad, or after the SAARC deliberations
in Bangalore. He did not keep him informed on foreign policy issues
relating to problematical South Asian neighbours (including
presumably Sri Lanka). He did not care to meet Mr. Zail Singh to
receive his impressions following presidential visits to Nepal,
Yugoslavia, Greece and Poland. He did not take the President into
confidence on the accords finalised in respect of Assam, Punjab and
Mizoram. And worse than all this, in direct violation of the
constitutional provision (Article 78), the reports of certain sensitive

commissions of enquiry, including the Ranganath Mishra commission
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on the anti-Sikh violence in Delhi, were kept away from the President
before they were placed in Parliament. Mr. Zail Singh has done well
to raise these painful, but inescapable issues at this juncture. There
is no doubt that the Prime Minister has mishandled the matter. He
must take the intervention in the right spirit and set matters right on a
priority basis.
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The Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement to Establish Peace and Normalcy in Sri

Lanka was important in its scale and ambition, coming as it did after the two
countries were engaged in a cold war over the treatment of Tamils in Sri
Lanka. As a friendship agreement, it proposed an Indian peacekeeping
force in northern Sri Lanka controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam.
AUGUST 1, 1987
A courageous undertaking
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OING INTO COLOMBO WHILE FEELINGS WERE RUNNING very high
and the Sinhala part of the nation was gripped by
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neighbourliness, solidarity with the reasonable aspirations of the

victims of the ethnic conflict, a correct handling of the larger
democratic issues at stake, and sound and progressive regional
relations. The fears of those who are known to have advised against
the visit at this time, strictly on grounds of security, were proved true,
with the shocking attempt on Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s life by a
Sri Lankan sailor who was part of the closing guard of honour
ceremony. But the apprehensions of those who hesitated and
vacillated over, or carped at, the political judgment and
considerations behind the business that took Mr. Rajiv Gandhi to
Colombo at this time are already being proved false, as the new
Indian role in decisively helping Sri Lanka find a democratic solution
to the ethnic conflict and also in enabling it to maintain its non-

aligned, independent status begins to unfold — truly a new kind of
progressive role in the regional context. The entire nation was
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tremendously relieved that the Prime Minister showed a rare kind of

corner-of-the-eye anticipation and “agility” (the last, his own half-
joking response to a journalist’s question on the flight back to Delhi)
to duck away from what was shown— by some of the most dramatic
and revealing television footage to be seen anywhere in recent times
— as an attempt to go for the big crunching blow to the head. It was
a close call by any political yardstick and, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s
response aside, Mr. G. S. Jamwal, who is assigned to the Prime
Minister’s personal security as part of the Special Protection Group,
did a splendid job in reacting in a flash to bring the assailant to
ground. At a time when there is a concerted attempt to deal
demoralising blows at civil society and the security of citizens,
ordinary or high-placed, this action by a young Indian security
professional deserves national acclaim. Doordarshan too deserves
the nation’s thanks for recording with exemplary meticulousness and
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steady hands those moments outside the Presidential Palace in
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Colombo which highlight for the whole world to see the great risk
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involved in taking big steps and in “waging peace”, to borrow a
phrase from President Venkataraman.
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Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and the Sri Lankan President, Mr. J. R.

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Jayewardene, deserve, in equal measure, congratulations on the

bold breakthrough — conceptually, substantively, institutionally and
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in a wider political sense — represented by the Indo-Sri Lanka

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Agreement to Establish Peace and Normalcy in Sri Lanka which

must, to make the best sense of it, be read along with the Annexure
to the Agreement and the exchange of letters relating to Trincomalee
and other security-related matters. This agreement and this new
neighbourly relationship, and their implications, will be analysed in
detail in a subsequent editorial. Its main features are these. It is a
friendship agreement between two neighbouring countries focussed
on the immediate challenge of resolving democratically and through
bilateral statesmanship the island’s ethnic conflict. It is a far-going,
balanced and comprehensive package addressing many sides of the
problem, some of which might appear intractable at this juncture.
Conceptually, the political solution proposed is based on the
recognition of the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri

Lanka and the urgent need for safety, security and democratic self-
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administering opportunities for the Sri Lankan Tamils within this unity.
The centrepiece of the devolution of power package is the
reconstitution or combining, of the Northern and Eastern Provinces
as one administrative unit with an elected Provincial Council, one
Governor, one Chief Minister and one Board of Ministers. There is an
enabling provision for a free and fair referendum later on among the
people of the Eastern Province to determine whether it should
remain part of the combined administrative unit, or delink and
constitute a separate unit; there is also an enabling provision for the
President to postpone the referendum at his discretion. With respect
to the framework and substance of devolution, the proposals reflect
the not unimpressive advances made in the negotiations of 1986, but
there are some constitutional and related matters which remain to be
resolved or tied up in this area. But the substantive devolution
package on offer hinges vitally on the ability of the two Governments
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to achieve the process of early demilitarisation of the ethnic dispute
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which involves as direct antagonists on the ground an army of
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occupation that has committed heinous crimes against innocent
Tamils over the past four years and armed militants who need to be
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persuaded, or educated, into disarming under a practical

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arrangement that guarantees the safety and security of the unarmed

people as well as the militants. This practical safety-assuring
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arrangement is represented by the entry of Indian peace-keeping

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forces into the Northern Province, with the Jaffna Peninsula which is
largely under LTTE control posing an understandable challenge to
the process of disarmament. This problem must be resolved
amicably and by persuading Mr. V. Prabakaran, the LTTE leader who
is now in Delhi for discussions with the highest level of Indian
decision-making, to cooperate with India, trust its experience in
foreign policy as well as its specific judgment of the issues at stake
in the island and of the progressive requirements in the regional
situation, and accept the good faith of both Governments within a
context that is being guaranteed heavily by India. Wrongly handled
by any of the major parties involved in or affected by the bilateral
umbrella agreement, things could veer out of control. But there can
be no question of not making, or allowing, this vital agreement to

work.
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The investigation into the Bofors payoffs is a long story, but the decision of
the Chief Prosecutor of Stockholm to go into allegations of bribery marked a
significant step in uncovering the beneficiaries. This happened at a time
when the Indian government, beginning with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi,
seemed more intent on a cover-up than on a free, transparent investigation
of l’affaire Bofors.
AUGUST 21, 1987
Bofors — closing in on the payoffs

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HE DECISION BY THE CHIEF PROSECUTOR OF STOCKHOLM, Mr. Lars
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Bofors in connection with the deal concluded in the Rajiv

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Gandhi administration in March 1986 for the sale of 410 FH-

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77B howitzer to India represents, as our Special Correspondent

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points out from Stockholm, “an important and entirely new phase” in
the development of the defence deal controversy which has had a
very big impact already on Indian politics. In effect, the decision
moves l’affaire Bofors out of a rather stagnant phase in the
development of the evidence and of the drama, and sets the criminal
law of Sweden in motion against the inside track of the Bofors
payments, of the order of Rs. 50 crores, into clandestine Swiss bank
accounts. This welcome and straightforward move does seem to
improve “dramatically… the prospect of early identification of the
recipients” of the payoffs — although it is imperative to keep an open
mind on the question of specific guilt and the Ram Jethmalanis and
those of his ilk need to be reminded in a principled way, that name
calling and the sweeping charges they have hurled do not constitute
evidence in the bar of fair-minded, democratic public opinion. By the
same token, the attempt in ruling party circles to brand as
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“unpatriotic” the telegram sent by some 100 Opposition MPs to the

Chief Prosecutor of Stockholm must be dismissed with the contempt
it deserves. Coming after the original revelations by the news
department of the Swedish National Radio Company and the
exemplary endeavours of the Swedish National Audit Bureau, the
decision by an independent-minded prosecutor comes as yet
another testimony to the public-spirited, democratic qualities of
Swedish institutions. It reflects very badly on the attitude and the
credibility of the Government of India that the Swedish criminal
investigation has come not as a response to a request that should
have gone out a long time ago from New Delhi — and failed to go
out despite very broad hints originating from a number of quarters in
Stockholm — but apparently in the face of contrary public signals
sent on this vital matter l’affaire Bofors surfaced on April 16 and
since then, at every material stage, the Indian Government from the
Prime Minister down has behaved — substantively and also in detail,
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style and nuance — in a manner that has led virtually everyone not
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in on the inside track to believe that its response is the old-fashioned
cover-up after hands have been trapped in the till.
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The drama has developed over several Acts and there have been
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surprises too in the cast, but the trend of the plot has been basically
unvarying, unimaginative and very unedifying. Right from the start,
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Bofors and the Indian Government have been in the dock and have
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not looked like getting out of it — for all that the people of India and
the world might care. In April, the reactions from both seemed to give
fresh meaning to an inspired line by William Wordsworth — “like a
guilty thing surprised.” Over the five month period, the versions
trotted out by Bofors relating to the payoffs have varied quite
violently. The Swedish arms manufacturer, which seems involved in
scandals up to its neck, has been saying different things to different
people in a manner that can only be characterised as unscrupulous
in the extreme. These versions have invariably been reactive and
defensive, in reaction to serious allegations and factual evidence that
it has had no choice but to speak to. And they have included
obvious, blatant lies. First, in response to the Swedish radio’s
allegations that Bofors had made payoffs to the tune of 33 million

crowns in November-December 1986 in connection with the howitzer
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deal with India, it denied it had paid any “bribes” or “commissions” or

had used or paid any “middlemen.” Then, in its classified letter of
April 24, it said the payments referred to by the radio had been
wrongly construed: they were not actually made to an Indian
company or citizen but were in accordance with a pre-existing
contract with a Swiss company for “the reimbursement of consultant
services within the areas of marketing and counterpurchasing.”
Then, the Audit Bureau came out with its stunning findings which
established the fact of at least two categories of payments of the
order of Rs. 50 crores — which were precisely what the radio had
alleged. According to this crucial report, Bofors acknowledged these
huge payments and explained the bulk of them as “winding up costs”
following “winding up negotiations” with the company’s several
contacts in India. The report also mentioned contractual payments
Bofors had made to a Swiss company. Payments made to Bofors’
“previous agent in India” (presumably Win Chadha) were also
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specifically mentioned. Next, in reaction substantively to public
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pressure in India and Sweden and in formal response to the
Government of India’s demand for the names of the recipients,
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Bofors pleaded the principle of business confidentiality in the latest

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round, in answer to a communication of July 16 from the Indian

Defence Secretary, it has come up with this version: no bribes, no
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middlemen, no payments to any Indian citizen or official or company,

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only “termination costs” made necessary by pre-existing

“international consultancy agreements” that bore no relation to “the
winning of the FH-77B contract” or to its value. Among other things,
Bofors’ brand new version is in direct conflict with the Audit Bureau’s
findings on the bulk of the payments.
As for the Government of India, the credibility gap its responses
have caused must be recognised, more or less, as the mirror image
of the problem of credibility that Bofors has. “False, baseless,
mischievous… a destabilisation plot”, was the initial content of the
response from the Indian Government and also from the Congress
(I) Working Committee. “The story emanated from New Delhi”, was
an absurd twist in the response that did not hold up for a single day.
“No middlemen… no commissions… just as we stipulated in our

policy”, sounded like a dud defence when the evidence continued to
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build up relentlessly. “Olof Palme’s assurances”, did not hold water

for long, with the present Swedish Government. “Sweden had
confirmed that there was no middleman and no money was paid in
Swiss Bank” (the Press Information Bureau’s handout version of
what the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, told a conference of Army
commanders in April), highlighted the problem of the emerging
credibility gap. A close review of the facts of the case, set against the
claims made in Parliament by various Government representatives
— the latest in the line of those contributing to the widening of the
credibility gap is the Defence Minister, Mr. K. C. Pant — was done by
our Special Correspondent and published in The Hindu of July 28. It
brings out — among other things, the hollowness of the Prime
Minister’s twin claims: that the Indian Government has gone after the
facts from the start, and that the findings of the Swedish National
Audit Bureau “vindicate” the Government’s stand that there have
been “no middlemen” and that, in effect, the stipulation of policy
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worked. To make matters worse, the Government of India made
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clear early on that there was no question of it being tempted to use
the leverage of threatening to cancel the Bofors-India contract.
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Indeed, the Prime Minister went on record in the post-Audit Bureau

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findings period as practically the only person of consequence who

was willing to give a clean chit to Bofors on the question of
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“middlemen.” Going beyond statements, there is the Government of

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India’s practical response to the scandal. Immediately after the

allegations of malfeasance and corruption of the decision-making
process in the national security realm surfaced, no attempt was
made to take up the matter seriously and directly with the Swedish
Prime Minister. During a later stage of deepening troubles, Win
Chadha, the former Bofors agent who is unquestionably an Indian
citizen and has by all accounts been involved in payments of some
kind, was allowed to escape from the country despite his being in the
heat of the controversy right from the start. The Defence Secretary,
Mr. S. K. Bhatnagar, has continued to handle this sensitive matter —
and the matter of investigating l’affaire West German submarine —
despite his being associated with the decision-making process right
through, and indeed over an unusually long term. (This makes non-
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sense of any healthy principle of avoiding an apparent conflict of

interest.)
Furthermore, an offer by the Bofors management to send a high-
level delegation to discuss the problem was turned down in July,
after the then Minister of State in the Defence Ministry, Mr. Arun
Singh, apparently committed himself. And when it became clear to
the whole world that one route to the inside track which could at least
be tested was the course contemplated by Mr. Ringberg, no request
went out from the Indian Government. To re-phrase a question we
raised in an earlier editorial: who, which honest man, woman or
child, wouldn’t have a problem with believing that the Government of
India has nothing to hide in l’affaire Bofors? If the allegations of
kickbacks or bribery stick and come close to the top of the decision-
making process, then there can be no question of this Government
surviving, given India’s vigorous democratic process. On the other
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hand, if it is shown to be innocent and maligned, then it has itself, in
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Unless there are further surprises in store, the moment of truth could
be near at hand.
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M.G. Ramachandran was a phenomenon in Indian politics, a film star who

converted his fan following into a political support base and challenged
established parties. But he was not all charisma with no political tact.
Through his three terms in power, he unveiled a host of social welfare
schemes that appealed to his support base of rural, unorganised labouring
classes, especially women.
DECEMBER 25, 1987
A tribute to MGR
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HE PASSING OF MR. M. G. RAMACHANDRAN, THE 70 YEAR OLD Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu and founder-leader of the All India
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Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which has created an

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extraordinary emotional upheaval among millions of people

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in the State is a testimony to the powerful standing among the

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masses, rural and urban, men and women, that he established over
several decades. Mr. Ramachandran, or MGR as he was
affectionately known, was an unusual phenomenon in Indian politics.
Unlike some highly successful film stars who have made, or
attempted to make, an entry into the political arena late in the day,
Mr. Ramachandran was a unique case of a person whose political
career evolved hand-in-hand with a leading role in the world of films
(which were linked, in various ways, with the politics he espoused).
The nationalist and Dravidian movements provided the background
to his role in the cultural sphere. From the early days of their activity
in the electoral arena, the leaders of the undivided DMK — above all,
the charismatic C. N. Annadurai — were quick to appreciate Mr.
Ramachandran’s image and special appeal to the masses as a

considerable asset to their party. He made his own contribution to
the fairly rapid growth of the DMK and its decisive coming to power
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in 1967. After Chief Minister Annadurai’s untimely death in 1969, Mr.

Ramachandran found himself sharing the political-organisational
limelight and even a stewardship role that he hardly seemed to be
seeking earlier. Meanwhile, his acting career flourished and reached
a new intensity of mass influence. When in 1972, he parted company
with the DMK led by Mr. M. Karunanidhi and founded the Anna
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (as the AIADMK was first named), it
became quite clear that he had walked away with the bulk of the
DMK’s mass following — although the implications of this took some
time to register in power equations. When the AIADMK came to
power in June 1977, after the Emergency experience, including a
phase of President’s Rule in the State, it was to prove an enduring
political fact. The key to this ascendancy has not been in any doubt
since the founding of the party: it was the personality and popular
image of Mr. Ramachandran that proved decisive in political
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equations over the last decade.
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During this decade, Mr. Ramachandran established himself as an
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active Chief Minister and party chief who kept in close touch with
administrative affairs as well as political correlations within his party
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and in the State generally. He was a master of the politics of checks

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and balances and an important counterweight to the tendencies of

extremism and chauvinism in the regional picture. While for brief
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spells he experimented with cooperative relations with left, and other

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non-Congress (I), parties, he maintained for most of the period a

relationship of close alliance with the party ruling at the Centre, the
Congress (I), which returned to power in early 1980. It would be no
exaggeration to say that Mr. Ramachandran’s AIADMK became the
most important political ally for the Congress (I) led by Mrs. Indira
Gandhi and then by Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. This role held through the
period the Chief Minister fell gravely ill on account of a failure of both
the kidneys followed by a mild stroke (1984) and through his
remarkable recovery following a kidney transplant in the United
States, which meant his return to play a substantive role, against the
odds, for nearly three more years.
In his more than hundred Tamil films, Mr. Ramachandran left a
powerful impression through his friend-of-the-poor hero’s role. The

down and out, the rural masses and the masses of oppressed
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women looked up to the man who acted their saviour in a variety of

roles. As Chief Minister, Mr. Ramachandran was very conscious of
the need to do something tangible for the masses — provide them
relief, even if he could not transform their lives. The mid-day meal
scheme, introduced through Mr. Ramachandran’s personal initiative,
on July 1, 1982, which covered over 8.4 million school children and
cost the State exchequer nearly Rs. 200 crores annually at the time
of Mr. Ramachandran’s passing, is unique among State schemes
which work — for its sweep and simplicity of relief concept. The
predecessor DMK Government introduced an ambitious scheme of
building tenements for slum dwellers. The welfare measures
introduced by Mr. Ramachandran’s administration include insurance
for landless labourers, (which means, essentially, that when a
breadwinner dies, the family is paid Rs. 5000 to Rs. 10,000
depending on its needs) and a house construction scheme for the
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poor besides the supply of toothpowder to school children, free
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chappals to poor women and, more recently, plastic pots for slum
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dwellers (to collect water in the water starved metropolis of Madras
at the time of drought). These have made a difference in the lives of
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the people of the State — in terms of relief and also mass

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perceptions.
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question in Sri Lanka, the Centre found it advantageous to rely on

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Mr. Ramachandran’s constructive role. He combined a practical

expression of solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamil plight and
reasonable demands — manifested in an influential role vis-a-vis the
Tamil militants, notably the LTTE, until the LTTE leaders turned
openly hostile towards India’s role and towards Mr. Ramachandran’s
constructive influence as well — with a sober political stand that
refused to support the extremist Eelam slogan. He supported a
peaceful, negotiated way out of the ethnic mess within the
framework of Sri Lanka’s unity and integrity, and this was very much
in line with national foreign policy. He threw his weight behind the
Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement (which he believed would offer equity and
justice to the Sri Lankan Tamils and also serve India’s larger
interests) and the effort to implement it fully. If the LTTE leaders

thought for a moment that they could win Mr. Ramachandran over to
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the track of opposition to the course of implementing the Agreement

or resistance to the Indian Peace Keeping Force’s unavoidable task
of disarming the militants, they made an egregious strategic
miscalculation. It would be no exaggeration to say that the Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister’s balanced and sober approach to the
complicated challenge of Sri Lanka has proved a real asset for
India’s foreign policy at a difficult juncture. The Prime Minister, Mr.
Rajiv Gandhi, has done well to highlight this aspect in his tribute. Mr.
Ramachandran’s death means the loss of a dominant mass
presence in Tamil Nadu. It has posed the question: who will rule the
State and how, beyond the immediate period ahead? Any attempt to
answer the question today is likely to be sheer speculation.
Factionalism of the type that threatened to blow up the ruling party in
1984 constitutes a lesson that must not be ignored. The people of
Tamil Nadu will be hoping that the processes of arranging the
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succession to a famous Chief Minister will be orderly, credible and
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will be preserved in the face of temptations to cut corners.
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The Indian government’s decision to ban Salman Rushdie’s ‘The Satanic

Verses’ was a blow against freedom of expression in India. Despite the
book receiving critical acclaim, the government thought it fit to deny Indian
readers access to the book for fear of offending the religious sentiments of
fundamentalist sections of Muslims.
OCTOBER 8, 1988
A philistine decision
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IRST THE ABORTIVE ANTI-DEMOCRATIC COUP OF THE DEFAMATION
1988; next, the partisan-instigated cashiering (through
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arbitrary and unexplained transfer) of a Director-General of

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state-manipulated television who was generally perceived to

have taken a few steps in the direction of the destination of semi-
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glasnost; and now the ban on the import and reading of a new
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literary offering which has been shortlisted for a major international

prize — the Government of India appears to be bent on making itself
a laughing stock in all those places where a high value is placed on
freedom of thought and expression, on the development of creativity
and on pluralism and independence in the field of democratic and
intellectual expression. Thanks to New Delhi’s latest diktat under the
Customs Act, all those in India who do not hold with fundamentalism
and extremism of ideas, obscurantism as a philosophy, the intolerant
attitudes pilloried by Milton in the great “Areopagitica,” and
Philistinism in respect of literary-cultural matters must hang their
heads in shame. Salman Rushdie’s 547-page novel, “The Satanic
Verses” (published in England) which belongs to the genre of
magical realism, has been offered to the literary world amidst much
critical acclaim, interest and discussion; not surprisingly, it has (like
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Hello Readers,
telegram @ 4 AM.
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Youtube Link-
tOuADyBa68OOCVoDQ

other Rushdie novels) been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The
critical judgments range from rave reviews to the view of the let-
down Rushdiephile who wrote in the columns of an English
newspaper: “There is about this massive, wilful undertaking a folie
de grandeur which sends its brilliant comic energy, its fierce satiric
powers, and its unmatchable, demonic inventiveness plunging down,
on melting wings, awards unreadability.” This ban must not be seen
in isolation. Nor can anyone deny that if these are the standards of
the censoring authority many other books — in the fields of literature,
culture, sociology, history, politics, ideology, religion and theology —
can and must be banned. There was a text book controversy under
Janata rule in which obscurantism and a narrow worldview targeted
a secular and modern approach to the writing of Indian history.
Academic criticisms and judgments of Shivaji have attracted the
rigours of the criminal law. And so on.
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Only the dyed-in-bigotry philistine could object to anything in the
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complex fantasy plot of Rushdie, to anything in the actions,
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endeavours, involvements and dreams of Gibreel Farishta — a
worthy take-off on super-stardom in Indian films and on much more
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— and Saladin Chamcha — a brilliant feat of mixed-up, and perhaps

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to a small extent autobiographical, characterisation — as capable of

giving “offence” to bona fide “religious sentiments.” Communalist and
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fundamentalist proclivities are, on the other hand, likely to be

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displeased. To the serious reader, the major philosophical theme

examined in the novel — the relationship of good and evil, as mirror
images of each other, or “two twins cleaving together” — is bound to
be of interest. So are the questions of the origins and development
of Islam, death, the dilemmas of migration (inculturation vs retention
of original cultural roots), the world of television and advertising,
aspects of Indian politics (including the activities of the Left) and so
on in a rich, dense and perhaps overcomplex plot. The dream/film
sequences and certain passages relating to theological matters and
ideas and tendencies in conflict are Rushdie at his most inventive
and resourceful, Rushdie in his much-discussed fantasy mode. The
farce is that the ban has been imposed at the instance of a lobby
that has publicly confessed it has not read the book. To those who
feel affected by the powerful satirical characterisation of South Asian
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personalities, it must be pointed out that those taken on in earlier

Rushdie novels include Zulfikar and Benazir Bhutto. Zia-ul-Haque,
Yahya Khan, Indira Gandhi, a spectrum of “conjurers” in India’s
political spectrum and Rushdie himself — on whom there is a kind of
take-off in “The Satanic Verses.”
Where the philistines behind the ban have compromised is in the
official admission that the ban “does not detract or otherwise reflect
on the artistic or literary worth of the book or its author.” Then, what
can be the possible sense or justification behind the ban? The
answer lies in the practice of arbitrary executive authority that is
sanctified in moribund, dusty layers of complex laws which invariably
go back, for their pedigree, to the colonial era when the state’s
constitutive purpose was to occupy India and suppress the stirrings
of freedom and creativity in India. Among the carry-overs of this
illiberal approach to freedom of expression and to the entitlements of
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the Indian people are those provisions of the Customs Act, 1962
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(which has been built up on the foundations raised by the Sea
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Customs Act of 1878) which target the import and possession in
India of books and other intellectual material. A section of this Act
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empowers the Central Government to impose bans for a wide range

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of reasons grounds that include the maintenance of the security of

India, public order, standards of decency and morality and “any other
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purpose conducive to the interests of the general public.” The import

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of books and periodicals, notably “Beijing Review,” has been banned

in the past for no justifiable purpose, under the virtually
untrammelled executive power conferred by this legislation. The time
has come to challenge — frontally, uncompromisingly, as a major
test case — both the specific executive action and the objectionable
provisions of the law itself, as violative of Article 19 (1) (a) of the
Constitution which provides that “all citizens shall have the right —
(a) to freedom of speech and expression.” A statutory provision that
can be invoked against this right, under the pressure of a special
interest campaign orchestrated by a small number of people who ask
for a book to be banned without so much as reading it, cannot fall
under any reasonable definition of the constitutionally provided
“reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right.” The Supreme

Court which has, through judicial interpretation, done much to
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upvalue the freedom of expression and thought in a constitutional

sense will be expected to undo the harm done by the Central
Government’s diktat. To ban a book that is widely available in the
world at large is patently absurd. In an editorial published a quarter
century ago titled “Silly Censorship” (April 16, 1964), this newspaper
attacked the banning (through the misuse of the Defence of India
Rules) of George Patterson’s mildly controversial book, “Peking
Versus Delhi.” Objecting to the obnoxious practice of political
censorship and the slur on the maturity and intelligence of the public
that is represented, the editorial noted that “there is no sense in
preventing Indians from reading a book which is available to the
whole world, including China. This is the kind of censorship that
victimises only the reading public of this country and puts it in
blinkers.” The Prime Minister would do well to look into the business
of the ban on “The Satanic Verses” and to order that it be revoked
before further damage is done internally and to India’s image
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abroad. The campaign to enable Indian readers to read Salman
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Rushdie and others like him must be waged seriously in various
forums — like the issue posed by the Defamation Bill, it is a vital one
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to win in principle.
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When Rajiv Gandhi, in 1988, made the first visit in 34 years by an Indian
Prime Minister to China, he was taking a bold step overruling sceptics within
the establishment. There was no guarantee of results, immediate or
otherwise, but the visit set both countries on a path not wholly defined by
the experience of the 1962 war.
DECEMBER 27, 1988
India and China — an excellent

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are tethered to a past (which never had a future), the first

visit to China in 34 years by an Indian Prime Minister
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represents nothing less than a breakthrough of a qualitative

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kind in international relations. The substantive and wide ranging

discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues that Mr.
Rajiv Gandhi had with the top Chinese leaders, most importantly with
the 84 year old Mr. Deng Xiaoping, China’s helmsman of the 1980s;
the welcome decision to set up a joint Working Group on the
boundary question and also a Joint Committee, headed by senior
Ministers, to promote trade, economic relations and scientific and
technological cooperation; the top level recognition that India and
China can and must work together cooperatively in regional and
world affairs; and the issuing of a joint communique at the end of the
visit stressing the common points and interests made it clear that
every one of the political objectives of the visit had been met. If there
were any doubts or questions before the visit about the Chinese
leadership’s strategic attitude to India, these were dissolved by the
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experience of preparing meticulously for, and undertaking, a visit

which seemed to skip the conventionally known advance stages, it
was a bold and progressive foreign policy course that Mr. Rajiv
Gandhi and his advisers opted for when they decided to overrule the
doubters and the vacillators and go ahead with a visit the success of
which none was in a position to guarantee. Who, in India, or indeed
in China, could have taken for granted the warm directional gesture
of friendship and cooperation from Mr. Deng which proved the high
watermark of the Prime Minister’s visit? Who could have been sure
of a substantive exchange of assessments and experiences with the
Communist Party General Secretary, Mr. Zhao Ziyang? Who could
have spoken, with certitude, to the prospect of the business side of
the visit matching the symbolic side, or to the prospect of the joint
communique and indeed the visit emphasising the shared
perceptions and interests, rather than the differences and variances,
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between the two big Asian neighbours which have had a
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problematical or under-par relationship for much of their post-
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independence history?
The actual experience emphasised the unwisdom of fixing
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current assessments of what India and China can achieve — in the

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bilateral, regional and international arenas — to the environment and

temper of the bad old days. The constructive thinking and process
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under way are the outcome of a combination of factors (both internal

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and external to China and India) and among them the Gorbachev-led
initiatives in both international and regional affairs have a special
significance. These changes have come over a period and certainly
not overnight, but there is no gainsaying the manner in which the
tension reducing tendencies have been gathering strength over the
past year or so. The real political test of the outcome of the Prime
Minister’s visit to China is to compare the tone, the substance and
the concrete results with the disquieting, even tense bilateral
situation of mid-1986, when military incidents and tit-for-tat close
positioning of forces in the Sumdurong Chu Valley and other points
in the eastern sector of the long boundary fuelled Western media
speculation of a conflict in the making. Political India and strategic
affairs analysts must make up their mind on whether the movement

between mid-1986 and end-1988 represents major progress in the
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nation’s external relations or a compromise of national interests. The

Hindu has argued, in many leading articles, that the process of
normalisation and improvement of India-China relations must go
ahead boldly. This view has been widely shared in the political
arena, suggesting a positive trend in public opinion. The outcome of
the Prime Minister’s visit does confirm that this is the sound course
for the nation. Among other things, it ensures — if followed up
seriously — an improved security on a long and difficult border.
The handling of the relationship between the boundary question
and the other aspects of the challenge of improving bilateral ties
reveals a significant movement away from the rut and India and
China can take bilateral credit for this. The two processes must go
forward side by side (based, of course, on an appreciation of the
leading role of the political factor in the definition of a bilateral
relationship) The decision to set up a joint Working Group to take on
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the boundary question must be viewed in the context of the
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emergence of a framework that is practical — any boundary
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settlement must be “fair and reasonable”, must meet the test of
mutual political acceptability. The current expectation is that the
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Working Group, which will be chaired by the Foreign Secretary on

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the Indian side and by the Vice-Foreign Minister on the Chinese side
and will include experts, will complete its task within two to three
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years. The issue of the border has always been one of the problems
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“left over by history,” and the gap in the claims pressed by India and
China must be narrowed through a process of “give and take”;
strident unilateralism in relation to such a problem has no future
whatever on either side. In concrete terms, the task of the Working
Group might well be the reworking or recycling of the Deng
proposals of 1980 — which were in essential respects in line with the
Zhou Enlai proposals of the early Sixties — in a way that meets
Indian technical and political expectations. If the exercise proves to
be unduly complicated or runs into hitches, a political level impulse
must be given to it. If the settlement of international boundary
disputes through a process of negotiation and give and take is very
much the rule and not the exception, if the Soviet Union and China
are quite close to a final solution of their longstanding border

problem, there should be no allowable reason for India and China
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not moving imaginatively towards a lasting settlement. Meanwhile,

the Working Group and the political process that must sustain it
would absolutely guarantee peace and tranquillity in the border
areas — in other words, a no military incident, no conflict situation.
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The Lok Sabha election of 1989 was India’s first election without a clear
winner, an election that was more about voting out the Congress
government of Rajiv Gandhi than about a mandate for any one political
formation. It ushered in the era of coalition politics at the national level.
NOVEMBER 28, 1989
The verdict is unmistakable

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indecisive electoral outcome with its sharp regional
variations is the clear expression of no confidence in the
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with a massive mandate should find itself reduced to just about half
its strength is a telling judgment on its performance over the last five
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years. This has happened not in a period of distress but after an era
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of relatively satisfactory economic performance, suggesting that

disgust at the prevailing corruption and the erosion of its image in a
very large part of the country were the main factors at work. Perhaps
expectations had been raised too high in 1984, but the Government
through its total insensitivity to public opinion squandered the
goodwill with which it entered office. That the adoption of quick fixes
through accords, many of which ran into serious problems soon
enough, was a marked failure was there for all to see. The
succession of scandals in which it came to be engulfed after 1987,
particularly the Bofors deal, and the brazen attempt to cover up had
obviously been seen as an insult administered by the Rajiv regime to
an electorate which had placed an enormous amount of trust in him.
After being oblivious to public sentiment all through, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi
made desperate moves towards the end of his government’s term to
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drum up support through the Panchayat Raj bill and the Jawahar
Rozgar Yojana. In handling the problem of communalism, he swung
between appeasing fundamentalists of one group now and another
group later. If the approach to the Ramjanmabhoomi episode was a
blatant attempt to play the Hindu card, it ended up in exposing his
lack of sincerity in the matter of enunciating or implementing policy.
This is how we would like to interpret the meaning of the people’s
verdict, and that is also the way the northern segment of the country
seems to have judged the leadership of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. But the
North and the South have swung strongly in opposite directions, and
in a sense reminiscent of 1977 though the crucial determinant was
then of an entirely different nature. Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have inflicted a massive
blow to his party. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra
and Tamil Nadu where much of the credit should go to the big
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support provided by the AIADMK led by Ms. Jayalalitha, have opted
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for it in no uncertain fashion. The divided nature of the verdict has
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rendered the task of holding the regional balance in any government
formation extremely difficult. If a common thread runs through the
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behaviour of the North and the South, it is, as has been pointed out
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widely, a sense of disapproval of the functioning of the State

administrations. West Bengal and Maharashtra are exceptions to this
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general trend of indictment.

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In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the people have delivered a

mighty demand for a change of guard. Mr. N. T. Rama Rao’s strategy
of going in for polls to the State Assembly along with the
Parliamentary election has turned out to be a miscalculation — from
his viewpoint, that is. More than that, there seems to have been a
great deal of anger and disenchantment with the administration that
he and most others including the journalistic fraternity failed to
gauge. The main claim to support of the Telugu Desam was the Rs.
2 a kilo rice scheme, but this has had no impact by way of
reassurance to large sections of the people who have had to bear
the burden of sharply rising prices of many other essential
commodities. Further Mr. Rama Rao’s emphasis was more on the
style of functioning and on diversions than on concrete programmes.

The Telugu psyche wounded by the Congress (I) high command’s
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insensitive pushing around of the State’s leaders and the frequent

changes of Chief Ministers had sought Mr. Rama Rao out in 1983,
and in 1985, the attempt to remove him through foul means had
generated a great deal of sympathy. Without any such factor working
for him and, with the strong undercurrent of disenchantment, the
outcome has been devastatingly different this time. In Karnataka,
there has been a firm rejection of the Janata Dal which had been in
office for six years. It is a moot question if the results would have
been bad for the party had Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde not got involved
in the controversies and had stayed on in office. But the lacklustre
Bommai administration made things a lot easier for the Congress (I).
Mr. Hegde’s reentry into the arena and the Janata Dal’s projection of
his leadership perhaps came too late. In both Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka, the Congress (I) has been voted to power with high
expectations. It would have to strive to break away from the
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groupism that had been the bane of its functioning in the past and
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prove worthy of the confidence that the voters have placed in it.
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The release of Nelson Mandela after 28 years in prison marked not only a
victory for the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, but also a triumph
for all those who had fought racial discrimination and white supremacist
groups anywhere in the world.
FEBRUARY 13, 1990
Free at last
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HE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAS EVERY REASON TO CELEBRATE
the unconditional release of the world’s most famous political
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prisoner, Mr. Nelson Mandela. It signals not only a victory for
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all that the black people of South Africa have gone through
over the years but also raises the hope that the vile system
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of racial discrimination is in its last stages. To all the fair-minded

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white people in South Africa, the historic day symbolises a new

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beginning with the celebrated black African nationalist leader sure to

play a crucial role in the return to normality from the violent decades
of the past. For 28 years, Mr. Mandela was languishing in jail on
trumped up charges but not once did he give the impression that he
was abandoning the struggle for the liberation of his people. Nor at
any time did he entertain the idea of striking deals with the racist
regime and compromise on his principles — something that
successive regimes in Pretoria would have been too eager to
entertain. If after all these months of talk of “imminent” release Mr.
Mandela was finally freed, it was due to the realisation on the part of
Mr. F. W. de Klerk that keeping him in prison was only aggravating
the political situation in the country besides prolonging international
isolation. In an effort to break from the intransigent ways of the past,

Mr. de Klerk, among other things, lifted the ban on the African
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National Congress a few days ago and went to the extent of saying
publicly that Mr. Mandela would be released very soon. That the
momentous decisions were not without costs is evident from what
has been going on in South Africa where white supremist groups
have openly challenged the present regime. Conservative and
extremist elements have charged that Mr. de Klerk has ‘betrayed’ the
cause of the white people, and the violence unleashed after the
release of Mr. Mandela is proof of their determination not to give up
without a bitter fight.
Setting Mr. Mandela free is no doubt a turning point in South
African political history, but soon the attention of the blacks and the
comity of nations at large will be on the kind of steps Mr. de Klerk is
willing to take to dismantle the obnoxious system of apartheid once
and for all. Convincing critics in the National Party, or for that matter
in the extremist organisations, is no simple job and the South African
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President must be willing to go the extra mile in impressing on his
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detractors that giving black people their legitimate rights in the
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political system is in the interest of South Africa as a whole. From a
political perspective, this is indeed a tough assignment, for the
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extremist elements had been appalled by even some of cosmetic

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reforms floated by the Botha regime in the past. Going by what Mr.
de Klerk has done in the short time he has been at the helm of
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affairs, there would seem to be no turning back from what has been
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achieved so far. Getting the black people to do business with him

seriously means that Mr. de Klerk has to lift the state of emergency
very soon – the draconian regulations have only assisted the police
and the security forces to go on a rampage in the black townships
where even young children have not been spared physical violence.
For quite some time now, influential whites have been urging the
government to start a dialogue with the ANC and it remains to be
seen the extent to which Mr. Mandela is going to serve as a bridge
between the blacks and the whites. To the international community
— whose unrelenting efforts in securing the freedom of Mr. Mandela
have at last paid dividends — the developments in the last few
weeks are no doubt encouraging. But it ought to be cautious over
any hasty reappraisal of economic ties with Pretoria. Pressure on the

white-minority regime should continue as the ultimate goal in South
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Africa is freedom for all the oppressed people — an ideal that Mr.
Mandela was prepared to languish in prison or even to die for.
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The V.P. Singh government accepted the report of the Mandal Commission
on reservation for backward classes in jobs, alienating its friends on both
the Right and the Left. The decision to implement the recommendations of
the report without any consultation with parties supporting it seemed like an
attempt to cultivate a political constituency over the long term even at the
risk of losing power in the short term.
AUGUST 28, 1990
Looking for a way out

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AVING STIRRED THE HORNET’S NEST BY ITS PATENTLY POPULIST
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the National Front Government is frantically looking for

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ways of appeasing the so called forward communities. And

this, even while insisting that it would not in any way “dilute” its
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commitment to implement the Commission’s report. With its friends,

the BJP and the Left parties, feeling terribly piqued by its unseemly
haste and especially by its failure to take them into confidence on
such a sensitive and potentially explosive issue, the Government
found itself under heavy political compulsion to do something quick
to assuage their ruffled feelings. It is against this background one
has to view the latest decision to set apart five to 10 per cent of the
jobs in the Government and the public sector undertakings for the
economically weaker sections irrespective of their social or
community status — the “appropriate economic criteria” and perhaps
also the precise quantum of reservation are to be determined after
Parliament has expressed its views. Considering the strong position
the Prime Minister, Mr. V. P. Singh, has taken in Parliament with

respect to the quota for the socially and educationally backward
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classes (known as Other Backward Classes), it is doubtful whether

the Government will succeed in making all sides happy. For
instance, the Prime Minister has virtually ruled out introducing an
economic criterion for eligibility under the OBC quota — something
some of the National Front’s friends have been favouring. He has
taken the stand that to do so would mean diluting the purpose of
reservation as recommended by the Mandal Commission.
Conceptually speaking, economic backwardness has much to
commend itself as the basis for reservation in contrast to the caste-
linked quota system which is what the Constitutional provision of
special safeguards for the socially and educationally backward
classes has been turned into. The utterly arbitrary and even
whimsical manner in which it has been, and continues to be, worked
by Governments of different hues has resulted in a subversion of the
very rationale of the special protective cover and has made a
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mockery of the principle itself. Any regime of reservation
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presupposes and carries with it a certain dilution of merit; otherwise,
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there will be no need for what is called “protective discrimination” for
those who have been subjected to severe handicaps for historical
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and other reasons. In the process, the primary purpose of providing

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services to the community of the best possible quality and efficiency

has been lost sight of and Government service has come to be
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regarded as an employment generation device, conferring benefits

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on the employees drawn from different sections. It is only logical that

the protected zone is restricted to the bare minimum, consistent with
the demands of merit and efficiency and at any rate not extended
beyond what may be considered reasonable. The Supreme Court in
its wisdom has prescribed 50 per cent as the outer limit. That some
States have far exceeded this figure is a classic example of the
arbitrary way the principle can be applied. The effect of the Centre’s
announcement of an additional five to 10 per cent quota for the poor
cutting across caste or community lines will be to take the overall
reservation percentage beyond limits that are consistent with
efficiency requirements and the overall interest of the community.
Together with the recently announced 27 per cent for the OBCs and
the already existing 22.5 per cent for the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes, it will come to anything between 54.5 per cent and
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59.5 per cent, not taking into account what is set apart for the
physically handicapped. In this sense, there is a case for creating the
EWS quota within the 50 per cent barrier by scaling down what has
been hastily carved out for the OBCs. Having said all this, one
cannot but reflect on how relevant and meaningful is all the bitterly
fought battle over reservation going to be in the matter of
employment. As of now, and mercifully, the bone of contention is
employment in Government and public sector undertakings, which
together account for a minuscule segment of the country’s
workforce. If the futuristic calculations are anything to go by, there is
every prospect of this dwindling in size. Even otherwise, to seek to
correct what is perceived to be social injustice at the entry point of
employment (whether in the public or the private sector) through
negative approaches such as reservation does appear to be a case
of attempting to tackle a problem from the wrong end. A better, and
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in fact the most sensible, strategy is that which attacks it at its roots.
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Which is to suggest equalisation of opportunities in education. If
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special teaching facilities are indicated for the socially and
educationally backward students to help them to get over their
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handicaps, as indeed proposed by the Mandal Commission, why

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should the rest be denied the opportunity to acquire knowledge and

skills, whatever be the pretext? The solution clearly and simply lies in
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enlarging the educational opportunities so much that no boy or girl

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with merit is turned away from an engineering, medical or any other

educational institution or is unable to pursue studies for want of
resources. And the blame for not having done enough on these lines
all these years rests squarely on the policy-makers.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party withdrawing support to the government of

V.P. Singh over the Ayodhya issue, the National Front experiment — a
grouping of largely regional parties supported from the outside by the BJP
and the Left parties — collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions.
OCTOBER 24, 1990
What lies ahead?

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HE COUNTRY APPEARS HEADED FOR A PERIOD OF POLITICAL
turbulence and uncertainty, while the immediate picture is
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one of interlinking arrangements in the existing power
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structure crumbling. The National Front Government has lost

its majority in the Lok Sabha, now that the Bharatiya Janata
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Party has withdrawn its support, thus giving the present governing
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structure an air of living on borrowed time. The 11-month old V. P.

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Singh Government whose tenure was marked by a good deal of

earnestness and good intentions in its approach to the formidable
political and developmental tasks nevertheless, was sunk in an
image of perpetual vulnerability and helplessness, as its internal
contradictions seemed to leap about its face all the time. That this
fragile coalition now appears on the verge of collapse in so short a
time, after it was catapulted by popular enthusiasm to a pedestal of a
value-based alternative to the tired and personalised politics of
decades, shows that the Indian democratic political process is still in
the realm of basic experimenting and learning. The coalition put in
place last December was certainly a brave attempt to create a new
approach to governance in a system habituated to the rule of a
single party with a substantial parliamentary majority. But it needed

no great analytical wisdom to see the vulnerability of the new
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dispensation because of the glaring contradiction inherent in the

uneasy alliance of a centrist force like the National Front with the two
polar ends of the system — the BJP and the left parties. This
contradiction was bound eventually to catch up with the new power
structure. Yet, thanks to the National Front Government’s handling of
its allies reflected in the tacit understanding to implement only the
“areas of agreement” in the manifestos, it did seem at first that the
triangular arrangement was working well. All the dissenting snarls
were coming from within the Janata Dal, contrasting sharply with the
polite and good-mannered responses of the allies.
But perhaps lulled into a sense of security by the success of the
triangular experiment, the National Front Government in recent
months embarked on an ambitious programme of political and social
mobilisation, the most high profile instance of which was the
implementation of the nearly forgotten Mandal recommendations.
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Driven to this policy course by a sense of being besieged by internal
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pressure and the lack of an enduring political base, the V. P. Singh
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Government chose to step outside the realm of consensual decision
taking, which had been the style of its earlier phase. The BJP’s
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amiability vanished as it felt that its own base was likely to be

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fractured by the Government’s new political tactics and strategy. The

post Mandal context saw a rapid souring of the atmosphere between
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the BJP and the National Front, with the Ayodhya controversy
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becoming the flashpoint. On the Ramjanmabhoomi issue, both had

locked themselves into irreconcilable and rigid stances. The National
Front had, by the logic of its own political circumstances and in
response to the key task of governance of this sharply variegated
polity, perforce to take upon itself the task of defending the political
principle of secularism. That was no doubt the correct thing to do.
In the eyes of secular minded people, the V. P. Singh
Government has won much admiration for its principled stance — on
Ayodhya — and for its sensitive reading that attempts to defy the
status quo on religious shrines preempting the judicial verdict would
threaten the very foundations of the polity, converting it into a
theocratic one. Indeed, the image that the Government has wrested
for itself in these harrowing circumstances is of a ship sinking slowly

but bravely holding aloft and above the angry tides its commitment to
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a principle. But the Government has to blame itself for bringing

things to this pass. The astonishing volte-face last December when
Mr. V. P. Singh agreed to take office, on the premise of support from
a party he had electorally kept his distance from the prevarication,
the indecisiveness in formulating policy responses and the tendency
to leave unpleasant but necessary decisions to the last minute by
which time the situation was already out of hand — all these
contributed to the deterioration in his ability to handle the BJP and
its; challenge, which in turn took a toll of the country’s fabric.
What lies ahead? In the immediate context, confusion — as the
leading political players try to assess the situation, their own chances
of staking power and the various permutations and combinations that
can yield an enduring majority. It is certainly a situation without
precedent, the nearest parallel perhaps being 1979. And it is the
President who will have to decide which option would be
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constitutionally correct and politically viable. It will be no easy
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decision to take, given the shape of the present Parliament, where
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no single party can be certain of commanding majority support at all
times. Much will depend on the internal dynamics of the various
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groups staking their claims, the integrity of the ruling National Front
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parliamentary party and the attitude of the largest single party — the
Congress (I). It remains to be seen whether the momentum of recent
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developments are pushing things in the direction of a realignment of

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political forces, if not immediately, perhaps a little later. But what is of

real urgency is to find a governing arrangement or structure that will
have enough stability to respond to the increasingly complex and
critical scenario facing the country. Unfortunately, there is at present
an atmosphere of restiveness and a sense of deepening social
divide, even as the polity’s wounds in Kashmir and Punjab continue
to fester. Therefore, the decision as to whether the National Front
Government must be given another chance to prove its case that it
retains a majority, or whether some time must be given to allow an
alternative leader or coalition to emerge, or whether to go back to the
polls, must be primarily guided by just one thing. And it is this: a
sense of urgency to restore political stability at the Centre so that the
country may be governed by a team of persons that will not waste its
time on the kind of games of oneupmanship that we have been
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watching for some months now but will concentrate its energies on
building a cohesive society.
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The United States and its allies launched air strikes on Iraq following its
annexation of Kuwait and quickly demonstrated to Iraqi president Saddam
Hussein the foolhardiness of his intransigence.
JANUARY 18, 1991
Operation Desert Storm
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CALAMITY HAS BEFALLEN WEST ASIA AND THE WORLD AT large. With
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the launching of air strikes against Iraq and occupied
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Kuwait, the United States has embarked on a course of
action that most in the comity of nations had hoped could
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have been avoided at all costs. The massive U.S. operation has
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been along expected lines; or at least this is what some policy

planners and strategic analysts wanted the Bush administration to do
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if it opted for a showdown with Mr. Saddam Hussein. The air

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exercise — composed of the air forces of the United States, Britain,

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait — was intended to take out most, if not all,
of Iraq’s offensive capabilities. And going by first reports, Operation
Desert Storm has done just that — a near decimation of the Iraqi air
force, the missile sites and the anti-aircraft batteries. The fact that
the U.S., is now supposed to be in total control of Iraqi skies is proof
of a well planned operation executed through an awesome display of
high technology and firepower that included cluster bombs and
Cruise Missiles. Highly disturbing at this stage are reports of the U.S.
air force going after chemical weapons manufacturing centres and
nuclear facilities with near pinpoint accuracy. Although there must be
a general satisfaction in the defence establishment in the United
States that the American pilots have done the job “well,” only time
will reveal the extent of damage. More than the military casualties,
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innocent civilians would have lost their lives in what appears to have
been the first round of the conflict. And in destroying centres that are
believed to be involved in the manufacture of nuclear and chemical
weapons of mass destruction, the long term effects on human
suffering cannot be easily brushed aside.
It is true that while the world waited, Mr. Saddam Hussein dug in.
He not only dismissed several United Nations resolutions calling for
his withdrawal from Kuwait, but also justified the aggression. Kuwait,
he argued, was after all a part of Iraq that was denied to him by the
British. The deliberate attempt to change the demographic character
of that tiny oil rich nation apart, the wilful destruction and looting of
Kuwait was there for all the world to see. And in a political sense, Mr.
Hussein hit upon the idea of linking his withdrawal from Kuwait to the
settlement of all contentious issues of West Asia, notably that of
Palestine. His ideas for Lebanon and the internal political structure in
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Kuwait all showed a person who was desperately looking for reasons
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to justify the brazen invasion and occupation of Kuwait. In a sense,
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he did wake up the Western nations to the realities of West Asia; and
some like France seemed to endorse the plan for an international
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conference on Palestine. But all proposals were contingent upon

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Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait. This Mr. Hussein would have no truck
with, for obviously it was not out of a desire to realise the legitimate
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rights of the Palestinian people that he embarked on a dangerous

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foreign policy course. Even in the last few days, Mr. Hussein
maintained his arrogant stance thinking that the international
community would ultimately give in to his unreasonable demands. In
the visit of Mr. Perez de Cuellar and in the last minute French
proposal Mr. Hussein had real opportunities to pull himself out of a
difficult situation. But unfortunately, the Iraqi dictator thought
otherwise. If at the beginning of the Kuwaiti crisis there was the
wishful thinking on his part that the world would quickly forget his
August 1990 adventure and move on to other things, the Iraqi
strongman was convinced that the Bush administration would not get
down to a show of force as that would be politically costly at home.
The people of Iraq and Kuwait as also those in the region and
elsewhere are paying a terrible price for one person’s intransigence.

Luckily, at least for now, Mr. Hussein has not made good his threat of
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expanding the scope of the conflict. The missiles and air planes may
not be there now to carry the war to Israel or to fling chemical
weapons, but if this becomes a possibility, Mr. Hussein ought to be
aware that more destruction awaits his country. The fact that the Gulf
is on fire means developing countries would have to pay a very
heavy price. In human terms, the presence of a large number of
foreign workers in the West Asian region is worrisome — a country
like India is naturally concerned over the fate of its citizens in Iraq
and Kuwait; and the announcement that there has been minimal
damage to Baghdad is hardly comforting. Worse, what is going to be
Mr. Hussein’s response to the turn of events and the U.S. reaction to
those developments? The ground battle for the liberation of Kuwait is
going to be quite messy, to say the least.
The Bush administration may be pleased with the initial outcome,
but this is not the time to gloat over a “victory.” In fact as a major
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power with global responsibilities Washington will have a hard time in
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convincing many that it was left with no option but the military route.
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Economic sanctions were most definitely working and all indications
were that Baghdad was feeling the pinch which was getting worse by
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the day. In initially subduing Mr. Hussein the United States ought to
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ask itself the question whether this sets off the process of instability
in West Asia. Going by the realities of the region a military
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confrontation only brings with it a prolonged period of political

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uncertainty that will go against the interests of the United States in a

long-term perspective. Having proved a point, the Bush
administration would do well in minimising its operations against Iraq
and occupied Kuwait. If Iraq’s offensive capabilities have been wiped
out, as it has been claimed, there is no way Mr. Hussein can use the
pause to his military advantage. Moreover, if Iraq’s capabilities have
really been annihilated, there is no reason why the United States and
its allies should continue the largescale bombing missions. It would
seem as if Washington is anxious to settle scores with Mr. Hussein
on a personal level, quite unmindful of the agonies of the peoples
living in those countries. This is not the time to test and evaluate the
accuracy of the weapons produced since the end of the Vietnam
war. The United Nations gave Mr. Hussein 45 days of “pause for
peace” and there is no reason why the United States, even while
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maintaining a certain amount of military pressure, cannot keep the

diplomatic channels open. May be there is still some room for
reasoning with a military dictator without having to plunge West Asia
and the world in chaos.
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That the Chandra Shekhar government will not survive for long was known
to everyone. Without the legitimacy of an electoral mandate, and depending
on the support of the Congress, which had just been voted out in the 1989
election, the government lasted no more than 117 days.
MARCH 7, 1991
An inevitable collapse
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HE RESIGNATION OF THE PRIME MINISTER, MR. CHANDRA Shekhar
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after just 117 days in office marks the collapse of yet another
minority Government in a space of 15 months since the last
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Lok Sabha elections. The abrupt end of the tenuous

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arrangement which had put Mr. Chandra Shekhar and his break-
away Janata Dal faction in office comes as no surprise, given that
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the supporting party — the Congress (I) had been making it known in
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no uncertain terms that it was dissatisfied. The Chandra Shekhar

Government which came to power on the basis of an understanding
that had no adhesive element in it other than the politics of
convenience had lacked the legitimacy of an electoral mandate to
start with. There was also somewhat of a surreal air about its
functioning, given that its supporting structure was the ‘outside
support’ of the Congress (I). The result was that the actions of the
Chandra Shekhar regime were unable to carry conviction, even as
the deliberately amoral stance it adopted on several critical issues
destroyed whatever residual credibility was left.
One lesson that has emerged, based on the sordid experience of
the last three months as also the turbulent era of Mr. V. P Singh is
the untenability of the concept of ‘outside support’. Whether it was in

the case of Mr. Singh, seeking support from the polar opposites of
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the political spectrum or in this case, relying on a realpolitik

arrangement with the Congress (I), the absolute lack of a
programmatic understanding or a conceptual basis for these
arrangements ensured that these would be highly vulnerable to the
blackmail tactics of opportunistic politics.
While Mr. Chandra Shekhar’s own eagerness to form a
Government at all costs pushed him in the direction of seeking
support from the Congress (I), the major portion of the blame for this
unfortunate sequence of events which have resulted in exposing the
country to a prolonged period of political uncertainty and instability
rests with the Congress (I). Ever since the Congress (I), against its
better instincts, voiced occasionally by Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and his
colleagues, that the party should not form a Government without an
election mandate, suddenly decided in an act of self-delusion that it
was morally all right to support a breakaway faction of the Janata
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Dal, it has been lurching down the road of opportunist politics. What
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else could any Government based on the support of a party outside
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be but an administration by proxy?
The Congress (I), unlike the BJP which was consistent in its offer
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of support to Mr. V. P Singh until it broke away because of the

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Ayodhya issue, at no time gave unhesitant support to the Chandra

Shekhar Government. It was one thing to make clear that support
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was couched in by certain caveats but it was another to hold the

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constant threat of withdrawal of support over the head of the

harassed Prime Minister, without making clear what were the real
terms of sufferance. The Janata Dal (S) Government’s days were
numbered from its beginning. The humiliating paces it was put
through by its supporting party on the various issues — the
disqualification controversy, the refuelling issue and finally the
decision to postpone presenting the Budget left absolutely no room
for this Government to believe that it was an independent and
credible entity. Thus if as some accounts have it, the Congress (I)
was merely putting pressure on Mr. Chandra Shekhar on the
surveillance issue and did not intend to pull the rug away from under
his feet, the Prime Minister had decided that he could take no more.
It must be pointed out that on the issue of surveillance of Mr.

Rajiv Gandhi’s residence, there is no question that it was a serious
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offence which the Government should have hastened to respond to

convincingly. Yet it is an issue, the moral political dimensions of
which are similar to that of telephone-tapping — wholly repugnant to
the functioning of a democratic society. The Congress (I)’s
indignation is understandable but its sharp reaction, including the
boycott of Parliament when crucial legislation is on hand such as the
vote on account, smacks of simulated outrage designed to execute a
changed strategy. There have been a host of other issues relating to
moral and political propriety where the party has not been so quick to
seize the moral high ground. The Congress (I) should pause to
consider the implications of its present political course. Its action of
boycotting the proceedings of Parliament until ‘adequate action’ was
taken on the surveillance issue had threatened to bring on a
constitutional crisis. And by the time the party hastily and grudgingly
said that it would ‘save’ the Government in the voting, Mr. Chandra
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Shekhar who could now barely conceal his bitterness had realised
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the impossibility of continuing in such debilitating circumstances.
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The President, Mr. R. Venkataraman has accepted the
resignation and the decision on Mr. Chandra Shekhar’s
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recommendation to dissolve the Lok Sabha is expected in the next

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few days. But given the unhappy experience of the last two years, it
should now be clear that there is no possibility of prising a ‘stable’
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Government from the present Lok Sabha. All the permutations and
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combinations that have been tried have failed. The reason is not
hard to find. None of these arrangements based on ‘outside support’
could have worked, lacking as they did conceptual cohesion. The
Congress (I) has fortunately decided to resist the temptation of
staking its claim to form a Government without an election mandate.
Attempting to form a Government at this stage will mean employing
the same jaded political tricks that brought the Janata Dal (S)
Government to power and saw it crashing down to a humiliating end.
The country has been sorely tried by the experience of the
experiment in minority governance. If the era of Mr. V. P Singh had
its high points in the renewal of an emphasis on normative politics, it
had its dark side in the abrasive and confrontationist approach to
several sensitive issues. But under the Chandra Shekhar

Government, despite the illusory calm brought about on Ayodhya
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and the suggestion of new initiatives on Punjab and Assam, there

was in truth no forward movement.
The crux of the problem is the inability of this Parliament to
provide a stable government. Therefore, the earlier consideration
that had weighed with the President when he decided to call Mr.
Chandra Shekhar to form a Government — the inflamed climate in
the country rendering it difficult to hold elections — cannot any
longer overwhelm the imperative to have a stable and legitimate
Government. Now that all the parties, including the Congress (I),
have recommended fresh elections the President should have no
difficulty in dissolving the present House. At this stage, there is no
other way out but to have elections and let the people decide. As to
the second question asked often in regard to the idea of holding
elections now — what if there is another hung Parliament? — the
answer is that political parties should use the interregnum to explore
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possibilities of a realignment of forces and coalition-building on a
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programmatic or principled basis. Unless there is a realignment of
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forces, particularly the centrist forces, stable governance will remain
elusive.
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In the midst of the 1991 Lok Sabha election, Congress president Rajiv
Gandhi was assassinated by, as it turned out, members of the LTTE. The
assassination not only raised questions about national security, and the
country’s vulnerability to terror strikes, but it also resulted in a tide-turning
vote for the Congress in the subsequent phases of the election.
MAY 23, 1991
Facing up to the aftermath

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sinking
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S THE GRUESOME ASSASSINATION OF RAJIV GANDHI IS STILL
into the consciousness of a numbed nation, with people all
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over the country expressing their deep sense of grief and

outrage, some regarding Rajiv Gandhi’s loss as a personal
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bereavement, it is most important to remain calm. The shocking

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circumstances of the death of the former Prime Minister have

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naturally caused widespread fear and unrest. Just as in 1984 after

the death of Indira Gandhi, there was a heavy toll in human life,
there is a need to be absolutely vigilant. Until now, the situation all
over appears to be under control, with the feelings of anger and grief
appearing to be well bridled in most places. The Army has been
called out as a precautionary measure in the Capital and this is no
doubt helping to keep a firm hand on what is potentially an extremely
volatile context. At all costs the situation must not be allowed to
degenerate into anarchy.
It will take a while before the gory truth of who or which force was
behind Rajiv Gandhi’s murder emerges. One thing is clear that there
was a shocking breach of security procedure at Sriperumbudur
which cannot be completely pinned on Rajiv Gandhi’s newfound

inclination to shrug off the protective ring that kept him from the
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people. The appointment of a Supreme Court judge to investigate

the assassination should help unravel the circumstances and the
details. The country should wait until some definitive evidence is
found before jumping to any hasty and angry political conclusions
which if translated into retaliatory action on the ground would cause
an already ignited situation to explode.
The murder of Rajiv Gandhi highlights the fragility of the national
security situation. One reality that seems to have come to stay is the
spectre of terrorism that has relentlessly stalked this country’s
leading politicians and felled them, even as it has been spreading
terror in various parts of the country. It speaks for the stranglehold
that India has become of the various terrorist threats, be it the
Punjab extremists, the ULFA, the Kashmir militants or the LTTE that
the slaying of Rajiv Gandhi is difficult to ascribe to any particular
group. Rajiv Gandhi collapsed at the hands of terrorists as his
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mother did, symbolising in a most dramatic fashion the extent to
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which the country has become vulnerable to the dictates of sick
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minds.
Without doubt, the sordid plot conceived by a ring of sick minds
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has completely changed the political situation out of recognition,

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tossing many of the givens up into thin air. All the issues that had
dominated the landscape until Tuesday night have receded
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somewhat into the background, the foremost concern being the

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country’s security and integrity.

The country’s security is in peril today and it might not be an
exaggeration to say that things have come to this horrifying pass
because of the obsessive preoccupation of the last two years of the
leading players in the political spectrum with their own survival and
dominance. The consequence of this turning inwards has been the
weakening of the customary sense of vigilance in regard to national
security. The death of Rajiv Gandhi demonstrates the contempt with
which terrorists treat this country, knowing that they can strike at will
with impunity.
It is obvious that those who killed Rajiv Gandhi were
apprehensive of the prospect of his return to power for whatever
reason best known to them. But the point is that they were signalling
their absolute disregard for Indian democracy and were seeking
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desparately to subvert a potential democratic verdict. Given that this

is the nature of the challenge, the major national parties, including
the Congress (l), the National Front, the left parties, the BJP and the
SJP cannot afford to be looking to settle their own scores or even to
be calculating what possible political gain can be made from this
present situation.
The plea that this newspaper has made time and again in other
contexts that there must be an attempt to evolve a consensus on the
major issues on the national agenda acquires a poignant relevance
today. Unquestionably the key question today is the protection of this
country’s national unity, integrity and security from the internal and
external saboteurs bent on weakening this country. The second
critical issue is the need to protect democracy in India. There is
justifiable pride in the resilience of Indian democracy and certainly
the worst attitude to adopt in this period is cynicism or defeatism.
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That would suggest a demoralisation that would be a welcome signal
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to the forces that have sought through Tuesday’s catastrophe to
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strike at this country’s sense of security.
As we see it, the first step for the national parties to take is to
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identify the threats to national integrity and democracy as the major

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issues on the horizon today and to evolve a consensus on how to

tackle these threats. Trying to score points here would be at India’s
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expense. The second step which we believe is the best way to

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insulate this country in the long-term is to embark on a realignment

of centrist political forces on the basis of a programmatic or
conceptual understanding. The gravity of the crisis requires a
commitment from all the national parties to respond in a concerted
fashion. The Congress (I)’s choice of a new leader should base itself
only on the consideration of who would best lead the defence of
national interests. The Congress (l) Working Committee’s offer of the
party presidentship to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi suggests that calculations
of dynastic appeal are outweighing all other considerations. This is
certainly not a healthy sign. The Congress (l), the National Front and
the Samajwadi Janata Party should begin right now to actively
explore the possibilities of closer political coordination which alone
would ensure a cohesive and firm response to the internal and

external threats to India’s survival as a nation. Rajiv Gandhi has paid
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with his life for the rapidly deteriorating security environment in India.
There can be no more risks taken with this country’s ability to
provide a safe and secure environment for its own development. The
realignment of political forces and the adoption of a consensus on
the critical issues are the only methods by which the country can be
pulled back from the brink of self-destruction.
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Manmohan Singh’s first budget was a landmark event setting India on the
road to economic liberalisation and structural reforms. During a time of
unsustainable fiscal imbalances and low foreign exchange reserves, Singh
presented a budget that did not hold back growth impulses, but provided a
course correction through liberalised trade and industrial policies.
JULY 25, 1991
Sparing the poor

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R. MANMOHAN SINGH’S BUDGET REPRESENTS A MAJOR EFFORT at
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adjustment, displaying at the same time a sensitivity to the
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national interest and social concerns. Given the magnitude

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of the crisis, the seeds of which were sown by the previous

Congress (I) regimes and which was accentuated by the ineffectual
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handling by the National Front and the Janata Dal (S) Governments,
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his task was indeed the most unenviable. On the one hand, with
unsustainable fiscal imbalances and with foreign reserves down to
just two week’s requirements for imports, drastic measures were
called for and the foreign lending institutions including the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were watching. On
the other, with the Government itself precariously placed and
dependent on Opposition groups for long term stability even if not for
immediate survival, its capacity to take hard decisions was in
question.
In the circumstances, the broad philosophy that Dr. Manmohan
Singh outlined was that large scale fiscal adjustment was needed but
the poor should be protected from the burden of adjustment. Few
Finance Ministers carry their announced philosophy through fully, but

the latest budget is one without any major philosophical
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contradiction. The very poor have been spared and even given
marginal reliefs as in the case of the cut in the price of kerosene.
The burden is primarily on the corporate sector and on the rich and
the middle class. For one thing, the budget marks a major shift in
revenue raising from indirect to direct taxes and should gladden the
advocates of equity. While in the sphere of indirect taxes the net
effect of the proposals for the Centre is negative, an additional Rs.
2,213 crores is to be raised from direct taxes. For another, even
within indirect taxes, the “luxury” items including cars, airconditioners
and consumer electronics are to bear a significantly heavier burden.
Even in the sphere of expenditure, while producers’ subsidies
including export subsidies and fertilizer subsidies have been virtually
done away with, the food subsidy which benefits the poorer
consumers directly has been marginally increased.
The magnitude of the adjustment is reflected in the substantial
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reduction of the budget deficit from Rs. 10,772 crores in 1990-91 to
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Rs. 7,719 crores, a level that for the first time in recent years seems
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reasonable if only the Government does not allow it to enlarge during
the course of the financial year. Major efforts on both the expenditure
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and the revenue sides have contributed to this reduction even as the
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plan expenditure has been raised from Rs. 29,956 crores in 1990-91
to Rs. 33,725 crores in the current year. Non-plan expenditure
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including interest payments has been cut by 4.9 per cent from the
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level of 1990-91, a significant achievement in itself even if one were

to dismiss Dr. Manmohan Singh’s claim that it represents a 15 per
cent cut from the hypothetical level it would have reached without
any special correctives during the current year. With the Government
itself at last getting down to some drastic pruning of its expenditure,
the taxpayers have much less room to complain about the Rs. 2,617
crores of additional taxation. This is indeed the first time that the
often talked about effort of Finance Ministers to cut expenditure is
reflected in a substantial measure in the budgetary figures.
In the sphere of direct taxes, the personal income tax and the
wealth tax rates have been left untouched which is no small mercy.
On the other hand, there is a minor concession on long term capital
gains calculated to give a boost to the share markets. Dealing with

black money is a politically sensitive issue for any concession to the
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unscrupulous even while the honest taxpayer has been suffering the
heavy imposts seems unconscionable on the face of it. Yet revenue
imperatives have prompted the Finance Minister to come up with two
new schemes. The first is the plan to draw black money for slum
clearance and low cost housing and the social purpose is expected
to remove any stigma that might attach to this scheme that would
legitimise black money. However, unless the enforcement is
tightened and the risks of evasion turn out to be much higher than at
present, it remains to be seen if the holders of black money would be
willing to suffer the 40 per cent levy the scheme entails and bring the
money into the tax net. This is also true of the amnesty scheme for
income tax evaders and the softer settlement provisions. In the area
of corporate taxation, the Finance Minister has been somewhat
harsher that he needed to have been perhaps in the expectation that
the liberalised trade and industrial policies would mitigate the impact.
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The increase of five percentage points in the corporate tax rates
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even while retaining the surcharge at 15 per cent is a major burden.
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So too is the cut in the depreciation rate from 33.3 per cent which is
considered too liberal, to 25 per cent. The changes have upset the
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calculations of those who had planned on the basis of the earlier

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rates and would have a dampening effect.

In indirect taxes, cigarettes have, as always, come in for heavy
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imposts. So have motor cars even as two wheelers of 50 to 70 cc

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have been given a concession. Dr. Manmohan Singh has declared

himself against mindless consumerism of the affluent Western type
and colour television sets, airconditioners, video recorders and
refrigerators have been hit harder. The “luxury” goods sector catering
to the middle class and the affluent in the urban areas has been a
dynamic and high growth area and it remains to be seen how much
more it can take without retarding industrial growth as a whole.
While previous budgets have talked of the need to rationalise the
current extraordinarily high rates of customs duties, Dr. Singh has
now made a beginning, even if a small beginning, in that direction.
The cut in the highest rate of import duty from 300 to 150 per cent
was long overdue and was indeed rendered imperative by the
devaluation of the rupee and the rising premium on REPs which

have pushed up import costs. The longstanding complaint of industry
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that very high import duties on capital equipment have pushed up

project costs has at last been heeded even if in a token measure.
On the expenditure side, there are two surprise elements. The
first is the increase in defence expenditure by Rs. 600 crores over
the level of 1990-91. With the security situation not causing any
particular concern, there was indeed no compelling reason for the
increase even if the defence budget is made up in large part of
salaries and routine expenditure. Yet there was perhaps the
apprehension that any cut in this area would be seen as a
compromise of the national interest at the command of the
international lending institutions. The other surprise element was the
increase in the food subsidy even as some sections of the opposition
and even within the ruling party were voicing fears of a major cut in
this area. By firming up these two areas, the Finance Minister could
claim that the national interest and the welfare of the poor had been
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safeguarded even in a seemingly hopeless situation. As for the five
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welfare schemes outlined in the budget on the lines promised in the
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Congress (I)’s election manifesto, the impact would at best be
marginal.
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A cheery aspect of the scenario in the last two years is that even
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with huge fiscal imbalances and severe foreign exchange crises, the
economy has grown at the rate of about 5 per cent a year. Dr.
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Manmohan Singh’s claim that that the fiscal adjustment would not
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affect the growth impulses in the economy seem valid for the most
part except in two respects. The first is the increase in fertilizer
prices which might dampen agricultural production even with an
assurance of higher procurement prices for the farmers. The second
is the substantial new burden on the corporate sector which is bound
to hit industrial growth that has been at a fairly vigorous level of over
8 per cent in the last two years. One would hope that the positive
impulses from the Government’s other policy initiatives would more
than compensate for these retarding effects. Only then would the
adjustment effort have been purposeful beyond the accounting
exercise of striking a fiscal balance.
The end of the Gorbachev era set the stage for the collapse of the Soviet
Union. Glasnost and perestroika gave the country much-needed breathing
space, but also paved the way for the disintegration of a forced union of
many states. But, given the circumstances, the transition was relatively
smooth on transferring control of the vast piles of nuclear arsenals.
DECEMBER 16, 1991
The end of an era

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HE GORBACHEV ERA IS APPARENTLY DRAWING TO A DECISIVE
though, according to reports from Moscow on Sunday
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morning, he has said that he would use his constitutional

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powers and position as the ultimate commander of the

Soviet armed forces to check the slide to political chaos. The
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question now is whether or not the frontline leaders of the new

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‘Commonwealth’ — like Mr. Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Mr. Leonid

Kravchuk of the Ukraine — will allow Mr. Gorbachev to exercise his
authority, without seeking to crucify him for alleged acts of omission
and commission that led to the downfall of the Soviet Union as a
superpower. It is evident that a political witch-hunt will not be in the
interests of the fledgling ‘Commonwealth’ itself. On a different plane,
Gorbachev-bashing may even impede the evolution of a more
equitable international order.
On his return to the Kremlin as the August coup was aborted, Mr.
Gorbachev first began a process of political compromise with Mr.
Yeltsin. While the coup-chastened Soviet leader appeared to stoop
so as to conquer his old adversary on that occasion, the Russian
President was quick to recognise how vulnerable Mr. Gorbachev had

become. The worsening economic situation, by no means a legacy
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of the failed coup, catalysed their battle of political wits. As the

queues for food lengthened and the shops became empty, the
leaders in different parts of the disintegrating Soviet Union could no
longer afford to indulge in transparent political games. Naturally
enough, they soon began to articulate weighty political issues in a
desperate bid to try and keep the rising social tensions within
manageable limits. The idea was to carry on with the power struggle
as part of a new movement for changes in the economic system that
had failed. In this, Mr. Gorbachev eventually found himself without a
political constituency of his own. Because, the Kremlin, for so long a
seat of centralised State power, had by now lost its importance —
after a Republican politician like Mr. Yeltsin came on the scene to
bail out a Kremlin leader demonstrably during the coup.
The larger political issues gradually acquired the dimension of a
popular agenda, with the masses, in economic distress, adopting it
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as their own programme in the hope that this would open new vistas
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of economic progress. Nowhere was this subtle development more
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evident than in the Ukraine where the people voted for a decisive
break with the Kremlin and for total independence. This, in turn, set
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off political alarm not only in the neighbouring Russian Republic but
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also on the wider world stage. Paradoxically, the reason — the vast
stockpile of the Soviet strategic and tactical nuclear weapons on the
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Ukrainian soil — was, in fact, not the paramount issue of popular

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passions in the Ukraine.

Yet, Mr. Yeltsin seized this issue to force the pace for the creation
of a new ‘Commonwealth’ that would take the Soviet Union’s place in
world fora. The Ukraine fell in line as the proposed new arrangement
guarantees national independence within a framework of economic
interdependence which is by now a collective habit in the erstwhile
Soviet Republics. In the final analysis, it is this fundamental reason
that should also explain the decisions of Moldavia, Armenia,
Kazakhstan, and the Central Asian Republics to join the new set-up
and scrap the Soviet State. On the whole, the international
community can heave a sigh of relief if the showdown between Mr.
Gorbachev and Mr. Yeltsin is eventually resolved without a trial of
strength as to who commands the loyalty of the Soviet armed forces
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and controls the nuclear arsenals. The time for Mr. Gorbachev’s
ultimate test of statesmanship is running out.
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Ayodhya was witness to religious fanaticism at its worst on December 6,

1992 as thousands of kar sevaks brought down the 16th century Babri
Masjid claiming it stood on the land where a temple commemorating the
birth place of the Hindu god Lord Ram stood once.
DECEMBER 7, 1992
Unforgivable
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T WAS RELIGIOUS FANATICISM AT ITS UGLIEST IN AYODHYA YESTERDAY, with
the country’s worst fears coming true in the nightmarish
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spectacle of the brutal destruction of the 450 year old Babri

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Masjid by thousands of frenzied kar sevaks. The disputed

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mosque was razed to the ground with a barbaric savagery

reminiscent of the crude traditions of settling scores in medieval
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history. The demolition of the Masjid has delivered a lethal blow to

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the image of a secular and democratic India. Yesterday’s

catastrophe underlines the validity of the misgivings that a
permissive attitude to the kar seva would have disastrous
consequences. Sunday was a dark day for India. The Hindu shares
the nation’s sense of deep anguish at this painful moment.
The BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh has forfeited its right to
rule in the State by its brazen and shameless abdication of its
constitutional responsibility. Its assurances to the Centre that it would
not violate the court order and that it would discharge its
constitutional obligations proved insincere as it appeared to actively
collude with the savage and destructive attitude of the kar sevaks
surging forward to capture the disputed structure. The State police,
completely outnumbered by crowds of trishul-wielding kar sevaks,

withdrew from the site as the unruly mob charged into the complex.
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For the better part of the day, the inaction of the State police force
coupled with the refusal of the district magistrate to permit the
Central forces to act implied that the State Government endorsed the
mosque’s wanton destruction. The Central forces had to fight their
way in, even as they were prevented by the State troops from
bursting teargas shells to disperse the crowd. The barricades that
the State authorities had put up to guard the disputed structure were
hopelessly inadequate, making a mockery of the State Government’s
claim that it would take all steps to protect the disputed structure.
The resignation of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr. Kalyan
Singh does not absolve his Government or the BJP of culpability for
the kar seva’s sordid conclusion.
The BJP and its militant allies, the RSS, the VHP and the Bajrang
Dal stand exposed as having brought on this horrific denouement
even as the essentially destructive and fascist nature of its strategy
and tactics cannot be in doubt any more. The BJP’s claim to be a
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defender of the national interest lies in shreds today. Much as Mr. L.
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K. Advani and his colleagues would like to disown the savagery of
Sunday, they cannot escape the responsibility for having whipped up
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passions to the extent that it reflected in the blind mob hysteria which
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culminated in the attack on the Babri Masjid. The shrill tenor of the
Hindutva campaign, the continual jibes at “pseudo secular policies”,
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served to present a dangerous and false picture of Indian social

reality to the public, breeding the sort of ugly fanaticism that surfaced
in Ayodhya yesterday.
The Narasimha Rao administration will face the criticism that it
did not adequately forestall Sunday’s development. In retrospect, it
was a mistake to have put any faith in the sincerity of the Uttar
Pradesh Government’s assurances that it would uphold the rule of
law. Thereby the Centre had jeopardised the safety of the Babri
Masjid. The Government should not have taken this risk, given that
the disputed mosque had come to be a symbol of the fate of India’s
commitment to secularism. This administration had in fact been
fortified by support from the non-BJP opposition parties which had
promised to endorse any strong action in defence of the integrity of
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the disputed structure. Yet the Narasimha Rao Government

hesitated in seizing the initiative in ensuring the mosque’s safety.
The wisdom of this Government’s strategic approach to the
Ayodhya issue will be sharply questioned in the days to come, within
the ruling party and outside. But what is vital is to recognise that this
is a defining moment in India’s history, a moment at which the
country can be plunged into a dark abyss of primitive emotions
threatening to erase four decades of a successful track record of a
progressive secular democracy. All the secular political forces must
rally to the defence of the country and pull it back from the brink. A
first step would be to rebuild the destroyed Babri Masjid as a gesture
towards the minority community and as a reaffirmation of an
unwavering commitment to the vision of a democratic India, free of
any kind of bigotry.
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Following the communal riots in Bombay after the Babri Masjid demolition,
the city was rocked by a series of bomb blasts in March 1993 set off, as it
became evident later, by criminal gangs of smuggler-don Dawood Ibrahim.
MARCH 15, 1993
An assault on the Indian state
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least 300 persons and injuring over 1000 others represents
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an assault on the Indian state and has understandably sent
shock waves all round. Most of the powerful explosions
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reported in some dozen places — the sites ranged from high-rise

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commercial complexes and hotels to bus stands and markets -- have

occurred within a span of two and a half hours, and the one to take
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the heaviest death toll was the bomb that went off in the Stock
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Exchange building. Preliminary investigation reports trace the blasts

in several cases to parked motor vehicles, although they would not
hazard a guess on the trigger device employed. Outrageous as
these attacks are, they are qualitatively different in certain respects
from the two spells of communal violence the megalopolis witnessed
in recent months. For instance, there has been no targeting of a
particular religious community now. However, given the sequential
occurrence and the spatial distribution of the chosen sites which
implies meticulous planning and organisation and the involvement of
a large number of terrorists there is a clear case of failure on the part
of the intelligence agencies. Obsessed as they are with political
intelligence gathering to protect the interests of those in power, the
agencies at both the Central and the State levels have been found
wanting in areas really critical to the security of the state.
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The intensity of the blasts and their impact, the sophisticated

nature of the devices used (as seen from the evidence gathered so
far) and the modus operandi perceived in general — all these
considered, the serial bombing episode is put beyond the pale of
ordinary criminal gangs. And the Union Home Minister, Mr. S. B.
Chavan, was unambiguous on this point in his statement to
Parliament. Nor was he hesitant when he spoke of an ‘international
conspiracy’ behind it. The official perception of a foreign hand (or
hands) — which is shared widely by political as well as apolitical
opinion of various hues — certainly goes farther than the realm of
plausibility. That the communal disquiet following the December 6
outrage in Ayodhya is the sort of opportunity hostile foreign elements
would be looking for to exploit in pursuing their sinister objectives
was apparent. As a matter of fact, media reports in the post-Ayodhya
context did suggest heightened interest and activity of foreign
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agencies in Maharashtra.
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It may be rather premature to establish the identity of the anti-
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national forces responsible for the blasts. This has to await the
unravelling of the plot in all its ramifications, a task which the Centre
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and the State Government seem to have set about addressing with
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the utmost seriousness, pursuing all the leads and the motivations
for the destabilisation attempt. In the immediate context, some quick
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initiatives are needed to restore the sense of security in Bombayites

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which lies badly shattered after the traumatic December-January

incidents and the latest chain of explosions. This necessarily calls for
quick acting strategy inputs from the Sharad Pawar Government,
which had just started on an image-refurbishing exercise when the
terrorists struck. And these should include not only law and order
responses like deployment of security forces in strength and stem
measures against criminal elements but also positive action involving
the political leadership at all levels. On the national plane, the
imperative is to raise the competence levels of intelligence agencies
— this implies also letting them function on professional lines — and
to formulate new policies to combat the terrorist menace.
Justice V. Ramaswami, who was sought to be impeached for irregularities

during his tenure as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court,
eventually resigned even though the impeachment motion against him
failed on account of the Congress abstaining from voting.
MAY 13, 1993
Time to resign
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F THE FAILURE OF THE MOTION OF IMPEACHMENT OF MR. JUSTICE V.
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Ramaswami is seen as a victory of sorts for the judiciary, it has
been achieved at a very great cost in terms of the erosion of its
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moral authority. Considering the fact that at least 196 members

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of the House had supported the impeachment motion with none

opposing it, although the entire Congress (I) party and a few other
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groups abstained from voting, it would be in the fitness of things if at

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least now he exercised his option to resign from the august post.
What Mr. Ramaswami has won is no more than a technical victory
and that does not in any way absolve him of the grave charges
levelled against him in the motion of impeachment — the first of its
kind in free India — or even the findings of the three-man Judges
Committee appointed by the Speaker of the ninth Lok Sabha to go
into the matter. Mr. Ramaswami had lost the first battle when the
Supreme Court by a majority of four to one ruled that the motion
admitted by the Speaker of the previous Lok Sabha for his
impeachment had not lapsed on its dissolution and that the three-
man committee could probe into the matter under the Judges Inquiry
Act though it would not restrain him from acting as a judge during the
period. Perhaps Mr. Ramaswami was hoping against hope that the
matter would not come up before the Lok Sabha and he could
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continue to function in the normal way. The three-man committee,

however, meant business and went into the matter in as thorough a
manner as was pertinent even though Mr. Ramaswami refused to
cooperate with the panel. Several irregularities committed by him
during his tenure as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana
High Court came to light following an audit report but he did not think
that they were serious enough to warrant attention. But the members
of Parliament had other views on the matter since it concerned a
person who occupied a very high public office and the dignity and
prestige of the judiciary were at stake. The three-man committee
composed of Mr. P. B. Sawant, Judge of the Supreme Court, Mr. P.
D. Desai, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and Mr. O.
Chinnappa Reddi, retired Judge of the Supreme Court, came to the
conclusion among other things that there was wilful and gross
misuse of office, purposeful and persistent negligence in the
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discharge of his duties, intentional and habitual extravagance at the
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cost of the public exchequer and moral turpitude by using public
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funds for private purposes in diverse ways.
The committee held that the acts were of such a nature that “his
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continuance in office will be prejudicial to the administration of justice

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and to the public interest.” It was also observed that “the acts,
therefore, constitute ‘misbehaviour’ within the meaning of Article 124
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(4) of the Constitution of India.” Mr. Ramaswami however maintained

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that there were procedural irregularities in the notice of the motion,

the constitution of the committee and the committee’s functioning. It
was known from the very beginning that the attitude of the ruling
Congress (l) party was crucial and it was surprising that till the last
minute it did not make its stand clear. Perhaps the Prime Minister felt
that the Judge should not suffer the ignominy of a dismissal through
impeachment. Mr. Ramaswami should be aware of this position and
he would be committing a grave mistake if he takes the verdict as a
signal for his continuance. The Lok Sabha was not performing any
judicial function and hence the failure of the motion does not
necessarily give him the moral authority to sit as a judge especially
in the light of the decisive findings of the three-judge committee. It
would be in the interest of the judiciary if he quits at least at this

stage.
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Indian circuses had their magic, but by the beginning of the nineties they
were clearly on a decline. The advent of television, regulations on import of
animals, and dearth of innovation over a period of time took their toll leaving
the clowns in tears.
19 JUNE, 1993
Where clowns cry

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HE INDIAN CIRCUS IS GASPING. A ROMANCE, RECREATED with the
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clash of cymbals, with the beat of drums, with the swing of
acrobats, with the laughter of clowns, and, indeed, with the
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memories of our childhood, the big top is set to crash. An art

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that is over a hundred years old is fading into oblivion with great
names like Parasuram, Jubilee, Whiteway, Fairy and Kamala having
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companies today, and even here, many are mere roadshows, often
with a few animals and poles. It is sad, even tragic, that a country
which could, at one time, boast of circuses comparable to the best in
America, Russia and Czechoslovakia has fallen on such hard days.
There are any number of reasons for this. An important one is the
ban on the import of animals. Chimpanzees, orang-utans, zebras
and sea-lions, for example, are delightful entertainers. The restriction
on the procurement and exchange of even animals found in India —
on the ground that they are ill-treated in circuses — is said to be a
big blow. Circus owners claim that animals are virtual treasures, and
unless they are loved and taken care of, they would never learn, let
alone perform. Animals hold immense fascination among the young
and the old, especially so in those villages and towns and cities that
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do not have a zoo. Yet circuses may have to plan for the days when
animals will be out.
Another source of worry is television, which brings a circus to the
living-room. Often, a show on it is far more interesting than one that
is seen live under a hot and humid tent. Naturally so, for a circus
playing anywhere in the world can be beamed right into your home.
Also, circuses in our country tend to be repetitive, and, at times,
colourless. The general impression is that if you have seen one, you
have seen them all. Most feats one sees now were devised and
perfected decades ago by Kileri Kunhikannan, K. Damodaran and
Kalian Gopalan, the great names in this field. Even the presentation
leaves much to be desired, and humour, which adds pep to the ring,
appears jaded with clowns looking more tragic than comic.
Obviously. They and the other performers are paid poorly, and
the lives of many are fraught with danger. An animal trainer or a
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woman on a trapeze faces such death-defying risks that insurance
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companies refused to come to their aid for a long time. After years of
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persuasion, they did agree to cover them, but at hefty premiums.
With generally no gratuity or pension (except perhaps in Kerala),
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their plight is miserable. Owners, haunted by rising costs of feeding

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and moving an army of men and animals, dare not even hike their
admission rates for fear of losing an already dwindling number of
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spectators. Where then is the question of paying better wages? The

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latest threat to the very survival of this business is lack of proper

sites. Thalassery, the home of the Indian circus, could not host one
for many, many years, because there was no ground. In Madras, the
place where a circus had been recently camping is to be taken over
by the Railways, and it could be years before another venue is found
or allotted.
There can be no doubt that the circus industry needs immediate
help, and it is the Government that can extend the right patronage by
offering tax concessions, and recognising and rewarding talent.
There are awards for literature, science, music, dance, sports and
films. None for circus. The brave men and women and children live
and die within the confines of a tent, their glories unknown and
unsung. What is even more pressing is the need to open a proper

training centre. There is an apology for it at Thalassery, established
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by Kunhikannan. It has been struggling for funds, and with more and
more people reluctant to join this bandwagon called circus, the show
may not go on for long. After all, walking the tightrope may not be as
difficult as performing the feat on the ground.
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Governments at the Centre have often used Article 356 that provides for
dismissal of State governments and imposition of President’s Rule for
politically partisan ends. The Supreme Court ruled that the Presidential
proclamation under Article 356 is subject to judicial review if found to be
mala fide or based on extraneous considerations.
MARCH 14, 1994
A landmark verdict
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HE DECISION OF THE SPECIAL NINE-JUDGE BENCH OF THE SUPREME
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Court upholding the proclamation issued by the President
under Article 356 (1) of the Constitution on December 15,
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1992 dismissing the then BJP Governments of the three

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States of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal

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Pradesh must have come as a big morale booster to the ruling

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Congress (I) at the Centre which was very much shaken by the
earlier judgment of the Jabalpur Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High
Court setting aside President’s rule in that State and restoring the
dissolved Assembly and the dismissed Ministry. It is now established
beyond legal doubt that the Presidential proclamation under Article
356 is subject to judicial review if it is found to be mala fide or based
on wholly “irrelevant and extraneous considerations.” Yet another
significant fact that now emerges is that the apex court could call
upon the Union of India to disclose the material upon which the
President had formed the requisite satisfaction in taking over the
administration of a State by dismissing the popular ministry. Actually,
Article 74 (2) clearly says that the question whether any and if so
what advice was tendered by Ministers to the President “shall not” be
enquired into by any court. The position all along has been that
though the court cannot compel the Government to produce the
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advice tendered by the Ministers to the President or the reasons

therefor there is nothing to prevent the court to compel production of
the ‘materials’ upon which the advice or its reasoning was based.
This position is now further confirmed.
The political significance of the decision is that it will act as a bar
on motivated and arbitrary dismissal of State Governments by the
Centre as had happened in a number of cases in the recent past.
The unseating of a Ministry commanding a majority in the Assembly
by applying Article 356 is a virtual dismissal through the back door.
Now that the Court could go into the circumstances of the dismissal
and declare the act unconstitutional leading to the restoration of
status quo ante, the party in power at the Centre will think twice
before embarking on the adventurous course of imposing President’s
rule. In fact this very question was gone into in some detail by the
Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations which said that
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action under Article 356 would be improper if no warning or
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opportunity to the State Government was given to correct itself.
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In the instant case the Supreme Court has emphasised the fact
that secularism being one of the basic features of the Constitution
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any State Government pursuing unsecular policies would be acting

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contrary to the constitutional mandate rendering itself amenable to

action under Article 356 of the Constitution. It might be recalled that
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the State Governments were dismissed in the wake of the

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circumstances that followed the demolition of the Babri Masjid at

Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. Thus the Centre’s action stands fully
vindicated. The Apex Court’s directive that the Assemblies of States
coming under Central dispensation should not be dissolved until the
Presidential proclamation was approved by Parliament is only logical
as they may have to be activated if Parliament does not ratify the
action or if meanwhile the Court finds that the takeover is mala fide.
The Court has itself said that the dissolution of the Assemblies is
irreversible and the Centre could still take this step when once the
proclamation is approved. It should however be noted that the
decisions given by the Court on these vital issues should be
reasonably fast and time bound. Else they could become infructuous
as has now happened when the Court held that the proclamations in
regard to Karnataka in 1989 and Meghalaya in 1991 were
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unconstitutional for the reason that the issues adjudged upon are no
more live in view of the subsequent developments.
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After the liberation of Bangladesh, die-hard Islamic fundamentalists lay low

for some time. But with political parties ceding their moral authority, mullahs
filled the vacuum subsequently with foreign non-governmental organisations
involved in humanitarian relief work, Taslima Nasreen speaking up for
women’s rights, and newspapers coming under attack.
JUNE 17, 1994
Obscurantism to the fore

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being lost in
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S THE FIGHT AGAINST RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM SLOWLY
neighbouring Bangladesh? Up against the secular culture of
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undivided Bengal, fundamentalists had been waging a cautious

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battle. Active in the then East Pakistan, with unhindered

patronage from the western wing, the diehards were prudent enough
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to lie low during the years of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the liberator.
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Never far from the surface, they have of late been unveiling
themselves in all their hydraheaded splendour, aided and abetted by
the squabbling main political parties which have apparently no time
to counter their campaign, with even the opposition Awami League
headed by Mujib’s daughter in a hopeless state of resignation on this
vital front. For a nation that got itself freed from feudalistic warlords
after years of struggle and martyrdom, this is an unfortunate trend.
The mullahs have for more than a year now been picking one
wellchosen target after another. The first to fall foul of the
obscurantists were non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
involved in voluntary humanitarian relief work in remote,
impoverished regions, inaccessible and unseen by official agencies.
One such dangerous activity related to programmes to provide

facilities for the education of girls. The opponents made clear that
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their objective was not to expose acts of irregularity if any but to get
these NGOs out of the country, so that they could continue the
“tradition” of ignorance.
Target two was a selfappointed champion of women’s rights and
author of a novel that held up an ugly mirror at society. Taslima
Nasreen, prematurely basking in the sunshine and glory that her
Lajja brought her, was a minor player but an ideal target in the battle
to silence the country’s vocal, secular intellectuals. Condemned
(undeservedly?) as the Salman Rushdie of Bangladesh, she has
again invited the wrath of the far right orthodoxy by remarks she
says she never made. Blasphemy, cry demonstrators on the streets
of Dhaka and demand her head, someone even readily placing a
price on it. The writer has played into the hands of the fanatics by
advocating unconventional ideas that even her friends will shy away
from, not understanding that forceful espousal of women’s causes
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can prove counterproductive in a backward country where the
awareness may be lacking. or
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After its highprofile campaign against the NGOs and forcing an
intrepid feminist writer into hiding, the fundamentalists are now
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turning their sword against the press. A fallout of the third holy war:
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editors have been arrested and denied bail for engaging in alleged
anti-Islamic propaganda and on the charge of blasphemy. Offices of
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ransacked and torched. Free within parameters set by the

establishment, the press has been bearing the brunt of the fanatics’
fury and the beleaguered Khaleda Zia Government, rather than put
down such attacks on the freedom of the press, has shown every
sign of succumbing to pressure. Compromise feeds on compromise
and the first signs of weakness may often prove fatal. If the ruling
Bangladesh National Party believes it can utilise the fundamentalists
in its fight against political opponents, it must realise that the one
who rides the tiger hardly survives to enjoy the fruits of victory. Such
unholy alliance with religious extremists will set the nation on the
road to ruin. If you hear someone talk of holy war, know that that
someone is trying to make the war holy, says an Arab activist who
also happens to be a woman. It may yet be not too late for the
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Dhaka Government to put the brakes on the fundamentalists and

save the secularist foundations of the country.
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India’s active participation in the Antarctica expedition began in 1981, and

over time, its expeditions derived such benefits as better forecasting of
monsoons and developing human adaptations in the higher reaches of
Himalayas like in Siachen.
AUGUST 1, 1995
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HE POLAR REGIONS OF THE PLANET EARTH HAVE ALWAYS EXERCISED
a fascination for men and women all over the world. Very few
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intrepid adventurers, unmindful of the hardship and risks,
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have ventured over the years to explore the Arctic and the
Antarctic continents. That India has derived valuable benefits
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from the 14 expeditions to Antarctica in which it participated is good

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news indeed. In fact, the benefits are in the form of better forecasting
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of monsoons and developing human adaptations in the higher

reaches of the Himalayas like Siachen. Further, the indigenisation of
the technology relating to cold temperatures and long distance
communication becomes possible through these expeditions. When
there are grim predictions for the human race in view of adverse
developments such as global warming and the green house effect,
the research findings of the expeditions will no doubt help in devising
strategies for the sustenance of life on earth.
India’s active participation in the Antarctica expedition since 1981
has all along been quite encouraging with about 1000 scientific
personnel drawn from 45 institutes and laboratories getting involved
so far in the exploration. Maitri, the permanent weather observatory
at India’s station on the icy continent, has provided various

meteorological parameters that can lead to a better understanding of
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the weather phenomena over the southern oceans. It speaks for the
efficiency of the research team that the relevant data have been
transferred on a real time basis to the global telecommunication
network. This is a unique example of a multi-disciplinary and multi-
institutional approach adopted by the Union Government’s
Department of Ocean Development. The National Physical
Laboratory, New Delhi, designed in the recent past sophisticated
equipment and techniques for drawing a vertical profile of the ozone
layer over India and other tropical countries. This laser heterodyne
experiment, as it is known, will be carried on for another four years
before conclusive results are obtained.
There are several puzzles relating to the polar regions and one
such is the presence of a vast warm water lake beneath the Antarctic
ice shelf. This is about 15 times the size of Biwa, Japan’s largest
lake, according to the Japan Polar Research Association. The
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scientists do not yet know why the water in lake Vostok, named after
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the Russian Antarctica base where it was found, is not frozen. The
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lake lies under 4000 metres of ice on the continental ice shelf. It has
a length of 250 km, a width of 40 km and a depth of 400 metres.
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Now researchers from several countries including Japan, Russia and

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Britain are devising plans to probe this phenomenon.

Certain salient features of Antarctic winds have led some
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scientists to call this continent the ‘most awful place on the earth’.
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The winds here blow with a ferocious force and the reflection of the
incoming radiation by the ice sheet’s mantle of snow brings down the
temperature steeply, even as low as minus 80 degree Centigrade.
Penguins (of which there are 17 species in the world) constitute
much of the bird life. It is interesting to note that the Antarctic Treaty
was signed in December 1959 by 12 nations and brought into force
in June 1961. Later, many other countries including India and China
joined the original signatories as Acceding States and Consultative
Parties. The Treaty made it clear that “it is in the interest of all
mankind that Antarctica shall continue for ever to be used
exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or
object of international discord.” It will be in the fitness of things if the
continent promotes harmony among the nations through a spirit of

collaboration among the scientists engaged in work there.
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Not long after he was unseated by son-in-law, N. Chandrababu Naidu, the

founder of Telugu Desam, N.T. Rama Rao passed away. Rao had played a
prominent national role as chairman of the National Front, a grouping of
national and regional parties opposed to the Congress.
JANUARY 19, 1996
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HE SUDDEN DEATH OF THE CHARISMATIC LEADER. N. T. RAMA Rao,
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former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, removes from the
political scene a person who had emerged as a champion of
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he had been in politics. It was in 1982 that the matinee idol first
conceived the idea of forming a political party — the Telugu Desam
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upholding the dignity and honour of the community as a whole in the

national context. The party was primarily a one-man show and very
few thought that the TDP would make a mark in the elections to the
State Assembly in 1983. The Congress (I) which was ruling the State
uninterruptedly for several years was for the first time humbled
beyond recognition and Rama Rao assumed the mantle of chief
ministership which he held for five years with a brief break when one
of his close associates, Mr. Nadendla Bhaskara Rao, Finance
Minister in his Cabinet, revolted against him and formed the
Government which lasted for just over a month. Rama Rao’s
triumphant return as Chief Minister after the then Prime Minister,
Mrs. Gandhi, intervened is a story by itself.
Rama Rao did not lose heart when in the 1989 election his party
suffered a defeat at the hands of the Congress (I) but continued to
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build up the Telugu Desam waiting for a chance to stage a comeback

at the appropriate time. That opportunity came to him in December
1994 when he won the elections with an overwhelming majority,
unprecedented in the annals of electoral battles in the State. Unlike
the Congress (I) which was riven by factions, the Telugu Desam
party presented a picture of total unity with all the senior members
giving their unflinching support to the leader. After his 1989 defeat,
the TDP supremo had realised that his celluloid image would not
take him very far and he was said to be slowly recovering some of
the lost ground by reestablishing contact with the people. Of course
the lack-lustre performance of the Congress Government also
helped him to stage a comeback. And when matters were moving in
the right direction there was a sudden setback for Rama Rao when
some of his partymen led by his son-in-law, Mr. N. Chandrababu
Naidu. staged a coup, following which he lost his majority in the
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Assembly. Rama Rao decided to quit the chief ministership instead
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of accepting the directive of the Governor to prove his majority in the
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House knowing fully well that he was only fighting a losing battle.
The target of attack by his detractors was his second wife, Ms.
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Lakshmi Parvathi, who was dubbed as an extra-constitutional

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authority. Rama Rao’s efforts to wean back the legislators who had
deserted him having failed, he drew up a plan to go to the people
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and prove his strength in the coming elections to the Lok Sabha.
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There were indications that Rama Rao was on the comeback trail.
His death is certain to make a lot of difference to the politics of
Andhra Pradesh. The Telugu Desam which he had founded and had
been split is now bound to lose more of its shine. Whether Ms.
Lakshmi Parvathi would be able to don her late husband’s mantle, as
she would hope to do, is an open question. Rama Rao had even
become some sort of a national figure as the chairman of the
National Front which no doubt will be the poorer for his passing.
Rama Rao might not have had the astuteness of a wily politician. He
was essentially a simple man who by his populist measures won the
minds and hearts of the vast populace in the State. He felt greatly
hurt that his own kith and kin pulled him down from the high pedestal
and he was getting ready to hit back to regain what he thought was
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his rightful place in the State’s polity. The people of Andhra Pradesh
have for sure lost a gentleman-politician in his untimely death.
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The Lok Sabha election of 1996 was a fractured mandate with no party or
pre-election coalition in a position to form the government. The election saw
Deve Gowda assume office as Prime Minister following a post-election
grouping of primarily regional parties.
MAY 11, 1996
A negative verdict
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HE THREE-PHASED NATIONWIDE GENERAL ELECTION HAS thrown up
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a severely fractured verdict as forecast by pollsters and
political watchers alike, with none of the three major
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formations — the Congress (I), the BJP and the National

Front-Left Front combine — anywhere near the striking distance of
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an absolute majority. Unlike in 1991 when the Congress (I), though

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in a minority, could work up a functional majority support without

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much difficulty, this time the numbers game involved in the exercise
of government formation promises to be a tricky and mindboggling
business. What is the meaning of the splintered vote? First and
foremost, it means a clear, firm and near-total rejection of the P. V.
Narasimha Rao-led Congress (I)’s claim for a renewed mandate.
Between 1991 and now, States and regions considered to be its
bastions have turned away from it, the South providing the latest
example. Now the mighty organisation is piteously stymied while its
national base has sharply shrunk in geographical terms.
The party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha poll is so pervasive that its
Governments in the few States where it is still in power — Madhya
Pradesh and Punjab for instance — may well become shaky.
Whatever might have been Mr. Narasimha Rao’s successes as the

head of government, his calculated and crafty ways which destroyed
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the party’s inner organisational core and the palpably cynical

disregard he showed for the sentiments of the party cadres — as in
Tamil Nadu over the alliance question — have left the Congress (I) in
total disarray adding to its travails at the hustings. If the proverbially
faction-ridden Congress (I) has had to pay a heavy price because of
its squabbling in several places, the plight of the Bharatiya Janata
Party which has long been priding itself as a cadre-based and
disciplined alternative, a “party with a difference,” is not wry different
either. In the running battle between the VHP/RSS group and the
other elements in the BJP in Gujarat, the rebel leader, Mr.
Shankarsinh Waghela, has fallen victim to sabotage by the pro-
Keshubhai Patel faction.
As for the issues, “economic reforms” is the one area where the
Narasimha Rao Government has done remarkably well for which it
could legitimately take credit. If the slogan “stability for prosperity”
failed to carry much conviction, the “reforms” message failed to click
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by and large. For one, all the propaganda hype through the
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electronic media notwithstanding, the ordinary voters at the lower
rungs of the economic ladder are in no mood to wait for the five
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years the Congress (I) sought for ensuring that the benefits of the
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liberalisation and globalisation policies to accrue. For another, the

fact that all national parties including the Left parties appropriated
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“economic reforms” as their platform neutralised it as a campaign

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issue. Although the phenomenon of “corruption in high places” burst

on to the centrestage in close proximity to the elections, thanks to
the series of scandals — the Jain diary-linked hawala case, the
housing scam, the cattle feed scam (of Bihar), the bribery involving
Members of Parliament, et al — the verdict does not reveal any
uniform voter response. The voter therefore would seem to have
been guided by either local factors or his own perception of the
calibre and integrity of the individual concerned.
In a sense, going by the post-poll scenario, the just concluded
elections could well mark a watershed in the evolution of federalism
in the political party system. With the one-party governance a thing
of the past and with the Congress (I) — the one party that for
historical reasons has till recently enjoyed countrywide dominance —

taking on the character of a “federation of regional outfits,” much
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more pronouncedly after the current poll, what obtains is a stage of

transition, so to say. If the seat projections of the three contenders to
power are anything to go by, the regional political groups have a
decisive say in what sort of government should be formed. In fact the
National Front itself is nothing more than a group of regional parties
seeking commonly to serve a national purpose and cause. Viewed in
this wider perspective, what emerges from the rival moves to cobble
together an alliance — whether it is going to be a chimerical
formation actuated by purely opportunistic compulsions or a coalition
effected through a realignment of forces sharing common political
values like secularism and democracy — will determine the shape of
things to come.
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Noted artist M.F. Hussain came under the attack of Hindutva forces for his
depiction of Hindu deities in paintings. The “public outcry” was orchestrated
by those affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and those
belonging to the political combine of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv
Sena in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The agitations resulted in
Hussain leaving India.
OCTOBER 10, 1996
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HE ORCHESTRATED OUTCRY AGAINST THE NOTED PAINTER, Mr.
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abetted by the Maharashtra State Government is a threat to

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the freedom of expression, to say the least. The “public”

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outcry conducted by the BJP-Shiv Sena cadres and the prompt

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response by the Mumbai police in registering a case against Mr.

Hussain “for hurting the sentiments of the Hindus” were planned and
those involved in converting this work of art — of Goddess Saraswati
and Draupadi — into a political controversy were connected in one
way or the other with the RSS. It was an article by Dr. Om Nagpal,
whose leanings are far too well-known, in a Hindi language monthly
published from Bhopal, Vichar Mimamsa whose editorial positions
are manned by those with RSS background that raked up this
controversy. The title of the article reads, “Hussain — is he an artist
or a butcher?” It was then only a matter of time before the BJP-Shiv
Sena began demonstrating in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
and Mr. Pramod Navalkar, Maharashtra’s Culture Minister, shot out a
missive to the Mumbai police to “take action against the painter.”

That the entire affair was orchestrated is beyond doubt and it is not
the first time that freedom of expression has been attacked in recent
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times. There were similar outrages when the SAHMAT organised a

painting exhibition where among other tales from the Ramayana, the
Jataka tradition was also presented. At that stage too, the BJP
orchestrated a vicious campaign, the language of which was filled
with communal venom. There were similar attacks on the freedom of
expression when Islamic fundamentalists launched a vicious tirade
against Mr. Salman Rushdie endangering his life: Dr. Mushirul
Hassan too was a victim of this fundamentalist rage. The latest
instance involving Mr. Hussain, no doubt, is part of a concerted effort
by fundamentalists against the freedom of expression and it needs to
be condemned outright. It is far more serious when such a campaign
is abetted by the State, in this case the Maharashtra Government
and its Culture Minister, Mr. Navalkar.
Indeed, there is more to the Hussain affair than an attack on the
freedom of expression. It is a fact that such a set of paintings by Mr.
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Hussain is not new. The rich heritage represented by the sculptures
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in Khajuraho, Ajanta and Konark has not “hurt the sentiments of the
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Hindus”: instead, the sculptures continue to be seen as the
reflections of the effervescent art and culture that flourished under
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Hindu kings of that time. It is also a fact that the notion of blasphemy
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— if at all Mr. Hussain could be accused of this — has never been

part of the Hindu ethos. On the contrary, heretics of various hues
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had not only found a place in the Hindu ethos but had been
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absorbed and had even contributed immensely to the richness of this

tradition.
A disturbing fact that has emerged in this episode is that the
campaign has taken a direction where the work of a painter of Mr.
Hussain’s eminence is sought to be portrayed on Hindu-Muslim
lines. This is not the case. The basis for the hue and cry against Mr.
Hussain is that he happens to be a Muslim and hence the outcry is
essentially an attempt to intensify the communal divide. The
Maharashtra Government would do well to reverse its orders against
Mr. Hussain and instead of aiding those trying to trample upon the
painter’s right to expression, it must act firmly against them. It is the
duty of the state to protect the freedom of expression subject to
certain well-defined limits which clearly have not been crossed now.
The Maharashtra Government cannot abdicate this responsibility.
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When Congress president Sitaram Kesri withdrew support to the Deve

Gowda government, he was acting more out of personal feelings than out of
any sense of public duty. Kesri believed that Gowda did not accord him due
respect and the United Front had taken the Congress support for granted.
Kesri could not catapult himself to power, but he managed to replace
Gowda with I.K. Gujral.
12 APRIL, 1997
What a shame!
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HE PROUD TRADITIONS OF INDIA’S PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY were
unfairly compromised yesterday for the flimsiest and most
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capricious of reasons. A Government was brought tumbling

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down not because of any serious policy differences. By all

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accounts, the United Front Government, a political entity that had

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been carefully crafted amid considerable scepticism about its

possible effectiveness, had started to show some dynamism in its
performance in recent months. While nobody could deny that the
Government had an inherent limitation in its unwieldy,
heterogeneous and ideologically diverse political base, strangely
enough the fact of its pluralist, federally rooted leadership had
eventually become the Government’s main strength. Thus in the last
ten months, the Front had been able to project a surprising sense of
purpose and direction.
The fact of its heterogeneous base had the welcome effect of
creating a more institutionalised structure of Government functioning.
The logic of coalition politics reflected in the decision to set out
unambiguously a common approach to the major policy issues that

the administration would be required to face. This resulted in the
creation of a Common Minimum Programme, a document which is a
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skilful reconciling of diverse and complex ideological approaches to

sensitive issues of public policy. The Front’s more striking
achievements in recent months which have fetched it considerable
public appreciation were in the arenas of foreign and economic
policy. If the Gujral doctrine of a unilaterally friendlier approach to
India’s neighbours has eased tensions between India and others in
the region, including Pakistan, the Union Budget has clearly infused
confidence into the market economy. It was all too clear that the
public perception of the Deve Gowda administration was gradually
turning from cynicism about its efficacy to a grudging respect for its
ability to reflect a sense of direction against all the odds.
Last Sunday, the Congress (I)’s president, Mr. Sitaram Kesri,
allowed his personal feelings to get the better of his sense of public
duty when he sent a letter to the President withdrawing his party’s
support for the Government. It was clear that however detailed his
letter to the President was in terms of explaining the Front’s various
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lapses, it was nothing more than ill concealed petulance. The
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Congress (I) will now have to take the responsibility for plunging the
country into a period of fresh uncertainty as a result of this action of
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voting out the Deve Gowda administration. It will have to explain why
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it was all right for its own self interest to take precedence over the
national interest of maintaining stable and secular governance. For
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the Congress party to assert today that its discomfort with the Deve
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Gowda administration was because of its perception that the

Government was “encouraging the communal forces” is to make an
irresponsible and unsubstantiated claim that can only distort the true
picture of the realities in this country.
The Congress (I) had offered to support the United Front from
outside on the basis of the argument that it was necessary for
secular minded political forces to band together to arrest the
advance of the BJP and its exclusionary political idiom, which both
parties agreed would unravel India’s sense of national identity. By
snapping ties in Friday’s vote, both parties are betraying that shared
perception and doing this country a grave disservice. In the days that
followed Mr. Kesri’s rash action, neither the Congress (I) nor the
United Front has acted in a manner befitting that sense of national

responsibility that they so emphatically proclaimed last year when
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the Front asked to govern, readily accepting the Congress party’s

offer for this purpose. Both parties adopted hardline positions all of
this week, the Congress assertively saying that it wanted to form a
Government, even as the Front kept repeating that it would not allow
the Congress into a coalition or accept the suggestion of a change of
leadership. The Front insisted that it drew its strength from the fact
that it remained united even under pressure. But that unity appeared
to be wearing thin at the week’s end, even as many of the Front’s
leaders grimly realised that with the Congress suddenly abandoning
its maximalist demands, they would have to display greater flexibility.
Thus as both sides plunged into negotiations, even as the
deadline of Friday’s vote neared, it was clear that the real battle of
wits was being conducted secretly in backrooms away from public
scrutiny. It is regrettable that while the debate on the confidence
motion was proceeding in Parliament, being televised nationwide,
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most of the high profile players in this sordid political drama chose to
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preferring to negotiate the country’s future political course
elsewhere. One lesson of this squalid episode where a promising
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and productive spell of governance was brought to an abrupt end

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because of one individual’s personal pique is that the country cannot

and should not have to put up with the endless power games being
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The normative way out of this murky impasse is of course fresh

elections wherein the people will have the opportunity again to
choose who will govern. But given that most of the MPs dread the
prospect of facing another election so soon after the last one,
another scenario might be considered by the President before
plunging the country into fresh elections. There could be another
attempt at a realignment of the centrist secular forces which
constitute the United Front and the Congress (I), possibly under a
new leader. The second lesson of this episode is that the country
cannot risk another experiment of governing with support from the
outside. If such a realignment of secular forces is to take place within
the context of this Parliament, it must reflect in the creation of a
coalition of the United Front constituents and the Congress (I), so
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that all the governing parties acquire a distinct stake in the survival of
the ruling dispensation.
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The election of K.R. Narayanan as India’s President was a historic event,

marking the first time a member of the Dalit community occupied the
nation’s highest office. Narayanan won the support of all the three major
political formations, the Congress, the BJP and the Left.
JULY 18, 1997
The new President

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HE ELECTION OF MR. K. R. NARAYANAN NEW
President, reduced to a mere formality after the three major
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political formations had sponsored his nomination, marks an
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endorsement, even if unintended, of the healthy practice of

the incumbent Vice-President being elevated Head of State
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on completion of his term, barring of course exceptional

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circumstances. The huge vote margin of his victory in what virtually

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is a non-contest is fully reflective of his near-unanimous acceptability

to the elected members of Parliament and State Legislatures (who
constitute the electoral college) across the entire political spectrum,
and this in itself should invest his incumbency with an apolitical
character. In 1992, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, whom he succeeds,
yielded close to one-third of the total votes to his opponent, Mr. G. G.
Swell, who had the backing of the main Opposition, the National
Front. Mr. Narayanan’s rival — none other than the former Chief
Election Commissioner. Mr. T. N. Seshan — by no means a frivolous
or non-serious candidate, could merely mark his presence. That the
major pro-Narayanan political parties preferred not to issue a formal
‘whip’ to its members this time does not seem to have made any
substantial difference to Mr. Seshan in terms of extra votes and he

has had to content himself by and large with the support only of the
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Shiv Sena and some independents. And this is largely due to the
unimpeachable credentials of Mr. Narayanan for the highest
Constitutional office and they are totally independent of his belonging
to a Dalit community — a factor that is purely incidental.
Whatever position he held and whatever role he played in his
long public career — and they are many and varied: journalist,
academician, diplomat, legislator and minister — Mr. Narayanan
distinguished himself by his dedication, scholarship, objectivity, quiet
efficiency and other qualities that have made him eminently suitable
for the Presidentship. His record as the Vice-President and ex-officio
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, impeccable as it has been, testified to
his sagacity and non-partisan character. To project his caste label to
the exclusion of his credentials, as if that indeed was the key
determinant for his choice — which is what many of the political
parties have done — is to be grossly unfair to Mr. Narayanan and all
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that he has achieved against heavy odds. The fact that a member of
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the Dalit community would be occupying the highest position when
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the nation celebrates the golden jubilee of its Independence also has
a symbolic message to convey.
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Mr. Narayanan is assuming office at a time when the nation’s

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democratic polity has just entered a phase of coalition politics where

fractured mandates are fast becoming the rule rather than an
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exception and the party system seems to be headed for a collapse.

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This new context has naturally brought about a qualitative change in

the role assigned to the President under the Constitution and his
image is no longer that of a figurehead; he is called upon to
intervene decisively, as evidenced by the experiences, for instance,
of Mr. R. Venkataraman and Dr. Sharma, who will be demitting office
shortly. The issues Dr. Sharma placed before a conference of the
State Governors and leaders of mainstream political leaders he
convened recently are typical of the evolving scenario. At the Central
level, there have been three governments since the 1996 Lok Sabha
polls and even the present one headed by Mr. I. K. Gujral — the
second edition of the 14-party United Front coalition — is constantly
assailed by stability problems. It may not be long before the fodder
scam-driven Bihar imbroglio reaches a stage where the Centre’s

intervention would become imperative. Thus, even before he settles
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down in his new office, Mr. Narayanan may well be faced with
Constitutionally problematic situations. The nation can count on him
to handle the situations with fairness and propriety even while
responding creatively to new developments.
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By the time she died after decades of charity work in Calcutta’s slums,
Mother Teresa had changed the way India looked at poverty. The Nobel
Prize winner was an icon of compassion, tending to the poor and the
disease-ridden with selfless love.
SEPTEMBER 8, 1997
Mother Teresa
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HE BIBLICAL MESSAGE THAT “THE POOR ARE EVER WITH US” is meant
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to remind the world of its duty to take care of all the
unfortunates who are poor and disease-ridden. Such
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sensitivity to human suffering came spontaneously to Mother

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Teresa. Her surging compassion made Mother Teresa a ministering

angel to an ailing humanity till the end of her life. She made up her
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mind to work for the downtrodden and dedicate herself to total

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selflessness when she was barely 20. Agnes Bojaxhiu, as she was
known earlier, was born in Skopje, Albania, as the daughter of a
prosperous merchant and she joined the Church by entering the Irish
Order of Loreto. After she came to India in 1929 and worked for 17
years as a geography teacher robed in the black veil of the nuns of
her congregation, the stirring of service took her to the slums of
Calcutta from the comforts of her convent. It was a response to what
she felt was a call from Jesus Christ, who appeared before her in the
“distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor”.
It is worth mentioning here that Mother Teresa was undeterred by
the efforts of those close to her and whom she respected to
dissuade her saying that the “call” from Jesus was just a
hallucination. A year after she had left her convent in August 1948,
she founded the Order for the Missionaries of Charity committing
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herself and her Sisters to the vows to serve the poor. The Nobel
Prize awarded to her honoured only those who could keep their eyes
open and senses alive for spotting the frail lady to whom it should
have gone. What she had been doing as the founder of the
Missionaries of Charity, set up in 1949 in Calcutta, was well beyond
whatever recognition anybody could have given her. It was India’s
good fortune that the poorest of the poor in Calcutta and elsewhere
had her in their midst for so long and its Government had the
privilege of conferring on her the nation’s highest honour, Bharat
Ratna.
Glimpses of the rough life which the girls who came from all over
India and the rest of the world chose for themselves by seeking to
serve as Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity could be had from
the days they had to spend going by tram or bus or on foot to the
homes for the dying to comfort them by singing psalms and telling
them, “We are here, we love, there is no longer any need to be
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afraid”. With Mother Teresa and her dedicated band around them,
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the destitutes and those stricken with pestilential illness did not ask
for anything more than the cheer which filled their hearts. A thorough
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understanding of the resoluteness which Mother Teresa and her

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missionaries brought to providing succour to the ailing and suffering

poor will require a shedding of the vastly noticeable heaviness which
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makes minds opaque. She made everyone realise that words and
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acts of kindness wholly devoid of any condescension would infuse

hope into the badly handicapped and those given up as incurable
and would go a long way in relieving them of the sorrow and despair
they had sunk into. If it is true that everyone who is born has only
one life. Mother Teresa could convince all those handicapped in
various ways that they could still make the best use of the limbs they
were left with. A message from her to a deformed person was “You
can do much better on your bed than I can do with my legs”. It is no
wonder that her boundless love for the suffering humanity
transformed where she was living from an abode of darkness
recalling the haunting lines. “Abandon hope, all ye who enter” into
The City of Joy celebrated by Dominique Lapierre.
Arundhati Roy won the Booker Prize for her debut novel, The God of Small
Things, a semi-autobiographical work that was both bestselling and critically
acclaimed. She was the first Indian to win the coveted prize, and the book
was the second Indo-Anglian work of fiction after Salman Rushdie’s
Midnight’s Children to be thus recognised.
OCTOBER 16, 1997
A Booker for India

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enchanting a denouement. Her first novel The God of Small
Things may be the second Indo-Anglian work of fiction to
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bag the Booker Prize — the first being Mr. Salman Rushdie’s
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Midnight’s Children. But the 37-year-old Ms. Roy has

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become the first Indian to win what is now regarded as one of the
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world’s most distinguished literary awards, thus capping an

extraordinary debut with a formidable stamp of recognition.
Success has come with an envious ease to Ms. Roy ever since
she completed the draft of her novel, a touching, bittersweet story
with strong autobiographical overtones about a set of twins growing
up in a village in Kerala. Her literary agents were euphoric after
reading the draft, publishing houses squabbled with one another to
pay enormous advances to secure the rights and the novel was
endorsed as one of the fictional events of the decade well before it
lined the shelves of bookstores. The rest, as it were, is a remarkable
piece of literary history. The God of Small Things — by no means a
popular or non-serious work of fiction — went on to enter the
bestseller charts and, to the sheer incredulity of those connected
with the publishing trade, hung stubbornly in there for weeks on end
along with the usual run-of-the-mill pulp fiction.
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That Ms. Roy could have appealed to two diverse audiences —

the serious and the non-serious, if you like — is of course only one
of the astonishing attributes of her novel. Another is her uncanny
ability to make her taut and precise writing evoke images of such
visual richness, a style which leaves you wondering — particularly
when she is describing her native Ayemenem — how her sparse and
economic prose can accommodate and convey a sense of such
sensuality and abundance. It is no surprise that Dr. Gillian Beer,
chairman of the panel of judges which awarded the Booker Prize,
was struck by what he described as her “extraordinary linguistic
inventiveness”. It is also extraordinary that The God of Small Things,
which has the feel of a painfully structured and composed work,
could have — as Ms. Roy has stated — simply “written itself out”
without requiring so much as polishing or rewriting the draft (which,
in the author’s evocative expression, would have been like
“rebreathing a breath”).
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departure from much that has followed the publication of Mr. Salman
Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children — the novel which was a harbinger for
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a clutch of works in the ‘magic realist’ tradition. In contrast, Ms. Roy’s

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novel is unabashedly ‘realist’; its strong autobiographical overtones

almost suggesting as if she had wanted to make a self-conscious bid
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to distance herself from the current and dominant literary fashion.

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By and large, The God of Small Things — rather like Mr. Vikram
Seth’s epic A Suitable Boy — has been better received abroad than
in India. It is regrettable that in Ms. Roy’s own country, the focus of
much of the press has been on the enormous advances that the
novel fetched rather than its critical worth. Some critics also appear
to have panned the novel for irrelevant reasons. A few dismissed it
concluding that a bestseller could not have any literary merit, others
thought its conventional narrative structure disqualified it as a “novel
of the imagination” and yet others pronounced that having exhausted
her own life story, Ms. Roy would never be able to write another
significant piece of fiction and would thereby remain a flash in the
literary pan or a “one-trick pony”. Whether the Booker Prize will help
silence such uncharitable critics remains to be seen. What is clear,
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however, is that since its inception, it has not been awarded to many
better novels than Ms. Roy’s astonishing debut.
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The verdict in the Rajiv assassination case, holding all the 26 guilty, was a
vindication of the efforts of the Special Investigation Team of the Central
Bureau of Investigation. The designated judge of the TADA court sentenced
all the accused to death, a first of sorts, taking into account the impact of
the assassination on the democratic process, and the need to deter
potential offenders from associating with terror organisations.
JANUARY 30, 1998
The verdict
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HAT THE VERDICT IN THE RAJIV GANDHI ASSASSINATION CASE is a
stirring vindication of the resolute and exacting efforts of the
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CBI’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) is as clear as day. In

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delivering his judgment, the Designated Judge of the TADA

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Court has endorsed not only the incriminatory core but most of the
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major details in the SIT’s chargesheet. The conviction of all the 26

accused, the acceptance of almost all the major individual charges
framed against them and the concurrence that the conspiracy in this
case was hatched by the highest rung of the LTTE leadership have
together placed an extraordinary judicial stamp on the exertions of
those who worked to bring the assassins of the former Prime
Minister to book.
Whether all the 26 accused should have been sentenced to
death — which is probably a record of sorts — is something that is
likely to be debated and, like the convictions themselves, is bound to
be challenged in the Supreme Court. But in arriving at this stern and
uncompromising decision, Mr. Justice V. Navaneetham seems to
have been influenced by a couple of factors. First, by the profound

and convulsive impact Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination had on the
democratic process in India. Second, and arguably just as important,
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because it is important that the verdict has a strong deterrent impact.

As the judge himself has suggested, only a severe punishment will
dissuade “potential offenders” and deter Indians from “associating
with any terrorist organisation to do such diabolical and heinous
crimes”.
In this context, it is imperative to remember that the SIT’s
investigations — particularly when it focussed on the role of Tiruchi
Santhan, former head of the LTTE’s political wing based in Tamil
Nadu — revealed a murky and insidious nexus between the Sri
Lankan militant organisation and its sympathisers in Tamil Nadu,
among them Dravidian politicians and Tamil chauvinists. The verdict
would have served an unequivocal warning that flirting with the
LTTE, or such organisations inimical to Indian interests, could prove
extremely costly. At a more general level, the verdict has probably,
once and for all, slammed the doors on the LTTE; all those who had
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hoped, or feared for that matter, that the ban on the organisation
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would be lifted with the passage of time will have to revise their
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opinions. With the Sri Lankan Government also outlawing the LTTE,
following the macabre and senseless bomb blast at Kandy’s famous
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Temple of the Tooth, the already besmirched image of the militant

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organisation — which receives considerable assistance from the

network it has in certain foreign countries — will take a further
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beating.
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The SIT Director, Mr. D. R. Karthikeyan, who has described the

verdict as a triumph for truth, has reason to feel extremely satisfied
about the outcome. Unlike in other cases of assassinations such as
that of Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi (where the assassins
were known and the task was limited to working from there onwards
to unravel the conspiracy), the SIT started with a blank slate. There
is little doubt that the SIT, in piecing together the Rajiv Gandhi
murder, has conducted one of the finest investigations of its kind.
Part of the credit must of course go to other agencies such as the
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka police and the Indian Navy, which helped
in apprehending suspects and providing vital clues.
Mr. Justice Navaneetham has dismissed the defence contention
that the evidence furnished before the Jain Commission (which is

investigating the larger conspiracy, if any, behind Rajiv Gandhi’s
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assassination) must be acted upon in this trial. The final report of Mr.
Jain, whose interim findings caused political convulsions and
precipitated the general elections, is expected to be ready soon. In
this context, one is constrained to point out that all Commissions of
Inquiry would do well to draw one simple lesson from the SIT’s
rulebook: rely only on solid evidence before drawing conclusions.
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The nuclear tests of 1998 were markedly different from that conducted in
1974; it signalled India as a nuclear weapons state. Indian scientists
completed their objective of giving the country a ‘credible nuclear deterrent’.
But the fall-out, of international sanctions and of nuclear tests by Pakistan,
raised doubts whether the gains outweighed the costs.
MAY 13, 1998
A high stakes gambit

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technological sophistication and the demonstration of world
class versatility that went into the success of the three
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nuclear tests conducted in Pokhran on Monday are a matter

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of national pride. The dedicated group of atomic scientists

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which has been quietly working for decades towards the objective of
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creating a “credible nuclear deterrent” has won the gratitude of an

entire nation for a history-making achievement that places India in
the exclusive league of nuclear weapons powers. Yet amid the
widespread celebration of India’s daring act, it must be recognised
that the diplomatic and strategic implications of this new strategic
gambit are far-reaching. The decision to end decades of India’s
nuclear ambiguity would acquire far greater moral weight if it is
consciously placed in a diplomatic context which categorically
emphasises a more constructive approach within the region, even as
it signals a willingness to do business with a non-proliferation regime
that is not discriminatory.
It is important at this critical moment to avoid the temptation of
allowing legitimate national pride in a scientific achievement that
reinforces India’s defence preparedness to degenerate into a

bellicose chauvinism which will only darken the security environment
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in the region further. With the unveiling of India’s nuclear weapons

status, it is now inevitable that Pakistan will succumb to the
compulsion of similarly demonstrating its own capability. The
Vajpayee Government should ensure that the attempt to prove the
credibility of India’s claim to nuclear capability three decades after
the first explosion in 1974 is not perceived as primarily motivated by
hostility towards Pakistan or China.
India’s stance on the issue of nuclear nonproliferation has been
coloured largely by its opposition to the discriminatory tenor of the
regimes dictated by the Western powers. The refusal to sign the
NPT and the CTBT was based on an argument that had less to do
with the security environment in South Asia than with the political
issue of preserving national sovereignty in the face of these
discriminatory regimes. Thus there is room for worry in the tone of
the Government’s rationale for Monday’s tests. The Prime Minister’s
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Principal Secretary, Mr. Brijesh Mishra, has explicitly linked these
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tests to the Government’s concern about the “nuclear environment in
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India’s neighbourhood”. Such statements are bound to inflame the
atmosphere further and aggravate the chauvinist sentiment here and
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in Pakistan, increasing the pressure on the Government in

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Islamabad to follow suit. This would provide much more space for
international intervention within the region and for efforts to isolate
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Although conducting these nuclear tests can be seen as a logical

consequence of India’s refusal to sign the CTBT, it must also be
recognised that the costs of conducting these tests in a post-CTBT
world are much higher. Had India conducted these tests earlier, as
for instance in 1995, it might have attracted far less critical attention,
as had France and China which quickly did a few tests and then
acquiesced in the CTBT regime. It is very likely that as a result of
these tests, India will now find that its strategic and diplomatic
options narrow further, with the United States and others renewing
their pressure on the country to sign the CTBT or face the
consequences of being perceived as a sort of “rogue state”. As
implied in Mr. Mishra’s statement, India is perhaps in a stronger
position to take a fresh look at the CTBT and the proposed fissile
material cut-off treaty because the Pokhran tests have provided a
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“valuable database”… that “are expected to carry Indian scientists

towards a sound computer simulation capability which may be
supported by subcritical experiments, if necessary.” If this be the
case, India’s nuclear capability can be said to have “arrived” and
India could easily join the CTBT, now being able to eschew the need
for underground testing, a facility that until now was only within the
grasp of the five nuclear weapons powers.
Given that the Government’s announcement of the triple tests
which has indicated a command over three kinds of nuclear devices,
fissile, low-yield and thermo-nuclear, would signal to the global
powers that India intends to retain its nuclear option as long as their
own strategic arsenals remain, it is also vital for India to indicate that
it is equally serious about its claims to be a responsible non-
proliferator. India would have to re-engage itself in the parleys on
non-discriminatory agreements on nuclear testing and a ban on
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fissile material production. Also important is the task of ensuring that
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the security environment in the region is not vitiated further. The only
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way forward is for India to seriously engage Pakistan in negotiations
on confidence-building measures which acknowledge the reality that
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on these exercises, globally and regionally, it may be difficult to

ensure that the gains from Monday’s tests outweigh the costs.
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In awarding Prof. Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel Prize for economics marked
a significant departure from the awards of the immediately preceding years
by prioritising work undertaken with the people’s welfare as the primary
goal. Prof. Sen was only the third Indian, by birth and citizenship, to win the
Nobel.
OCTOBER 16, 1998
The people’s economist

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1998 Nobel Prize for economics could not have been awarded to
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The prize for economics has never been above controversy.

Earlier, excellent economists like Joan Robinson and Nicholas
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Kaldor were ignored while in recent years the award has been given
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to work that has been notable more for its obscurity than for being
concerned with the well-being of people. The Nobel has also been
given largely for research on issues of relevance to the industrialised
countries and it has been two decades since it was last awarded to
work on the problems of development.
Prof. Amartya Sen’s work has been in the tradition of the
classical political economists, going back to Adam Smith, John
Stuart Mill and Karl Marx, all of whom drew the links between
economics and other social sciences. Prof. Sen has straddled
economics, philosophy and ethics. The resulting breadth of his work
has been distinctively different from much of contemporary
economics which has become highly specialised and noted for little
more than technical virtuosity. Concern with the problems of

distribution of income and not just with growth has been another
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distinctive aspect of his work. It is no wonder that in some quarters

he has been referred to as the “people’s economist.” Prof. Sen has
also consistently stood apart from the fashions of the day, preferring
to concentrate on seemingly mundane subjects like measurement of
poverty, famines and inequalities in education, health and the status
of women. His early research in India during the heyday, long since
past, of the Delhi School of Economics was very much related to the
immediate problems of choice of technology, the importance of the
size of farms and the presence of surplus labour in agriculture.
Subsequently, Prof. Sen focussed his energies on welfare
economics in which his pioneering contributions have stood the test
of time. Over the past two decades, much of Prof. Sen’s research
has been once more on development. He has had to stress that
economic growth is not an end in itself but only an instrument for
people being able to lead the lives they want to. He has identified the
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importance of public action, by governments and society, in
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preventing famines, raising education and improving health. He has
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repeatedly pointed out that higher incomes are of little use unless
these resources are put to the use of the larger society, an outcome
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of which has been the conceptualisation of the Human Development

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Index of the UNDP. In his many interventions in the liberalisation

debate, Prof. Sen has forcefully argued that while deregulation is
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necessary to undo the ills of excessive government intervention,

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reform in India will fail if it continues to overlook government inaction

in education, health and land redistribution.
Prof. Sen has been criticised by some economists for spreading
himself too thinly over too many areas and by some others for
making obvious statements. The first kind of criticism is made
through the blinkers of narrow contemporary economics. The second
ignores that Prof. Sen has had to constantly din his message into
deaf ears. Prof. Sen has received the Nobel Prize but his own
country and government have done little of what he has advocated
for years. Finally, while Prof. Sen has lived for close to three
decades outside the country and much of his work has been done in
Europe and the U.S., he has proudly retained his Indian citizenship.
This is no small thing considering the many attractions to which most

non-resident Indians have succumbed. In that sense, he is not only
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the first Indian and Asian to win the award for economics, he is also
only the third Indian by birth as well as citizenship, after
Rabindranath Tagore and C. V. Raman, to receive the Nobel Prize.
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Given the manner in which it was brought down by the AIADMK and the
Congress, the National Democratic Alliance government led by the BJP
returned to power with a comfortable majority. Prime Minister Vajpayee,
sworn in for the third time, completed a full term in office relatively free from
the pressures of alliance partners.
OCTOBER 8, 1999
A decisive verdict
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Y GIVING THE BJP-LED OMNIBUS ALLIANCE A COMFORTABLE
majority in the 13th Lok Sabha, the electorate has returned
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a verdict that is more decisive than in 1998. The combine,

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which has as many as 24 partners, has succeeded in

winning enough numbers to form a government, thanks to the
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strategic alliances it had struck with regional parties having a

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dominant presence in the various States, the Telugu Desam in

Andhra Pradesh and the DMK in Tamil Nadu, for instance. What is
significant, however, is that the BJP’s own tally has remained just
about the same as in the previous Lok Sabha and the fresh
accretions this time have come from its allies, old and new. The fact
that the leading partner’s dependence on others stands considerably
enhanced has heightened the challenge for the National Democratic
Alliance in the task of governance. Strategically, the Congress (I)’s
inability to take a clear stand on the ‘coalition’ question, caught as it
was in a Hamletian fashion between the rhetoric of ‘single-party
government’ and the political imperative of a ‘multi-party
arrangement’, would seem to have cost it dearly in electoral terms.
As far as the issues go, a mix of national and local factors would
appear to have worked, not uniformly across the nation but in
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different degrees in different States. The ‘Kargil’ card and Mr. Atal
Behari Vajpayee’s ‘war hero’ image have apparently had an impact
on the electorate in the first two rounds of voting which covered
close to 50 per cent of the 543 constituencies, as reflected in the
NDA’s comprehensive victory in States like Delhi and Haryana and
creditable showing in others such as Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
Given the NDA’s campaign that virtually reduced the elections to a
‘Vajpayee versus Sonia Gandhi’ contest, with a ‘swadeshi versus
videshi’ underpinning linked to the Congress (I) president’s ‘foreign
origin’, the general voter would appear to have been less than
impressed with Mrs. Gandhi’s leadership credentials especially when
juxtaposed with Mr. Vajpayee’s. It is undeniable that her image as a
leader got a heavy beating because of the way she handled the
political situation after the collapse of the Vajpayee regime
contributing to the failure of the effort to form an alternative
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government.
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In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, the advent of Mrs. Gandhi as
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the chief campaigner was believed to have set the Congress (I) on a
resurgence trajectory and its tally of 141 was attributed substantially
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to her charisma and this perception was reinforced by the party’s

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exemplary performance in the Assembly elections in four States last

November when it wrested power from the BJP in Rajasthan and
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Delhi, besides retaining power in Madhya Pradesh. But this time

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round the party is left with a much lower tally. The expectation that
the party would be able to repeat its impressive showing in the
current parliamentary polls in these States has been belied, with the
BJP sweeping Delhi, winning handsomely in Rajasthan and retaining
its 1998 position in Madhya Pradesh, and this cannot be explained
fully by the anti-incumbency factor or the factional feuds in the ruling
Congress (I). In many places, however, the people’s seething anger
against the ruling establishments has found expression, as for
example in Orissa against the Congress (I), in Bihar against Mr.
Laloo Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, in Karnataka against the
Janata Dal (United), an NDA constituent, in Punjab against the Akali
Dal-BJP coalition and in Uttar Pradesh against the BJP. There have,
of course, been other factors which are peculiar to the respective

States. Mr. Laloo Yadav’s corruption in Bihar, the split in the ruling
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Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab and the internal bickerings that the JD
(U)-BJP alliance had set off down the line in Karnataka.
Given the lacklustre performance of the Kalyan Singh
Government and the intense caste-linked infighting among the State
BJP leaders, the party’s poor showing in Uttar Pradesh was not
unexpected. That the Congress (I) would gain considerably was also
anticipated. The surprise elements lay in the substantial gains made
by Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party and Mr. Kanshi
Ram’s Bahujan Samaj Party which besides the Congress (I), have
claimed their own slice of the anti-BJP electoral cake. The split in the
anti-BJP vote has apparently not gone to that party’s advantage as it
has done in Maharashtra for instance, at least in the context of the
Lok Sabha. If the BJP-Shiv Sena combine in Maharashtra could
secure an impressively higher tally, it was primarily because of the
erosion caused in the Congress (I)’s vote base by Mr. Sharad
Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party. This, however, has not worked
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capturing fewer seats than the combined strength of the Congress (I)
and the NCP.
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The one State where the incumbency factor has worked very
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favourably is Andhra Pradesh, where Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu’s

Telugu Desam (TDP), together with the BJP, has won over three-
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fourths of the 42 Lok Sabha seats and secured for itself a more than
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comfortable majority in the Assembly. Although in a way Mr. Naidu

took a calculated risk by forging a formal tie-up with the BJP, his idea
was also to derive some electoral advantage from the perceived
positive image of Mr. Vajpayee in the post-Kargil context. In the
ultimate analysis, the one to benefit more from the arrangement is
the BJP and Mr. Naidu’s performance on the development front and
the several target-specific welfare programmes for women and other
weaker sections, although dubbed ‘populist’, did pay off. If the
Congress (I) could not gain by way of seats from the reported shift of
minority votes away from the TDP, it was because the party was
crippled organisationally by factional fights and also because it
chose to run a totally negative campaign against the TDP and Mr.
Naidu personally.
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In Karnataka, the BJP and its old ally, Lok Shakti, had to pay
dearly for the Samata Party-Lok Shakti-Janata Dal (Sharad Yadav)
merger constituting the Janata Dal (United), a move that proved
counter-productive because of the revolt within the ranks of the
constituents in the State. With the “adoption” of the Chief Minister,
Mr. J. H. Patel, the NDA became the victim of the anti-incumbency
factor. The fact that many of the Janata Dal stalwarts, including Mr.
H. D. Deve Gowda and Mr. Patel, were defeated is a measure of the
vehemence of the public disapproval of their penchant for ego-
centric squabbling. In the event, the Congress (I) has sailed back to
power in the State, apart from improving on its Lok Sabha tally. In
the overall national context, it must be said, the non-BJP segments
of the political spectrum representing the democratic, secular forces
— particularly the Congress (I) — have failed to bring into sharp
focus and in a credible manner the looming threat to the nation’s
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secularist fabric from the Sangh Parivar which has continued to
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pursue its sectarian ideology despite disavowal by the Vajpayee
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regime.
Now that the NDA under Mr. Vajpayee will be forming the
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government, one would like to see it repudiating the divisive policies

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that have always been at the heart of the BJP’s agenda but have, for
tactical reasons, been kept off the alliance’s governing plank. In
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practical terms, this will mean working the coalition in the way it
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ought to be and pursuing the path of transparency and consensus

building, as distinguished from that of pushing its own hidden
agenda. The record of the Vajpayee regime, during the 13 months in
office, left much to be desired in this area and the coalition found
itself at sixes and sevens and ultimately collapsed. Managing a
coalition of 24 parties, big and small, and one that has very little in
common by way of ideology and policy is indeed an awesome
responsibility for the leadership of the NDA, particularly of the BJP.
The hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight by terrorists based in Pakistan and
forcing the airbus to land in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan constituted
anxious days for India. With the Taliban government seemingly sympathetic
to the terrorists, India gave in to the demands of the terrorists and freed the
hard line cleric Masood Azhar and other militants.
DECEMBER 27, 1999
Terror aboard Flight IC 814

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ORE THAN 150 INDIAN CITIZENS ARE TRAPPED IN A NIGHTMARE
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more than 48 hours by grenade-wielding militants who

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hijacked an Indian Airlines airbus last Friday and forced its

pilot to land in Kandahar, Southern Afghanistan, these terrified
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passengers, Indians and foreign nationals, were placed at the mercy

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of the much-dreaded Taliban. The Taliban regime, which is evidently

acting in collusion with the hijackers, has displayed an attitude to this
crisis that can only be characterised as one of indifference and
callousness to the implications of this human tragedy. While its
spokesmen warned that they will not allow military operations
against the hijackers, they also accused India of being slow in its
responses. It is evident that the Taliban, with which the Indian
Government does not have diplomatic relations, is seeking to exploit
the potential in this situation to embarrass this country. There was
evidently no progress made on Sunday in the negotiations with the
U.N. team that had flown in from Pakistan and the hopes for an early
end to the harrowing ordeal on board Flight IC 814 seemed to have
receded further. The nation has been sharing the agony and the
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suffering of these passengers and their relatives, reliving as it were,

the painful moments aboard the aircraft.
The horror of the brutal murder of a 25-year-old man, returning
from a honeymoon in Kathmandu, Mr. Rupin Katyal, by the hijackers,
even as his new wife remains a terrified and traumatised hostage,
has registered strongly on an anguished national consciousness.
Anger and anxiety mark the feelings of the anxious relatives who
have loved ones aboard the hijacked aircraft and the entire country
empathises with their distress. As the hours drag by, one can
imagine the trauma and stress that the hostages must be undergoing
in the captivity of the militants affiliated to the dreaded Harkat-ul-
Ansar, now relabelled Harkat-ul-Mujahadeen, as they face the
chilling prospect of death at any moment in these uncertain
circumstances.
The hijackers are demanding the release of a Pakistani cleric,
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jailed in India since 1994, Maulana Masood Azhar and a few other
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Islamic militants who are also in Indian jails. The hijacking of the
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Indian Airlines aircraft is not the first desperate attempt to free these
militants and similar attempts in the past, including the kidnapping
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and slaughter of four foreign tourists a few years ago, had been
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made by the Harkat-ul-Ansar. It is now clear with this hijacking that

this militant outfit has not abandoned its efforts in this regard.
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The hijacking incident has highlighted afresh the dangerous

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dimensions of the situation in the Kashmir valley with homegrown

militancy now substituted by a much more ominous variety of
terrorism. Pakistani and Afghan “mujahadeen”, with active support
from the Pakistani ISI, the Taliban, and even encouragement from
the notorious Osama Bin Laden, have penetrated the valley and
established a presence unquestionably designed to shatter whatever
grip the Indian state has over the area. It is also clear that by
hijacking Flight IC 814 and diverting it to Taliban-ruled Kandahar, the
terrorist hijackers intended to underline that they have effectively
“internationalised” the Kashmir issue and succeeded in obtaining the
intervention of the U.N. In other words, the terrorists have the
satisfaction of making India swallow the bitter pill of having to seek
the help of other countries, including Pakistan’s new military regime.
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With the lives of more than 150 innocent citizens at stake, and
the terrorist gun pointed at its head, as it were, the Government has
very little diplomatic space to work in, reduced as it is to relying on
the diplomatic efforts of the U.N. negotiators and other such external
diplomatic activity. But several questions are now emerging in
relation to the Government’s handling of this issue and are bound to
have a damaging effect on its credibility. The first question — why
did the Government not act quickly on the several warnings that it
received of a possible terrorist attack around this time? There were
no steps taken to assess the points of vulnerability or to tighten the
security arrangements in relation to possible terrorist targets.
Another question that is bound to have a much sharper resonance in
the public arena is why the Government allowed the hijacked plane
to leave Amritsar and Indian territory.
There was also an inexplicable delay in responding to the urgent
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nature of the crisis. The relatives of passengers are already angrily
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asking why no rescue operation was put in place in Amritsar and if
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that was not possible, why was not some stalling action taken that
would at least have yielded more time for the Government to begin
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negotiations with the hijackers on Indian territory? While these are

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legitimate questions that the Government will have to answer at a

later date, the immediate task is to focus on the rescue of the
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hostages and all the emphasis in New Delhi’s efforts must be on

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ending the human tragedy that is unravelling in the skies. The

Government should not be tempted by the opportunity to point an
accusing finger at Pakistan as a result of the fresh evidence that has
surfaced, of its sponsorship of terrorism in the Kashmir valley. Right
now, the Government must accept whatever constructive assistance
is available from other countries, including Pakistan, in rescuing the
terrified Indian and foreign passengers of Flight IC 814 from their
terrifying odyssey in the skies.
Cricket’s reputation as a clean sport involving gentlemanly conduct took a

beating when revelations emerged of an international network of match-
fixing and bribery. Delhi police were investigating whether top players, some
from South Africa, had been influenced by bookies to throw away certain
matches.
APRIL 10, 2000
Casino cricket
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international cricket have been raised more than once over
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the past few years. While the suspicion that powerful

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betting rings influenced match results was widespread, the

evidence to support such apprehensions was either dismally thin or
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simply non-existent. Against such a background, the recent

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controversy — implicating five South African cricketers in a multi-

crore betting racket — is extremely significant on two counts. One, it
is the first time that an official investigating agency — the Delhi
police — has levelled a specific charge of match-fixing against
international cricketers. And secondly, the gravamen of the charge
rests on telephone conversations which were evidently taped as part
of a deliberate and organised investigation.
Whether the Delhi police’s case against a couple of bookies (who
were allegedly frontmen for a formidable betting ring) and five South
African cricketers (captain Hansie Cronje and teammates Herschelle
Gibbs, Nicky Boje, Henry Williams and Pieter Strydom) will finally
stand judicial scrutiny is anybody’s guess. Given that the case
involves foreign nationals and financial transactions outside this

country, it is unlikely that much will be achieved without the
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cooperation of a wide range of bodies that includes not only Interpol

but also the Government and the Cricket Board of South Africa.
To all appearances, the initial reaction in South Africa has
hovered between the unfriendly and the hostile. In a country that is
totally absorbed in sport — and where a cricketer such as Hansie
Cronje is revered as a national icon — the shock and bewilderment
among the people is understandable. But it was unwise of the United
Cricket Board of South Africa (UCBSA) to have dismissed the Delhi
police’s charges so summarily. Surely, the prima facie evidence
demanded at least an impartial inquiry rather than a bland and
dismissive denial of the whole matter. Hansie Cronje, who has
denied the charges as being “completely without substance”, also
owes the cricketing world a more detailed explanation. Did he allow
bookie Sanjiv Chawla into his hotel room? What about the transcripts
of the telephone conversations? These and other such questions cry
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out for answers.
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The game of cricket has already fallen into a considerable
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amount of disrepute because of the intermittent allegations of bribery
and match-fixing. Cricketers from more than one country have been
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implicated. In 1994, India’s pace bowler Manoj Prabhakar alleged

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that an unnamed colleague offered him Rs. 25 lakhs to play below

par in a match during the Singer Cup in Sri Lanka. An official inquiry,
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the report of which has not been made public so far, failed to
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substantiate Prabhakar’s allegation. In Pakistan, accusations and

counter-accusations have rocked the cricket establishment ever
since two Australian cricketers alleged they were offered a bribe by
the then Pakistan captain Salim Malik. Ironically, a few years later,
two other Australian cricketers (Shane Warne and Mark Waugh)
admitted to having received money from an Indian bookie.
Clearly, it is no longer possible to treat match-fixing as if it were a
local issue and it is time that the International Cricket Council (ICC)
stepped in and initiated measures to clean up the game of cricket.
Considering the international ramifications of the bribery/match-fixing
issue, only a body such as the ICC can take effective steps to deal
with it. Some years ago, the ICC did set up a commission to look into
allegations of betting and match-fixing, but the problem is unlikely to

be fully addressed unless there is in place a system where sweeping
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investigations are conducted and the guilty quickly and effectively

punished.
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The arrival of the billionth Indian baby raised troubling questions about
uncontrolled population growth given the near-silence of the political
leadership on family welfare programmes. Some States, particularly in the
South, held out lessons for others in terms of reducing fertility rates by
increasing literacy rates, educational outcomes and investing in advocacy
for family planning based on economic reasoning.
JULY 22, 2000
The billionth baby and after

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HE DUBIOUS DISTINCTION WHICH INDIA WON FOR ITSELF IN May with
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unchecked growth of its population. The latest report of the

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United Nations Development Programme projects a scene even

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more grim with its revelation that the arrivals since May add up to a
little over 2.594 millions. Such a huge addition within two months
does not hold out any hope that efforts at controlling India’s
population are making any headway.
In spite of so much concern over the unchecked growth in
population, it is a pity that no political party seems to have taken
notice of the seriousness of the problem judging by the total absence
of any mention of the importance of family welfare programmes in
their election manifestoes. This is perhaps due to their nervousness
over focussing attention on a subject deemed to be highly sensitive.
This could be a legacy of the infamous Emergency of 1975 with its
memories of enforced sterilisations brutally carried out at the behest
of Sanjay Gandhi. If, since then, successive Governments have kept

away from pushing ahead with the population control programme, it
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is an indication of the tragic and heavy price which the country has
had to pay for the excesses of 1975.
The stark reality is that India has to face the challenge of a
population increase which could negate the gains from fast-paced
economic growth, being accelerated by heady advances in
information technology. Its demographic scene looks like a dismal
reminder of the Malthusian theory of population showing geometrical
progression which far outstrips the arithmetical progression in food
production. Unless the highest priority is given to slowing the growth
in population, the dismaying possibility is that it will soon match and
exceed that of China. The scene is, however, not wholly grim since
States such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab
have succeeded in slowing down the pace of increase in population.
This should have a message for the other States which have a very
poor record in checking population growth. Persuading people to
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restrict the number of their children becomes much easier when they
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realise that the demands on their earnings will be less if they have
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fewer children than when emphasis is laid simply on the importance
of birth control. The response to such an emphasis could even be
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counter-productive because of the possible overtones of insult to

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deeply-ingrained religious beliefs in the sanctity of human

reproduction. The other message from the States which have a
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brighter record in slowing down population growth is that where the

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achievements in literacy and education have been higher, the

response to family welfare programmes has been positive because
of a growing awareness of large families being concomitant with
gruelling poverty and illiteracy and children remaining vulnerable to
disease, which is the scene in the less fortunate States. The
unimpeded growth in numbers has, along with other factors,
perpetuated poverty. It is not surprising that such a scenario has
retarded family welfare programmes from making any headway in
parts of the country. The major task before the country for rescuing it
from unchecked population increase is concentration on family
welfare programmes, backed by mass literacy drives. Indeed, if
political will can be brought to bear on improving different aspects of
human development, the battle against population growth can be

won.
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Jyoti Basu, the country’s longest serving Chief Minister, stepped down after
the Communist Party of India (Marxist) finally accepted his desire to retire.
However, his departure raised questions over whether his party would
overcome internal squabbles and succeed at the hustings or whether
Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress would end the long reign of the
Left in the State.
OCTOBER 30, 2000
Mr. Basu makes his bow

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HE MUCH TALKED ABOUT, AND DEBATED, RETIREMENT OF Mr. Jyoti
Basu as Chief Minister of West Bengal has become a fait
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accompli, with the CPI (M) and its partners in the ruling Left
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Front finally bringing themselves up to conceding his

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insistent plea. The Front leadership, which was reconciled to not

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having the advantage of seeking a fresh mandate with Mr. Basu as

its Chief Ministerial candidate, would have liked him to continue at
the helm till the elections were over. It was precisely with that end in
view the CPI (M) politburo came up with the proposition of a Deputy
Chief Minister to share Mr. Basu’s burden as the Head of
Government — that was in November last year. In fact, given the
successive political preoccupations such as the civic polls, the
Panskura parliamentary byelection and the more recent orchestrated
campaign by the Trinamool Congress for bringing the State under
the President’s rule, it was generally believed that Mr. Basu would
not insist on stepping down till after the elections, which are some six
months away. That hope has however been belied. Considering the
delicate state of his health, which showed up rather disturbingly

when he was attending the party’s central committee meeting in
Delhi a few months ago, there is clearly no way he could have been
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forced to stay on any longer without the party leadership being seen
as totally insensitive to the octogenarian leader’s well-being. After all,
Mr. Basu had on two earlier occasions agreed to put off his
retirement in deference to the leadership’s wishes. Moreover, there
is considerable force in the argument that the interests of the party
and the Left Front would be served better if Mr. Basu’s successor-
nominee (Mr. Buddhadev Bhattacharya) is given the reins of
government much ahead of the elections so that he will get a fair
opportunity to strike a rapport with the people.
Though inevitable in its own way, the retirement of Mr. Basu,
which at the personal level marks the end of the longest-ever reign
by a Chief Minister, is bound to be a major handicap to the Left Front
in general and the CPI (M) in particular especially from the electoral
standpoint. Over the two decades and more of his helmsmanship, he
came to acquire a patriarchal, charismatic image that served as the
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unique selling point at the hustings. To Mr. Basu goes the credit for
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institutionalising coalition politics in West Bengal and he has been
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the binding force between the CPI (M) and the other constituents of
the LF, a testimony to which is found in the responses of the Forward
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Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party to his demitting office. Of

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late, fault lines, even if feeble, have surfaced in the CPI (M), what
with internecine squabbles and group politics affecting its image. As
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for the LF, there has been a palpable lack of cohesion in its
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functioning and approaches. Given these weaknesses and the

negative signals the electorate at different levels has beamed in
recent times, the ruling coalition seems to be very vulnerable on the
electoral front. And the advent of the Trinamool Congress, whose
maverick leader, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, is seeking to build herself up
to emerge as a ‘giant-killer’, has if anything served to heighten the
LF’s vulnerability manifold. That the CPI (M) and the LF should be
denied a leader of Mr. Basu’s stature as the Chief Ministerial
candidate in such a context is what renders the challenge that awaits
them in the Assembly poll a formidable one. True, the services of Mr.
Basu will be available as poll campaigner and possibly also as
chairman of the LF, depending on what role the CPI (M) central
leadership chooses to assign him. But the fact remains that, apart
from the limitations his ill-health is likely to place on his endeavours
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in such capacities, they cannot by themselves ensure the LF’s return

to power. The question is one of the CPI (M) and, by extension, the
LF learning to cope with the problems arising in the wake of Mr.
Basu’s exit.
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A lethal intra-plate earthquake measuring around 7 on the Richter scale

struck Gujarat on Republic Day, January 26, killing and injuring many
thousands and causing untold damage to property in the Kutch and Bhuj
areas, and in Ahmedabad. With the recovery of the region dependent on
massive relief packages, immediate concerns revolved around the absence
of a workable disaster management plan at multiple levels of government.
JANUARY 28, 2001
Nature’s fury
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S INDIA MOURNS THE THOUSANDS WHO HAVE DIED IN GUJARAT, it is
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humanity. Earthquakes can neither be predicted nor

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prevented. But Governments and civil society must react with

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purpose and speed to the devastation that these natural forces

wreak on the human and natural landscape. As the aftershocks of
the Kutch quake continue to take place, there are hundreds of
thousands of stunned and grieving people who will need all the help
they can get to cope with death, injury and destruction. The people
of Gujarat can demonstrate resourcefulness to a very high degree.
This, however, is a national calamity in which the pace and extent of
the recovery of Gujarat will depend on the support the State receives
from the rest of India.
It is irrelevant whether the earthquake measured 6.9 on the
Richter Scale, as the Indian Meteorological Department says its
intensity was, or 7.9 as independent Indian seismologists and foreign
centres claim it was. What is real is the intensity of ruin it has spread
over even a relatively sparsely populated State such as Gujarat.
Besides, while news has come in of what has happened in the cities
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and towns, there is a near silence about the situation in the villages.
Providing help in the form of medical supplies, temporary shelters
and even financial resources is much the easier part of implementing
relief programmes. The more difficult aspects are coordinating the
administration of relief and in the long-term rebuilding local
communities and economies. This is not a time for carping but initial
news reports are of a leaden-footed response from a paralysed State
Government. And while the Central Government made all the right
noises about rushing help to the affected areas, it would appear that
even a full 24 hours after the quake struck relief operations had not
yet gone into high gear. For the larger part, local communities were
left to their own devices to clear the rubble and rescue the few who
had managed to survive Nature’s fury. Time and again Central and
State Governments move sluggishly even as thousands of lives
hang precariously in the balance. This was evident during the Orissa
cyclone of 1999 and appears to have happened on this year’s
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Republic Day as well. The larger issue is that although more than 50
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million Indians are believed to be hit by natural disasters every year,
we still do not have a workable disaster management plan at any
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level of the Government. It is a disaster of another kind that a nation

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that takes pride in being a nuclear power comes up short time and
again in preparing for the after-effects of a natural disaster. More
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often than not, as many people suffer first because of a slow

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response from the Government and then because of tardy relief and
rehabilitation as are affected by the initial wave of destruction
wrought by Nature. People are also made to suffer because the
search for criminal profits stretches Nature’s tolerance. Gujarat lies in
the region identified as the most seismic-prone in the country, yet not
even the simplest of earthquake-proofing measures appear to have
been followed in the construction of buildings. The collapse of a
number of newly-constructed multi-storeyed structures in
Ahmedabad even as many of the older ones survived shows that
callous builders and conniving officials have flouted the basic rules.
The costs of such violations hopefully will be one painful lesson that
will now be learnt throughout India.
It is a cruel irony that the two most severe earthquakes in the

past half century have struck on days of national celebration — on
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August 15, 1950, and now on January 26. It is a moot point if this
year’s Republic Day parade in the Capital, a show of armed might
and festivities, should have ended early because the intensity of the
earthquake must surely have been known even as the march was in
progress. That, however, is in the past. Now the collective focus
must be on rebuilding Gujarat.
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In the second Test match of Australia’s tour of India, the Indians snatched a
171-run victory after being forced to follow-on, only the third time this had
happened since the dawn of Test cricket in 1877. The match was
characterised by exemplary displays of skill on both sides, with Harbhajan
Singh’s hat-trick and masterful stroke-making by V.V.S. Laxman and Rahul
Dravid answered by Steve Waugh’s diligent century.
MARCH 17, 2001
Oh, Kolkata
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RICKET, AS THE CLICHE GOES, MAY BE A GAME OF GLORIOUS
uncertainties but the Test match at Kolkata was governed
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turnarounds in the history of cricket. Just when it seemed

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deadeningly certain that the Indian side would be crushed once

again, Sourav Ganguly’s men pulled off a marvel of a victory,
bringing Australia’s winning run of 16 consecutive Tests to a
shuddering halt. Only two teams have lost a Test match after forcing
the opposition to follow on and Steve Waugh joins earlier Australian
Captains Jack Blackham (1894 versus England) and Kim Hughes
(1981 versus England) who took similar decisions only to find the
match plucked out of their helpless hands. The Kolkata victory may
have been the third of its kind but Waugh’s predecessors lost their
matches by the narrowest of margins. In contrast, India won the
match by a definitive, indeed annihilating, 171 runs. Those who
reckon that India has pulled off the greatest ever comeback in Tests
could well be correct.
Great matches imply great performances and the Kolkata Test

had more than its share. Each day had its moments of magic. If
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Harbhajan Singh’s hattrick, the first ever by an Indian in Test cricket,

was the milestone of the first day, Steve Waugh’s patient and dour
century was the highlight of the second — a knock that seemed to
symbolise the Australian team’s stubbornness and tenacity. The third
day saw V.V.S. Laxman — tall, bold and majestic — stroking his way
to a magnificent century which he converted into a record double on
the following day during which he and Rahul Dravid comprehensively
rewrote the record books and magically transformed the situation
from certain defeat to possible victory. It was left to Harbhajan Singh
(with match figures of 13 for 196) to use the dusty Eden Gardens
track to spin the game out of Australia’s hands on the final day. Did
the victory owe principally to Laxman’s blade or Harbhajan’s spinning
finger? The question is academic, perhaps also immaterial. The
point is that this Indian win against one of the strongest ever Test
squads in history will be remembered as one of the finest ever
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recorded by this country. This could be just what the Indian team
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needs to boost its morale, increase its confidence and lift its
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performance by a few pegs.
At an immediate level, the victory has breathed life into the three-
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match Test series, which will be decided at Chepauk in Chennai

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where the next and final match will be played. In a way, it is wholly
appropriate that the next battle will be staged at this venue between
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a talented and rejuvenated Indian side and a world-beating

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Australian squad which conducts operations with a ruthlessness and

determination associated less with cricket grounds and more with
theatres of war. It was 15 years ago at Chepauk that the Australians
and Indians played another great match — one that ended in the
second tied Test match in the history of cricket. Memories of that
match remain fresh in the minds of cricket lovers but what the
Kolkata Test has done is to inject a huge degree of interest into the
scheduled contest at Chennai. At a time when interest in Test cricket
is declining rapidly in favour of the shorter thrill-a-minute one-day
version of the game, this is a very welcome thing. Most cricket fans
will agree that there is nothing as complete and satisfying as an
exciting and closely fought Test match. The problem about declining
interest in Test cricket doesn’t lie with the five-day format but — as
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the Kolkata Test has demonstrated — with the manner in which it is

played.
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In the passing of celebrated author R.K. Narayan, India lost its grand old
man of letters who enthralled multiple generations with his simple yet
transporting writing style. His novels about the fictional town of Malgudi,
including the wonderful tales of Swami and Friends, assured him of a
special place in the pantheon of Indian fiction writers. His friend, British
novelist Graham Greene, regarded Narayan as one of the finest writers in
English of his time.
MAY 16, 2001
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of it, his novels seem to be insulated from history,

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circumscribed by a limited geography, lacking in ambition

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and replete with small everyday detail. But his brilliance, as

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those who have learnt to love and admire his work over the years
know, cannot be gauged by the usual yardsticks used to measure
literary prowess. In many ways, Narayan was one of a kind. He may
not have charted new trails in fiction writing but he possessed a
wonderful ability to convey a feel of the people and the social context
he wrote about. As a storyteller, he was a natural, picking at the
bedrock of everyday existence to uncover the barest truths and
tease out the bald facts of life. Not surprisingly, comparisons have
been drawn between Narayan and William Faulkner, whose novels
were grounded in a compassionate humanism and celebrated the
humour and energy of ordinary life.
Faulkner set most of his novels in Yoknapatawpha county, an
imaginary region with a mixed or varied population — a sort of
fictional scale model for the American South. Similarly, Malgudi, the
small imaginary South Indian town, provided the fictional setting for
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most of R. K. Narayan’s works ever since he wrote the first sentence

about it: “The train arrived in Malgudi station.’’ Narayan invested this
mythical place with a life-like intensity which is immediately
recognisable — a place where Graham Greene thought you could
traverse “into those loved and shabby streets and see with
excitement and a certainty of pleasure… the cinema, the haircutting
saloon, a stranger who will greet us, we know, with some
unexpected and revealing phrase that will open the door of yet
another human existence’’. It is a place, the English novelist wrote,
that is “more familiar than Battersea or the Euston Road’’.
Narayan’s friendship with Greene began in 1934 when he came
across a manuscript of Swami and Friends and was impressed
enough to pass it on to a British publishing house. It was also the
beginning of a correspondence between the two writers which lasted
until the death of the extraordinary English novelist whose works
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grappled with complex moral issues in the context of varied political
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settings. Greene regarded Narayan as one of the finest writers in
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English of his time, an extraordinary commendation for a man who
never moved far from his social origins and who wrote largely about
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people in a small South Indian town in a prose that was simple and
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unadorned.
But it is this very simplicity that was the source of Narayan’s
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genius — his English was personal and spontaneous, never

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mannered or measured, free from all artifice. Hardly a word rings

false and, unlike many other Indian writers in English, Narayan’s
prose seems to emerge directly from the culture he was brought up
in. It is this unpremeditated quality in his writing which lends it that
special candour, which makes it to speak directly to the reader and
which invests his rooted and microcosmic world with an expansive
and universal character. Unlike many other writers, Narayan was no
follower of literary mores, was no retailer of exoticism and wrote in a
manner that seemed to come straight from the heart. In his seven-
decade career as a prolific novelist and short story writer, he held the
attention of generations of readers with his modest humour and his
gentle, compassionate and almost self-deprecating irony. He was the
grand old man of Indian letters and his passing away, at the grand
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old age of 94, represents the loss of a literary voice which was
wholly idiosyncratic, wholly his own.
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Most of the royal family of Nepal were massacred when Crown Prince
Dipendra opened fire on them at a gathering, apparently over a
disagreement regarding his choice of a bride. The killing of King Birendra,
who was credited with transforming Nepal into a constitutional monarchy
with a democratic core, pushed the kingdom into a new phase of political
instability.
JUNE 4, 2001
The tragedy in Nepal

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HE MACABRE MASSACRE OF KING BIRENDRA OF NEPAL AND several
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Aishwarya, has left the constitutional monarchy of the poor

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Himalayan state in utter disarray. Compounding the ghoulish

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tragedy is the official ambivalence about a flurry of independent

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reports suggesting the involvement of Crown Prince Dipendra as the

assailant. First, the prince was reported to have tried to kill himself
with the weapon that he used to murder his popular parents and
close relatives on Friday night. This version has since been disputed,
with the palace and the Prime Minister, Mr. Girija Prasad Koirala,
now claiming that the killings were the result of an “accidental
shooting’’. Yet, the authorities have refrained from saying how or by
whom the grisly “accident’’ had been caused. So, it seems to be a
bizarre adherence to some interpretation of ‘constitutional’ propriety
that the State Council, which concerns itself with royal matters,
should have named Prince Dipendra as the new King, despite the
doubts over his alleged involvement in a treasonable crime. As the
prince is said to be critically ill, perhaps even ‘clinically dead’, the

slain King’s brother, Prince Gyanendra, has been assigned to
perform the functions of the monarch. The first accounts of the
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gruesome conversion of a palace chamber into a killing field

indicated that Prince Dipendra, the designated heir to the throne,
had presumably killed his parents in a rage over their opposition to
his choice of a bride from an aristocratic family.
The scale of the mass slaughter of the Nepalese royal brigade is
widely seen to match the monarchical executions that Lenin ordered
in Russia in the early part of last century. Even in the absence of
clear evidence about the murder motives in Nepal at this time, the
two are not politically comparable at all. There has also been no
serious suggestion by official Nepal at this time that the so-called
Maoist guerillas of the Himalayan kingdom might have had
something to do with the slaying of King Birendra. Indeed, the
assassinated monarch enjoyed an enormous degree of acceptability
among the ordinary Nepalese citizens. A unique high point of his
long reign was the people-friendly role that he played to facilitate
Nepal’s transformation into a constitutional monarchy with a
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democratic core in 1990. This was particularly significant in the
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context of his earlier penchant for not only a large dose of absolute
monarchy but also the panchayat system of governance which could
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democracy of a non-ideological kind. As the promulgations of the

Panchayat Constitution in 1962 and the Royal Constitution in 1959
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had preceded Birendra’s reign, he rightly earned political colours as

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the patron of Nepalese democracy.

The latest carnage in Kathmandu might spark an unusually
serious debate over republicanism in Nepal. Even before this palace
mayhem, the present elected Government, headed by Mr. Koirala,
had found itself in considerable political difficulties over several
issues, including charges of corruption and a security challenge
traceable to the growing influence of the Maoist People’s War
activists, who clamour for ‘social justice’. However, the Koirala
administration will need to brace itself for possible new challenges in
the context of a climate of confusion that could be caused by the
king’s passing. Nepal’s internal political problems in the ongoing
democratic era have often been heightened by deep ideological
contentions over basic policy issues. Another complication is a

peculiar siege-mentality of the Nepalese politicians who tend to
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worry about the overwhelming strategic presence of India and China

in their immediate neighbourhood. While Kathmandu often appears
keen to do a balancing act in its foreign policy in respect of New
Delhi and Beijing, Nepal’s internal agendas are not also devoid
altogether of security issues of concern to its big neighbours. Yet, as
the Koirala administration seeks to weather the current palace crisis,
Nepal should be able to count on the goodwill of India and other
neighbours.
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A devastating blow struck the very soul of the United States when terrorists
carried out a plot to hijack passenger aircraft and fly them into high-visibility
targets, including the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.
SEPTEMBER 13, 2001
An attack on the civilised world
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might is unimaginably devastating. Utterly despicable are the
four separate but transparently coordinated acts of terror that
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rocked America on Tuesday. Hardly concealed is the dastardly

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political motive of the criminals, but it has not been easy to

determine the physical and psychological magnitude of a truly
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phenomenal tragedy. At least several thousands of innocent people,

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Americans and presumably many other nationals, are feared to have

perished in the stupendous aerial forays. Two separately hijacked
passenger planes were ‘piloted’ with deadly precision straight into
the upper floors of the imposing twin towers of the World Trade
Center along New York city’s showpiece skyline. It was not long
before the towers collapsed in mighty implosions that were caused
by the sheer impact of the aircraft intrusions. With some other
terrorists commandeering and ramming yet another passenger plane
as a flying missile into a corner of the Pentagon, America’s civilian-
military nerve centre of power, it became increasingly clear that the
perpetrators of the sequential heinous crimes were acting in concert.
The terrorist blitzkrieg may indeed mark the beginning of a new
defining war on civilised humanity itself. One more civilian aircraft,

which too was hijacked, crashed over the U.S. homeland itself, and
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Hello Readers,
telegram @ 4 AM.
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Youtube Link-
tOuADyBa68OOCVoDQ

this completed a viciously bizarre pattern of anti-America vengeance.

The number of lives lost in these two other episodes of terror is also
far from clear still. It is a poignant aspect of an immense modern-day
marvel that the television networks have captured the ‘live’ montage
of an eerie aerial attack on the World Trade Center. Also beamed
across the world are some real-time pictures of the other acts of
terror as well. Those who plotted these suicidal missions could not
have planned for more on a clear day of sunshine that turned into
darkness for the entire civilised world.
To empathise with the United States and its people and
Government in their worst hour of crisis since the Pearl Harbour
bombing during the Second World War is to pay the minimal civilised
homage to mankind. For the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, a
test of truly historic proportions is not simply how to lead and nurse
his compatriots during this indescribable trauma. With the borderless
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terrorists having struck at the heart of American power and pride, Mr.
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Bush should respond in a manner that will not at all aggravate the
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escalating instability of the global strategic and political order. He
should in fact endeavour to enhance worldwide security in
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conjunction with all major and responsible countries. For the

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immediate present though, even as Washington struggles to

accurately identify the masterminds and sponsors of this mass-
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terrorism, the Bush administration must first address the gigantic

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failure of the American intelligence services to foresee a political

calamity of such vast proportions. For the Americans, it has been a
discouragingly baffling experience to discover that a hijacked
commercial aircraft could so easily invade the Pentagon which is
said to be sitting under a canopy of highly protected air space.
In a larger international perspective, the image of the U.S. as a
Fortress America has come under a huge question mark. Not that
the U.S.’ landmarks and interests within its sovereign territory and
elsewhere across the world have not been traced on the radar
screens of sundry terrorist groups and pounded too in the past.
Some of the more significant instances relate to the bombings of two
U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 and the ground-level explosion at
the World Trade Center itself in New York in 1993. Yet, the apparent
helplessness of the U.S. authorities at the height of the latest saga of
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grief is a manifest testimony to the limits of America’s present-day

power in the face of terrorists driven by a suicidal ‘zeal’ that may or
may not owe its origin to a political or religious crusade. In one
sense, commendable indeed is the remarkable ease with which the
American military and political authorities swung into action to take
some well-conceived preventive measures to protect the President
and the other chief functionaries of the world’s most powerful
democracy as Tuesday’s terror strikes began. Yet, at another
operational level, the chinks in America’s armour have never been
worse exposed on a day of terrorist mayhem.
The apocalypse-like carnage in New York as also the wounding
scars in Washington seem to have jolted the ordinary U.S. citizens
out of any complacent faith in the proverbial American Dream.
However, American politicians and opinion-makers have lost no time
to reaffirm their belief in a sustainable tryst with democracy and
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racial-ethnic pluralism. It is uniquely imperative that the Bush
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administration must not diminish or discount the political liberties and
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other freedoms of the ordinary Americans in its search for an
effective defensive shield against the terrorists of any description. It
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is to be welcomed that Mr. Bush has also warned the terrorists that
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they would not be able to blast the democratic foundations of

America even if they manage to shake the seismic foundations of its
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stately buildings. If any political symbolism was at all trapped in the

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molecular debris of men and materials in Lower Manhattan, it was

that the demolition of the twin towers of capitalist pride occurred not
far from the hallowed precincts of the Statue of Liberty, an American
icon of rejuvenative inspiration. For the many air passengers, who
were held hostage as in some fictionalised doomsday situation, the
countdown to a horrific end must have been a Kafkaesque
nightmare. This, if nothing else, may deeply influence the thoughts
and emotional profiles of the ordinary air passengers for some time
to come. The ease with which the hijackers managed to hoodwink
the security agencies at three major U.S. airports at this time can
only weigh heavily on the human psyche.
A firm pledge by Mr. Bush to track the culprits of Tuesday’s evil
and bring them to justice is unexceptionable. More problematic in a

geopolitical sense is his assertive goal of launching military strikes
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against the terrorists to be identified and the states that might be

harbouring them. While no definitive conclusions have yet been
reached, the Taliban-hosted Osama bin Laden, the alleged
international don of terrorism, is a prime suspect. Others like the
Iraqi leader, Mr. Saddam Hussein, may also figure in the U.S.’
analysis, given their protracted hostilities with Washington. The
enormity of hate as also the logistical thoroughness behind the latest
attack on America raise the possibility, too, that two or more anti-U.S.
forces had joined hands. Yet, as a former U.S. policy planner, Dr.
Henry Kissinger, has argued, a systemic approach may be called for
to deal with the terror tactics being directed against the U.S. Now, as
the U.S. is not alone in having to face the calculus of terror by
external forces (India, too, being a state concerned), Washington
should explore the feasibility of suitable consultations and
cooperation with other key countries. On an altogether different
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plane, the proven vulnerability of the U.S. to some unorthodox
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terrorist strikes, which do not involve weapons of mass destruction,
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has brought into a sharper focus the debate about a futurist
American missile defence system. It is to be designed only to deal
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While recognising the constitutional validity of the Muslim Women

(Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 under personal law, the
Supreme Court extended the right of a divorced Muslim woman to get
maintenance from her ex-husband beyond the three-month “iddat” period.
Previously, in the 1985 Shah Bano case, the court invoked Section 125 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, which is not religion-specific, and ruled that
she be given alimony for maintenance.
OCTOBER 6, 2001
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AST WEEK’S RULING BY A CONSTITUTION BENCH OF THE SUPREME
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country in recent years — affirming divorced Muslim women’s

right to maintenance for the rest of their lives unless they
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remarry, marks a welcome departure from the regressive

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pressures experienced by this community in the mid-1980s on the

question of alimony. The S.C.’s interpretation, upholding the validity
of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act of 1986
should, however, be viewed as a judicial fiat intended to foreclose
any scope to reopen the painful controversy that ensued after its
verdict in the sensational Shah Bano case in 1985. Towards that
end, the S.C. applied an imaginative interpretation, bringing the
whole question of alimony under the right to life under Article 21 of
the Constitution. The law that governed all the different communities
until a separate act was passed for Muslims in 1986 was the Code of
Criminal Procedure (CrPC) of 1973. It guaranteed under Section 125
payment of maintenance for divorced women who had no means of
sustenance. But consequent upon the Shah Bano case, the Muslim
Women’s Act provided for maintenance for divorced women in that
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community only for the three-month period of iddat commencing with

the date of the pronouncement of divorce. If the S.C. has,
notwithstanding the 1986 Act, arrived at the judgment upholding the
right to maintenance, this is by reading into the latter the substance
of Section 125 of the CrPC.
It is significant to note that in the Shah Bano case, as well as in
several previous and subsequent instances, the Judiciary has up-
held the right to maintenance of divorced Muslim women. It did so by
invoking the spirit of the Constitutional provisions, where minority
rights are not viewed necessarily in conflictual terms with the
personal laws of different communities, the Directive Principles of
State Policy (Article 44), besides the provisions of the CrPC. If,
however, the Shah Bano case was made out to be, as it were, a bolt
from the blue, it was on account of the increasing communalisation
of the polity that took its toll on the national arena right through the
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1980s. The political and legislative history pertaining to the 1986 Act
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yielding ground to religious extremism for short-term and
opportunistic gains.
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The broader implications from last week’s ruling are clearly in the
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nature of the affirmation of the centrality of Constitutional values.

Therefore, the Judiciary should perhaps discourage the tendency to
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essentially in the domain of political culture and political values.

There is no gainsaying the need, however, for judicial firmness when
called upon to adjudge contentious questions of a historical and
philosophical nature. The S.C.’s verdict a few years back on the
essence of “Hindutva’’ as no more than “a way of life’’ was in stark
contrast to such a predisposition. For the judgment abstracted from
the wide currency and real import of the phraeseology of Hindutva as
it obtained then, whereas, the S.C.’s role could not have been more
critical in the political climate vitiated by the ascendancy of
majoritarianism and the selective targeting of various minority
communities. It is not surprising that this judgment is in fact often
quoted by ideologues of the Sangh Parivar in their favour.
The terror attack on Parliament, while not resulting in the highest toll on life
among other such incidents, shook the nation to its very core for the assault
on democracy that it symbolised. Even as the Indian government fortified, in
the aftermath of this brazen strike, its buildings and places of public interest,
concern was expressed that the search for the perpetrators should not be
overtaken by dangerous, knee-jerk jingoism.
DECEMBER 14, 2001
Ugly terror strikes again

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N TERMS OF SCALE, OR THE NUMBER OF CASUALTIES, IT IS FARfrom being
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purpose, or the sheer audacity of the choice where the outrage

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was perpetrated, there are clearly no parallels. The bloody siege

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of Parliament represents an attack on the citadel or the very symbol

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of India’s democracy. As the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari

Vajpayee, suggested, this was not a mere attack on a building but an
assault on the very nation itself. Although it resulted in the tragic
death of six persons, mainly security personnel, and in injuries
sustained by many others, the assault was mercifully short-lived and
contained without further damage. Conducted at a time when a
sizable number of the country’s top political leadership was present
in Parliament House, it is impossible, even while one deplores what
actually happened, not to wonder about what might have been. The
cataclysmic potential of an attack such as this is mind-boggling and it
is only for this reason that the shock and the tragedy of the incident
have been accompanied by an undercurrent of relief. At the same
time, the act of brutality committed within the walls of the Parliament
complex is an ugly reminder of the extreme vulnerability of India —
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even its most secure and fortified places — to the menace of

terrorism, particularly to suicide attacks.
Security personnel have come in for justifiable praise for
preventing the terrorists — armed with machine guns, grenades and
explosives — from storming the building and causing even more
mayhem. While the Union Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Advani, has
stated “there was no security breach’’, the facts seem to suggest that
the security cordon in Parliament is easily breachable. The question
is how a car with militants armed to the teeth was allowed to pass
through the outer gates and enter the compound. Clearly, the checks
conducted on vehicles need to be tightened much further; one of the
things that this attack establishes is that such checks should be
thorough and go far beyond a cursory examination of an entry pass.
While the five militants who stormed the Parliament complex have
been killed, they could not have perpetrated this outrage without the
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support of a well-knit organisation. It is vital that those responsible
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for investigating the attack determine the identity of the group and
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come down both quickly and heavily on it. A failure to do so will only
heighten the vulnerability of a nation which has been rudely shaken
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by the attack.
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Parallels have been drawn with the attack on the Jammu and
Kashmir Assembly a few months ago and attention has been
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unearthed following the recent arrest of one of its operatives in

Mumbai). However, the plain truth is that little, or nothing, is known
about who planned or organised the siege yet. In this context, it is
important to observe a measure of restraint and not fall prey to the
easy temptation of indulging in conjectures and, more importantly,
resorting to a tired and superfluous jingoism. Thursday’s startling
attack demands only immediate responses. First, to radically
upgrade the existing security arrangements inside Parliament,
something the Government has promised to do in consultation with
the Lok Sabha Speaker. Second, to determine the identity of the
organisation behind the attack and bring the conspirators to book.
The Sangh Parivar’s plan, in contempt of law and order, to construct a Ram
temple at the disputed Ayodhya site raised the communal temperature in
Uttar Pradesh and across the nation to dangerous levels. In this fraught
climate, the egregious loss of life in the Godhra train-burning case was a
call to the government to crackdown heavily on fringe elements, including
the provocative campaign of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
MARCH 1, 2002
Deadly spiral
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HE GRISLY GODHRA (GUJARAT) EPISODE OF ARSON ON Wednesday
that left 50-odd passengers of the Sabarmati Express dead
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— most of them Kar Sevaks returning from Ayodhya — and

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the backlash of mindless violence it had triggered elsewhere

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back at the minority community and its properties, are clear,

disturbing pointers to the explosive communal buildup across the
country as a direct consequence of the VHP’s provocative and
destructive campaign for the construction of a Ram temple in
Ayodhya. What happened in Godhra, about which there are different
and conflicting versions, is a dastardly act and it deserves to be
condemned unequivocally and in the strongest of terms, and no
provocation can even remotely be brought in to justify the slaughter
of innocent people. No effort should be spared by the Government to
track down the culprits and bring them to justice at the earliest, even
as quick measures are taken to ensure that the vicious spiral of
violence does not get out of hand and a sense of security is restored
among the people.

This said, one cannot but pinpoint the harsh reality that events
such as the horror of Godhra were tragically predictable as a result
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of the wounding and aggressive communal campaign of the VHP. It

has been ruthlessly pursuing its agenda of commencing the temple
construction on March 15, “come-what-may”, and whipping up
communal passions through mass mobilisation of Ram Sevaks —
some one million of them — across the country. The whole buildup,
which started gaining momentum about a month ago — with the
VHP and its ‘sant parivar’ giving an ultimatum to the Vajpayee
Government to hand over the so-called ‘undisputed’ part of the
acquired land — has been typical of the much-too-familiar strategy of
the Sangh Parivar, providing an ominous throwback to the runup to
the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992. As a
consequence of the audaciously provocative ways of the Ram
temple proponents — as evidenced by their determination to start
moving the carved stone pillars to the building site from March 15
and the regular convergence of frenzied Kar Sevak contingents on
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Ayodhya from different parts of the country daily since February 24
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— the situation on the communal front rapidly deteriorated, with
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sharp polarisation of the majority and minority community, becoming
explosive by the day. The dangerous implications of such a trend for
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a State like Gujarat — known for its high vulnerability to communal

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riots and its perceived status as a laboratory of Hindutva political

doctrines — are alarming. In many respects, the evolving milieu
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that generated communal disturbance all along its route.

To all the open and persistent threats by the VHP to flout
governmental authority, judicial injunctions and the law of the land,
the Vajpayee regime’s response has been singularly devoid of any
inclination to preempt a potential disaster. There has been on its part
a shocking disinclination to make such interventions. Its attitude
suggesting the maintaining of status quo at the disputed site strongly
hinted of a narrowly partisan calculation that had to do with the just-
concluded Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. That the strategy
did not pay off is a different story. It required a horrendous episode of
Godhra’s dimensions for the Vajpayee Government even to make an
appeal to the VHP to stop its temple construction agenda. It is only
now that the Government appears moved to take such elementary

preventive steps like barring entry of Kar Sevaks in Ayodhya and
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screening passengers of Ayodhya-bound trains. The Vajpayee

administration’s response is a clear case of ‘too little, too late’. The
need of the moment, post-Godhra and given the ominous portents of
the worst fears of a communal conflagration proving true, is decisive
action nation-wide that asserts a ‘no-nonsense’ approach to the
VHP’s law-defying Ram temple construction plan and also inspires
public confidence that the Government is indeed serious about
upholding the rule of law. The present political uncertainty in Uttar
Pradesh following a terribly fractured mandate only casts a greater
responsibility on the Centre in this regard.
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Tamil Nadu saw a disquieting trend of some aspects of the functioning of

the judiciary, such as the transfers of judicial officers hearing cases of
interest to the government of the day, being influenced by political
heavyweights. Contempt proceedings were invoked, creating a chilling
effect on the media and democratic discourse.
JUNE 5, 2002
Tilting at windmills
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F THE MAJOR INSTITUTIONS OF STATE, THE JUDICIARY STILL
the pride of place in terms of credibility, respect and
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integrity. Yet, the recent period has seen some disquieting

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trends even in the functioning of the judiciary, and we have

it on the authority of a former Chief Justice of India that a quarter of
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the subordinate judiciary is corrupt. The issue of internal rot is sought

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to be addressed through judicial reforms and the efforts of the chief

justices, the Law Commission and the commission to review the
Constitution. However, the judiciary’s interaction with the public, and
in particular with the media, has hardly come in for serious attention.
It is a well known dictum that justice is not a cloistered virtue and
should suffer the outspoken but respectful comment of ordinary men.
The extent of outspokenness that is common elsewhere is illustrated
by a headline in an article by a law professor in the United States
describing the Supreme Court judges who ruled against Al Gore as
“five robed bandits”. The judges there with their supreme confidence
in their learning, fairness and integrity would never think of hauling
up even such critics for contempt of court or for scandalizing the
judiciary which smaller minds in their insecurity are often wont to do

in India.
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Judicial credibility, dignity and respect are qualities that accrue

naturally through learning, fairness and a certain reserve and
distance from the society around and cannot be acquired by tilting at
the windmills of public and press scrutiny as if they were to blame for
the ills afflicting the judiciary. A certain measure of intolerance
manifests itself at times in gag orders seeking to cut out reporting of
investigation and even judicial proceedings in open court merely to
avoid embarrassment to the judges rather than out of any higher
consideration of the welfare or the rights of the litigants. Worse still is
the increasing resort by some courts to contempt proceedings to
deter public scrutiny of their actions, both judicial and administrative,
and to draw a cloak of secrecy over the functioning of the institution
that has to be seen by the public as transparently just. A judge is
expected to rise above any prejudice from out of his past once he
becomes a judge. However, it is difficult to maintain the fiction that a
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judge can be totally cut off from his philosophical orientation or his
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background, that one judge is as good as another and that any judge
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can be expected to give an absolutely unbiased judgement. This
became very clear in the matter of the criminal appeals filed in the
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Madras High Court by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa,

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when the judge hearing them was changed twice. On the second
occasion, it was the Attorney General who argued that the judge was
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not giving the prosecutor a proper hearing and the Supreme Court
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thought it fit to change him on the ground of manifest bias. In such a

milieu, there is a legitimate public interest in the identity, the
background and the pronouncements of any new judge appointed to
hear specific cases, particularly cases with political overtones, and
the judiciary ought to tolerate such scrutiny so long as it does not
turn offensive or libellous. It is true that the salaries and perquisites
of judges at all levels are grossly inadequate relative to other
professions, but the way to redress the situation is through open
public debate and voting of funds by the legislature on the basis of
widely discussed norms. Instead, if the judiciary were to appropriate
for itself such perquisites through judicial orders in the manner of
legislators voting themselves more and more, or through the
dispensation of the executive outside the public view, it offends the

sense of democratic accountability. As for the executive, it is not out
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of any regard for judicial independence and dignity that it is going to

oblige the judges but merely to maintain good relations and not to
offend them, if not for baser considerations. If in the exercise of even
essential administrative functions, a judge gets down to negotiating
with salesmen of houses or cars or maces or carpets and other
appurtenances of office rather than follow established procedures
that would put some distance between him and such mundane
commercial matters, his actions involving the use of public funds
become a legitimate subject of public scrutiny.
There is an element of unfairness built into contempt proceedings
because the judge often decides his own cause while a person
hauled up is not allowed to offer any defence other than an apology,
and their frequent invoking threatens to chill legitimate democratic
debate. It is time the higher judiciary woke up to the danger and
restrained judges from invoking the contempt jurisdiction to shield
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themselves from criticism and public scrutiny. The cause of judicial
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dignity is ill served by judges who seek to extract respect through the
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crude and unrestrained use of authority.
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The elevation of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to the office of President of India came
with the broad view that he encapsulated personal qualities of humility and
simplicity, and the lack of any polarising political slant. However, presenting
the nomination process of a non-politician candidate as a fait accompli
rather than seeking to build consensus across the political spectrum
amounted to undermining democratic norms.
JUNE 15, 2002
The next President

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H
AVING GAINED THE SUPPORT OF KEY OPPOSITION PARTIES such as
the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
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is set to become the next President of India. The

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substantial political consensus that has emerged around

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the candidature of the eminent scientist is matched by popular

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approval on the ground. The elevation of Dr. Kalam to the country’s

highest and most exalted constitutional post conveys many things.
Above all, it is a reaffirmation of the essence of Indian democracy.
The fact that a person who hails from such a humble background
could rise to occupy the most distinguished position in the land is a
testimony to prevalence of opportunity and the capacity to overcome
odds through merit and endeavour. Dr. Kalam’s essential humility
and touching simplicity are likely to lend a special character to the
majesty of his lofty office.
At another and more immediate level, Dr. Kalam’s candidature
has facilitated a significant (but by no means total) consensus. Given
this, concerns that the presidential election would become a
battleground for a fierce and counter-productive political battle have

vanished. Of course, with the Left parties having announced
Lakshmi Sehgal, a key figure in the Indian National Army, as their
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candidate for the poll, a contest is inevitable. But with the coming on
board of the Congress, the only party with the strength in the
electoral college to mobilise the requisite numbers for a keenly
fought presidential poll, any contest now is likely to be symbolic
rather than real. In the existing circumstances, precipitating a contest
cannot provide even a remote hope of victory; however, it may
provide an opportunity to record dissatisfaction on matters of
principle.
While it is welcome that Dr. Kalam’s candidature has evoked
substantial political support, it is impossible to ignore that this
consensus was achieved in far from ideal circumstances. Having
found its original nominee, P.C. Alexander, unacceptable to those
both within and outside the Government, the NDA’s managers went
ahead with announcing the candidature of Dr. Kalam rather than do
what they ought to have in the first place — engage in a sincere and
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wide-ranging consultative process to select a person who is
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acceptable to all. It is this very lack of a candid search for consensus
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which, from the very beginning, had lent the presidential election the
appearance of a political chessboard, a place on which cynical
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manoeuvres and cunning stratagems were being played out. Finally,

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it was the Congress’ reluctance to oppose Dr. Kalam’s candidature

which won the day. While there is a justifiable sense of relief that a
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bitter and fractious presidential election has been averted, the

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manner in which the consensus was reached wears the unfortunate

appearance of one ‘enforced’ rather than one ‘evolved’.
When he moves into Rashtrapathi Bhavan, Dr. Kalam will, in a
way, be the first of his kind. Previous occupants have either been
politicians or administrators with distinct political links. As a scientist
who was entrusted with overseeing the country’s missile
development programme, Dr. Kalam’s candidature is a departure
from an established trend. Not surprisingly, there has been some
discomfort with the signal conveyed by the selection of Dr. Kalam,
seen as the principal architect of India’s missile programme, in the
wider context of the BJP’s pursuit of a militaristic agenda. There is
also the question as to whether, given his likely lack of a deep
knowledge of the Constitution, he would be able to negotiate the

tricky constitutional and political issues that arise. While Dr. Kalam’s
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essentially non-partisan nature is not in question, it seems evident

that the BJP’s seemingly enthusiastic support for his candidature
was a result of wholly extraneous factors — underpinned as it was
by an element of tokenism and a desire to deflect attention from the
horrific and unpardonable communal carnage in Gujarat. The less
than straightforward reasons which settled Dr. Kalam’s candidature
however are no reflection either on his integrity or on the undeniable
popular support he enjoys as he prepares to become India’s next
President.
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The Tamil Nadu government led by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa enjoyed a

strong democratic mandate for governance in the Assembly, yet launched
several attacks on political opponents and independent media, including
The Hindu. In the latter case the government invoked the principle of
privilege, which, per India’s constitutional history can be used only rarely,
when there is genuine obstruction to the Assembly’s functioning.
APRIL 25, 2003
Rising intolerance
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W
ITH EACH PASSING DAY, THE JAYALALITHAA ADMINISTRATION in
Tamil Nadu seems to be scaling new heights of
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various sections including political opponents and the

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independent media shows a contempt for the democratic spirit that is

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deeply disturbing. Perhaps because she was at the receiving end of

a series of criminal cases filed by the previous DMK administration,
she sees her return to power as an opportunity to wield the
sanctioning and prosecuting power of the state blatantly to her
political advantage. In the process, the law and order machinery is
working overtime and the administration seems to be trampling on
the basic rights of the people. The Government should feel secure
with its huge mandate and use the opportunity to concentrate on the
tasks of governance without even the distractions of a political
challenge. Ironically, it is instead behaving like an administration
which is unsure of itself and is living from day to day. Its inordinate
appetite for political confrontation is bound to take a heavy toll in
terms of diminution of democratic rights and the welfare of the State

as a whole. The courts can no doubt be counted upon to protect the
rights, but the disturbing frequency with which people have had to
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resort to courts for relief and the fact that respect for democratic
norms has to be brought home through court rulings reflect poorly on
the style of governance.
At one time, along with the Chief Ministers of neighbouring
States, not even the Prime Minister was spared from Ms.
Jayalalithaa’s vehement attack — a development that the Supreme
Court took serious note of and made her withdraw. A far more
serious attack was launched against her political opponents within
the State in the form of prosecutions, arrests and detentions. The
media too have come under pressure with a slew of defamation
cases that are quite unparalleled. The latest in this pattern of
functioning is the privilege issue taken up by the Tamil Nadu
Assembly over three reports of its proceedings published in The
Hindu. A series of descriptive phrases, mostly about the Chief
Minister’s speeches, strung together from separate reports have
been collectively referred to the Assembly’s Privileges Committee,
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attitude of the AIADMK members. The phrases objected to in a
statement made by the Speaker include “stinging abuse”,
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“unrestrained attacks on the opposition”, “fumed”, “incensed”,

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“chastisement” and “diatribe”, all used in different contexts in

describing Ms. Jayalalithaa’s speeches on different occasions.
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These phrases are described as indecent and their use is said to be

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motivated by a desire to diminish the goodwill and fame that the

Government enjoys. The phrases are said to constitute baseless
accusations and their publication is said to be derogatory to the
dignity of the House and a breach of its privilege.
It is useful to note in this context that the device of privilege of the
legislature exists to protect its free and independent functioning, and
not to protect the reputation of the Government or of individual
members. This was made clear by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha
with reference to the remarks of Rajaji that the Congress had
declined and its legislators “were such people whom any first class
magistrate would round up.” He was following a ruling in the House
of Commons that “hard words used against persons and parties are
dealt with, if necessary, by the law of defamation and it is only where

the House as a whole is affected… a question of privilege arises.”
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The House of Commons on whose practice the privileges of

legislatures are still based does not allow privilege issues to be
raised over reports of proceedings unless they relate to proceedings
behind closed doors or expunged portions of any speech. Because
of its extraordinary nature and because the legislature sits in
judgement on its own cause or in the matter of an important member,
it ought to be used only rarely when there is real obstruction to its
functioning, and not in a way that sets legislators above ordinary
comment and criticism. To invoke it lightly or to ward off innocuous,
even if unflattering, comments on individual legislators would be
grossly offensive to the democratic spirit and would inhibit
independent reporting and assessment of the performance of
legislators. The tone of the speeches, the quality of debates, the
behaviour of the legislators, the nature and importance of the
business transacted, violence, walk outs and the space allowed for
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the opposition are all matters that are legitimately commented upon
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in all democracies. The Supreme Court while upholding the
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constitutional validity of parliamentary privilege, observed that “we
are well persuaded that our Houses, like the House of Commons will
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appreciate the benefit of publicity and will not exercise the powers,
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privileges and immunities except in gross cases” and it is incumbent

on legislatures not to act in a way that betrays that trust.
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Wimbledon 2003 was the launch year for the unstoppable tennis machine
that is Roger Federer. Displaying his trademark, easy flamboyance and
powerful stroke-play in this early phase, Federer looked set to begin an era
of dominance in tennis.
JULY 8, 2003
A World Champion is born?

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T IS DIFFICULT TO THINK OF A MORE SATISFYING END TO THE Wimbledon
tennis championships in recent times. It is not just that this year’s
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tennis he plays represents everything one loves in the game:

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complete with respect to every all-court skill, suffused with a quiet

intelligence and aesthetic to a degree which suggests that it is
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important not only to win but also to win beautifully. Roger Federer
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hardly put a foot wrong on the way to winning his first major title,
dropping just one set through Wimbledon fortnight. It was the
manner he overcame his opponents, especially the precociously
talented Andy Roddick in the semi-finals and the big serving Mark
Philippoussis in the final, that called out for attention. These victories
represented the triumph of panache over power, of skill over
strength, of the rapier over the bludgeon.
Comparisons with Pete Sampras are premature. But as the 21-
year-old Swiss player, his face streaming with tears, held the trophy
aloft, it seemed very much as if a champion had been born. “The
future has arrived today,” announced former Wimbledon champion
Boris Becker as he predicted that Federer would win many more
Wimbledons as well as other Grand Slam tournaments. Experts tend

to agree. Just how far this retiring and introspective Swiss national
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will go is really anybody’s guess. But one thing seems certain. In an

age when tennis threatens to be reduced to a trial of muscle power,
stamina and monotonous baseline play, Federer — with his languid,
almost lazy, style and his hesitant, almost apologetic, manner — will
lend it more than just a touch of elegance. It is a shame that Indian
viewers were robbed of the pleasure of watching the final stages of
the Wimbledon championships live.
While the men’s draw was replete with surprises with the early
exits of favourites such as Lleyton Hewitt and Andre Agassi, the
women’s draw — where a huge gulf exists between the top eight or
ten players and the rest of the field — went more or less according to
plan. The final, another face-off between the Williams sisters, began
with promise but petered out after Venus began to struggle with a
stomach injury that virtually handed Serena the match. On a different
register, this year’s Wimbledon gave Indians plenty to cheer about,
starting with Sania Mirza’s heartwarming doubles title win in the girls’
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event. Mirza is the brightest thing to have happened in Indian
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women’s tennis, but the 16-year-old, despite her obvious talent, has
still a long way to go before she can prove herself in what is an
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extraordinarily competitive sport at the international level. The mixed

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doubles victory for Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova will be

remembered as the latter’s 20th Wimbledon title — a record she now
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shares with the American Billie Jean King — but Paes will earn a
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small place in tennis history for helping her realise a longstanding

ambition. Being ranked the top seeds, Mahesh Bhupathi and his new
partner, Max Mirnyi, may be disappointed about not winning the
doubles title, but the pair did not let anybody down.
Despite a vicious campaign by certain opposition elements, aimed at

highlighting her unsuitability to be Prime Minister owing to her “foreignness,”
Congress president Sonia Gandhi seized the moral high ground by turning
down that position after the party’s stunning victory in the general election.
In making this sacrifice and putting forward Manmohan Singh’s name, she
bolstered her credentials as a selfless leader seeking to forge “a secular
government that is strong and stable.”
MAY 19, 2004
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HERE WILL BE ENORMOUS SYMPATHY AND RESPECT FOR SONIA
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country of one billion people after leading her party to a

position of advantage that was least expected during the
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run-up to the 14th general election. After a precipitous

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decline over the past decade, the Congress has experienced a

revival of fortunes under Ms. Gandhi’s leadership, reflecting the
effectiveness of clever new alliances she made in key States on top
of a modest upsurge in popular support that she led from the front.
The Congress upset all electoral calculations and poll predictions by
emerging as the single largest party and the spearhead of the single
largest pre-election formation in the new Lok Sabha. It was a hard-
worked victory earned through a decent, issue-based campaign that
refused to respond in kind to highly personalised attacks targeting,
among other things, Ms. Gandhi’s foreign origin and ‘antecedents’.
As the world watched, she was first elected leader of the Congress
parliamentary party, which in effect meant Prime Minister-designate;
was endorsed by the party’s pre-election allies, by the Left and by

other secular parties, who gave letters of support signifying a
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comfortable majority in a House of 543; then came up with her

extraordinary act of political renunciation — and stuck to her decision
in volatile circumstances.
There will be speculation about the considerations behind this
development, but the following explanation will go some way. First,
the Congress president has seized the high ground to make it plain,
in her renunciation speech, that “the post of Prime Minister [has not
been] my aim,” but that her belated, conspicuously reluctant entry
into national politics was to further a cause — “to defend the secular
foundations of our nation and the poor of our country.” With such a
vision, she worked to revive the fortunes of her party, as a way of
checking the advance of highly divisive communal politics. “Our
foremost responsibility at this critical time,” she explained, “is to
provide India with a secular government that is strong and stable.”
After all, as she has pointed out in informal conversations and, more
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recently, in interviews, she could have been Prime Minister in 1991
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had she wanted to, in the highly abnormal circumstances that
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followed her husband’s assassination. Secondly, Ms. Gandhi has
signalled in a subtle manner that, since her aim is to defend India’s
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secular foundations by providing a stable, people-oriented

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government, she does not wish to be the cause of, or pretext for,
confrontation and ugly chauvinistic politics. Thirdly, she has made a
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moral point (whether others buy it or not): “power in itself,” raw

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power, “has never attracted me, nor has position been my goal.”
Finally and importantly, there are the personal considerations. In
addition to Ms. Gandhi’s personal goals and “inner voice,” it is clear
that her son and daughter firmly support her personal decision not to
be Prime Minister, not the least because they fear for her safety and
happiness.
Ms. Gandhi’s stunning act of self-denial and political renunciation
cannot be allowed to be seen as an endorsement of the vicious
campaign that the Sushma Swarajs, the Uma Bhartis, the
Govindacharyas and the rest in the sangh parivar have launched to
block and subvert the electoral verdict. The likes of Ms. Swaraj
centred their political campaign on Ms. Gandhi, her ‘foreignness’ and
her presumed unfitness to be Prime Minister (although they had

made no fuss, it must be recalled, in dealing with her as Leader of
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the Opposition). People did not buy the argument. In no democracy

are losers in an election entitled to overrule the umpire on who won
and who lost. As for narrow-minded interpretations of ‘Indianness’
and ‘foreignness’, Mahatma Gandhi anticipated the real issues while
visualising the Constitution of India as something based on universal
values applied to the particular conditions of India. As early as 1931,
he promised to strive for a Constitution that would “release India
from all thraldom and patronage” but made it clear that “all interests
not in conflict with the interests of the dumb millions will be
scrupulously respected whether foreign or indigenous,” and that
personally speaking he hated “the distinction between foreign and
indigenous.” Having made her point, the Italian-born Congress
president who could have been Prime Minister by Wednesday has
grown enormously in political and moral stature. The new coalition
government that will be led by Manmohan Singh has the opportunity
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to build on this advantage and get off to a fine start.
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The outlaw Veerappan eluded the authorities for over two decades, during
which time he oversaw a reign of fear and violence in the densely forested
region between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that he called home. The man
who began his career as an elephant poacher, then graduated to
sandalwood smuggling and kidnapping for ransom, killed more than 100
people. He met his end at the hands of a joint Special Task Force when the
Jayalalithaa government showed the political will to root him out.
OCTOBER 20, 2004
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End of Veerappan or
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HE END OF FOREST BRIGAND AND SERIAL KILLER VEERAPPAN comes
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Karnataka whose police resources were put to a tough

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challenge, on and off, during a 20-year manhunt. Starting his

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infamous career as an elephant poacher and graduating into a

sandalwood smuggler, Veerappan rose to become a challenge to the
rule of law and constitutional authority when he extended his sphere
of influence from within an extensive forest area to the doors of
important personalities and celebrities. In the last few years, he
demonstrated that he could strike deep and kidnap significant
persons for big-time ransom, or sometimes for the thrill of flaunting
his power. In 2000, during the 108-day drama when he held the
Kannada film star Rajkumar captive, he marked out the forest as his
exclusive domain. The two Governments were reduced not only to
negotiating the release of the film star but also looking the other way
when ransom was being arranged. Despite the elaborate manhunt
launched after the release of Rajkumar, Veerappan not only evaded
capture but also struck again by kidnapping and killing a popular

leader and ex-Minister of Karnataka, H. Nagappa. Without
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exaggeration, Veerappan could claim to be beyond the reach of

India’s law. Not only the police, even the Border Security Force
personnel seemed clueless on how to track him down.
In these circumstances, the success of the joint Special Task
Force of the two States comes as a major boost to the morale and
image of the police. In playing a waiting game and luring the brigand
out of his jungle hideout, the STF, led ably by the Additional Director
General of Police, K. Vijay Kumar, seems to have learnt from past
failures. In contrast, Veerappan appears to have been felled by his
own strengths. The ransom payments he obtained encouraged him
to stay in touch with the world outside the forest. Unlike his early
years as a struggling outlaw, when the forest directly sustained him,
the rich and successful Veerappan required the comforts of the
civilised world. Even in the jungle, he was seen with modern gadgets
and audio players. Moreover, his affluence enabled him to build a
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network among villagers who reached him food and other provisions.
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In fact, he ran a mini-economy. The larger the brigand’s network, the
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easier it was for the STF to recruit informers. Moreover, with the
kidnapping of Rajkumar, Veerappan probably bit more than he could
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chew, and swallowed more than he could digest. The high-profile

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kidnapping was done with the help of extremists from the Tamil
National Retrieval Troops, a group that grew out of the support base
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of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and the Tamil Nadu

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Liberation Army, a small-time naxalite outfit. While contacts with

these organisations gave Veerappan an ideological camouflage, and
encouraged him to project an image of himself as a semi-political
figure, there was added pressure on the establishment to capture
him dead or alive.
A lot of the credit for bringing the Veerappan saga to an end must
surely go to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, who
redoubled the efforts to capture the brigand after she returned to
power in 2001. She roped in more high profile officers into the hunt.
She gave the STF not only more guns but also more powers to use
them. However, there are some questions surrounding the killing of
Veerappan and his associates that need answers. Why fewer than
half-a-dozen outlaws travelling in a passenger vehicle could not be

captured alive requires some explaining on the part of the STF. But
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few will shed tears over the killing of a man who not only shot
elephants and chopped sandalwood trees, but also ruthlessly put to
death more than a 100 people, many of them forest and police
personnel, for crossing his path.
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The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami wreaked havoc across a number of littoral
nations and took a particularly brutal toll on the coastal populations of South
India. While the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts would take
priority in the immediate aftermath, longer-term survivability required asking
hard questions about why more effective warning systems were not in
place.
DECEMBER 27, 2004
Death from the sea

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UTTING A SWATHE OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION ACROSS THE
coastal areas of half a dozen littoral countries of the Indian
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Ocean, the titanic tsunami rising from the fifth largest

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earthquake since the beginning of the 20th century — and

the biggest in 40 years — has plunged the whole region in
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shock and grief. India and Sri Lanka are the most grievously hit, with
south India and Tamil Nadu in particular suffering the highest death
toll of all. The Hindu joins the country in mourning the death of the
thousands of people who have fallen victim to nature’s fury. It
expresses solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of people who
have lost their relatives or been rendered homeless and destitute.
The Governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala,
and Pondicherry, the Central Government, and civil society must do
everything in their power to heal wounds, provide relief and
rehabilitation on a huge scale, and help reconstruct the lives,
livelihood, and assets of the mostly poor people who, on account of
the vulnerability of their lives, were the tsunami’s principal victims.
This is not to underestimate the trauma inflicted by the killer waves
on Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and other South East Asian nations close to
the epicentre of the quake off Sumatra Island. The epic devastation
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of the Bhuj and Latur earthquakes on land remain etched in the

country’s collective consciousness. But nature’s ferocity in the form
of the tsunami is such a rare phenomenon in the South Asian region
that unsuspecting people were completely unprepared for it. The
tsunami is a giant sea wave that results from displacements caused
by large earthquakes, major submarine slides, or exploding volcanic
islands — a phenomenon usually associated with the Pacific. India
has experienced it at least twice in the past, in 1881 and 1941.
The element of surprise in the tsunami’s strike on a holiday
morning explains, in part, the calamitous effects in the cities, towns,
and villages that were engulfed by the sea. Fishermen who put out to
sea in their catamarans and other boats, and their families in coastal
hamlets, account for a huge part of the still unknown death toll. Other
victims were on the beaches for their normal routine or swim or were
tourists trapped by happenstance in the death zone. A couple of
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hours earlier, many had been frightened out of bed by tremors from
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the primary undersea earthquake, which measured 8.9 on the
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Richter scale (at the epicentre off the West Coast of Northern
Sumatra, 2,028 km South East of Chennai). Even for a nation with a
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recorded toll of over a hundred thousand fatalities in earthquakes in

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the past two centuries and a long history of cyclonic havoc, the
tsunami of 2004 will go down as an unprecedented display of
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nature’s cruelty. The 2001 earthquake in Bhuj challenged the

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capacity of the Indian republic to handle emergencies on a gigantic

scale. Given the country’s geological history and also the surprise
factor, it must be prepared to do so again.
The emergency in the tsunami-hit parts of peninsular India calls
for a well-coordinated relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction effort.
People belonging to all sections of society must respond to the
challenge and contribute generously in various ways. The
developmental experience available from the Latur and Bhuj
rehabilitation programme can be drawn upon. Caring relief apart, a
massive re-housing programme is a top priority. Task forces working
with a timeframe and in a non-bureaucratic way can, in partnership
with citizen sector organisations, ensure both efficiency and
accountability. The loss of livelihood must be specially addressed

and women and children provided safe shelter and sustenance.
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Looking beyond the tsunami tragedy, the country has to prepare for
earthquakes with a greater measure of mission and scientific clarity.
A close hard look at seismic zoning maps for various cities and the
implementation of codes for quake-resistant buildings should not be
delayed any longer. Meteorologists and experts will feel helpless in
the realisation that their formidable scientific capabilities could not
generate so much as a hint that a killer wave might follow the first
and strongest of the 14 earthquakes in the region. The death toll is
the more poignant for the fact that the tsunami took more than two
hours to reach the Indian coast — enough time to clear the most
vulnerable areas, the beaches in particular, if only a warning had
come.
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Cricketing genius Sachin Tendulkar broke Sunil Gavaskar’s 22-year record

of 34 Test centuries on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in
December 2005. At the peak of his batting prowess, he perfectly
demonstrated what it took to be at the top of his game: scads of innate,
irreproducible talent, but even more than that, a relentless, single-point
focus on discipline, rigour and perfect commitment to the art and science of
cricket.
DECEMBER 12, 2005
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VER SINCE SACHIN TENDULKAR BURST ON THE SCENE AS A
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rare and exceptional was upon it. Former Australian captain

Ian Chappell recalled that an Indian player had once told
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him the little man had a ‘gift from above’. Great things were
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foretold then, and his 16-year career has been an inexorable journey
towards batting immortality. So when he crossed Sunil Gavaskar’s
long-standing record of 34 Test centuries, no one was surprised. In
this lack of surprise lies the nub of Tendulkar’s greatness. In an era
of the hyperbole, ‘greatness’ — conferred upon too many too easily
— has lost its meaning. Many a young talent has been spotted in the
game’s rich history and nailed to the cross of greatness. But no one
has fulfilled every prediction, however seemingly fantastic, and
constantly forced others to rethink their perceptions and definitions of
greatness as Tendulkar has. His first tour was a baptism of fire —
Pakistan’s Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, and Waqar Younis sought to
find the 16-year-old’s courage valve and rip it open. When he battled
on despite a bloodied nose, his team saw the first portents of

greatness. He narrowly missed being the youngest to score a Test
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century when he fell 12 short at Dunedin, but made amends when

his side needed it the most: a fighting unbeaten 119 to save a Test
against England in Manchester. In 1991-92, in Sir Donald Bradman’s
land and on a fast Perth wicket, Tendulkar demonstrated just why
those in the know had begun to predict he would end up as one of
the best to have strapped on batting pads. As others fell around him,
he stood resolute and masterful, unveiling strokes that he had had
little occasion to use before and composing a century that he rates
his best.
On breaking Gavaskar’s record, Tendulkar spoke of the discipline
he has needed in life. It’s an aspect that is often forgotten during talk
of his special ability. Top-flight sport is a jealous spirit, demanding
single-point focus and total devotion. The path to success is beset
with pitfalls that test character and spirit. There are few sadder sights
in sport than a talent squandered either for want of desire or an
inability to remain grounded in reality — the mercurial footballer
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George Best, who left us recently, was one such. Tendulkar’s
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successes on the field have also been a function of how well he has
managed them off it. Those who posit a genius with flaws as being
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entails; the denial of romance and flair, however, is just as piquant.

The man from Mumbai has been able to marry his amazing zest for
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the game with the rigour essential for the pursuit of sporting Nirvana.
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For long, he has lived in a cocoon unable to so much as enjoy a

quiet meal with the family in a restaurant without being mobbed.
Through it all, he has carried the expectations of millions with grace
and humility. The 32-year-old has transcended limits that shackle
and stereotype a sports celebrity. He has been the national icon,
representative of a new, vibrant India and intensely proud of his
Indianness. If Tendulkar’s legacy had already been scripted, he has
played it out to perfection.
Given the risk of injury and death writ large in jallikattu, the hoary Tamil
Nadu tradition of bull-taming, and the possibility of animal rights abuse
through the use of irritants to aggravate the bull, there were calls to more
tightly regulate the sport.
JANUARY 31, 2006
Death in the name of sport

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But none poses a threat to participants and spectators alike
as does jallikattu, the traditional bull taming ritual in the southern
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parts of Tamil Nadu. The sport, an annual feature coinciding with

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the harvest festival of Pongal, involves a large number of young

men who at any given point of time are either chasing a bull or
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running away from it. Every year, the sport leaves at least three or
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four dead, and scores of others seriously injured. Not all the
casualties are caused by the bull. While indeed some are gored to
death, many suffer grievous hurt in the stampede induced by the
very nature of the sport. The barricades put up to separate
spectators from participants are no barriers to a rampaging bull, and
many of the spectators find themselves forcibly drawn into a contest
with the animal. But the bull is as much the victim as it is the
aggressor. Before the start, the organisers adopt bizarre methods to
provoke the animal to a greater level of ferocity. These include
feeding it liquor, using irritants on its eyes and body, and slashing it
with knives. The youths rarely take the bull by the horns. More often
the attempt is to hold on to the hump for some distance. At times,
some youths try and stop the bull by its tail. All would seem to be fair
in this event.
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Surprisingly, the Tamil Nadu Government has done little to

regulate the sport. The effort so far has been to promote it in the
international tourism calendar. The Alanganallur event attracts
foreigners who arrive in the hope of getting to watch an Indian
version of the Pamplona bull run. But contrary to popular perception,
the event has changed unrecognisably from the traditional bull
taming ritual, in which one person was locked in a contest with a bull.
The modern version has little to do with valour; it is more a means
for releasing a rush of adrenaline. Jallikattu, which derives its name
from the bundle of coins that used to be tied between the horns of
the animal in the earlier forms of the sport, is now a means for some
easy cash and short-lived fame for the poverty-stricken local youth.
While in ancient times the victor could hope to win the hand of the
bull owner’s daughter, no such luck awaits the hero of the modern
day jallikattu. It is indeed a sport that subjects the bull to
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unnecessary torment and holds mortal danger to the contestants and
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spectators alike. Ideally, there should be no place for such a sport in
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this age, but it remains hugely popular, and calls for a ban have met
with stiff resistance from community leaders. It remains very much a
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part of the rural belief systems: failure to hold the event would be
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seen as a bad omen. However, the least that the local administration
can do is to monitor and regulate the event to make it less cruel and
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in the name of a sporting tradition.

Narco-analysis tests, which were used periodically by law enforcement in

India, constitute invasive procedures that could violate the United Nations
Convention Against Torture. They also run contrary to the protection against
self-incrimination guaranteed by Article 20(3) of the Indian Constitution.
JANUARY 5, 2007
A violation of the mind

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investigation deserves to be placed on the front-burner in
India. At a time, when enlightened nations have prohibited
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using ‘truth serums’ for this purpose, it is astonishing that

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they are frequently administered, and that too with judicial approval.
The decision to make Moninder Singh and Surendra, the suspects in
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the grisly Noida serial killings undergo narco-analysis tests is only

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the latest in a series of cases in which the police have relied on this
dubious and offensive practice in the hope of obtaining further
evidence. ‘Truth serums’ could refer to one of many sedative or
hypnotic drugs (the favoured one in India is sodium pentathol) that
could lull a person into becoming more uninhibited and talkative. The
term is a misnomer since there is no guarantee those interrogated
will speak only the truth; moreover, the drug, which can be
administered intravenously or orally, is not a serum. The use of
narco-analysis on unwilling subjects is an invasive procedure,
involving as it does the power to tear down their volitional capacities
and make people act against their will. It could be argued that forcing
‘truth serums’ on people is a form of physical abuse and therefore a
form of torture, as construed in the United Nations Convention

Against Torture.
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Narco-analysis is not used in many countries, including the

United States, which resisted changing the rules of interrogation
after the September 11 attacks despite pressure from some
authorities including former Central Intelligence Agency chief William
Webster to use ‘truth serums’ on uncooperative al-Qaeda and
Taliban members. In India, the resort to narco-analysis as an
interrogation method has been of somewhat recent origin and has
crept in almost insidiously. A few of those accused in the Godhra
case were made to undergo narco-analysis in 2002 and since then, it
has been used intermittently frequently enough to worry that it might
become a routine technique of police investigation. Astonishingly, the
judiciary has given its seal of approval for the practice. In the fake
stamp paper case, it was the court that ordered the narco-analysis of
the main accused, Abdul Karim Telgi. Two years ago, the Bombay
High Court held that tests “involving minimal bodily harm” such as
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narco-analysis and brain mapping did not violate constitutional
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rights, including the protection against self-in-crimination guaranteed
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by Article 20 (3). Men such as Moninder Singh and Surendra
deserve no sympathy or leniency if found guilty. The issue is whether
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a state that is humane and respects human rights should subject

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them and others in their position to interrogative techniques that

amount to a violation of the mind.
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The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal issued its final order regarding how
much water upper riparian Karnataka would be required to release to
neighbouring Tamil Nadu during “normal” and “distress” years, ending more
than half a century of conflict between the two States.
FEBRUARY 6, 2007
Eminently implementable
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please all sides equally. However, by all reasonable criteria
legal, historical, socio-economic, agronomic, and political
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the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal is a

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just and equitable settlement of a highly contentious inter-State

dispute. It is an issue that has defied all attempts at negotiation and
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mediation over half a century. It has raised political temperatures

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whenever the monsoon has threatened to let down the Cauvery

basin States. It has triggered emotional, and at times militant and
even violent, reactions in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the two main
disputants. Although initial reactions suggest that Karnataka is the
aggrieved party, a closer study of the details reveals that both
disputants have substantive reasons to feel good about the final
award, which has come 16 years after the Tribunal was constituted.
By asking the upper riparian State to make available in specified
“tentative monthly deliveries during a normal year” 182 thousand
million cubic feet of water to the lower riparian State, the Cauvery
Tribunal has clearly met the minimum expectations of Tamil Nadu.
The 192 tmcft to be released by Karnataka at the inter-State contact
point includes (explicitly) 10 tmcft set aside for environmental

purposes and (by implication) 7 tmcft earmarked for the Union
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Territory of Puducherry. However, Tamil Nadu will have another 25

tmcft of water from its catchments below Billigundulu and above
Mettur. Importantly for Karnataka, the final order, unlike the 1991
interim award, is that the stipulated quantity of water should be made
available at the Billigundulu gauge and water station located on the
border between the two States. (The interim award required
Karnataka to deliver 205 tmcft at the Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu.) The
final award removes the possibility of disputes over conflicting claims
of quantity released and quantity realised. The Billigundulu gauge
station is maintained by the Central Water Commission and is of
world class; the Central Government will henceforth be in a position
to ensure proper monitoring of the monthly schedule of water
releases.
A key feature of the Cauvery dispute, which made it seem
intractable, was noted by the civil servant and scholar S. Guhan in
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his authoritative book, a Frontline publication, arguing for a
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conciliatory solution to the Cauvery dispute: “In a fundamental
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respect, it differs from other major river disputes in India, including
those relating to the Narmada, the Krishna and the Godavari. While
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these disputes were mainly about the inter-State utilisation of

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hitherto untapped surplus waters, the dispute in the case of the

Cauvery relates to the re-sharing of waters that are already being
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almost fully utilised in their totality.” Evidently, a great deal hinges on

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the quantifiable definition of a ‘normal year.’ The Cauvery Tribunal

worked out its final award after determining that the utilisable
quantity of waters of the Cauvery at the Lower Coleroon Anicut site,
“on the basis of 50% dependability,” was 740 tmcft. It then
proceeded to allocate 270 tmcft to Karnataka, 419 tmcft to Tamil
Nadu, 30 tmcft to Kerala, and 7 tmcft to Puducherry. While 10 tmcft
was reserved for environmental protection, another 4 tmcft was set
aside to account for escapages into the sea.
There is one possibly vulnerable aspect of the final award Clause
VII relating to deficit-sharing, which somewhat vaguely stipulates that
in case the yield of the Cauvery basin is “less in a distress year, the
allocated shares shall be proportionately reduced” among the three
States and Puducherry. Considering that the Cauvery dispute flares

up on the ground only in distress years, the Tribunal should have
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come up with a clearer and more elaborate deficit-sharing clause

that does not leave room for doubt or misinterpretation. This can still
be done when the matter comes up before the Tribunal, as it almost
certainly will, for “explanation or guidance” during the three month
review period provided in Section 5 (1) of the Inter-State Water
Disputes Act, 1956.
The Cauvery Tribunal can be criticised for the inordinate time it
took to come up with its final award (perhaps deserving the sobriquet
‘The Long Tribunal’). It suffered its share of disagreements and
changes of personnel but, happily in the end, its award was
unanimous. A divided verdict would have badly damaged the
credibility of the award, and prompted one or the other State to
debunk it. While Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are at liberty to explore
and pursue available legal avenues for redressing any grievance
relating to the Tribunal’s final award, they must seize this
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breakthrough moment to settle all subsidiary issues amicably and in
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a fair and intelligent manner within the final award framework. This is
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especially important as in the past chauvinist elements on the fringe
have sought to inflame passions by exploiting such inter-State
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disputes, and thus set baneful agendas for mainstream parties.

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Political leaders of both States would do well to take the cue from
some fine, long-sighted initiatives taken by citizen sector
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mutually beneficial solution, without bringing chauvinism into play.

The Cauvery Family, formed in 2003, has already worked out an
agenda that can serve as a template for implementing the
settlement. Comprising farmers, technical experts, academics, and
other stakeholders of the two disputant Cauvery States, the forum
held nine meetings and contributed in no small measure to keeping
in check those seeking to make political capital of the dispute.
Technical experts have a clear role to play in implementing
sustainable solutions relevant to the utilisation of the Cauvery
waters. Political wisdom lies in allowing and encouraging them to do
so.
To keep up momentum on the India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Agreement, the

United Progressive Alliance government sent the draft agreement for
nuclear safeguards to the International Atomic Energy Agency. It seemed to
rush to do so on the eve of a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha, after the
Left front pulled its support to the government over the nuclear agreement.
JULY 11, 2008
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Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency
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before facing a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha, the

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Manmohan Singh government has violated not just an

assurance its External Affairs Minister gave the nation two days
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earlier but also the most fundamental of democratic norms. As

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Pranab Mukherjee put it in a press conference, the norm is that a

government that has lost its majority will not have the moral authority
to “bind” the country to “an international agreement.” The reason the
Congress-led government is abandoning both procedure and
propriety is not hard to find. The Bush administration’s principal
concern at this juncture is that there should be enough time for the
American legislative process to be completed following the proposed
change of guidelines by the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The indecent
haste with which the IAEA Secretariat was instructed to circulate the
draft agreement to the Board of Governors offers a fresh basis for
the charge that the Manmohan Singh dispensation is concerned
more with fulfilling its commitment to the Bush administration than in
looking after the interests of the Indian people. What is more,

paranoiac non-transparency has been the hallmark of the
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government’s handling of the nuclear deal since March 2005. In the

latest instance, the text of the draft safeguards agreement negotiated
with the IAEA secretariat was kept a secret from political India after it
was falsely claimed that IAEA procedure required the Indian
government to treat it as a “privileged” and confidential document.
Turning to the draft agreement itself, the 23-page text consists of
three parts — a fairly detailed preamble, 130 numbered clauses, and
an annex listing the facilities that will be subject to safeguards under
the agreement. The annex is blank; facilities will be added to it and
placed under safeguards after India determines “that all conditions
conducive to the accomplishment of the objective” of the safeguards
agreement “are in place” and files a Declaration and subsequent
Notifications to the IAEA. The safeguards on nuclear facilities that
India imports will apply in perpetuity, in keeping with the IAEA’s
standard template for safeguard agreements with non-nuclear
weapon states. What is “India-specific” about the agreement is that
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unlike the Non-Nuclear Weapons States, India will maintain
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unsafeguarded nuclear facilities over which the Agency will have no
say. The government has made much of the complex fuel supply
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assurances it had secured as well as the right of India to take

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unspecified “corrective measures” in the event of a fuel supply

breakdown. The same formulations have carried over to the
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safeguards agreement, but only in the preamble. What seems likely

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is that this text will be a hot potato, domestically and internationally.

Shooter Abhinav Bindra made history in the Beijing Olympics when he

became India’s first-ever individual gold medal winner in the quadrennial
games. Though he was only 25 years of age, Bindra snatched a hard-
fought victory over Chinese and Finnish competitors. His win was a signal
to the Indian government to invest more to build up Olympic-level
capabilities in this sport.
AUGUST 12, 2008
Bindra makes history

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gold medal winner, he looked as if he had just another day

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marked by a calmness and composure that belie his age. For those
watching the live action from Beijing’s Shooting Range Hall, hopes of
an Indian winning any kind of medal (other than in tennis) seemed to
rest on a willing suspension of disbelief — until the 10-metre air rifle
final was well under way. The bespectacled young man from
Chandigarh had placed fourth in the qualification round. The
favourite was China’s 23-year-old Zhu Qinan, gold medallist at the
Athens Olympics. Shooting is a mind game as much as it is a sport
of technical skill. “I am starting to back myself and my beliefs,”
Bindra told The Hindu last month. Remaining ice cool in the final, he
shot with remarkable consistency, starting with 10.7, averaging 10.45
for ten shoots, not once dropping below 10.0. Going into the final
shoot tied for first place with Finland’s Henri Hakkinen and just
ahead of Zhu, Bindra brought up one of India’s great sporting
moments by scoring a near-perfect 10.8. He revealed after the event
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how he had shut off the pressure: “I wasn’t trying to make history. I
mean I was two points behind at one stage. I was just trying to
concentrate. I just wanted to shoot well. I just wanted to shoot
aggressively and that’s what I did.” Zhu Qinan, by contrast,
confessed that he had been intensely stressed by his desire to win
“another gold for my motherland.’
Every four years we go into the Olympics ruminating on the
modest prospects of Indian sportspersons. As in 2004, shooting
figured high as a possible medal event for a contingent of 56.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore it was who set the trend in 2002 by
winning the double trap gold in the Commonwealth Games. Since
then there have been successes, including a silver for Rathore at the
Athens Olympics in 2004, a world championship title each for Bindra
and trap shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu, and three Asian Games
golds for Jaspal Rana. But Olympics looked an impossible peak to
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conquer. India had only four individual medals to show for its
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participation, from 1920, in the modern Olympic Summer Games.
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Every quadrennial review spotlights a lack of priority for sport.
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ammunition and official import policies. The government should get

its due for promoting the sport once it noticed its medal-winning
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potential. Liberal grants were provided for sending teams abroad and
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individual shooters, including Bindra and Rathore, were sanctioned

substantial funds. There is a positive lesson in this for India’s sports
policy.
Chandrayaan-1 became the first Indian space mission to send a craft that
circled the moon, an achievement that put India in an exclusive league of
nations with indigenous capability to design, build, and launch their own
satellites for weather observation and communications. Chandrayaan-1
circled the moon at an orbit 100 km above its surface, then released the
Moon Impact Probe equipped with instruments to scan that environment.
OCTOBER 23, 2008
Off to the Moon

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ESPITE INCLEMENT WEATHER, RIDING ATOP THE PROVEN Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), India’s Chandrayaan-1
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spacecraft has successfully completed the first leg of a

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difficult journey that will ultimately take it nearly 400,000

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kilometres to the Earth’s natural satellite. For the last four decades
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and more, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has

worked tirelessly to fulfil the dream of its founder Vikram Sarabhai,
who foresaw the enormous practical benefits that could be derived
by using satellites. As a result, India today designs, builds, and
launches its own earth observation, weather, and communication
satellites — a capability that just a handful of nations possess. The
Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe marks an effort by ISRO to go beyond
the Sarabhai dream — a first step in taking on the challenges of
deep space exploration. The Moon’s proximity makes access
relatively easy and the journey time is a matter of days, not months
or years. Besides, even after half a century of lunar exploration by
scores of spacecraft and a dozen humans who walked its surface,
there is still much about the Moon, including its origin and early
evolution, that is not well understood. The Moon may well hold
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hidden tales about the early history of the Solar System and of the
crucial period when life emerged on the Earth.
The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft is to be gradually manoeuvred
into an orbit where it will circle the Moon at a height of 100 km. After
reaching that orbit, the spacecraft will release the Moon Impact
Probe that will reach the lunar surface. Over the next two years, its
suite of cameras and instruments, several of which have been
provided by the United States and Europe, will scan the Moon and
relay the data through radio signals back to the Indian Deep Space
Network established near Bangalore. Mastery of this complex chain
of events is vital for the more ambitious projects that ISRO has in
mind. Last month, the Union Cabinet cleared the follow-on
Chandrayaan-2 mission with a budget of Rs.425 crore. The joint
Indo-Russian effort aims at sending a spacecraft into lunar orbit as
well as putting a lander, with a robotic rover onboard, on the Moon’s
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surface around 2011-2012. The Indian space agency is also looking
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at missions to Mars, to asteroids and comets, and even one to study
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the Sun. At the heart of such missions of space exploration is the
ability to do good science. Hopefully, the Chandrayaan-1 mission will
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catch the imagination of young Indian men and women who are to
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become tomorrow’s pool of talented scientists, the lifeblood of such

programmes.
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Democratic Senator Barack Obama became the United States’ first ever
African-American President when he swept not only his party’s traditional
strongholds but also swing states and some “red’’ states. His thumping
victory, based on grassroots, Internet-driven mobilisation and fundraising,
was also interpreted as a call to break with eight years of Republican-led
adventurism in Iraq and macroeconomic fumbling that led to the Great
Recession of 2008.
NOVEMBER 6, 2008
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ARACK OBAMA’S RUNAWAY VICTORY IN THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL
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their historic act of sending an African-American to the

White House — with an emphatic six percentage point
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popular vote advantage and no less than 364 electoral

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college votes to his white opponent’s 174 — American voters

showed that they had, for the most part, put the shameful legacy of
racism behind them. But the historic verdict of November 4 went far
beyond race. It was simultaneously a rejection of the George W.
Bush legacy — marked by two disastrous wars and a financial crisis
— and an embrace of a positive message of change. Mr. Obama’s
political genius lay in discovering and navigating a highly improbable
path to the presidency. This he did by seizing the rarest of rare
opportunities; hitting the right political note at the right time; conjuring
up a credible multi-racial coalition from the grass roots; and building
the most resourceful, disciplined, and Internet-enabled campaign
organisation seen anywhere in recent times. A new generation of
enthusiastic voters thirsting for socio-political change powered the

Democratic candidate to his famous victory. They even enabled Mr.
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Obama to overcome the decades-long divide between Blue and Red

States. He held on to all the territory won by his party in the 2000
and 2004 cycles, decisively took swing States, and flipped six from
the Republican to the Democratic columns. With countrywide
support of this order, the President-elect has the mandate to
implement his campaign promise of a fundamental transformation of
U.S. domestic and foreign policies.
True, Mr. Obama got lucky. Public opinion polls showed that the
Republican and Democratic parties were roughly on a par until the
point in mid-September 2008 when crisis struck the financial
markets. From then on, the campaign story was largely about the
economy although the candidates differentiate themselves on other
issues, notably the Iraq war. John McCain tried desperately to cut his
links with President George Bush but could not prevent the
incumbent’s 70-plus per cent job disapproval rating from pulling him
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down. The Republican candidate hoped that the success of the
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‘surge’ in Iraq (a course he advocated) would convince voters about
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his superior qualifications to handle national security. But a majority
of Americans refused to change their opinion that the withdrawal
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proposed by Mr. Obama was the correct option. Many of them seem
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to have finally decided that after eight years of arrogant belligerence,

which made a mockery of international law and simultaneously
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endangered the lives of American soldiers, it was time to project a

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more sensitive image of their country. The circumstances were highly

congenial but it still took Mr. Obama’s political genius to pull the
various elements together.
Team Obama ran a master-class in the political use of the
Internet and other forms of new media. Aside from ensuring that a
good part of Mr. Obama’s $600-million-plus war chest came from
small donors, the strategy enabled his campaign to identify
volunteers through the length and breadth of the country. As a result,
the Democrats outgunned the Republicans in hotly contested
districts. The volunteer army also played a huge role in voter
registration and door-to-door stumping, and in turning out the vote.
The difference the voter registration drive made in this election
cannot be underestimated, with the bulk of minority voters and new

voters identifying themselves as pro-Democrat. Not content with this,
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the Obama team adopted and fine-tuned the Republican-innovated

technique of micro-targeting. This enabled outreach to suburbs and
rural pockets not traditionally considered Democratic territory. Even
where the party failed to win these non-urban counties, it was able to
build up its popular vote tally in one non-Blue State after another.
Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean may have been the
instigator of the 50-State strategy but a less imaginative candidate
than Mr. Obama would have lacked the boldness to implement it.
This was an astute move since demographic changes over the years
had put new territories into play. For instance, the migration of
professionals into the Virginia counties adjacent to Washington, D.C.
has changed the overall voter profile of a State that was once the
centre-piece of the old Confederacy. Similarly, the increase in
Hispanic populations in New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado has
helped loosen the Republican grip on the West. The Obama wave
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has helped his party make substantial gains in the House of
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Representatives and the Senate. In theory, this could make for a
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monolithic Obama presidency though analysts caution that a person
who has not completed even one term in the Senate will have quite a
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job keeping potentially factious Congressional party colleagues in

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order.
Finally, it must not be overlooked that the incoming President has
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presented only broad-brush strokes of the policies he will follow in

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key areas, including the current financial markets crisis. The excuse
for this perhaps was that in a fluid situation, Mr. Obama had to play
safe and any major misstep would be politically fateful. Appointments
to the key cabinet posts and the White House staff will be watched
with keen interest. For now at least, the international community,
which overwhelmingly voted Mr. Obama U.S. President much before
the American people did, will be mightily relieved. The President-
elect is, like his predecessors, a believer in American
exceptionalism. However, the hope is that his unique personal
history will make him understand better than his predecessors that
other countries too have their special character.
A series of deadly, coordinated attacks across Mumbai resulted in a

grievous toll on life and stunned the nation, prompting anger that Pakistan
was not doing more to prevent its soil from being used as a terrorist launch-
pad.
NOVEMBER 28, 2008
An affront to the Indian state

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HE MULTIPLE TERRORIST ATTACKS THAT HAVE LEFT OVER 100 dead
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and several hundred injured and the prolonged standoffs
between the terrorists and the security forces in Mumbai are
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India. In its method and scale, the shooting down of innocent people
and courageous police officers in 11 different places across the city
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represents an affront to the Indian state of a type not seen in the

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recent past. Among the dead is the head of the Maharashtra police’s
anti-terrorism squad, Hemant Karkare, who led his men from the
front in engaging the terrorists and was shot. That military
commandos and National Security Guard commandos joined in the
effort of the police in countering the terrorists demonstrates the
magnitude of the challenge that the desperadoes posed. The
sophisticated arms that they used and the manner of the attacks
point to a well-funded, well-trained group that bears the signature of
the Lashkar-e-Taiba and its several variants. Unlike in the case of
many of the other terror attacks where bombs were placed stealthily
in crowded places, this was a fidayeen attack like the one on
Parliament in 2002. The targeting of well-known landmarks and high
profile places, including the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Taj

Mahal and Trident hotels, and Nariman House, shows some
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foreknowledge of the place obtained by prior reconnaissance or

through local collaborators.
The Hindu shares the grief and the shock of the families, Indian
and foreign, whose members were killed in the dastardly attacks.
The immediate task before the Maharashtra government should be
to remove the sense of insecurity that has gripped the people of
Mumbai on the streets, in public places, and within their homes. A
greatly stepped up vigil, a visibly larger presence of the police on the
ground together with the military and security forces, should go some
way in restoring public confidence. The Government of India, which
has been quick to rush the army and the naval commandos to help
contain the situation, should come to the aid of the State in a
massive way in creating a sense of security in the immediate term.
Mumbai as the country’s financial and business centre has always
been an obvious target for those seeking to destabilise the Indian
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state, and terrorists attacks have been occurring in the city with a
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distressing frequency in the recent past — among them the serial
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bombings of 1993 and the train blasts of 2006. The State’s fractious
and often bitter religious politics has not helped in keeping religiously
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terrorists have targeted Café Leopold and Nariman House, both

frequented by tourists, besides the hotels. Some reports speak of
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hostage-taking. While some of the terrorists were killed, some have

been injured and are in custody while yet others could have escaped
after the shootings. The interrogation of those in custody should
provide some details of the people and the organisation behind the
attacks. The use of the sea route by the terrorists who could have
landed on a small boat from out of a larger vessel in the high seas
off the coast of Mumbai opens up the possibility of their coming in
from Karachi. While the Government of Pakistan appears to be
serious in putting any form of support that its Inter-Services
Intelligence provided for terrorism behind and in its pursuit of
improved relations with India, there are several groups in the country
that go about quite openly recruiting and training people for terrorist
attacks in India. Given the series of attacks within Pakistan itself, its
government’s determination and ability to contain terrorist elements
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within is no doubt open to question. Nevertheless, Islamabad needs

to be reminded once again to live up to the commitment made by
President Pervez Musharraf to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
on January 6, 2004 not to “permit any territory under Pakistan’s
control to be used to support terrorism in any manner.”
The political fallout of the attacks is difficult to gauge right now.
The Maharashtra and central governments, which have much to
answer for, will obviously come under pressure to act decisively on
the terrorism front. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has spoken of
using existing laws such as the National Security Act, of amending
the laws to close loopholes that could be used by terrorists, and of a
Federal Investigative Agency to go into terrorist crimes. The United
Progressive Alliance government would do well not to lurch towards
the legal route, seeking to introduce draconian provisions drawn
from the repealed and discredited Prevention of Terrorism Act
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(POTA) that lend themselves to easy abuse against the innocent and
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would hardly deter fidayeen attacks. In any case, the Maharashtra
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Control of Organised Crime Act with equally stringent provisions has
obviously not served as an effective deterrent. The focus instead
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places, screening of entry, and more policemen on the ground. The

Prime Minister’s stress on preventive measures, including
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strengthening the police and intelligence machinery and curbing the

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flow of funds to suspect organisations, is welcome. Owners of public

places such as hotels need also to step up their vigil and put
stronger security and screening measures in place. The
strengthening of the intelligence machinery with increased
manpower and more sophisticated equipment, which is promised
every time a terrorist attack takes place, brooks no further delay. All
this will no doubt constrain an open society and involve some
inconvenience and costs but it is a price that has necessarily to be
paid for security in dangerous times. The long term task should of
course be to avoid the bitterness of religious politics and promote
harmony among different sections.
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The United Progressive Alliance returned to power for a second innings on

the heels of specific political successes across different States, and in doing
so captured enough of a majority to transcend the need for support from
allies such as the Left parties, who were irksome to UPA-I.
MAY 17, 2009
India chooses Congress

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NDIA VOTED DECISIVELY FOR CONTINUITY AND STABILITY IN the general
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election to the 15th Lok Sabha, giving the Congress-led United
Progressive Alliance another five-year term in office. In contrast
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to 2004, the UPA, with close to 260 of the total 543 seats, will not
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need the support of the Left parties, and should be able to get a
comfortable majority with the backing of the Samajwadi Party, which
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seats, this is the best performance by the Congress since 1991, the
last time the country saw a single-party, although minority,
government. Verdict 2009 gives little scope for the smaller parties or
groupings to engage in backroom negotiations to decide the shape
of the next government. The Congress holds all the aces. The prime
ministership will not be up for bargaining, as some of the smaller
players were hoping. For President Pratibha Patil, the task on hand
couldn’t be simpler: there is no need to consult constitutional experts
to decide on whom to invite to form the next government. Manmohan
Singh, the declared candidate of the Congress and the automatic
choice for Prime Minister, could be the first Prime Minister since
Indira Gandhi to have two full terms.
The triumph of the Congress was actually an aggregation of

specific successes across different States. The party retained its
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base in Andhra Pradesh; cut its losses in Madhya Pradesh;

recovered lost ground in West Bengal, Kerala, and Rajasthan; and
combined well with its allies in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. There
was no one big surprise anywhere, but the party pulled out one small
surprise after another across the regions of India. When it seemed to
take the long view in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and spurned alliance
offers by regional players, few predicted any immediate gains for the
party. But now, one of the significant features of this election is surely
the re-emergence of the Congress as a key player in Uttar Pradesh,
India’s most populous state, where 80 seats are on offer. The same
strategy did not work of course in Bihar, where the alliance of the
Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party rode on the good
track record of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. All the same, the
Congress seems to have sown the seeds of its own resurgence by
adopting a long-sighted strategy in the two key Hindi-speaking
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needed to expand beyond its core support base to get ahead of the
Congress. This it was unable to do. In 2004, the BJP fared very well
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Karnataka — the States where it is locked in a more or less direct

fight with the Congress. To merely repeat that success would have
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been a considerable achievement. But this time, it lost badly in

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Rajasthan and yielded some ground in Madhya Pradesh. The

successes in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka could not
compensate for the losses sustained in Rajasthan and Madhya
Pradesh. To have a realistic chance of forming the government, the
BJP not only had to hold its ground in the Hindi belt; it also needed
its allies to do well. While the JD (U) obliged in Bihar, the Shiv Sena
disappointed in Maharashtra. The honours were more or less even in
Punjab. But more importantly, potential post-poll allies such as the
Telugu Desam Party and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti in Andhra
Pradesh and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in
Tamil Nadu did not do as well as they were expected to. And this
came after the demoralising loss of a long-time ally, the Biju Janata
Dal, in Orissa. After reaching a plateau in the Hindi belt, the BJP
needed to grow outside its traditional strongholds to really threaten
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the Congress. In recent years, its only success in this regard has
been Karnataka. But in other States in the south, the party is far from
being a player of any significance.
Other than the BJP, the big loser in the current election is the
Left. In both West Bengal and Kerala, the Left parties suffered
severe reverses; if the loss in the southern State can be explained in
terms of the customary swing of the pendulum, the failure to win a
majority of seats in the eastern State is the first in more than three
decades. This has meant that the Left parties will no longer be the
influential force they were at the Centre between 2004 and 2008.
Although they were not part of the UPA government, the Left parties
helped shape a Common Minimum Programme and kept up
pressure on the government to comply with it. Factional infighting in
Kerala, and a strong oppositional, even if opportunistic, alliance in
West Bengal, have succeeded in beating back the Left, which will
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need to do serious introspection on where it went wrong.
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In a tough contest, the UPA overcame not only the anti-
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incumbency factor, but also the shrill, communal campaign of the
BJP. But the mandate must not be read as an unqualified
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endorsement of all that the UPA government did in the last five
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years. In many States, regional issues came into play. The Sri
Lankan Tamil issue dominated campaign rhetoric in Tamil Nadu, but
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the voters rewarded neither those who advocated the cause of the
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LTTE nor those who blamed the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka on
alleged complicity and inaction by the Central and State
governments. In Bihar, the fight became a virtual referendum on the
performance of the Nitish Kumar-government after years of Lalu-
Rabri rule. In Maharashtra, the split in the Shiv Sena engineered by
Raj Thackeray seems to have played as big a role as the coming
together of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress. India
faces a number of internal and external challenges: in particular, the
impact of the global economic slowdown, and the tensions and
instability in the neighbourhood. The UPA must guard against
complacency and must use this second innings to improve
governance and respond effectively to the big challenges.
After more than a quarter-century of war with the militant Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam group, the Sri Lankan government succeeded in destroying
the rebels’ top leadership, core cadre strength and military resources. But
troubling questions remained about rehabilitation, reconciliation and
integration of the Tamil ethnic minority population.
MAY 19, 2009
End of the war

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With its entire top leadership and thousands of fighting

cadres killed in action, its military structure, assets, and capabilities
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destroyed, its political organisation decimated, the LTTE no longer

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exists as a military force. Belying conventional wisdom, Sri Lanka

has found a military solution to what used to be regarded as an
intractable armed secessionist and terrorist challenge. There is
something poignant about the way in which the low-intensity conflict
— which was waged over a quarter of a century and claimed tens of
thousands of lives — has ended. The images of terrified children,
women, and men fleeing the tiny sliver of coastal land in which they
were confined by the Tigers for use as a human shield, and of a
tractor load of bodies of senior LTTE leaders who made a final
hopeless stand for a lost cause will continue to haunt the memories
of journalists and others who witnessed these scenes. It might have
been very different had an organisation that started out, in the
1970s, with some kind of emancipatory political vision and even
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idealism not turned Pol Potist in its extremism, cruelty, and horrific
disregard for human life and welfare.
As the years went by and numerous proposals for a negotiated
political solution fell by the wayside, the one thing that remained
constant was the LTTE’s uncompromising secessionism and
militarism, and the rising graph of its terrorist crimes, which included
the assassination of a former Indian Prime Minister, a Sri Lankan
President, a Foreign Minister, a presidential contender, and
numerous democratic Tamil leaders, the massacre of Sinhala and
Muslim civilians, ethnic cleansing, child conscription, and economic
offences of various kinds. The ceasefire agreement of February
2002 represented a historic opportunity to break with the past.
Tragically, the LTTE, seeing it mainly as an opportunity to re-arm
itself and strengthen its parallel state structure in the territory it
controlled, did everything conceivable to make the peace process
falter and fail. “It was worse than a crime, a blunder,” is a Napoleonic
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era saying attributed to Talleyrand. If the May 1991 assassination of
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Rajiv Gandhi in Sriperumbudur by an LTTE squad dispatched by V.
Prabakaran made a permanent enemy of India, the boycott enforced
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in the LTTE-controlled areas during the November 2005 presidential

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election, which facilitated Mahinda Rajapaksa’s victory over

ceasefire-architect Ranil Wickremasinghe in a close contest, was an
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akratic act that defied all rational explanation. President Rajapaksa

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has achieved what no previous Sri Lankan leader came close to

doing: securing the integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka by freeing
it from the malevolent challenge of the LTTE. Now, in the post-
Prabakaran era, he needs to address two big tasks: rehabilitation of
hundreds of thousands of Tamils who have been through a
prolonged nightmare, and crafting an enduring political solution
based on far-going devolution of power to the Tamils in their areas of
historical habitation. India, which has excellent relations with its
southern neighbour, can make a constructive difference by coming
up with a massive rehabilitation package for the North and
encouraging Colombo to fast-track the political solution.
Since its launch in 2009, India’s Aadhaar project aimed at creating a unique
identification number database of residents. Amid concerns over data
security and government surveillance, the project promised benefits in
terms of efficiency gains for policy administration.
JUNE 30, 2009
A unique number
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HEN IN 1936 THE UNITED STATES BEGAN TO ISSUE ACCOUNT
numbers for employees covered by social security
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programmes, it processed 30 million applications in eight
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months. Seven decades later the United Progressive

Alliance government may find it a lot more challenging to
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provide every Indian citizen a Unique Identification (UID) Number

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and, more importantly, to make its use meaningful. A unique

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identification number can avoid duplication of records and help

people in numerous ways. Fraud in welfare programmes can be
curbed, health records for individuals created, security and tax
administration improved, and banking and financial transactions
speeded up. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) highlighted
such benefits when it approved, in November 2008, the
establishment of a UID Authority (under the Planning Commission)
for all residents in India. As envisaged by the EGoM, the UID
Authority would maintain a core database of personally identifying
information. Any agency dealing with individuals could incorporate
the UID number in its own database; such agencies would be able to
share information with others that maintain a similar database. But
creating a secure national database of 1.17 billion people is a

massive challenge. The Election Commission’s experience with
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photo identity cards for voters is indicative of the high cost and
difficulties involved. The ID scheme also requires legal safeguards to
ensure that a central repository of personal information does not
produce an Orwellian state that stifles civil liberties. The idea of a
unique identification number for different categories of people has
been on the anvil for many years. Unorganised workers,
stockbrokers and their clients, and members of the Employees’
Provident Fund Organisation were to be covered. But these plans
made little headway.
The present UID initiative can help merge the silos of data on
residents maintained by different agencies and departments, and the
electoral rolls are a good starting point. The task before the co-
founder of Infosys Technologies, Nandan Nilekani, who has been
appointed chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India,
is to draw up the information architecture that can unify the scattered
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collections of data into a national database. This can take off only if
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government departments and various agencies are fully networked.
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What is vital is the integrity of the data collection and verification
processes. The wide gap between citizens and residents is an issue
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that needs to be resolved. If it is not to end up like the earlier

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experiments, the UID Authority must come up with a system that can
create and maintain records relating to disparate groups including
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migrant labour, unorganised workers, senior citizens, and rural

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residents. In parallel, the government must introduce data protection

legislation. There must be no compromise on the key principle that
an individual has the right to access personal data held in the official
database and to amend the particulars.
In the Ayodhya dispute case involving the demolition in 1992 of a 16th-

century mosque by hundreds of “kar sevaks,” the Allahabad High Court
ruled that the disputed land would be split into three parts and one-third was
to be given to each of two Hindu organisations and one Islamic
organisation.
OCTOBER 1, 2010
Intriguing compromise could work

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the Ram
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Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute is a compromise
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calculated to hold the religious peace rather than an exercise

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of profound legal reflection. This search for a compromise

informs the orders of Justice S.U. Khan and Justice Subir Agarwal
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even if they would seem to stretch the law and, at times, logic as
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well. The third judge, Justice D.V. Sharma, decided that the disputed
structure could not be regarded as a mosque and ruled in favour of
the Hindu plaintiffs. The effect of the majority judgments is that the
disputed land of 2.77 acres is to be divided equally among the two
Hindu plaintiffs, the Nirmohi Akhara and Bhagwan Sri Rama
Virajman, the deity regarded as a jurisdic person that can own
property, and the Sunni Central Board of Waqfs U.P. The portion of
the inner courtyard where the central dome of the Babri Masjid stood
before its demolition and where the makeshift temple now exists is to
be given to the Hindu plaintiffs. The rest of the area where the Babri
Masjid stood, including part of the inner courtyard and some part of
the outer courtyard, is to be allotted to the Waqf Board. The Nirmohi
Akhara is to be allotted the buildings that stood in the outer courtyard

of the premises, including Ram Chabutra and the Sita Rasoi, while it
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is to share the unbuilt area of the outer courtyard with Bhagwan Sri
Rama Virajman. To facilitate such a three-way division, and also to
provide access, some part of the land acquired by the Central
government around the disputed land could be used.
In arriving at his decision on the three-way division, Justice Khan
has concluded that the disputed structure was a mosque constructed
by or under orders of Emperor Babar and that it was built not after
demolishing any temple but on an area where some temples were
already in ruins. He notes that before the mosque was constructed,
the Hindus believed that somewhere in the large area of land where
the Babri Masjid came to stand later was the spot of birth of Lord
Ram. After the mosque was constructed, they came to believe that
the place where the mosque stood contained the birth spot, and
much later in the decades before 1949 they came to identify that
spot as the one under the central dome. He also holds that much
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before 1855, the adjoining Ram Chabutra and the Sita Rasoi existed
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and Hindus were worshipping there. According to his finding, the idol
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of Lord Ram was placed for the first time under the central dome of
the Babri Masjid in the early hours of December 23, 1949. In view of
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the side-by-side worship and joint possession of the disputed site, he

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would declare both parties as joint title holders. However, that part of
the land under the central dome of the Babri Masjid where the idols
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were placed and the makeshift temple now stands after demolition
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would be allotted to the Hindus.

However, Justice Agarwal who also favoured the division of the
land differed from Justice Khan on some critical issues. He does not
find evidence of Babar having built the mosque or any material to
support the exact date when it was built, though he finds it was in
existence before 1776. He finds also that the idol had been placed
under the central dome on December 23, 1949 but wants that spot to
be allotted to the Hindus. The Sunni Central Board of Waqfs is to get
no less than one-third of the total area in dispute, including the rest
of the area on which the mosque stood and some part of the outer
courtyard. Justice Sharma finds that the idol was placed under the
central dome on December 23, 1949 but in his other findings and
conclusions he differs radically from his fellow judges on the Bench.
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He has ruled that as the disputed structure was built against Islamic
tenets, it could not be regarded as a mosque.
At one level, from the standpoint of political morality, the verdict
could be viewed as partially rewarding those who placed the idol
overnight under the central dome of the mosque and those who in
1992 razed it to the ground. Nevertheless, the confusing mass of
findings the reasons for which are not entirely clear and the
compromise nature of the verdict along with the substantive outcome
of dividing the disputed land have restrained any party from claiming
outright victory or sulking in total defeat. The Sunni Waqf Board and
the Sri Ramjanmabhoomi Trust have indicated that they would
appeal against the verdict to the Supreme Court.
All sections of political opinion had issued appeals for calm and
restraint on the eve of the verdict but apprehensions of disturbances
remained, and a last minute effort was made to halt the judgment.
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The Supreme Court struck a blow for the rule of law and decided that
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the judicial process that has been winding slowly over the last 60
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years ought not to be halted at the last minute for fear of
disturbances and under some imaginary hope of the parties arriving
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at a negotiated settlement. If overall the reaction from the public and

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from large sections of political opinion has been subdued, much of it

has to do with the mood of the nation in which the Ram
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Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue does not find much traction any

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more — in striking contrast to the 1990s. On balance, the nature of

the Allahabad High Court verdict should help the nation as a whole
put a longstanding dispute behind. Secular India needs to move on
and not be held hostage to grievances, real or imaginary, from the
distant past. A great deal of the responsibility lies with political
parties and religious groups to maintain harmony in the face of
fundamentalist forces seeking to disturb the peace and profit from
raising communal issues. They ought not to allow revanchist
sentiment and any talk of revenge to come to the fore as many of
them did in the 1980s and 1990s by their passivity or collaboration.
For too long has the Ayodhya dispute remained an obsession with
large sections of the people. It is to be hoped that after this major,
even if not final, step in the judicial process it will cease to occupy
the political stage.
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“Triple talaq,” divorce through three utterances of the word, found support in
the views of an Islamic seminary in India, based on the case of a man
resorting to this method through online communications. However,
progressive Muslims recognised the egregious wrong that this tradition
commits to women’s welfare.
NOVEMBER 1, 2010
Divorce in a trice
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during an Internet chat constitute the termination of their
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marriage? Yes, infamously decreed the Darul Uloom

Deoband, one of Asia’s biggest and most influential
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seminaries, in a recent response to a written question. It was

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purportedly from a man in Qatar, who sought a clerical opinion on

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the implication of his jokey behaviour over Skype towards a wife he

claimed he loved. The man’s motives for, and indeed seriousness in,
asking the question of the Darul Uloom in Uttar Pradesh are unclear.
But the answer in the form of a fatwa — that his wife has become
‘haraam’ and that he has no right to take her back or remarry her
without ‘halalaah,’ that is, until she marries someone else and
divorces him after observing the mandatory ‘iddat’ or waiting period
— reflects the regressive tendency among a section of the Muslim
clergy to support the practice of triple talaq. This arbitrary form of
divorce, which gives Muslim men the right to divorce their wives
instantaneously by uttering or writing the word ‘talaq’ thrice, has no
place in a modern democratic society. Significantly, triple talaq or
‘talaq-e-bidah’ has no sanction in the Koran, is not accepted by Shia

Muslims, and is proscribed explicitly or neutralised by strict
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restrictions imposed on its practice in many Muslim countries,

including Pakistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Turkey, and Tunisia.
For long, progressive Muslim organisations have argued that
triple talaq is un-Islamic and campaigned for its abolition.
Unfortunately, a section of the ulema and the All India Muslim
Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) have continued to regard this
indefensible practice, which has caused many thousands of women
to suffer, as a male entitlement. Six years ago, there were
expectations that the AIMPLB, which was in the process of drawing
up a model ‘nikahnama’ (marriage contract), would recommend
abolishing triple talaq. But the document ended up by tamely
suggesting that men should not resort to ‘talaq-e-bidah’ unless
inevitable. Although the Allahabad High Court controversially held
triple talaq was unconstitutional in 1994, the judiciary’s general
approach, from pre-Independence times, has been influenced by the
stance that although the custom is ‘bad in theology,’ it is
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unfortunately ‘good in law.’ From time to time, Indian courts do adopt
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a more equitable and gender-sensitive approach while interpreting
and deciding legal issues pertaining to Muslim marriage law. But the
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law itself needs to be reformed — ignoring, if need be, the

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recalcitrant and reactionary positions staked out by some sections of

the clergy and others who claim to speak for the Muslim community.
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The death of Boa Sr (85), a Great Andamanese elder, marked the passage
of her tribe’s language, Bo, into history and linguistics books. With the
tribe’s numbers dwindling over the past century, owing to violence during
the British period or disease thereafter, there is no more important time than
the present to protect the fragile lives of these people of the Great Andaman
archipelago.
FEBRUARY 9, 2010
The future of the past

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things — a
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HE DEATH OF A LANGUAGE MEANS THE PASSING OF MANY
way of life, a cultural identity, a repository of indigenous
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knowledge. Language is not merely a mechanical means of

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communication but a medium that shapes the very way we

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think; as the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein observed, the

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limits of one’s language are the limits of one’s world. The outpouring
of nostalgic sorrow and ruminative melancholy over the death at 85
of Boa Sr — the last speaker of the Bo, one of the ten languages of
the tribes that populated the Great Andaman archipelago — is
recognition that the passing of this grand old lady represents the
irreplaceable loss of a part of the world’s heritage, the passage of
the remnants of a living culture into memory. It is a reminder of the
fragility of the indigenous people of the Andaman islands and the
importance of protecting their lives and their culture — which dates
back an estimated 70,000 years — from further degradation in the
name of ‘upliftment’ and ‘civilisation.’ The dwindling numbers of
indigenous people, most of whom were either killed by British
colonisers or died through diseases imported by settlers, is reflected

starkly in the population of Great Andamenese, down to around 50
from an estimated 5,000 a century ago. Once in residence along the
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length of the Great Andaman region, they now live in tiny Strait
Island, largely deprived of their cultural and linguistic identities.
Only three other tribes survive in the Andaman islands: the 250
or so Jarawas, who resisted contact with outsiders until two decades
ago and whose way of life is threatened by the ‘friendly contact’
promoted by the Great Andaman Trunk Road that cuts through their
forest homeland; the Onges (around 100), who live in a remote
pocket in the Little Andaman; and the Sentinelese, who have fiercely
resisted outside contact, and whose numbers and language remain
unknown. The Andamans is celebrated for being a storehouse of
faunal and floral diversity but its linguistic and cultural diversity has
largely been neglected. The languages or dialects of the Great
Andamanese are regarded as one of the five language families in
India; if Onge-Jarawa is derived from a separate linguistic ancestor
as some believe, then this remarkable region would have contributed
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to two of six language families. While the study of language and
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cultures is a matter for academics, the effort to preserve them is a
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political enterprise, a process that requires empowering indigenous
communities to protect their ancient traditions and tap into local
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resources in an autonomous and sustainable way. In the Andamans,

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more than elsewhere, we need to protect the future of the past.

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India pulled off a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the 2011 One Day
International Cricket World Cup final, in Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium. This
was only India’s second ever World Cup win, the previous occasion being
28 years earlier. Indian Captain M.S. Dhoni clinched this triumph by bringing
out the best qualities in each of his team members.
APRIL 4, 2011
Behind India’s World Cup

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HEAD OF THE WORLD CUP, WIDELY PERCEIVED AS THE MOST
recent times, India found itself in an unenviable position:
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anointed as the favourite and appointed to play in front of

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volatile, demanding home crowds. A measure of the

constricting pressure India’s cricketers experienced during the
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tournament may be had from captain M.S. Dhoni’s revelation that his
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men struggled to keep their foot down and that Yuvraj Singh was
physically sick because of anxiety. Seen in this light, India’s second
World Cup triumph — 28 years after the gloriously improbable victory
Kapil Dev’s team achieved against the mighty West Indies —
appears all the more remarkable. Four distinct qualities characterise
this triumph. One, the facility for natural expression under pressure,
especially when batting. Two, game-toughness, which manifested
itself in the wherewithal to meter resources through a draining
tournament. Three, the peculiar yet much-desired ability, common to
teams Dhoni leads, not so much to solve problems as to transcend
them (the lift in the fielding standard of a largely unathletic side
inured to mediocrity was hard to explain). Four and most important of
all, an unbending desire to win that was stronger than any of the
other teams.
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From a unit that looked flawed in the league stage — its bowling
inadequate, its fielding incompetent, its batting inconsistent,
particularly in the Power Play overs — India transformed itself into a
side that got the job done in the big matches. As Dhoni noted, his
team peaked at the right time. No one better illustrated this
transformation than the captain. He reserved his best innings — a
poised, calculated, and ultimately devastating 91 — for the finale.
His decision to promote himself in the big game was a classic case
of leading from the front, and while he made tactically questionable
calls, his ability to inspire a band of men to stay invested in a contest
is second to none. Gautam Gambhir seems to escape notice in a
team of superstars, but he must be acknowledged as one of the
finest big-match batsmen of his generation. His record in second
innings in important Tests and in run chases and grand finals in ODIs
and Twenty20 games is exceptional. India discovered and re-
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discovered many heroes in the World Cup. Yuvraj had a standout
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tournament, his runs and wickets often coming when his team
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needed them most. Zaheer Khan held the bowling together,
delivering wickets whenever his captain threw him the ball in the
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middle-stages. He might not have ended as he wished, but his

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brilliant opening spell in the final set the tone. Virender Sehwag, Virat
Kohli, and Suresh Raina made runs that were worth more than their
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quantity while Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, and Ashish Nehra

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contributed vital spells without having consistently good

tournaments. R. Ashwin, curiously overlooked for much of India’s
campaign, added an edge to the bowling and forced Harbhajan to
raise his game. Sachin Tendulkar, for whom the team said it wanted
to win the World Cup, continued his scarcely believable second wind
which now spans three years. The team’s spontaneous gesture of
chairing a visibly emotional Tendulkar and parading him before an
adoring home crowd showed how much it meant to all involved.
Coach Gary Kirsten and the rest of the backroom staff deserve high
praise for creating an atmosphere in which India’s cricketers could
relax and thus express their skills naturally. Sri Lanka might have
fallen at the last hurdle, but much like Pakistan, it won fans for its
cricket, its comportment, and its captaincy. But this was India’s World
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Cup, and Dhoni’s men were worthy winners of a well-staged

tournament.
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A groundswell of mass support bolstered the campaign of Anna Hazare to

push the civil-society-authored Jan Lokpal anti-corruption bill into law.
Although this bill was itself not flawless, it highlighted gaping inadequacies
in the government’s anti-corruption bill as much as it reflected the national
mood of frustration over mega-corruption scandals.
APRIL 9, 2011
The stand-off over corruption

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EW COULD HAVE ANTICIPATED THAT ANNA HAZARE’S MOVEMENT for a
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stronger Lokpal bill would generate such an extraordinary
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groundswell of public support, particularly among the urban

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middle class. By the fourth day of his indefinite fast, the

nationwide protests led by 71-year-old social activist have forced the
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Centre to drop the anti-corruption bill it had drafted, to agree to

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prepare a new and stronger draft in consultation with civil society

activists, and to desperately seek an agreement to end the crisis. It
is imperative that the Manmohan Singh government seeks to resolve
the remaining differences — on whether the committee must be
formally notified and whether a civil society nominee should head it
— by forsaking obstinate stances and respecting the popular mood.
With the Centre rejecting the positions staked out by Mr. Hazare on
these two issues, he has called for a nationwide jail bharo on April
13. It is not certain how long the deadlock will continue. But in the
welter of protests and the general anger about corruption, the key
details about what this specific crusade is really about must not be
lost.
Essentially, the battle is to formulate a Lokpal bill that will allow

for impartial and effective inquiries into complaints against public
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officials. The civil activist camp is correct in pointing out that the
official draft is weak and ineffectual. For instance, rather than allow
the Lokpal (or ombudsman) to probe all corruption-related
complaints against public officials received from the general public, it
restricts such inquiries to those forwarded by the Lok Sabha Speaker
or the Rajya Sabha Chairman. The reluctance of the Centre to draft
a tough Lokpal bill has been coupled with a longstanding reluctance
to enact it; one or another version of the bill has been introduced in
the Lok Sabha eight times since 1968 only to find the House being
dissolved before it could be passed. Mr. Hazare and his supporters
have demanded that the Jan Lokpal bill drafted by civil society
activists be adopted instead. But this piece of legislation, although
having much more teeth, is not without its share of serious flaws. For
instance, it stipulates that the selection committee for the Lokpal
must include Nobel laureates of Indian origin and recent Magsaysay
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award winners. It also makes drastic changes in the existing criminal
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justice system by envisaging the Lokpal as something of a supercop,
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under whose jurisdiction a good portion of the Central Bureau of
Investigation will be subsumed. The challenge is to formulate a
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Lokpal bill that has the teeth lacking in the government draft and is
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free from the angularities of the civil society version.

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Nearly a decade after the 9/11 attacks in the U.S., American Navy SEALs
killed Osama bin Laden, erstwhile chief of terror group al-Qaeda, in his
compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. His location increased suspicions that
Islamabad may have known his whereabouts.
MAY 3, 2011
What the end of bin Laden means

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N THE NEARLY 10 YEARS SINCE THE SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 TERRORIST
attacks in the United States, if there was a man who could claim
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responsibility for single-handedly setting the world’s agenda, it
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was Osama bin Laden. As the smiling face behind the 9/11
attacks, the leader of a global terror network that reared its head
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in countries from the U.S. to the United Kingdom to Indonesia, bin

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Laden changed the way we led our lives in more ways than has yet
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been fully understood. With the attacks on the Twin Towers, the U.S
invaded Afghanistan, unleashing a war that has claimed thousands
of civilian lives, in which much of the western world is involved to a
greater or lesser degree. It did not make the world a safer place as
promised but only made people everywhere more vulnerable to
terrorist attacks. Al-Qaeda’s alleged spread into Saddam Hussein’s
Iraq was one of the reasons cited by the Bush administration for the
2003 invasion of that country. With an ideology that offered nothing
but a pledge to destroy the U.S. and the “enemies of Islam”
everywhere, bin Laden and his network of jihadists exploited a welter
of real and perceived grievances of populations in the Islamic world,
both against their own governments and the outside world,
especially the U.S. In the al-Qaeda solution, there was no room for
negotiations, bargains, or compromises with the “enemy.” The true
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path was that of violence, which created a self-fulfilling prophesy of a

“clash of civilisations” by drawing the U.S. and other western powers
into an ever-spiralling war against “terror” — a war al-Qaeda and its
ally, the Taliban, and other groups linked to them by their radical
ideologies were able to project as a war against Islam, strengthening
bin Laden’s hands with every passing day. The U.S. had been
pursuing him even before 9/11, in fact from as far back as 1992.
After his escape from the fierce assault on his hideout in
Afghanistan’s Tora Bora caves, he was suspected to be hiding in
Pakistan. His killing on the night of May 1, in a targeted operation by
U.S. Navy Seals at his hideout 150 km from the Pakistan capital city
Islamabad, is a landmark development in the “war against terror.”
Beyond relief, what implications does this development hold for
the world? When President Barack Obama announced the death of
bin Laden in an address from the White House, he was correct in
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cautioning that this did not mean the end of al-Qaeda. Over the
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decade since 9/11, the network has expanded, spread, morphed,
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and broken off into what have come to be known as “al-Qaeda
franchises” round the world. These franchises have shown their
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ability to plan and carry out attacks in their area of operation

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independently of bin Laden. Only last year, a plot to carry out a

bombing in the United States with explosives packed in couriered
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parcels was uncovered in the nick of time; the plot was claimed by
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al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Last month al-Qaeda

warned it would unleash “a nuclear hell storm” in Europe, giving rise
to fears that it might have a nuclear bomb. There is a real possibility
that the killing of bin Laden will turn him into a martyr, inspiring
others to take up the battle. Certainly, countries around the world are
bracing for reprisal attacks. Much, however, depends on how
Washington conducts itself from this point onwards. For starters,
President Obama needs to rethink the war in Afghanistan. If the
ultimate objective is to talk to “moderate” Taliban in order to
negotiate an end to this war, there is no justification for further
military operations in that country, and no excuse for delaying the
departure of the U.S. and other foreign troops.
Pakistan certainly has some soul-searching to do. Its political

leaders and officials always rejected suspicions that the al-Qaeda
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leader was holed up in their country. It is deeply troubling that the 54-
year-old bin Laden, for whom the U.S. had announced a bounty of
$50 million, had made a home not in some remote inaccessible
corner of Pakistan, but in one of its most pleasant cities, close to the
capital, in a house that was so big it could not have escaped notice.
That it was located less than a kilometre from the Kakul Military
Academy is even more troubling. Is it believable that Pakistan’s
intelligence agencies did not know about the presence of the world’s
most wanted terrorist? Did they ignore what was going on under their
noses? Or worse, were they involved in maintaining the safe haven?
During his 2008 election campaign, President Obama pledged that if
there was “actionable intelligence” about bin Laden in Pakistan, he
would authorise action with or without Islamabad’s help. In his
speech, he was careful to highlight Pakistan’s counter-terrorism
cooperation. But this daring operation, eight months in the planning,
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had no Pakistanis on board. In the last few months, relations
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between the two countries have deteriorated over the CIA’s covert
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operations inside the country.
While much blame can be apportioned to the way the U.S. has
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conducted itself in the region, for Pakistan the killing of bin Laden on
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its soil is a moment of truth, somewhat similar to the discovery that

the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks were launched from its territory, only
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the public’s hostility towards Pakistan over the Mumbai attacks

through a series of peace moves under the personal initiative of
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, it will certainly be hoped that the
death of bin Laden strengthens the hands of those forces in Pakistan
who want their state to shut the door on militancy, extremism, and
terrorism once and for all. While it may be tempting to see bin
Laden’s killing at Abbottabad as confirmation of India’s worst fears,
New Delhi must resist the temptation to crow, and must push ahead
with the peace process with the civilian government of Pakistan.
The death penalty is the ultimate cruel punishment, irrespective of the

nature of the crime. When President Pratibha Patil dismissed the clemency
petitions of those on death row in the Rajiv assassination case, India had
not carried out an execution for about seven years.
AUGUST 18, 2011
No to death penalty
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simply: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
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inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The death

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penalty is the ultimate cruel punishment. Abolitionists tend

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to advance two main reasons why it must go: it does not deter crime;
and, as justice systems around the world are flawed, there is more
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than a possibility that someone will be punished wrongly, and

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irrevocably. These are sound arguments, backed by statistics. But

there is no more important strike against capital punishment than the
sheer barbarity of taking another person’s life even under sanction of
law. There is no humane method of execution either. Death by
hanging, lethal injection, electrocution, beheading, shooting are
equally repugnant in their intent to take life, and in the violence they
inflict on the condemned person. Proponents of the death penalty
argue that this is the only way to compensate, or provide justice to,
those affected by heinous crimes such as murder or terrorism. But
an ‘eye for an eye’ has no place in a modern, progressive criminal
justice system. Internationally, there is an increasing trend towards
abolition, with 96 countries doing away with it and 34 countries being
abolitionist in practice by observing official or unofficial moratoria on

executions. Each of the three United Nations resolutions calling for a
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moratorium has seen more countries backing it. On the other hand,
China, the United States, Iran and other West Asian countries, and
countries in South-East Asia buck the trend by frequently using the
death penalty.
In India, there has been no execution since 2004 but that is poor
consolation considering the swelling number of those who face the
threat of execution. Indian courts handed down 105 death sentences
last year, according to Amnesty International. Earlier this week,
President Pratibha Patil dismissed the clemency pleas of Murugan,
Santhan, and Perarivalan, on death row for the assassination of
Rajiv Gandhi. The Home Ministry has advised President Patil to
dismiss the plea of Afzal Guru, sentenced to death in the 2001
Parliament attack case. Without going into the possible motives for
forefronting these mercy petitions at this politically difficult time for
the United Progressive Alliance government, it must be recognised
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that both were monstrous crimes that deserved the harshest civilised
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punishment — an actual lifetime in prison rather than the seven to
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14-year apology of a life sentence. It has been The Hindu’s
consistent stand for decades that India must make a clean break
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with a savage tradition by abolishing capital punishment. An

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immediate moratorium on executions should be the first step.

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By winning the world chess title for a fifth time in 2012, Viswanathan Anand
found his place among the all-time greats of the game. In terms of longevity
at the top, and consistency in performance against major rivals, Anand was
second to none. The title proved his abilities across formats, knock-out,
round-robin, classical and rapid tie-break.
JUNE 1, 2012
An inspirational icon
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FIFTH TIME,
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Viswanathan Anand has firmed up his place among the
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Boris Gelfand was the toughest of his world-title battles. Not

many outside the chess world know that for over two decades,
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Gelfand, 43, has been admired for his versatile chess qualities. Only
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Gary Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik were ahead of him in Russia.

In the event, it was hardly surprising that he stretched the 12-game
series to the rapid tie-break games, something Anand had not faced
in his two previous title-matches. Anand was prepared for the grind
and, as he did in the 2010 match against Veselin Topalov, won the
title after wiping out a one-point deficit. Anand admitted to spending
a sleepless night after losing the seventh game since he knew well
that it would be very difficult to bounce back against a rock-solid
player like Gelfand. But the very next day, Anand levelled the score
with a stunning 17-move victory. The high level of preparation from
both camps was evident all through the 10 drawn games. Gelfand
was enormously motivated to cash in on probably his last chance to
win the title. He tested Anand with some new opening moves without
compromising on his solid style of play. In terms of providing thrills,
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this series of contests may have fallen short but the high intensity of
the battles made up for that.
The triumph in Moscow, where Anand has a matching number of
admirers and critics, was also significant for another reason. For
years, the Russian chess fraternity, in particular, has belittled
Anand’s achievements. Even in the days leading to the clash against
the Belarus-born Gelfand, there was criticism in the regional media
which said that Anand lacked hunger and his game had weakened in
the recent past. But the genial Indian’s triumph in every format —
knockout, round-robin, classical and now in a rapid tie-break finish —
should silence the cynics. Surely, Anand’s consistency has been
second to none. He has stayed in the world’s top 10 since 1991 and
he is one among seven players ever to hold the topmost ranking in
40 years. Considering that every Anand manoeuvre over the board
has been clinically analysed by the best chess brains, mostly from
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the erstwhile Soviet Union and Europe, for 25 years, it is truly
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commendable how he has managed to stay a step ahead. His
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longevity as a performing champion is the result of his
uncompromising nature when it comes to discipline and training. His
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conduct remains spotless and his popularity keeps growing with

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every success; yet, his humility appears ever more pronounced. No

wonder, Anand is an icon and an inspiration to a generation of
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sportspersons of all disciplines.

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A Channel 4 documentary, No Fire Zone, revealed photographs of

Balachandran Prabakaran, son of Tamil separatist leader Velupillai
Prabakaran, which suggested that the 12-year-old had been summarily
executed. This prompted widespread outrage alongside broader concerns
of the international community about war crimes committed during the final
phase of fighting between the army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam in 2009.
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
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in the apparent custody of Sri Lankan security personnel in

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the final days of the war against the Tamil Tigers have
caused widespread anguish and outrage, and
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understandably so. Last year, when another photograph

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showing the body of the LTTE chief Prabakaran’s son with visible
bullet wounds on his chest surfaced, Sri Lanka’s explanation that the
boy died in crossfire seemed plausible. But the photographs
obtained by Channel 4 Television, in which Balachandran is seen
sitting inside a sandbagged military enclosure, suggest an entirely
different story of how the boy’s life ended, one that underscores
other allegations of war crimes against Sri Lanka. Colombo has
dismissed the photographs as “concocted lies, half-truths and
speculations” intended to embarrass the country at the forthcoming
Human Rights Council session in Geneva. If that is so, it is in Sri
Lanka’s own interest to begin immediately an honest and credible
investigation to find out how Balachandran died, and make the
findings public. If the young boy was indeed in an army bunker, as

the photographs indicate, the chain of custody can easily be
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established and those responsible for his eventual killing in cold

blood must be identified and handed down exemplary punishment.
For its part, Channel 4 says that experts consulted by it have
established the three photographs were taken with the same
camera. It has also openly said that its reason for releasing the new
evidence at this time, and a documentary next month, is precisely to
bring maximum international pressure on Sri Lanka to make it
accountable for civilian deaths in the final weeks of the war in 2009.
It took three years for the Rajapaksa government, which first
spoke of “zero civilian casualties” to accept that some civilians died,
though how many and in what circumstances are still contentious
issues. It undertook to implement the recommendations, as advised
by the 2012 HRC resolution, of its own Lessons Learnt and
Reconciliation Commission, but a “national action plan” towards this
end displayed on the government website gives no sign of progress.
New Delhi, which worked to tone down the language of last year’s
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resolution before casting its vote for it, will need to chalk out a more
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well thought out response to the new photographs than its initial
reaction that their “authenticity” needs to be established. Reactions
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from political parties in Tamil Nadu, and the State government’s

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decision to cancel the July Asian athletics meet to avoid hosting Sri
Lankan participants indicate that the issue is set to take a toll on the
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traditionally good ties between people of both countries. Quickly and

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confidently, before the situation deteriorates, India needs to chart a

course that can convince its own people and the international
community that it is on the side of what is right and just in this matter,
while impressing on Colombo that the issue will not fade away just
by stout denial, as it seems to hope.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the political offshoot of Anna Hazare’s India
Against Corruption movement, burst onto the national stage when it
emerged as the largest party in the 2013 Delhi Assembly election. Entering
office via a coalition government helmed by Arvind Kejriwal, AAP resigned
in less than two months owing to differences with its partners over the
Lokpal bill.
DECEMBER 24, 2013
Transformational politics
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HE AAM AADMI PARTY’S JOURNEY FROM MASS MOVEMENT TO political
office in just one year is without a parallel in Indian electoral
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history, reflecting as it does a popular yearning for change

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from the models of governance on offer today. A

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disenchanted electorate is clearly behind the resounding mandate to

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the Arvind Kejriwal-led party which made an ambitious leap from the
anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazare. Yet, history has been
made and the AAP is now poised to form a government in Delhi with
Mr. Kejriwal as Chief Minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which
was ahead of the AAP by three seats, wisely decided not to form a
government through horse-trading and the Congress did not have
the numbers. Given the high moral ground on which the AAP had
placed the game of government formation, the BJP could not afford
to be seen as any less righteous than the AAP. Yet, the AAP itself
was caught in a quandary having declared in the electoral run-up
that it would not seek or offer support to the Congress and the BJP.
But going back to the voters for a fresh mandate was not an option
because that would have been a betrayal of the faith the voters had
reposed in the AAP — a first-time party that had come within a
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whisker of power because of the hope it offered for political renewal

and transformation.
The situation actually offered Mr. Kejriwal the opportunity to put in
practice a major manifesto promise: to get the people’s feedback on
issues of importance. With the message from the Jan Sabhas a
resounding ‘yes’ for government formation, the next step was for Mr.
Kejriwal to offer to form a government with outside support from the
Congress. The idea of a referendum itself was refreshing as a
method of seeking the people’s endorsement of the way forward in
this complex situation. It is also a vital instrument of verifying public
opinion that is missing from today’s democratic political practice in
India. Mainstream parties seem to be increasingly out of sync with
the dramatic changes on the ground that indicates the soaring
aspirations of new social groups. The AAP has correctly gauged the
potential and power of this transformative energy and indeed, sees
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itself as giving political expression to it. Mr. Kejriwal is admittedly
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hamstrung by having to take support from the Congress, which the
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AAP had denounced as irredeemably corrupt. However, even with
this constraint, he can bring about substantive changes in
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governance, starting with putting an end to the much-detested VIP

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culture. While the first breakthrough is definitely the passing of the

Lokpal law, there are still several promises that the AAP must keep.
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The real test of the AAP’s commitment to clean politics and

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transparent governance begins now.

Transgendered persons received full legal recognition by the Indian

government as a third gender, following a lengthy campaign. After more
than 65 years of discrimination and social ostracisation a landmark ruling by
the Supreme Court in April 2014 opened the doors of education,
employment, healthcare, and welfare benefits to this marginalised group.
APRIL 17, 2014
Salutary judgment
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entitled to the same rights and constitutional protection as
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all other citizens, the Supreme Court has put in place a

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sound basis to end discrimination based on gender,

especially gender as presumed to be assigned to individuals at birth.
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Further, beyond prohibiting discrimination and harassment, the Court

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has extended global principles of dignity, freedom and autonomy to

this unfairly marginalised and vulnerable community. The verdict lays
down a comprehensive framework that takes into its fold not merely
the negative right against discrimination, but also “the positive right
to make decisions about their lives, to express themselves and to
choose which activities to take part in.” In particular, its direction that
they should be treated as ‘socially and educationally backward’ and
given reservation in education and employment, is a far-reaching
contribution to their all-round development. The jurisprudential basis
for the judgment is that sex identity cannot be based on a mere
biological test but must take into account the individual’s psyche.
The Court has noted that Indian law treats gender as a binary
male/female concept, with sections of the Indian Penal Code and

Acts related to marriage, adoption, divorce, succession, and even
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welfare legislation, being examples. The Court has also relied on the
Yogyakarta Principles — norms on sexual orientation and gender
identity evolved in 2006 at Yogyakarta in Indonesia — to bolster its
reasoning.
The separate, but concurring, opinions of Justice K.S.
Radhakrishnan and Justice A.K. Sikri contain some subtle criticism
of the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling in Suresh Kumar Koushal
upholding Section 377 of IPC that criminalises even consensual
same-sex activity. While conscious that they cannot depart from the
ruling of a Division Bench, both Judges have highlighted the fact that
misuse of Section 377 is one of the principal forms of discrimination
against the transgender community. By noting that Section 377,
despite being linked to some sexual acts, also highlights certain
identities, Mr. Justice Radhakrishnan sees a link between gender
identity and sexual orientation, something that the Koushal
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formulation missed when it concluded that the provision criminalised
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the act and not any identity or orientation. The sentence that
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transgenders “even though insignificant in numbers… have every
right to enjoy their human rights” is a fitting rebuttal to the claim in
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Koushal that because the LGBT community is a minuscule minority,

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it could not be held that the Section is invalid. Constitutional

protection ought to be made available to a particular group
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regardless of its size. The verdict on the transgender community now

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provides one more reason why Section 377 ought to be amended to

de-criminalise gay sex.
In May 2014 Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP, won a resounding
victory in the general elections, garnering an absolute majority in the Lok
Sabha that ended several decades of coalition government. His
presidential-style campaign, delivered on the promise of a “Modi wave,”
built on his promise to improve governance and economic growth
prospects.
MAY 17, 2014
Preserve the Idea of India

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HE SENSATIONAL SWEEP AND SCALE OF THE BHARATIYA JANATA
Party’s electoral victory was unquestionably the direct result
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of the strong upsurge in the popularity of its prime ministerial

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candidate, Narendra Modi. The Gujarat Chief Minister was

clearly the star campaigner and the massive “Modi wave”
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has given the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance an

unprecedented and historic mandate. With the BJP winning a
majority on its own, a remarkable paradigm shift has taken place in
the trajectory of India’s parliamentary politics. Breaking the trend of
the last few decades in which no party was able to pull off a runaway
victory of this kind, the BJP will come to power, free from the
pressures of coalition politics, giving it unfettered space and scope to
govern. This election marked the entry of 100 million new voters,
young Indians impatient for change and extremely aspirational in
their focus. The voter turnout — 66.38 per cent — was the highest
ever in India’s post-Independence electoral history, beating the
record of 1984 when 64.01 per cent of Indians voted in the aftermath
of Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
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This landmark election has also seen the incumbent United

Progressive Alliance crash to an ignominious defeat with the
Congress party, already on a downward spiral in several elections,
now humiliatingly reduced to a double-digit figure in Parliament, its
worst electoral tally since Independence. An indefensibly uninspiring
campaign led by Rahul Gandhi failed to rally a young and impatient
electorate. The BJP’s landslide victory, almost entirely attributable to
the sweeping effect of the Modi wave across India, reflects the
intensity of the desire for more effective governance. The rising
public anger as a result of the UPA’s policy paralysis, stalled
economic growth and worst of all, the series of corruption scandals,
created a hunger for change especially among young Indians who
see Mr. Modi as a leader symbolising their expectations of fast
economic growth unshackled from red tape and corruption. It is
indeed an ironic twist of history that the Gujarat Chief Minister whose
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governing record is shadowed by the disquieting facts that have not
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really gone away — relating to his moral and political responsibility
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for the Gujarat pogrom of 2002 — has adroitly become the
beneficiary of the increasing eagerness for a higher growth
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trajectory. It is also discomfiting that the election campaign that Mr.

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Modi conducted in the Hindi heartland States, especially Uttar

Pradesh, drew heavily upon Hindu cultural nationalism, invoking as
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he did Hindu sacred geography in Varanasi and using Hindu cultural

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idioms, not really imagery suitable to the public space in democratic

India.
Mr. Modi emphatically asserts that his agenda is all about
governance and economic change. We welcome his assertion and
wish him well in his efforts in this regard. But the reality remains that
there is a huge trust deficit with the minorities, especially the Muslim
community, which must be addressed. He is still regarded as a
deeply polarising figure not really reaching out to minorities unlike
many of his senior colleagues in the BJP or even the RSS who have
made some political attempts to bridge the divide. In order to close
the credibility gap that persists as regards his acceptability to govern
all Indians, Mr. Modi must ensure that the idea of India as a pluralist
and inclusive landscape in which all citizens have equality before the
law as constitutionally decreed, is upheld consistently and
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transparently, while he is in office as Prime Minister. He tweeted

exuberantly upon hearing the election results that “India has won!”
Indeed the task ahead is to ensure that all Indians share that sense
of belonging and participation in the national governing agenda. With
these cautionary notes, we offer our congratulations to Narendra
Modi, India’s next Prime Minister, and wish him all success, for his
own sake and India’s too.
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To capitalise on national recognition that he won for his government’s 2009

defeat of rebel forces of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka’s
north, President Mahinda Rajapaksa advanced by two years the date for
the next presidential election. However, his hopes of securing a third term
came to naught in January 2015, when his former Health Minister,
Maithripala Sirisena, won the presidency and began reversing some
features of the political system that were the bedrock of Mr. Rajapaksa’s
power.
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JANUARY 10, 2015
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HEN MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA CALLED A FRESH PRESIDENTIAL
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election two years ahead of the scheduled January 2016

end to his second term in office, he did so because he
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There was no real challenger on the horizon at that time,

and Mr. Rajapaksa, who had made the 2009 military victory over the
LTTE the main theme of his government, believed that Sinhalese
voters would once again repose their faith in him. Indeed, so
entrenched had he become that few imagined he would lose, and
that too to a relative unknown like Maithripala Sirisena, who was the
Health Minister in the Rajapaksa Cabinet. Mr. Sirisena’s sudden
emergence as a candidate of an opposition alliance took Mr.
Rajapaksa by surprise. He had been unable to see, surrounded as
he was by a cabal, that his one-family authoritarian rule had angered
senior members of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party, and taken the shine
off his image among the majority Sinhalese as the President who
ended a 30-year war. The Tamil voters in the North and East,
alienated as they were by the Rajapaksa government’s abject failure
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to face up to the challenges of post-war ethnic reconciliation, were

always going to vote against him. The foot-dragging on
investigations into alleged war crimes, the militarisation of the Tamil-
dominated North, the hardships that this posed for the people, and
the huge political failure on devolution of powers all ensured that the
Tamil vote would go against him. Another significant minority, the
Muslims, also shifted their allegiance away from Mr. Rajapaksa as a
thuggish group of Sinhalese hardliners, the Bodu Bala Sena, went
on the rampage against the community every now and then, with no
apparent attempt by the government to crack down on communal
violence even after a bout of deadly rioting in 2013. The departure of
the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress from the ruling coalition to the
Sirisena camp just days ahead of the election, was the final blow
against the Rajapaksa regime.
Mr. Sirisena rode to victory on an out-and-out anti-Rajapaksa
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vote that rendered irrelevant his own perceived handicaps: the
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absence of personal charisma; a late start; doubts about whether a
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candidate of a diverse opposition group could provide a stable
leadership; and the lack of resources in comparison to what the
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incumbent had at his disposal. He had to his advantage a rural base

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in the north-central districts of Sri Lanka, and aside from the backing
of a ginger group of the ruling SLFP that defected along with him, the
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backing of the main opposition United National Party, and the Jathika
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Hela Urumaya, a party of Buddhist monks. With this he managed to

poll nearly half of all Sinhalese votes cast, sweeping up in addition
the Tamil and Muslim votes to win 51.28 per cent of the vote share
compared to his opponent’s 47.58. The outcome is an unequivocal
victory for democracy and a lesson to the whole region in peaceful
regime change.
The new President of Sri Lanka has his work cut out. To begin
with, the focus is bound to be on Mr. Sirisena’s campaign promise to
abolish the powerful Executive Presidency, which will require a
constitutional amendment supported by two-thirds of Parliament, a
difficult proposition. One option before him is to dissolve Parliament
and call a fresh election a year ahead of schedule. The coalition
itself is made up of disparate and mutually antagonistic parties that

must learn to work together. UNP leader Ranil Wickramasinghe has
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already been named the new Prime Minister. Former President

Chandrika Kumaratunga, who, after retiring from politics in 2005 re-
emerged on the scene to mentor the SLFP defectors, may well
emerge as a third power centre. Quickly, Mr. Sirisena will need to
repair the much-eroded confidence in Sri Lanka as a country that
respects the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and media
freedom. Most importantly, the new dispensation must waste no time
in addressing the Tamil demand for a just peace, because on this
hinges the future of the country itself. With his vast powers, Mr.
Sirisena can immediately redress some long-standing demands
including returning to Tamils the land owned by them that the Army
took over in the 1990s and has stubbornly refused to vacate.
Devolution of powers to the Northern Province should also be high
on his list of priorities, and if a new Constitution is being planned with
a Westminster-style government, just power-sharing with the Tamil
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minority should find a place. The new dispensation will also need to
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move speedily on addressing alleged war crimes, starting with
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ascertaining how many Tamil civilians actually died in the last phases
of the war. But Tamil stridency on these demands will hinder rather
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than help matters. As the main and most credible political

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representative of the Tamils, the Tamil National Alliance must play a

responsible role.
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Tamil Nadu’s political parties must desist from fanning any

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extremist demands, for which there is no place on either side of the

Palk Strait. For New Delhi, the change in Sri Lanka presents the
opportunity to build a bilateral relationship that is based on mutual
trust and honesty rather than on mutual suspicion. In recent months,
the growing military relationship between Colombo and Beijing was
one of the big concerns in New Delhi. As a sovereign country, Sri
Lanka must be free to choose its friends and allies. But the least
New Delhi can expect is that its defence concerns will not be
compromised by a friendly neighbour. India’s relations with Sri Lanka
are civilisational, not contractual, and despite all the ups and downs,
the ties between the people of both countries, based on culture,
religion and trade, have continued to flourish. Both countries have a
common strategic interest in a peaceful Indian Ocean. It is from this
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large base that both must now work to strengthen mutually beneficial
ties.
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The murder of Mohammad Akhlaq near Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, in September

2015, pushed the beef-ban agenda into the national debate. This incident,
along with other attacks by vigilante “gau rakshaks” against minorities,
attracted wide condemnation.
OCTOBER 6, 2015
Feeding the frenzy

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disrespect to Hinduism. The lynching of a Muslim, Mohammad

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Akhlaq, in Dadri last week, followed rumours that he had consumed

beef, and an announcement over the loudspeaker in the midst of a
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kirtan from the local temple that a cow had been killed in the
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neighbourhood. Therefore, for Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh

to appeal that a “communal colour” should not be added to the
incident is deeply intriguing. Not only do the immediate context and
the trigger for the murder appear to point toward the violence being
‘communal’ in nature, but also the wider environment in the
communally sensitive western Uttar Pradesh in the last couple of
years speaks to a situation of communal hatred and religious identity
politics. After the recent controversy over a meat ban effected in
some areas during days of the Jain fasting period and Vinayaka
Chaturthi, meat consumption moved up as a topic of discussion from
dining areas to media platforms. But if the meat ban threatened to
divide Hindu society, the beef ban exacerbated the Hindu-Muslim
divide as the cow has had the status of a sacred animal within many
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traditions of Hinduism. Unfounded rumours of a Muslim family

consuming beef were enough to instigate a mob.
Banning cow slaughter is a key component of Hindutva politics.
True, the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of
legislation in many States against cow slaughter. And, prohibiting the
slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle is
part of the Directive Principles of State Policy. But the rationale in the
Constitution was economic, relating to the organisation of agriculture
and animal husbandry in a predominantly rural economy, and not
religious. However, the stridency in the recent demands to ban the
slaughter of cattle and the sale of meat, is part of the new muscular
Hindutva that allows for no differences or exceptions or reasons
other than the invocation of religious sentiments. Indeed, after the
Bharatiya Janata Party came to power at the Centre last year, there
has been a renewed demand for a central legislation banning cow
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slaughter. Currently, such legislation is under the State List. Surely,
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Mr. Rajnath Singh is seeking to divert blame, and not clarify the
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issue in black and white, when he is asking that the killing of Akhlaq
not be given a communal colour. To ignore the social context and the
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prevailing political atmosphere while situating the killing is to ignore

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the Hindutva politics of communal hate and religious intolerance.

Those who feed the mob frenzy must be made accountable for the
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mob violence.
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A political party in Maharashtra took offence at a joke posted online by

popular comic Tanmay Bhat, satirising two icons of the State, cricketer
Sachin Tendulkar and singer Lata Mangeshkar. More than a year after the
Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act, this was a reminder
that authorities still had means to crackdown on online posts deemed
“offensive.”
JUNE 1, 2016
No jokes please, we’re Indian

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OMETIMES THE REACTION IS THE REAL JOKE. THE POLICE force in
India’s financial capital have sought legal opinion to check if
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Snapchat. The Mumbai police were following up on a complaint from

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the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, a political party with a remarkably

low threshold for taking offence. And the MNS was not the only party
outraged by the post by Tanmay Bhat, a comedian fairly well-known
for his “roast videos”, or takedowns of celebrities. Sanjay Raut of the
Shiv Sena, for instance, decided to make it clear that people like Mr.
Bhat “should be whipped in public”. Using the “face swap” feature on
Snapchat, Mr. Bhat had spoofed Sachin Tendulkar and Lata
Mangeshkar, with jibes about his cricketing ability and her long
singing career. It was certainly not polite. It could be argued that
locker-room chatter goes with the roast territory, and that it is in the
nature of the beast to push the boundary of how much political
incorrectness can be deemed passable. The point here is not to
applaud his sense of humour — or to condemn it. It is to spotlight the

speed with which the system mobilises to shut any expression of
mockery targeted at the well-known.
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That the effect is to stifle freedom of expression, to force the next

person to look over her shoulder before mocking the next public
figure, is obvious and intended. To be mocked is the most trying way
of being critiqued. One can ignore evenly stated take-downs — not
spoofs that make folks laugh. To deal with mockery in a democratic
society, one needs to be committed to a public culture of
engagement, of openness to questioning. India’s public figures are
clearly not. Politicians and celebrities (mainly film and cricket stars)
have failed India not just by using the strongest arm of the law to
curb expressions of humour aimed at them, thereby forcing self-
censorship on what we may laugh about. They have failed it by not
enabling sensitisation on what should pass as good humour and
what may not. When jokiness is curbed so menacingly — and for all
the brave front they may put up, cartoonists and comedians are
lonely people against the might of the state — the only response is
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to rally to defend freedom of expression. In an environment where
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possibly personal jokes are seen to warrant scrutiny and police
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action, no space can be available for shared humour, for comedy to
evolve sufficiently so that the larger community internalises what is
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On November 8, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a policy

of demonetisation of all ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes, or 86% of total currency
value, aimed at curbing the flow of black money, aiding counterterrorism
efforts, and expanding the tax base through more digital transactions.
NOVEMBER 10, 2016
A method in the shock therapy

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RIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI’S MOVE TO CURB UNACCOUNTED
P cash, or black money, circulating in the Indian economy by

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withdrawing the highest-value currency notes of Rs.500 and
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Rs.1,000 as legal tender within three-odd hours of the

announcement, is a bold one. He invoked provocative
ha
imagery to explain the measure — of corrupt officials stashing kilos

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of ill-gained cash under their mattresses, and such illicit black money
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fuelling inflation as well as terrorism. He pointed out how difficult it is

for honest taxpayers to buy a house as the real estate sector seldom
operates without a cash component, some of which finds its way to
political funding. The increase in the circulation of these notes in the
past five years has been disproportionate to the economy’s growth.
The introduction of new Rs.500 and Rs.2,000 notes, the government
argues, would not only check counterfeit currency, a problem that
has assumed serious dimensions, but also purge India’s economy of
the black wealth amassed in the form of high-value notes. Any
decision like this needs to be sudden, and it is not surprising that it
has caused hardship as people scramble to get notes of smaller
denomination for daily expenditure. The only defence for this is that
the larger public purpose outweighs the immediate difficulties.
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Having promised during the 2014 election campaign to bring

back black money worth lakhs of crores supposedly stashed abroad,
the NDA government has been under pressure to do something
dramatic. The two amnesty schemes it launched over the past year,
including one for foreign assets, didn’t yield anything near the 23.2
per cent of GDP that the World Bank had estimated India’s shadow
economy to be in 2007. Today that would be nearly $479 billion in
unaccounted wealth, according to rating agency Crisil. While there
will be pain and confusion in the short term for common people and
the economy, a disruptive measure was perhaps the only way to
shake up the system to a new compliance normal. But the Centre
must ensure that no poor person is saddled with old, useless notes
due to the lack of official identity documents or a bank account, and
avoid putting to disadvantage older citizens unable to visit a bank
repeatedly to exchange high-value notes. It should find ways to
e
check black money parked in benami properties (possibly through a
or
digital land and realty inventory) and gold. There must also be
Sc
administrative and electoral reforms to advance digital payments and
eliminate the prospect of the new currency regime spawning the
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ghost economy afresh.

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at
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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa passed away on December 5, 2016,

after a prolonged battle with ill health. Her legacy comprised as much of
mass welfare schemes and the adoration of millions, as it did a personality
cult propping up a centralised model of political authority, and a culture of
corruption in high office.
DECEMBER 7, 2016
Jayalalithaa, 1948-2016
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Chief
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DVERSITY BROUGHT OUT THE BEST IN JAYALALITHAA. AS A
Minister fighting for the rights of her State, as a politician
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trying to spring back from electoral defeats, as a woman

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standing up to sexist taunts in what is still very much a

man’s world, she was courageous to the point of being adventurist.
at
In her passing, India has lost a leader who played a vital role in the
Pr
shaping of Tamil Nadu during a crucial phase of the country’s

economic development and social progress. It may be true that
Jayalalithaa owed her success in politics in no small measure to her
film-world association with M.G. Ramachandran, the founder of the
AIADMK. Soon after she joined the party, her mentor, in 1983, made
her its propaganda secretary. But all that MGR did was to set her on
a political career. He did not anoint her his successor, and after his
death Jayalalithaa needed to win the battle for his political legacy.
This she did by reuniting the two factions of the party, retrieving its
election symbol, reviving the alliance with the Congress and, finally,
becoming Chief Minister in 1991. She continued with MGR’s policies,
targeting the weaker sections, the rural peasants and the
unorganised workers through food subsidies and social welfare

schemes, expanding the AIADMK’s reach. Unlike MGR, who lived
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under the constant shadow of the Centre’s power to dismiss a State

government under Article 356, she had the luxury of doing business
with a Congress government at the Centre led by P.V. Narasimha
Rao, one dependent on outside support from her party for survival.
This allowed her to take a strong stand on issues such as Cauvery,
forcing the Centre to toe her line, or at least heed her views.
However, towards the end of her first term as Chief Minister, her
government became enmeshed in a series of corruption scandals.
Her association with V.N. Sasikala, who was perceived by some as
functioning as an extra-constitutional authority, alienated sections of
her support base. Also, she drove away allies she had struggled to
win back following MGR’s passing.
Written off after receiving a drubbing in the 1996 Assembly
election, losing even her own seat, no one had forecast Jayalalithaa
would reinvent her political career so swiftly and effectively. The
e
DMK government, which slapped a slew of corruption cases against
or
her, had possibly thought it was writing her political epitaph, but
Sc
Jayalalithaa turned the tables by struggling to survive and remain
relevant. The haughty aloofness of the years in power was replaced
m
by a refreshingly accommodative nature, enabling her to stitch

ha
together a brand new alliance with smaller parties such as the Pattali
Makkal Katchi, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and
at
the Bharatiya Janata Party for the 1998 Lok Sabha election. The
Pr
sheer arithmetic of the alliance gave it a majority of the seats,

pitchforking Jayalalithaa back into a game that she seemed well out
of. At the Central level, her comeback bore a resemblance to the
Narasimha Rao years: this time it was the BJP-led government that
was wholly dependent on her support for survival. However,
Jayalalithaa squandered this opportunity by insisting that the Centre
dismiss the DMK government in the State. Evidently, she had not
factored in the Bommai judgment of the Supreme Court that had
made arbitrary use of Article 356 almost impossible. The end result
was the premature dissolution of the Lok Sabha in 1999, and the
formation of an unlikely alliance between her arch-rival, the DMK,
and her closest ideological ally, the BJP, which eventually defeated
the AIADMK-led alliance. Once again, the hard-fought gains of the

years in the opposition were frittered away. Without power in either
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New Delhi or Chennai, Jayalalithaa went back to the old familiar way
of building a new alliance in 2001. The Congress and its breakaway
group, the Tamil Maanila Congress, which owed its nascence to
opposition within the Congress to an alliance with the AIADMK, were
now roped in, along with the Left parties, which were fighting the
Congress in Kerala. Although the DMK did not suffer majorly from
any anti-incumbency sentiment, the AIADMK-led alliance won on the
strength of electoral arithmetic. Jayalalithaa’s propensity to drive
away friends was more than matched by her ability to bring together
foes.
Her political successes were challenged by legal setbacks.
Jayalalithaa was unseated twice: in 2001 the Supreme Court ruled
she could not continue as Chief Minister when she stood disqualified
from contesting in an election. But she got her conviction overturned
and returned as Chief Minister after winning a by-election. In 2014
e
she was convicted by a trial court in the disproportionate assets
or
case. But she was back as Chief Minister after winning an appeal in
Sc
the Karnataka High Court. The case is now awaiting a judgment in
the Supreme Court following an appeal. Jayalalithaa took ill after one
m
of her most remarkable wins in the 2016 Assembly election,

ha
following up on her 2014 Lok Sabha win, both achieved without the
benefit of allies, thanks to a divided opposition.
at
Like MGR before her, Jayalalithaa commanded the unflinching

Pr
loyalty, even adulation, of her party supporters. From the time she
was admitted in hospital, tens of thousands had gathered outside
praying for her. The AIADMK enjoys a comfortable majority in the
House, and the transition to a government headed by the new leader
has been smooth. But Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam now has the
unenviable task of holding the party together. Without the political
acumen and personal charisma of Jayalalithaa, this will be a tough
task.
Hello Readers,
telegram @ 4 AM.
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First published: December 1978

Reprinted in November 2017

means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the

prior permission of Kasturi & Sons Ltd.

S. Kasturiranga Iyengar, Editor, 1905-1923

We are pleased to reprint The Hindu’s book of one hundred editorials,

– Editor, The Hindu

9. Professor Ranganadham on social reform

10. The conspiracy against the Congress

12. Where are the angels?

13. What is the greatest boon of the British rule?

25. The failure of Arbuthnot & Co.

27. Psychical research

46. A monumental farce

47. The Golden Jubilee

49. An egregious circular

64. The Japanese surrender

83. Cricketers All

84. Jawaharlal Nehru

86. Food for thought

87. A peculiar profession

99. Decentralisation or economic romanticism?

101. The meaning of this split

qualitatively, in the variety of subjects on which it wrote all these

Fortunately for us the first editorial of THE HINDU was preserved

as much of variety in the topics presented, serious and light, as

THE HINDU was from the beginning a keen observer of the

THE HINDU’s interest in social and cultural problems is reflected

The editorials collected here represent a cross section of the views

SEPTEMBER, 20, 1878

rather ostentatiously styled “Ourselves” in which we will

presently set forth the circumstances that justify the appearance of a

proposes to pursue and the principles by which it is to be guided. It is

interfere too much in the internal administration of the country. We

encouragement and co-operation from the public if our attempt follows

its predecessors to the ‘undiscovered country’, we shall retire from the

without enjoying any of the advantages of party government, she

alone the questions relating to other countries. In the midst of the

numerous colonies imposes on her statesmen, the attention that these

becoming cities. England in fact is now a country of cities, each of

which is an important manufacturing centre. This absence of a

weakness to that country. The industrial population, too, is not in a

flourishing condition; they lead a miserable life. The poor law is

country abroad, while misery and poverty are stalking beneath

carriages. Meanwhile the industrial hands are replaced by machinery,

motives; but charity begins at home; and sympathy with foreigners

she is divided between embarrassment and rage. The South African

the attention of the imperial Government. It will be indeed a glorious

THE HINDU vehemently opposed a farewell party to Mr. D. F. Carmichael,

The Honourable D.F. Carmichael

those that we publish today, the feeling of the native

community with regard to the proposed Carmichael Poojah

obligation and carrying a trust, a responsibility, that was too sacred

Collector and Mr. Carmichael the Member of the Council, we suppose.