Successive failures of the Congress are stern lessons for those in power as well as the Opposition. Perhaps one can find succour by reading the Jnanappana, which is still relevant
The 44th anniversary of the Emergency is an ideal occasion to recall what George Santayana, the Spain-born essayist, poet and novelist had said: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Santayana may not have studied much about Indian politics or democracy but what he said is relevant even today. He was brought to the Indian narrative by the legendary Nanabhoy Palkhivala. He was the one who gave us back our democracy from the very people who robbed us of it. The Emergency declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on June 26, 1975, remains a blot on the nation. Fundamental rights were suspended by Indira Gandhi to safeguard her authority and power from marauders in the Congress itself for which there was no dearth.
The run-up to the declaration of the Emergency had begun immediately after the 1971 general election, which returned the Congress to power with a record number of 352 seats. Raj Narain, the Opposition candidate who was defeated by Indira Gandhi from Rae Bareli constituency, challenged her victory by filing a complaint in the Allahabad High Court. Narain’s contention was that Indira Gandhi had violated all norms mentioned in the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and had even misused official powers during the election campaign. Interestingly, the truth was that she would have won the election even if she had not used her official position because the Rae Bareli constituency was the home-turf of the Nehru-Gandhi clan.
Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha, who heard the petition filed by Narain, was convinced that Indira Gandhi had committed Constitutional impropriety by misusing the services of her officials as well as senior pilots of the Indian Air Force, who ferried her from one place to the other for campaign meetings. On June 12, 1975, Justice Sinha, in a landmark judgement, set aside the election of Indira Gandhi and disqualified her for six years from contesting elections. Once the court delivered its verdict, a race for the top post began in the Congress, which threatened the Gandhi clan’s hitherto unchallenged supremacy in the party and in the Government. It was to quell this rebellion that Indira declared internal Emergency by subverting the Constitution.
Chroniclers attribute the advice to declare Emergency to Siddhartha Shankar Ray, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, who was an eminent jurist and trouble-shooter for the Congress. The rest is history as the party resorted to blatant misuse of official machinery and throttled civil rights. The media was subjugated to suit the convenience of Indira Gandhi and her second son, Sanjay Gandhi, who was in a hurry to occupy the chair of the Prime Minister. Those, who now cry from the rooftops over the violation of media freedom, should also focus on historicity and analyse why it is so easy to coerce the media today. Sadly, the Emergency doesn’t have a discernible recall in recent memory simply because there was no internet or 24x7 news channels back then.
The official national media, the All India Radio, ended up as All Indira Radio, broadcasting the speeches made by her and singing paeans in her support. People started whispering that akashvani has degenerated into Indirawani! Newspapers and magazines had to get news reports and features cleared by the official censor appointed by the Government. The management of the anti-establishment Indian Express was usurped by the Government of the day. But what shook the conscience of the nation and the world was the scant disregard shown by Indira Gandhi towards the titans of India’s freedom movement.
Opposition leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, Piloo Mody, George Fernandes, Biju Patnaik, Charan Singh and hundreds of leaders like them were arrested and put behind bars under the provisions of the dreaded Maintenance of Internal Security Act. But the Communist Party of India stood like a solid rock behind Indira’s misadventure. Many activists in Kerala were taken into custody by the police and subjected to third degree torturing, which resulted in them losing their health and source of livelihood. Members of the Association of Emergency Victims, who are still around in Kerala, recount the police brutalities experienced by them during the dark days.
As she came under international pressure, Indira Gandhi was forced to call for the general election in March 1977. As per the norms, the general election should have been held in 1976 after the customary five-year tenure. But Indira Gandhi had got the Constitution subverted and managed to prolong the tenure of her Government. The 1977 election saw the Congress getting decimated by the Janata Party, a hastily formed conglomeration of Opposition parties, many of whom hated each other. The Indian voters gave a befitting reply to the high-handed behaviour of the rulers. It was a warning to the dictators that howsoever hard they suppress the people and keep them subjugated, the voters would repudiate and reject them at the first available opportunity. The 1977 results were a reminder that ahimsa was still alive. But rulers failed to learn the cardinal law about democracy that people are the king-makers.
Though the Janata Party was formed under the guidance of Jayaprakash Narayan, by merging a number of political outfits, it did not last long because of a turf war between some prominent leaders and their insatiable thirst for power and wealth. Instead of fighting against anti-democratic forces and those undermining the country from inside, the Janata parivar fought among themselves. “Divided we fought, united we fell” was the moral of the Janata story. In the 1980 general election, voters were left with no alternative other than Indira Gandhi, who approached the voters with slogans like “Government that works” and “Indira bulao, desh bachao.”
She was given a huge mandate with 353 seats. It is doubtful whether Indira Gandhi or her party, the Congress (yes, it was Indira’s Congress. DK Barooah, former Congress president had declared that Indira was India and India was Indira), had learnt anything from the ignominy of the 1977 defeat. For thereafter, corruption reached new levels. When her detractors cried foul, Indira Gandhi retorted that corruption was a global phenomenon and India could not stay insulated from its impact.
While a decimated Opposition looked on helplessly, Chief Ministers were ousted in quick succession. State Governments led by the Janata Party were made to defect en masse to the Congress and declare support to Indira Gandhi. The likes of Bhajan Lal, the then Haryana Chief Minister, were the ‘mascots’ of Indian politics. The name of Bhajan Lal cropped up recently when one saw the defection of four Telugu Desam Party MPs to the BJP under the guise of merger. These were the same MPs who had stalled the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha for days in 2018, demanding special category status to Andhra Pradesh. Isn’t this a repetition of history?
Neither Indira Gandhi nor her son Rajiv Gandhi learnt from past mistakes. To a question from the media whether he would resort to internal Emergency, Rajiv Gandhi, who succeeded Indira after her assassination, replied that he would declare Emergency if the situation demanded. The then Prime Minister went to the extent of describing the Opposition as limpets and parasites. Victory had gone to Rajiv’s head and there was no return from that “exalted” position.
Successive failures of the Congress are a stern reminder to those in power as well as the Opposition. Poonthanam Nambudiri, the great Malayalam poet (1547-1640) wrote in Jnanappana (the Song of Divine Wisdom) that “Maalikamukal Eriya Mannante Tholil Maarappu Kettunnathum Bhawan”, meaning: “God can make the King who is sitting in his palace to end up as a beggar with a dirty bag hanging from his shoulders.” Jnanappana, written in chaste Malayalam so that even illiterate masses could understand the follies behind pride and arrogance and the meaninglessness of wealth, is a mirror where we can see the reflections of modern-day life.
No, it has nothing to do with Hindutva. Secularists, communalists and rationalists will gain a lot by reading this poetry. It is an ideal foundation stone through which one can build a selfless and dedicated career. In modern times, dirty bags might have given way to smart phones as we find any number of opportunists in Tamil Nadu and Kerala operating with connectivity provided by telcos. Jnanappana’s relevance to modern-day politics increases when one sees MK Stalin of the DMK calling for the coronation of Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister of India. It was Indira Gandhi who summarily dismissed the democratically elected DMK Government headed by M Karunanidhi in 1976 and that too during the days of internal Emergency. The English version of Jnanappana is still available around. People can approach Swami Chidanandapuri of Kulathur Ashram in Kerala for a discourse on the same. Listening to Jnanappana is a refreshing experience and can help us to stay firmly with our foot fixed on the ground.
(The writer is Special Correspondent, The Pioneer)
