The Indian Scene

THE INDIAN SCENE
(March 15 –July 7, 1952)

D. GURUMURTHI, M.A. Ph.D.

The quarter under review has been dominated by the formation of the Executive Governments in the States and the Centre. While the States with secure majorities of a single party, have taken the task somewhat leisurely, the States like Pepsu, Madras and Travancore-Cochin have had exciting times. The formation of the so-called United Fronts to prevent the Congress party from forming the Government, wherever it had no majority, has been a noteworthy feature. The practical-minded Kerala politicians solved the situation simply by the Congress party which was in a forty per cent minority, winning over the Travancore Tamil Congress and a few independents, and were able to establish a stable, Government. In Pepsu a different picture emerged. The Congress party in a minority was hastily allowed to form the Government depending on the support of uncertainty elements who promptly crossed the floor, and on the day of the Rajapramukh’s address, a walk out by thirty-two out of the Sixty members showed the precarious situation. The Cabinet which took office on 19th March, was kept alive till 20th April when the Chief Minister resigned and a new Chief was sworn in. In Madras elaborate preparations had been made, to forestall a Congress Ministry being formed, by the astute rebel leader of the K. M. P. party at Madras who by a marriage of convenience with the Communist party and a number of other small groups had got ready to make a bid for leadership of the Government. The Governor following constitutional procedure, in the absence of any single party having a majority, called on the leader of the largest single group to form a council of ministers. This was the signal for a series of actions, which did not enhance the fitness for constitutional methods of the frustrated opposition. Interrupting the Governor just as he was about to address the joint Houses of the Madras Legislature, making a statement and staging a walk out by a good proportion of the members, an unusual scene was created. In spite of a motion of disapproval which was moved by the Leader and withdrawn after discussion, out of certain consideration for seniority, the practice of walk out has persisted Walk out has also been practised in Pepsu, Bengal, Hyderabad and other State Legislative Assemblies. The General Elections have introduced into the sober atmosphere of our country’s legislative chambers a new element, clamant, confident, assertive, and somewhat reckless. Following British example it has been the old custom to conduct political discussions of questions of a controversial nature with decorum and restraint; but everywhere now we find an extreme sense of self-righteousness and intolerance of opposing points of view.

The election of the Vice-President of India showed how when a non-party candidate of unexcelled fitness is nominated, no contest is needed and the unanimous choice of Dr. Radhakrishnan has enhanced the prestige of the political parties in the country, their good sense and their appreciation of the sterling worth of this great cultural leader of India.

The acceptance of the leadership of the Congress party and the executive headship by our sage elder Sri Rajagopalachari has given satisfaction to the general public of Madras State and opens a new era of stable and efficient governance of the State. He has already signalised his re-entry into political activity by his able conduct of Rayalaseema famine relief, and his leadership of the country by adopting decontrol of foodgrains. On the introduction of the budget, the Leader has caused another departure by initiating a motion asking a vote of confidence, which after four days of debate was passed by a comfortable majority of the Lower House on 3rd July. But it has not been all plain sailing. The Opposition has taken full opportunity to arraign the Congress administration of the last five years. Rajaji has, ever since his assumption of office as Chief Minister, made an open declaration that Communist ideology and methods will be treated as public enemy No. I, and both earlier and during the debate on the vote of confidence, explained fully his views. Speaking on May 9 in the Madras Legislative Assembly, Rajaji explained the technique of the Opposition in the following words: “But what is the policy on the other side? Every difficulty of the country, every discontent in the country, every complaint must be taken up, interpreted in the language of opposition...expanded, exaggerated, repeated, added to and rolled on and made to grow like a snow-ball so that the Government may get a bad name. They want industrialisation on the one hand and on the other cottage industries. They complain of the poor man derived of land in one place, and in another they urge that the land must be taken away from its holder and nationalised. Every kind of contradictory satisfaction to every kind of discontented man–that is the technique of Communism in India...Do not lay traps for the people...By all means work for Socialism. By all means put Socialism before the country if you like. But in trying to capture Parliamentary ing for your policy do not tell stories, exaggerate or go and work up discontent, do not entrap people...The programme of exploitation of every grievance in the world brought together in speeches and writings, pictures and photographs, cannot be promoted without the Government defending the people against it.” Rajaji with his inside knowledge of this technique, acquired during his two years’ custody of the Central Home Affairs Ministry, has proved a little too astute and the Communist opposition is naturally a little angry with him for re-entry into active politics.

In spite of our Prime Minister’s wish to infuse fresh blood, and to draw fresh and vital people as a result of the General Elections, many of the States with comfortable Congress majorities have put in places of power and leadership the old war-horses, trusted and tried leaders of the people–B. C. Roy in Bengal, Pandit Pant in U. P., Pandit Shukla in Madhya Pradesh, Bhimsen Sachar in the Panjab; and in Assam, Orissa and Bombay changes have been a minimum. The debates in the House of the People have taken on new levels of acerbity and cleavages in points of view are getting more sharp. The debate on Kashmir while Home Affairs were discussed, and the Prime Minister’s intervention in the Budget debate were marked by interruptions and hot exchanges, where certain members reached new limits of extravagance in the expression of their differences. New life and young life have their own disadvantages.

Nation-Building Activities

On 17th March the Prime Minister laid the first steps for a factory at Bulsar to manufacture dyes and pharmaceutical products, like sulpha drugs and folic acid. This 20-crore scheme will raise a new township and create a valuable industry. In Bombay on 19th March the then Minister of State for food, Mr. Tirumala Rao, laid the foundation for a cold storage plant for quick freezing, at a cost of twelve lakhs, capable of processing five tons of fish within eight hours. The new mint at Alipore near Calcutta is house in a fifty acre colony, and is capable of going into production in eight months, processing two lakh coins a day, and is equipped to strike medals and tokens. A Commission on Secondary Education was to be set up and it has been announced on 6th July that the Vice-Chancellor of Madras University has been appointed Chairman of the Commission, which is evidently meant to do for school education what the Radhakrishnan Commission tried to do for University education. Steps are under way for a Telecommunications Training Centre at Jubbulpore, for a high altitude research station and the world’s highest meteorological observatory on Nanga Parbat. On 29th March was announced the organisation of a Bharat Seva Samaj to co-ordinate all social services under the auspices of the Planning Commission; and on July 4th misgivings were expressed in the Budget debate as to this organisation being a Government move to monopolise an important line of activity; the Prime Minister cleared misgivings and assured members that it would be open to all individuals in the country to join and work in the Bharat Sevak Sangha. On 3rd April, the establishment at Delhi of an All-India Medical Institute for higher training was foreshadowed. New Zealand for its share of the Colombo Plan was contributing a million sterling for this institute and appropriately Mr. Watts, the representative of New Zealand, laid the foundation stone. The expert committee for this purpose will have Dr. A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar as Chairman.

Mr. Munshi inaugurated on 18th April a cattle breeding centre at Hessarghatta, 16 miles from Bangalore, as an important step to improve the quality of Indian cattle. On 7th May was inaugurated at Delhi a community project workers’ conference lasting seven days. Pandit Nehru spoke feelingly as follows, addressing Development Commissioners: “If you think it is your business to sit in a big office and issue orders you are no good for this job... Whether it be a Development Commissioner or administrator, he must take a spade and dig. No man connected with this scheme will be effective if he merely sits in an office.” The training included visits to Faridabad, Nilokheri and Etawah. Another step of importance is the scheme announced on 15th June of the expansion of Madras harbour at a cost of six crores; provision will be made for holding nine to eleven ships at a time; two more berths are to be provided. Since then, it was announced on 6th July that a crore and a half would be expended in the first year. A hundred University students did a remarkable project as a vacation work in road-building in Himachal Pradesh. On 2nd was announced the starting of a new hospital in Bombay solely for industrial workers, the first of its kind in the country. The celebration of the Zamindari abolition in U. P. on 1st July was a unique phenomenon. This hundred and fifty year old institution ended at a stroke. Twenty-lakh Zamindari estates passed into the State’s control, a hundred and fifty-five crores of compensation is involved. The estates will bring nine crores to the U. P. exchequer.

The day was celebrated in grand style. It was a day of emancipation of the peasantry. No classes or intermediaries between the tiller of the soil and the State will exist any longer. This day of progressive emancipation and social justice promises increased production and economic uplift for the masses of the U. P.

International Contacts and Co-operation

The most outstanding event has been the completion of eleven agreements of the Indo-American Technical Co-operation Programme. Under this community development projects are expected to be started in seventeen hundred centres all over India. The unique feature of the scheme is the effort to employ fully all available human resources for co-operative farming, small scale industries, health and educational improvement, among other things. The later agreements have provided for the supply of fertilisers, technical help in the river valley developments, increasing industrial potential, expansion of pig iron production and others. The food foundation has established a centre at Lucknow, an agricultural research unit at Mandya in Mysore State, another near Hyderabad five miles from the capital, and an agricultural extension scheme in Pepsu, to bring new technical knowledge to the cultivator. Twenty thousand acres of land are to be reclaimed and ploughed.

The Cultural Mission to China led by Mrs. Pandit had, in their tour of six weeks in May and early part of June, plenty of opportunity of seeing New China at work. They witnessed a great power rising in the East, with its revolutionary land reforms, emancipation of women, and prominence given to the youth. One or two other members of the delegation noticed also the strict control that characterised the life of the people. Few mouths; would open to answer too curious questions. A medical mission to Canada has been sanctioned according to the Colombo Plan. Norway has offered technical aid in fishery development.

Dr. Natsir of Indonesia, an ex-premier, was honoured at Delhi and he addressed Parliament on 29th May. Notable visitors also included a world bank steel advisory mission, Iraqi and Turkish women delegation, a Jap Industrial Mission foreshadowing trade agreements later, two water power experts from the U.S.A. and the celebrated violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

Some Noteworthy Events

The arrest and release of Mr. Mistri, Deputy Editor of Blitz, caught the Executive napping. The supreme court held that Article 22 (2) of the Constitution had been contravened. The appointment of Syed Fazl Ali, a Supreme Court judge, on retirement as Governor of Orissa has been another action capable of misunderstanding. If the impartiality of the highest Judiciary is to be left impaired, they must not be tempted by favours by the Executive; any hobnobbing of the Judiciary with the Executive will go against a fundamental axiom, viz, not only should justice be done but it must also appear to have been done. A noteworthy event was the four day music festival in honour of Vishnu Digambar. The President inaugurating the festival pointed out how the great artist had no peer in devotional music; he was a great mystic who revitalised Indian music. Another event of increasing significance is the progress of Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s Bhudan Yajna. As he has pointed out, this voluntary gift of land is the only workable alternative to Communism, which having no soul, is alien to Indian genius. Shanker Rao Deo has resigned Congress Secretaryship in order to devote himself to Sarvodaya Samaj work and help in the realisation of Bhudan movement. Targets have been fixed for the various States and the movement gains apace. One of the subjects that roused very violent feelings has been the redistribution of the Railway Zones, in the North-Eastern and Eastern Zone. A token strike was staged in Calcutta on 7th May, when the Transport System came to a standstill for eleven hours, to express sympathy with the railway workers affected by the Zonal re-arrangement.

The passing of Dr. Maria Montessori on 7th May in Holland is an event of note. This great educationist, one of the three greatest in the history of educational theory and practice, ranks with Froebel and Pestalazzi as the great emancipator of childhood. Starting as a medical practitioner in charge of defective children, she discovered special methods of sense-training in childhood which, when applied to normal children, produced astonishing results and ended in her becoming a world-famous educator. Possessing a winning personality, with queenlike grace and dignity, Madame Montessori was a remarkable genius, whose memory will remain as long as children need education.

Bangalore.
7th July 1952