The Political Scene

As Gandhi’s 125th birthday is being celebrated in the country, it is only appro­priate that this feature should refer to Ma­hatma Gandhi. Many political scientists have referred to the relevance of Gandhi to mod­em India and as Professor A. B. Mathur of Rajasthan had said, if Mahatma Gandhi ap­pears to be a political leader it was entirely on account of his total immersion with soci­ety, whether in India or in South Africa much earlier and his total identification with the moral issues he espoused with matchless skill and unparalleled determination. For him the problem of Indian Independence was not just a political problem of dislodging the British and substituting with our own. Gandhiji was fully convinced of the insepa­rable bond between freedom and morality. To the Mahatma, politics was not an ugly strife for power which it unfortunately has become in the hands of those who swear by him but have abandoned him completely. Politics was to him the moral means, the ethi­cal norms according to which the lives of the people should and ought to be arranged.

Gandhiji, in fact, looked for legitimacy of authority not in the laws and the constitutions, not in parliaments and courts but in the conscience of man. For Gandhiji political freedom was not an end in itself but it was only a means for the emergence of a better type of individual and for a better or­dering of society. In his writings and through the personal example which he set and which received world wide admiration he gave us an idea of what an ideal human being should be. He gave the name satyagrahi to the ideal man and in his personal life he demonstrated what a real satyagrahi is. Gandhiji not only wanted every one to become a satyagrahi but also wanted to reconstruct society on the basis of truth and non-violence. In such a society all men and women would be equals. There would be no privileged class and women, instead of being exploited, would be accorded the same treatment as men and would participate in public life in the same way as men do. Untouchability would disappear and there would be no place for caste hierarchy.

A satyagraha social order would be an order free from all kinds of exploitation. This is the ideal of democracy, of socialism and of communism which is regarded as a progressive movement as distinguished from fascism which stands for elitist rule of some kind or the other. There is nothing in Gandhiji’s concept of an ideal social order to which any radical or even a revolutionary could take objection. In truth Gandhiji him­self was a revolutionary of the first order and like all of them he was keen to bring about fundamental changes in the existing order. He was not a status quo man and it is a mistake to think of him as a reactionary, a revivalist or a traditionalist. He was keen on creating a casteless, classless society.

Unfortunately in Uttar Pradesh the alliance partner of the ruling coalition, the Bahujan Samaj party (BSP) has chosen to boycott all the government functions in con­nection with Gandhi Jayanthi this year on the plea that Gandhiji was not really a cham­pion of the Scheduled Classes and the ward Classes and that he was indeed a believer in caste. Nothing could be far­ther from the truth and that a ruling party should organise such a boycott in a state which at one time was dominated by Con­gressmen is most unfortunate. The BSP has been doing consistent propaganda denigrat­ing the Mahatma who it was that taught the people of the country to stand on their feet and defy the mighty British with dignity and courage. The Centre which is under Con­gress dispensation has been unable to stop this mostly because of political compulsions. It is a pity that the public too has been ut­terly indifferent to this kind of blasphemy be­ing practised by the BSP. It is of the utmost importance that at least the Congress party which is in power in more than one state should effectively counter this trend although the Mahatma does not need really a prop. Gandhiji’s name can never be erased. While the picture in Uttar Pradesh is thus dismal what happened in Bangalore is even worse. On Gandhiji’s birth day the Door Darshan introduced an Urdu news bulletin and this was seriously objected to by the Kannadigas. There was violent resistance and several innocent lives were lost in the disturbances that took place for three days in the city. The State Government panicked, and suggested that the bulletin be withdrawn. It was even said that the Centre did not con­sult the Chief Minister before introducing the Urdu bulletin all of a sudden. Nor were any prominent leaders of the state told about it before hand. A day later the bulletin, it was officially announced, would be held in abeyance which of course is an euphemism for actual withdrawal.

As has been rightly argued there is little use for a Urdu bulletin in a state like Karnataka as even Muslims speak only Kannada. The truth however seems to be that the bulletin was introduced keeping the coming elections in view. There is a size­able section of Muslims in the state and something should have to be done by the party in power at the Centre to win their votes. A special Urdu bulletin was thought to be the best way of winning their support. In fact Doordarshan official said that the decision will bring minorities into the main­stream. It will also provide information and education to the minorities. All this makes sad reading and if the Government was re­ally keen on promoting the interests of the Muslims in the State there are several other and more acceptable ways of doing it. A surreptious way of introducing the Urdu bul­letin on Gandhiji’s birth day was certainly not the ideal way of achieving the purpose on hand. Gandhiji fought all his life for Hindu-­Muslim unity and it is a tragedy that on this auspicious day there should be communal rioting in one of the premier cities of the country. Worse was that it was prompted by the Government itself which took a very wrong decision. Of course it is nobody’s case that whatever the motives of whoever took the decision to introduce the service ­and in such a hurry-no one taking to the streets is an appropriate response. If it is thought that the decision is struck by the election code to be observed in the run-up to the elections, the best thing would be to approach the Chief Election Commissioner.

In an emotive issue of this type it is difficult to control the crowds and in retro­spect the entire thing looks meaningless. The Chief Election Commissioner has in fact in­tervened and ordered that the Urdu broad­cast should be resumed till after the elec­tions. In his view it offends the model code of conduct prescribed for the candidates, political parties and ministers. The broad­cast was interpreted by the CEC as a lar­gesse conferred on the Muslims with a view to obtaining their votes. The point, how­ever, is that in the name of Gandhiji this adventurist course was adopted and it boo­meranged on the Government itself. Un­fortunately, the inoffensive citizen had to bear the brunt of this wrong step and this cer­tainly is a curious way to mark the birth an­niversary of the Father of the Nation. One has to recall what Louis Fischer had said, namely, ‘India has impoverished it self by exporting its finest treasures. It gave birth to Buddha. Now hundreds of missions fol­low outside India and only a handful inside. India’s earth and air nurtured Gandhiji. How many Gandhians can be counted in his na­tive country? How much influence do those Gandhians exercise? Is Gandhiji to become the lost Mahatma? Is the prophet to be without honour in his homeland?” Every Indian should search his heart to find an an­swer to these questions.

The coming elections in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Goa and Karnataka are going to be a very important in so far as the political scene is concerned. The assem­blies are completing their term and none of the four States is under President’s rule. The main question is whether the Congress Party which is ruling at the Centre will come to power and whether there will be stability of government by voting a particular party in a majority. The Chief Election Commission created a problem by insisting on identity cards for all the voters but on second thoughts he made an exception in the case of these four states presumably because there is not enough time. But he has now said that in regard to the six other states the identity cards are a must. The Chief Minis­ters have been maintaining that the time al­lotted for the purpose is not adequate and, further, they do not have enough funds to get this work done unless the Centre was prepared to come to their help in a big way. The CEC has not so far relented and he has been saying that if the identity cards are not ready he will not hold any elections. This of course is bound to lead to a big constitu­tional crisis, for at the completion of five yeas the Assemblies get automatically dissolved. The popular ministries cannot function and it becomes necessary to impose President’s rule. Even the Constitution makers would not have envisaged a situation like this. The CEC will thus be creating a difficult situa­tion and it is to be seen how this conflict is going to be resolved.

Even in regard to the observance of the model code the CEC has been insisting that it comes into effect the moment the elec­tion schedule is announced, whereas the State Governments have been arguing that it must be applied only after the election notification is issued. Otherwise normal governmental activity will come to a stand­still. The matter is still with the court which has in its interim order conceded the claim of the State Governments. The CEC’s or­ders have been not only controversial but also arbitrary on occasions. His excessive zeal for reform should not create a constitu­tional crisis. The Centre also is in a piquant position because it is not in a position to re­move the CEC and will have to put up with him. It is also difficult if not impossible to rush to courts to challenge each and every order of the CEC and get redressal. Yet there seems to be no way out and the Gov­ernment must devise some way of checking the CEC. It was for this very purpose two other Commissioners were appointed but from the very first day they took up office they were at loggerheads with the CEC with the result that their appointment has not made any difference to the style of functioning of the CEC. The Supreme Court has yet to give its decision on the status of the Com­missioners Vis a Vis CEC and till then the CEC has the final word on all issues to be settled by the Election Commission. It is, therefore, important that the highest court pronounces its verdict on the many conten­tious issues before it relating to the Election Commission as early as possible to remove the present uncertainty.

Kashmir is once again in the news in a big way. Important changes are taking place in the State with the ultimate objec­tive of holding elections. Of course there is no unanimity of view about the poll and quite a few leaders still believe that elections in the present context in the state are next to impossible. The Government, however, does not take such a pessimistic view and is trying its best to prepare the ground for a poll. Some prominent militant leaders have been set free and this is one important step towards normalisation. Unfortunately, there is not even a single political leader of im­portance who is in a position to rally sup­port and this stands in the way of the Gov­ernment holding a political dialogue. The National Conference which at one time was the most important organisation is in an im­poverished condition and its leader, Dr. Farrok Abdullah, is in no position to organise the party for the simple reason he has been spending most of his time outside the State. Now that elections are being talked about he is planning to rally support. Meanwhile the militant outfits also have been projecting themselves as people’s organisations ready for talks. The Govern­ment has made it clear it is prepared to talk to any group or interest which subscribes to the Indian Constitution. Which means that the people who at one time gave shelter to the extremists are now tired of militancy and they want some kind of stable popular Gov­ernment. If this trend continues there is no reason why an election cannot be held in the troubled State. In fact, it is not the extent of voter participation that is relevant. The very fact of an election generates a new hope and it must be the aim of the Govern­ment to ensure that conditions are propi­tious for a poll. The entire nation will be watching the developments in Kashmir with great interest.