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"I believe in living for people"

THE Government of India has just conferred the prestigious Padma Bhushan on crusader H.D. Shourie at the grand young age of 87. It is an honour that he richly deserves. After retiring from the I.A.S., he was not satisfied with leading a peaceful life, pottering about the garden or writing his memoirs. Instead, he plunged headlong into fighting for causes which would, in some way, better the life of common Indians. With sheer grit, he crossed innumerable hurdles. Through Public Interest Litigation (PIL), he won many landmark cases in the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court and the National Commission for the causes he believed in.

Padma Bhushan H.D. ShourieSome of the cases that he fought for and won are making maintenance of accounts and submission of income tax returns by political parties a must, imposing a compensatory penalty on the Petroleum Minister for illegal allotment of petrol pumps and gas agencies, setting up of proper blood banks with licenses and elimination of professional blood donors, fighting against lawyers going on strike and making it mandatory to open district consumer courts.

Belu Maheshwari met the octogenarian at his West End residence in Delhi recently where she found that Shourie has converted his living quarters into an informal office for the society that he runs. A soft-spoken person with perfect manners, he hardly showed signs of ageing.

According to Shourie, he gets scores of letters and phone calls every day from people seeking help. One person rung up while the interview was in progress to request him to fight for the notification of the Rent Control Act. Shourie asked him to write to the Urban Development Minister. The caller wanted to know the name of the minister and his address. Shourie replied gently that every citizen should be aware and help in his own way to fight for causes. But he did give the caller the minister’s address.

Excerpts from the interview:

What is your reaction to the Padma Bhushan being conferred on you?

I am a person who has never solicited awards. If the government has recognised the work, maybe others will feel encouraged to take up social work. I welcome it in this context. Thank you.

What are your earliest memories?

I had a normal childhood. We belonged to Batala, but later shifted to Lahore. I joined the Punjab Civil Service and was the City Magistrate, Lahore, till the last day of Partition. I remember reading The Tribune since childhood. Its cost was one anna and a mustached man use to deliver it to our house in Lahore.

Had you envisioned the Partition before August 1947?

I had never imagined the country would be partitioned. The Unionist government was doing a fairly good job of maintaining communal peace -- they were latter manipulated into submission. There was no animosity between the Hindus and Muslims of Punjab. Even when the Radcliffe Commission was set up, we thought it was just a governmental exercise. Only 20 days before Partition, I sent my family in my small car to Jalandhar to my in-laws’ house. I left Lahore on the night of August 13. We had a Shourie Building on Nishfath Road, Lahore. I drove from there to the station to catch the Frontier Mail.

Were the riots spontaneous or managed by political parties?

Jinnah had spread communal hatred. I remember there was a Muslim City Magistrate along with me in Lahore. One day, I got a message that he was beating up Hindus of an area. I verified this and rung up the Commissioner, who immediately relieved him of the charge. The holocaust was unthinkable. I have seen the sky-line of Amritsar lit with flames. It is difficult to say who was responsible, but it was tragic.

You were a part of the relief operations which must have been a gigantic task.

I was appointed DC of Relief and Rehabilitation, Punjab. I toured the whole state and set up camps at 45 places. We asked the Army to provide tents and went to Jalandhar jail to find out about the system of rations. On the basis of that, we issued rations to refugees. The common people helped a lot, we worked on a war-footing.

How were the politicians those days? Was Kairon a dictator?

Unlike today, bureaucrats then had a lot of freedom. We could freely advise ministers. Once three MPs came to ask a favour (those days granting of evacuee land was a big job). I threw the paper back at them because it was unethical. Kairon called me and said gently, "Say no, but do not throw papers".

Another incident which comes to mind concerns Nehru. He visited Kurukshetra, which had the biggest refugee camp. Before he arrived about 500 agitationists led by Vikram Sarabhai’s sister lay on the G.T. Road to draw attention to their demands. I thought I would definitely be in for trouble. Nehru got down from his car and started walking between the gaps. In a playful manner, he tapped them and said, ‘Get up, talk. What’s your problem?’ All of them immediately got up. The moment passed and Nehru did not criticise the officers.

When did you retire?

I worked in various capacities, including as Director, Industries, Punjab, Director-General, National Productivity Council and Indian Institute of Trade. After this, I was posted as Commissioner-General at Tokyo and Trade Adviser at Geneva. I worked even after retirement.

How did Common Cause get off to a start?

I had read the name Common Cause. Its the name of a lobbyist organisation in the USA. It fascinated me. I borrowed the name, even though I do not have any link with them. In 1980, an order came to my notice discriminating between pensioners who retired before April ‘79 and after. I pointed out the discrepancy to the officials, wrote letters to the editors of most newspapers listing the problem and asked pensioners to write back. I received 12,000 letters which I sent to the PM. Ifiled a writ petition and won the case in the Supreme Court. Two-and-a-half lakh people benefited from this. After this, causes kept happening and I kept getting embroiled into more and more work.

Where does the money to fight cases come from?

I cannot collect money. We depend on membership and now we have now more than 5,000 members who give a subscription. We have kept our overheads low. I have been operating from my house. Recently Vikram Lal of Eicher has helped a seven-storey structure to come up at Vasant Kunj. I want a person of dedication, knowledge and experience who (someone who wants no remuneration) can take over. I am getting on in years.

Have you faced problems during your crusades?

No. No one has tried to stop me. The problems are from within the minds of the people. They cannot get out of their fear and rise to bring changes. This problem of people not participating in democracy bothers me.

How did the movement, Common Cause, evolve?

Where is the movement? What movement are you talking about? Some people feel about certain issues or causes and we decide to fight. Yes, some people help out but their number is limited.

That means that Cause is person-centric. Don’t you want to institutionalise it?

In the sense that I am totally involved in its work and it was started by me, it is person-centric. But people have helped. Institutions like the judiciary or the Press have played major roles. The Press is very powerful and it has been very supportive.

I am getting on in age and would definitely like others who are like-minded to take over from me.

There are hundreds of retired persons who want to keep themselves occupied and seek a sense of purpose. What advice can you give them?

India is facing many serious problems. They should identify problems of their area, locality,or biradari and try to solve them. I have written a pamphlet ‘My Heart Bleeds’ as a response to the state of my country. Why don’t people do something to help uplift the masses? Every hand matters, every brain is needed because the problems are truly mind-boggling.

What are you fighting for these days?

Identifying the causes is an ongoing process. We have filed a writ in the Supreme Court to fix accountability of those who have written off Rs 43,000 crore as non-performing assets of banks. How did this happen? Why isn’t someone accountable?

Non-banking finance companies should be made more accountable. There are 30,000 companies which have embezzled the peoples’ money. More control should be imposed on them. We are further fighting for speedy legal redressal by opening of lok adalats.

What are your other hobbies?

Ihardly get time for anything else. Otherwise, I love painting. Now I take more than three months to finish one. Ihave a column in a newspaper, I take out a journal of Common Cause and, earlier, I used to do photography.

You are a proud father of three high-profile, talented children. How much do they help you or vice versa?

(With pride writ large on the face and a smile on the lips) Arun Shourie lives upstairs. He is busy writing and doing his work. For his book on Ambedkar, a case has been slammed on him. Deepak made a success of Outlook, which he started. He is now Executive Director of The Hindustan Times. He lives at the back of the house. Nalini Singh, my daughter, lives in her house and is busy with her TVproduction. We are there for each other but otherwise we do not interfere in each other’s work.

What has been your guiding principle in life? Do you have any regrets?

There has been no philosophy. I have been a very down-to-earth person and have tackled problems as and when they arose. I believe in living for people. I feel jab jana ho aaram se jao. I believe in voluntary exit from life. The book by David Humphrey, Final Exit, has left a deep impact on me. I am today completely satisfied. Ihave lived a full life and there are no regrets.Back



Common Cause

OMMON cause, a registered Society with membership of about 5,000 and operating on all-India basis, has earned reputation and credibility as an organisation dedicated to public causes for seeking redress for problems of the people. It has been laying emphasis on taking up common and collective problem of the people, but a large number of individual problems of aggrieved citizens are also referred to it. The collective problems are taken to courts.

Some of the important decision secured from the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, and the National Commission, are:

Elections and political parties: A recent important decision secured from the Supreme Court has been on the subject of non-maintenance of accounts by political parties and challenge to existing provisions whereunder expenditure incurred by political parties during elections was not taken into account in relation to the expenditure incurred by candidate on his election. The Supreme Court has directed the Government of India to take action against the defaulting officials of the Income Tax department who did not take action against political parties for non-submission of their income tax returns. The more important aspect of the decision is that the expenditure incurred by a political party in the constituency of candidate had now to be clubbed together with the expenditure incurred by the candidate, which would disqualify the candidate if the total expenditure exceeds the prescribed limit. This decision has widely affected all recent elections in the country.

Corruption: An important writ petition was filed in the Supreme Court on the general subject of corruption prevailing in the country, emphasising the importance and requirement of establishing the institution of Ombudsman. An off-shoot of this important case, relating to unscrupulous allotment of petrol pumps and gas agencies to important persons and their relatives, has resulted in a very important decision of imposing a compensatory penalty of huge amount of Rs 50 lakh on the former Petroleum Minister who has been held responsible for the illegal and unconstitutional allotment of petrol pumps to persons not eligible for such allotment.

Pensions: This case in fact was the first important matter taken up by the organisation which brought about decision from the Supreme Court benefiting about four million pensioners all over the country. It arose from pension liberalisation which was effected in 1979 by the Government of India for its pensioners. The liberalisation was not extended to those who had retired earlier then 1.4.1979. The Court held that there cannot be any distinction between one pensioner and another, with the result that the liberalisation got extended to about two and a half million Central Government pensioners. Thereafter it was extended to all pensioners of state governments, benefits about four million pensioners.

Lawyers strikes: Strikes by lawyers seriously aggravate the problems of clients and disposal of cases by courts. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court by the organisation. The Supreme Court directed that if the lawyers ever go on strike, their bar associations will not prevent any lawyer from going to the courts of law. This decision has had a salutary effect. At some places where lawyers have been prevented from going to attend their courts, contempt proceedings have been initiated against the functionaries of bar associations.

Blood Banks: There are over 1000 blood banks in the country. Most of them were reported to be functioning unsatisfactorily. Their accommodation was unhygienic, equipment antiquated and unsatisfactory, their procedures indicative of malfunctioning. More than 600 of these blood banks were unlicensed. Most of the blood banks of the country have been dependent of professional donors who are often the poor people from the streets. These matters came to light in a report prepared by an organisation commissioned by the Government of India. Based on this report Common cause took the matter to the Supreme Court. It directed the Government of India and state governments to set up appropriate organisations at the national and state level to ensure that all blood banks are licensed within a period of one year. Licensing of blood banks, after careful scrutiny of their eligibility, has now been practically completed, and organisations have been formed in accordance with Supreme Court directive. Steps are being taken for elimination of professional blood donors.

Consumer "Courts": Under a law passed in December 1986. Know as Consumer Protection Act it was made mandatory that in every district of the country there should be a consumer "Court" where consumers could complain about defects and deficiencies in products and services, and claim compensation. In the first three years consumer "Courts" were established only in about 30 districts. There are 514 districts in the country. It was feared, therefore, that it might take a century for the consumer courts to be established in all district of the country. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court by the organisation, impleading the Government of India and all states governments in it. The Supreme Court, threatening contempt of court proceedings against defaulting officers of state governments, got the consumer "Courts" got established in all district of the country within a period of about six months.

Besides, Common Cause has secured relief in cases relating to unauthorised colonies in Delhi Property Tax, MPs’ pensions, iodized salt and strikes by bank and Air India employees.

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