O P I N I O N S

PERSPECTIVE

On Record
NDA won’t cross 200-mark in
LS polls: Surjeet
by R. Suryamurthy
The elections to the 14th Lok Sabha could turn out to be a significant turn in the country’s parliamentary democracy. The BJP-led NDA has become the first non-Congress party to rule the country for one full term. The saffron party’s coalition politics has given rise to new political equations in the country.

Will Punjab IAS officers fight for Pirzada?
by S.S. Dhanoa
Apparently, Mr Gurnihal Pirzada, an IAS officer who was on deputation to the Punjab government, is very disappointed with the IAS Association for not taking up his cause. The IAS Association rarely gets moved to take up issues with the government — the Centre or the state. 

OPED

Comments Unkempt
The urge to imitate the Raj everywhere
by Chanchal Sarkar
What did the Dutch Factor see of the Ganges in Patna from his window or verandah in March when the sunlight was as golden as it is today? I could imagine the view as I walked on the riverside front of Patna College guided by a friend who had been Principal. Not the Dutch alone there were the Portuguese, English and French as well dealing with opium, indigo, spices and I know not what besides.

Profile
Bhupen: His songs touch your heart
by Harihar Swarup
Bhupen Hazarika has become a legend in his life time, but he left his innumerable admirers bewildered when he decided to join the BJP. Bhupen had always desisted bondage of a political party even though he was an unattached member of the Assam Assembly from 1967 to 1972.

REFLECTIONS

PERSPECTIVE

On Record
NDA won’t cross 200-mark in LS polls: Surjeet
by R. Suryamurthy

Harkishan Singh Surjeet

The elections to the 14th Lok Sabha could turn out to be a significant turn in the country’s parliamentary democracy. The BJP-led NDA has become the first non-Congress party to rule the country for one full term. The saffron party’s coalition politics has given rise to new political equations in the country. The Congress, the only other party with a significant all-India presence, has not been able to encourage other secular parties to rally behind it. As the countdown for the general elections begins, veteran Communist leader and General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Harkishan Singh Surjeet, in an interview to The Tribune, shares his thoughts on the likely post-poll scenario.

Excerpts:

Q: Is the country going through the phase of a "feel-good" factor as the BJP-led NDA government wants the electorate to believe? What is the strategy of the CPM to counter this slogan of the BJP?

A: The BJP and its allies may be feeling good. But had the country been really feeling good? Perhaps, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has now realised that their slogan is far removed from reality. That is why he had announced some measures to the working class and sops to the middle class. Had the country been experiencing the "feel-good" factor, there would not have been such an increase in the unemployment rate during the past five years. Only some industries have benefited from the sops of the government.

Q: What would be the focus in the upcoming general elections?

A: This would be a crucial election for the country. This time, the country would witness an electoral fight between secular parties on one side and the BJP and its allies on the other. There has been no change in the BJP’s position on Ayodhya, Article 370 and the Uniform Civil Code. What Vajpayee is saying now is not something quite different from what he has been stating in the past.

Q: Despite the contradictions and ideological differences, the NDA has been endeavouring to put up a united face along with the BJP. The secular parties on the other hand have not been able to come together to counter the growth of the BJP. Even in the electorally crucial Uttar Pradesh, there seems to be no pre-poll alliance. Does this not favour the BJP?

A: The secular parties have not been able to form a pre-poll alliance. But that would not go to the advantage of the BJP as parties like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party would be directly working to stall the progress of the BJP in the state. Moreover, the Samajwadi Party is the main force in UP. The BJP’s strength in this state has diminished. It is trying to woo the Muslims but the minority community would continue to be with the SP as they cannot trust the BJP. The real face of the BJP would be exposed in this election.

Q: What about other states?

A: The secular forces would be checking the growth of the BJP. Like the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar, the Left parties in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, the Congress and the Deva Gowda party in Karnataka and the Congress-DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu. In Andhra Pradesh, it would not be a clean sweep for the TDP-BJP alliance, rather it would be a tough contest and the Congress and the Left would increase their tally. In Orissa, several strong leaders are aligning with the Congress. In Rajasthan, there is no wave in favour of the BJP. However, in Madhya Pradesh, the BJP would have an upper hand. In Punjab, the BJP, riding on the Akali Dal’s back, can win some seats but it would not increase its tally in the state.

Q: The "secular" parties would be contesting the polls only with a broad understanding in certain states and in others, they would be fighting for their own pie. What kind of electoral adjustments are possible in the post-poll scenario?

A: The secular parties have their own base and differences among themselves. Just as the Left would continue to oppose the economic policies of the Congress, there are differences between the policies and programmes of ours and others. But, in the post-poll scenario, I am sure that no party would get enough seats to form government on its own. Then, the crucial role will be played by the secular parties.

Q: Is the secular front thinking of an alternative to Sonia Gandhi to lead the coalition in the post-poll scenario? Would Mulayam Singh Yadav be an acceptable choice?

A: Sonia Gandhi has herself made it clear that she would not press for leading the secular front. Once the results come, electoral combinations would determine the post-poll scenario. As regards the name of Mulayam Singh Yadav for prime ministership (or any other name), I would not like to name anyone at this point of time. In any case, the front would not be dictated by any one party. It would have to accommodate the views and programmes of all the members of the front. Moreover, it has not been our democratic tradition to name the leader before contesting the polls. We did not go to the electorate when V.P. Singh or H.D. Deva Gowda were chosen to lead the country. The same way depending on the post-poll scenario, somebody would be chosen after working out a common minimum programme.

Q: The BJP is claiming that it would cross the 300-seat mark in the 14th Lok Sabha, which would be a historic achievement for a party which had just two MPs in the Lower House less than two decades ago...

A: That’s a far-fetched claim. This time, the NDA would not cross the 200-seat mark. Similarly, I think the Congress would increase its tally, but not significantly. As far as the Left is concerned, they would secure about 60 seats. I feel that there would be surprises in some states, but in others, it would be closely-fought elections with low victory margins.

Q: Do you think the BJP would regret opting for early polls?

A: May be not, because they thought this was the best time to cash in on the achievements. As far as their achievement is concerned, I think the only thing that they have done is to form the NDA and stay in power. Otherwise, they have failed in every sphere. Not just the secular forces would expose it, even the electorate through the ballot box.

The writer is a former Chief Secretary of Punjab

OPED

Comments Unkempt
The urge to imitate the Raj everywhere
by Chanchal Sarkar

What did the Dutch Factor see of the Ganges in Patna from his window or verandah in March when the sunlight was as golden as it is today? I could imagine the view as I walked on the riverside front of Patna College guided by a friend who had been Principal. Not the Dutch alone there were the Portuguese, English and French as well dealing with opium, indigo, spices and I know not what besides.

Of the Dutch times there is left only the Factor's house which is now the residence of the Principal of Patna College, a large white-painted building with louvred wood windows and magnificent outlooks on the Ganges from above and lawn-level, giving some indication of the comfort in which the foreign traders lived 500 years ago.

When came the Patna College about 130 years ago, there also came the patina of British academic grandeur: a large green tennis lawn by the Ganges; a king-size field for cricket and football, set back a little; a long architectural low chain of bricks outlining the fields, common rooms, lecture and tutorial rooms, hostels, some residence of teachers and, of course, the indispensable quarters of servants.

Patna College was ruled by the I.E.S. (Indian Educational Service), first with British then, with them, Indians later. The college vied to be on a par with the Presidency Colleges of Calcutta and Madras and the Ravenshaw College of Cuttack. Some of the Principals are still spoken of. J.S. Armour, Batheja, Hari Chand Shastri, Gorakh Nath Singh, Capt. Charles Russell, etc.

However everything has about 30 per cent left — the Principal's residence looks rickety, the walls of the college buildings plastered with posters, the decoration of modern Indian universities; the cricket-cum-soccer field bright against the white of pads of players, trousers and shirts. The Ganges has receded and is now a confluence of the Gandak and the Sone way downriver. Motorised fishing boats ply, of course, but not many majestic sail boats. The steps down to the riverside are crumbling and the College Boat Club a near-forgotten institution of the past.

In Patna I was haunted by the parallel memories of the Buddha, the Mauryas, Asoka, the Muslim rulers knocking at the gates of Dwar Banga (Darbhanga) and of the Raj. One place to get an image of them all together is the Patna Museum, right next to which I was staying. Built by the British in Indo-Saracenic style in the 1930's, it has not yet been conquered by unsightly high rise buildings, the constant attack of cars, diesel tractors, scooters and rickshaws. One reason, perhaps, is that its funds come from the Centre otherwise it would have been raggedy. Flowers in the garden were proud by exhibiting their plumes.

Inside, all that I had time to see was the special room showing a scaled replica of one of the thousands of Buddhist stupas of the region. Later my Principal friend yanked me another day to see what the great scholar Rahul Sankrityana had brought from Tibet. The Chinese had obstructed and delayed his going to Tibet, but how on earth he had been able to bring back so many thankas, manuscripts and robes is amazing. These were displayed separately. One would, of course, need well trained guides to understand and savour the meaning and colours of the tankhas. Even the robes, caps, jackets of lamas, noblemen and commoners would have to be explained. There was also the display of the Raj: tall portraits of Lieutenant Governors in full-fig and busts of them in stone. Indian scholars had taken over the K.P. Jayaswal Institute, named after a scholar of great fame whom Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee and enticed to Calcutta as he had Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and C.V. Raman.

The Jayaswal Institute which, too, has seen celebrated Directors like Altekar, Kali Kinkar Dutt, Uskari, B.P. Sinha, and so on. There is no separate building for the Jayaswal Institute, instead it shares part of the Museum. The cernal lituly of a government-fed institution was “lack of funds”.

Patna had its roundabouts with statues of J.P., Rammanohar Lohia, Sri Krishna Sinha, Vallabbhai Patel, Rajen Babu — some better crafted than others. They mirror the swadhinate sangram years but there also a twinge for the Raj. Whatever the upper classes may say the village folk, according to those whom one meets who have come to Patna from the districts, there is the chant that things better under the Angrez. Order there was and the law was upheld, caste-warfare there was but it did not reign supreme in politics and administration; poverty there was but were there so many families living on the streets? Starved dogs and cows foraging for survival? So many people with rope-like muscles pedalling day and night for rice, sattoo and khaini?

There is the urge to imitate the Raj, in buildings, statutes, institutions, designations and awards. The imitation goes on to the perquisites enjoyed by officers of the services and those in ministerial positions. They have seen to it that, whatever the decay and higgledy-piggledy, the bungalows of the top-brass are kept ship-shape (at least from the outside) in avenued streets, with tiled buildings with a large surrounding of lawns and gardens. Names like Polo Road remind the past. Everywhere there is a spill over of the Police, commandos, armed guards signalling the present-day India.

People, wayside sellers, visitors from the villagers who queue up to enter the Museum all live in a state of awe and fear. Though they contribute more than a lakh of rupees in entrance money, there is no one to explain in appropriate and simple words the treasurers that they are glancing at, the greatness of emperors and even of the Raj. They gape and shuffle out through the laid garden.

Profile
Bhupen: His songs touch your heart
by Harihar Swarup

Bhupen Hazarika has become a legend in his life time, but he left his innumerable admirers bewildered when he decided to join the BJP. Bhupen had always desisted bondage of a political party even though he was an unattached member of the Assam Assembly from 1967 to 1972. Having come to be known as India’s cultural icon in South Asia, he himself admits that he had never joined a political party earlier for obvious reasons. What has inspired him to join the BJP at the ripe age of 78? He says he is impressed by the performance of the Vajpayee government and he hopes to improve the lot of the North-Eastern region. He may contest from Tejpur in Central Assam where he was born.

Bhupen may have been a member of the Assam Assembly and now a BJP member, but he is not cut out for the weird world of politics. This was, perhaps, the reason that, instead of facing a barrage of questions at the BJP’s headquarters as other entrants did, he was asked to render a song. And he obliged the reporters as the jam-packed briefing hall was filled with the melody of his famous song: “O Ganga, tum bhati ho kyun”. The song was inspired by the great black American singer Paul Robeson’s powerful rendition of the song “Ole (old) man River”.

Bhupen created his own moving ode to the Brahmaputra. During his days as research scholar in audio-visual and mass communication in Columbia University, Bhupen and Robeson became close friends. The black singer’s crusade for social justice and black pride permeated Bhupen’s own world view.

Rarely so many qualities combine in one person as in Bhupen: he is bard and balladeer, poet and politician, singer, lyricist, musician and filmmaker. Above all, he is a communicator of romance, passion, universalism and humanism. He is as lovable in Bangladesh as in Assam. His song on Bangladesh's liberation, “Joy, Joy Naba Jata Bangladesh” (hail the newborn Bangladesh) was on every Bengali’s lips in early seventies. Bhupen is not only prolific in Assamese and Bangla but his rich voice is also at ease with Hindi, Urdu and English.

He is an icon in Nepal too and his links to Nepalese is traced to Tejpur having a sizeable population of the people of Nepalese origin. When his father died Bhupen was given a black Nepalese cap to wear to hide his tonsured head. He began wearing the cap since then and a khukri pin that adorns his “topi” was gifted by his friends and admirers in Nepal.

Bhupen showed signs of early musical genius even before he started singing on All India Radio in 1937. He was barely 11 years old then. As a young man, he swiftly made his mark as a singer and composer and later travelled to New York where he obtained a doctorate in audio-visual and mass communication from Columbia University.

Bhupen also worked in Bombay’s film world having closely associated with Salil Chowdhury, Balraj Sahani and other Marxist intellectuals of the Indian People's Theatre Movement. As he recalls, he once met Hemant Kumar at IPTA and he took me around to meet all the big music directors and singers of Bombay. Bhupen vividly remembers his first meeting with Lata Mangeshkar and says: “She took one look at me and said “Jitna naam hai, utini umar nahai hai”. Bhupen wanted Lata to sing a song for the first film he directed. She agreed and the song became so popular that Lata selected it as one of her favourite songs in her first golden disc.

Bhupen often recounts his experience in the Assam Assembly full of anecdotes. He once prompted a fellow MLA to interrupt stalwart Dalal Baruah, who was the Leader of the Opposition, by raising a point order. The MLA, a simpleton, interrupted Baruah and began yelling point of order…point of order. When the Speaker asked on what ground, the MLA did not know what to say and fumbled. Bhupen whispered to him, “say, bad grammar”. The MLA followed the advice in letter and spirit. And the whole house burst into laughter. Baruah was visibly embarrassed.

While Bhupen became a legend in Eastern India, it was his compositions from the film “Rudali” which won him recognition across the subcontinent. Perhaps, the best example of the humanistic ideas in his works is the song — “Manuhe, Manuhar Babe” (for man), composed in 1964. It renders thus:

If man wouldn't think for man

With a little sympathy

Tell me who will — comrade?

It we try to buy

Or sell humanity

Won't we be wrong — comrade?

If the weak

Tide across the rapids of life

With your help

What do you stand to lose?

If man does not become man

A demon never will

If a demon turns more human

Whom shall it shame more —

comrade?

Diversities — Delhi Letter
Reaching out to cancer patients
by Humra Quraishi

When the Mexican Ambassador to India, Julio Feasler-Carlisle inaugurated the photographic exhibition on CanSupport at the India International Centre, he said: “When one talks of development to have meaning for society, it must be all-inclusive. It cannot be confined to economic development alone. It must include the social aspect as well.”

He said, “Industry and government cannot effectively meet needs on their own. While industry is of necessity motivated by profit, government activities have budgetary constraints imposed on them. This is where non-government organisations have played and continue to play a role in development”.

Yes, after going through this exhibition of photographs of the cancer patients, clicked by the well known photographer Barbara Hind, one felt that there ought to be such a support group in each town of the country. In fact, ever since CanSupport came up in 1997, it has been reaching out to those stricken by cancer, especially those in the advanced stage, as their volunteers say, “people with cancer and their families deserve quality medical, nursing and psychological care. Everyone has the right to live life to the full even when their illness may not be curable”.

Perhaps, these volunteers have been motivated by either seeing cancer-related deaths or reading these lines of a young cancer patient, who wrote from his hospital bed and are a part of this exhibition: “When my life is finally measured in/ months, weeks, days, hours / I want to live free of pain/ Free of indignity, free of loneliness/ Give me your hand / Give me your understanding / Give me your love/ Then let me go peacefully/ And help my family understand”.

Their services are free of cost. Though Cansupport’s outreach is for cancer patients in the capital and those living within a radius of 25 km, I'm giving their address with the hope that readers could start similar units elsewhere — CanSupport, Kanak Durga Basti Vikas Kendra, Sector 12, R.K. Puram (next to CGHS Dispensary), New Delhi-110022 (Phs: 26102851, 26102869).

Film stars in BJP, Cong

The latest star to join the Bharatiya Janata Party is former Miss India Yukta Mukhi on Friday. I had mentioned earlier that film stars’ entry into politics has become common these days. The political parties have stooped to such a level that it has now become a tug of war as to who would get whom.

The Congress party too got a host of film stars into its fold on Friday — Zeenat Aman, Moushmi Chatterjee, Namrata Shirodkar, Celina Jaitley and Asrani. I was absolutely stunned seeing Yukta Mukhi in that white sari covering her so very totally. For, not long ago, I had seen her at the Oberoi hotel lobby, baring almost every inch on herself! Why this flip flop?

Focus on AIDS

For the International Women’s Day on Monday (March 8), there is this combined effort of various UN agencies to focus on HIV /AIDS. The entire programme outlined for March 8 at the UN Information Centre would have speakers talking on this subject. Marriage counselors point out that it’s time to move beyond the set notion that it isn’t just sex workers who are at risk, for the next in line could be the housewives!

Threat to riot victim

A young Gujarati, Naseem Bano, who was here very recently, told us that though she lost 22 members of her family (including her husband and daughter) in the Gujarat riots, the killers are not yet caught. Naseem and her teenaged son survived the massacre and continue to live in Gujarat. She says that she is taunted and threatened.

No formula for partying

At the dinner hosted by UBSPD, as more and more guests turned up at the Habitat Centre venue, one wondered rather aloud the reason for this. Looking at the absolutely packed lawns, a well known citizen quipped: “It’s simple. UBSPD Chairman Chandra Mohan Chawla has never allowed dark drinks to be served in any of his parties. With that guests know that dinner will be good and it will be served on time and it’s this secret formula that works.”

Yes, today in New Delhi, it’s best to go back to basics — early dinner, with that early back home.

REFLECTIONS

When the peace of God descends on us, Divine knowledge floods our being with a light which illumines and transforms, making clear all that was before dark and obscure.

— The Bhagavad Gita

The Supreme is that from which these beings are born, that by which they live and that into which, when departing, they enter.

— Taittiriya Upanishads

He is the God who is in fire, in water, who pervades the entire universe; He who is in plants, in trees, to Him we make our obeisance again and again.

— The Vedas

Forever worship Him who is the Truth By His grace you will gain joy everlasting.

— Guru Nanak