Now here, now not

VK Kapoor

My posting as the district SP coincided with the imposition of the Emergency in 1975. After a month or so, I found a distinct change: the trains were on time; staff at various government departments was punctual; and important political leaders were detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).

Bansi Lal was the Chief Minister of Haryana and Sanjay Gandhi was fast emerging as the power centre. A country’s dynamism is based not on its Constitution, but on fluid dynamism, where power shifts with personalities and personal alliances. Power is a seductive mistress; celebrity worship has a narcotic thrill. Sanjay Gandhi visited the state, where an elephant was arranged to take him to the place of function. He was finding it difficult to get on the elephant. Just then, a senior minister came forward and bent, so Sanjay could step on his back and climb the elephant. Later, a limerick was heard in political circles: “Main nar hoon, na nari hoon/Indira ka pujari hoon, Sanjay ki sawari hoon” (I am neither a man nor a woman; I am a worshipper of Indira and vehicle of Sanjay.)

In Haryana, the family planning campaign gained momentum even in the face of resistance from people. The government decided that the police should protect family planning parties. Bansi Lal was the boss and no politician could meet the PM without his permission. When he learnt that a senior minister had gone to see the PM, the minister was summoned. The DIG and I were sitting with the CM at Haryana Bhawan. The moment the minister entered, the CM asked him angrily: “Tum wahan gayay the?” (Did you go to see the PM?) The minister replied with folded hands: “Main to aap ki jai bol ke aaya hun” (I praised you.) Bansi Lal retorted: “Tane pata hai MISA laga hua hai aur jamanat bhi nahin hoti?” (Do you know MISA is in force and you can't get bail?) The minister apologised and walked out. Bansi Lal enjoyed insulting people. 

The family planning campaign took an ugly turn in my district. A constable was burnt alive and three persons were killed in police firing. I had to face a judicial inquiry after the change in government. When I was in the witness box, the judge remarked: “You look like a Nazi and behaved like Nazis.” They were bad days. Heroes had become zeros. Finally, I was absolved. In India, personalities are important, policies are not. The police is used, misused and abused, while bureaucrats are silent consenters and passive dissenters. People in the power loop are ‘yes-men’. I have always considered India a functioning anarchy. People try to grab power. He who tries to metamorphose from a caterpillar to a butterfly gets his wings singed. The Emergency was a good idea, but it got derailed. One has to pay a price for everything in life. Anything of great value, a creation, a new idea carries its own shadow with it. Every action has an implicit share of negativity. The genius of Einstein led to Hiroshima. The Emergency led to the defeat of Indira Gandhi.