Advani, Abdullah and autonomy
THIS time when the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah came to Delhi he reiterated his party’s demand for greater autonomy to the State. However, it appears that the party’s effort to keep the Centre informed on a report suggesting steps towards this end has not reached where it should — North Block.

by Harihar Swarup

From small-town BC leader to two-time CM
UTTAR PRADESH’s axed Chief Minister Kalyan Singh is on the warpath and many conjectures have been made about his future course of action.

75 Years Ago
November 21, 1924

Protection to Banks
MR Pochkhanawala, the Managing Director of the Central Bank of India, while speaking at Karachi, once again urged the desirability of giving legislative protection to Indian banks against malicious statements by their enemies.

Not lagging in matching Indira’s charisma

LOOKING at Priyanka Gandhi during the election campaign as she was darting about like a slender, silvery fish in water or a young antelope in a meadow, I wondered to myself: “What is charisma? How does one identify it?”

In the dictionary charisma is described as “a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a statesman or military commander.” But how does one acquire this “magic”? Is it hereditary or can one work hard to develop it in oneself?

It can’t be hereditary, though it may often seem so. Priyanka certainly has inherited some of the charm of her grandmother. She has beauty and intelligence, a smile that captivates. No one who has seen her in recent months can help thinking that one day she may rule this country. There is more to her charisma than charm and beauty and intelligence. What is that extra something?

I think charisma is a quality that makes a leader feel at home in any crowd — except, of course, in an openly hostile one. It is the warmth that he or she transmits naturally to a mass of people while receiving the same warmth (or more) in return. It is the genuineness of the smile or gesture, the selflessness and naturalness of the act that sets such a leader apart from the rest of the political crowd.

Priyanka has all these qualities. You see her chatting with old women and young children in Amethi and Bellary and you feel that she is really enjoying the experience, that it is in establishing that rapport that she can get the affection of the common people.

It has been 15 years since Indira Gandhi was assassinated. She would have been 82 on November 19: There has since been nobody to match her charisma and personality, none with her national and international outlook on the political scene since her time. Her charisma was part inherited and part acquired. She inherited the elegant good looks from her father and the poise and grace that comes from being born and brought up in an aristocratic family. She was also given a programme of education, in school and at home, under the guidance of Nehru. She studied Sanskrit and English and went to a convent for French and violin lessons. She thus had a base for a cosmopolitan personality. And she was a voracious reader. Shantiniketan and Oxford and her numerous travels with her father (Africa, China, South-East Asia) — all these turned her into an international personality in course of time.

If dynasty alone could bestow charisma on a person, we would have seen many charismatic leaders in India. Why did Vijayalakshmi Pandit lack charisma? And Arun Nehru, does he have any? Even Rajiv Gandhi didn’t have much charisma in spite of his good looks and pleasant manners. He was a nice young man, but he was not on the sort of wavelength that drew people to him.

Priyanka is different: she seems to be able to establish immediate rapport with people everywhere. Unlike most of our leading politicians, she has no parochial links; her roots have no boundaries. It was so with her grandmother. She knew the whole country intimately. She was at home with all communities, all linguistic cultures, religions and tribes.

Charisma needs energy. Indira Gandhi used to say that the harder she worked, the more energy she seemed to have. Priyanka must be already learning that secret.

Indira Gandhi’s charisma grew with her own development. It saw her transformed from a shy, diffident school girl who didn’t mix much with her school mates, to a self-confident Prime Minister ready to battle her enemies and fight the causes she believed in. She became “Durga” after the Bangladesh war and earned universal respect. The Economist of London called her “Empress of Asia”. And it was about then that her enemies in India and abroad joined together in what she called a “single point programme” to bring her down.

While there is much talk in the country about dynastic succession, it is worth recalling that there was hardly any evidence that Nehru groomed his daughter to succeed him. Zareer Masani, whose biography of Indira Gandhi is perhaps the most objective and sympathetic to the subject, writes: “The blatant dynasticism with which Nehru has retrospectively been charged is alien to all that one knows of both his character and his political judgement. He was certainly proud of his daughter’s public standing and would no doubt have liked to see her in an important position; but according to his sister, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, his ambitions for Mrs Gandhi went no further than a Cabinet post. Nehru’s own wishes apart, he was enough of a politician to know that the country would have never accepted an immediate dynastic succession”.

In an interview for a US television network less than a fortnight before his death, Nehru refused to answer the question of his succession (writes Masani). “If I nominated somebody”, he explained, “that is the surest way of his not becoming Prime Minister. People would be jealous of him and dislike him.”

If Priyanka aspires to become Prime Minister one day, she cannot do it on the strength of her current wave of popularity. It can only be achieved by consistent hard work and dedication.

— Abu Abraham

by Harihar Swarup
From small-town BC leader to
two-time CM

UTTAR PRADESH’s axed Chief Minister Kalyan Singh is on the warpath and many conjectures have been made about his future course of action. One guess is that he is not going to sit quiet and take his humiliation lying down. Having carved out a base for himself among the backward castes, he is not a rootless leader.

The tenacity with which he turned down the offer of central ministership indicates he has a plan up his sleeves. His two-year rule of the most populous state of the Union has demonstrated that he has pre-set prejudices against the upper castes, particularly Brahmins. His supporters openly say: "Brahmins have never allowed Kalyan Singh to rule in peace and finally got rid of him but he won’t take it lying down".

Why should Kalyan Singh cross swords with Atal Behari Vajpayee and adopt an attitude of non-cooperation in the Prime Minister’s election campaign? Reports even say that the usually active RSS cadres did not evince much interest in Lucknow, — the P.M’s constituency at his behest. It is baffling to even think that a Chief Minister can adopt a lukewarm attitude in the election campaign of the Prime Minister belonging to his own party. So defiant was the ousted Chief Minister that, instead of attending a meeting convened by the party’s high command in Delhi, he rushed to Ayodhya, as if, to spite senior leaders.

Mark his outburst in the holy city against the Prime Minister: "Vajpayeeji had time to visit Lahore but not Ram Lalla". That was a day before he drove to Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation to the Governor.

The high command, in its attempt to mollify Kalyan Singh, accommodated most of the ministers owing allegiance to him but the former Chief Minister does not appear to have relented. He is likely to consolidate his base among the backward castes and, at the same time, go on hammering the "Hindutva" plank. He has already been acknowledged as an unquestioned leader of Lodhs", comprising about three per cent of the state's electorate and may use it as a lever for bargaining in future. His supporters are already saying that the BJP’s support base is confined only to what they call "BBT" (Brahmin, Baniya and Thakur) and the party will need the backing of the OBCs in the assembly elections which, they reckon, may be held much earlier. The U.P. assembly has still two years to go.

Kalyan Singh had two terms as Chief Minister of U.P. lasting for two years each and both were marked by controversies.

His first term began in 1991 after the BJP secured a massive majority in the assembly elections but his government was dismissed following demolition of Babri Masjid. Had the BJP-RSS-VHP combine desisted from the disastrous course, he would have ruled for a full five years. It was generally believed that he was against the suicidal step but was helpless in the face of mounting pressure from the leaders of the three organisations. He, however, still maintains that he had no regrets for the incident, Kalyan Singh proved during his short-lived rule that he was an effective administrator: He was not only able to establish the rule of law in the chaotic state but ensure that there were no communal riots. One of his achievements was firmly stopping the menace of mass copying in examinations.

Kalyan Singh’s second term began amidst controversy after he split both the BSP and the Congress and formed a coalition with the support of breakaway MLAs of both parties. Earlier, as per the rotational arrangement with Kanshi Ram, the BSP and BJP nominees were to hold office for six months by turns. Mayawati became Chief Minister for first six months but after completion of the period she refused to accept Kalyan Singh as her successor. The BSP-BJP rotational understanding was on the verge of collapse when twin splits were engineered enabling Kalyan Singh to acquire a majority and head the state government. The fragile coalition created by him is now headed by a low profile BJP leader, Mr Ram Prakash Gupta.

Kalyan Singh’s second term was also marked by dissidence in the state unit as witnessed never before. His bias against the upper castes was reflected in his no-holds-barred clash with his cabinet colleagues, Kalraj Mishra and Lalji Tandon as well as head of the party's state unit, Rajnath Singh. Also he picked up the cudgels against the Prime Minister and, it is alleged, he even tried to sabotage Vajpayee’s election.

From the sleepy town of Atrauli in Aligarh district to the U.P. assembly has been a long and arduous journey for Kalyan Singh, now in his seventies. He was elected to the state legislature, for the first time, in 1967 and since then, except in 1980, he has been getting elected from Atrauli constituency. The present one is his ninth term in the Vidhan Sabha. He emerged as an effective leader in the house, widely noted for his polemics and debating skills but shot into fame towards the fag end of eighties as the leader of the opposition. It is said that the opportunity to excel in that role was often provided to him by the then Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Kalyan Singh says he had to struggle at every step to make his way in politics. "I was born in a kisan's house in a village. Moving in a zigzag path, I have travelled a long way to attain the No 1 position in the state", he declares.

Advani, Abdullah and autonomy

THIS time when the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah came to Delhi he reiterated his party’s demand for greater autonomy to the State. However, it appears that the party’s effort to keep the Centre informed on a report suggesting steps towards this end has not reached where it should — North Block.

Soon after the special meeting on Jammu and Kashmir in North Block, convened by the Union Home Ministry, Dr Abdullah said his party stood by its poll pledge seeking autonomy.

Dr Abdullah’s categorical assertion came in the form of a reply to a question from scribes on the issue. Mr Advani, who was seated next to him, was then asked for his reaction. The Home Minister quoted the manifesto of the National Democratic Alliance and then went on to add that the ministry would await the report of a committee set up by the J and K Government before offering further comments.

The J and K Chief Minister suddenly reminded the Home Minister that the panel had already submitted its report and that the State Government had sent it to the Centre.

In full glare of the media, the Home Minister then enquired from senior officials whether the ministry had received the report in question? The officials promptly denied having received the report.

Dr Abdullah said he had handed over a copy of the report to the Prime Minister and then proceeded to ask the State Chief Secretary, Mr Ashok Jaitley, if the State had submitted a copy to the Home Ministry. When he realised that it had not been done the Chief Minister directed that the copy of the report be placed for the perusal of the Home Ministry.

Renaming Mandi House?

There are reports in the Capital that the Prasar Bharati, which oversees the work of Doordarshan and All India Radio, was planning to change the name of the building Mandi House where the Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan Directorate is located.

The plan is to rename it as Doordarshan Bhavan, as a sequel to Broadcasting House which has the offices of All India Radio Directorate and Akashvani Bhavan the radio station.

According to grapewine, the reason of rhte change in name was to dissociate the word “Mandi” (market) from the organisation. Considering the shady deals that are allegedly conducted by some greedy officials and private producers the present name connotes the practice. (Who can forget that recently the CBI had seized Rs 3 crore in cash from the residence of a Director of Doordarshan).

Yet what may not have crossed the mind of those who are reportedly behind this move is that the name of the building came from the erstwhile princely State of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh.

In fact, there are several houses that were allotted to the erstwhile princely states in and around the India Gate hexagon by the British and the area was known as the Princes Park. While the bigger states like Patiala, Bikaner, Hyderabad and Baroda were given space around the hexagon, others were located little away. Most of these palatial buildings now house various offices.

To cite some examples, Patiala House, now has city courts, Baroda House is the headquarters of Northern Railway, Bikaner House has offices of the Rajasthan Government. The palatial Hyderabad House has been taken over by the Centre and it now serves as the official venue to host banquets for visiting dignitaries.

There are several others like Dholpur House, which has the Union Public Service Commission, Kota House, which has offices of the Navy, Faridkot House, which has the Press Council and the Central Administrative Tribunal, Kapurthala House is the official residence of the Punjab Chief Minister in Delhi.

Hopefully the mandarins of Mandi House or those behind the move to rename it realise that while unscrupulous individuals should not be allowed to tarnish the name of an area, history should not be changed just for their sake.

No mixing of tracks please

The Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee, certainly has her priorities clear. She refuses to entertain any question on the Trinamool Congress, of which she is the leader while sitting in the minister’s chair. Recently, a group of scribes who meet her regularly in Rail Bhavan, got a gentle reminder to that effect. Not only did she refuse to answer queries with regard to the Trinamool Congress and its politics, she also directed them to talk to party office-bearers. Keeping the office away from politics may at least lessen accidents of the political nature if not on the railway tracks.

Is Sonia charisma waning ?

Well, this is the question that is nagging party workers in the Capital these days. Officially, none of them would even dare say that such a thought even crosses their mind but in private the introspection has begun. For the loyalists, such a thought would be nothing short of sacrilege.

Much though the party members may deny, the thinning crowds specially of senior leaders at meetings addressed by the Congress President is being seen as an indicator.

For instance, when Mrs Sonia Gandhi made her maiden speech in Lok Sabha taking part in the motion of thanks to the President, those present in the galleries were just a handful of loyalists. Another indication came when Mrs Gandhi spoke at a conference on Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary at Teen Murti Bhavan, the hall had many vacant chairs. Two years ago when she invited the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Jyoti Basu, at the same venue, it was overflowing.

After the Congress has got the least-ever seats in the Lok Sabha, the party is unable to come to terms with the reality. It remains to be seen how much of the Sonia factor would be reflected in the report by the A K Antony committee set up by her to introspect. The report is expected to be submitted by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, efforts by party workers and some leaders to ‘induct’ Priyanka Vadra into the Congress has been ended by Sonia. She obviously does not want to mix personal and political life and all hopes of the party workers to promote a youthful leader have now been dashed .

It may not be acceptable to some senior leaders but the fact is that most of them look clueless at times. For instance, on two occasions, they were caught on the wrong foot. One was the plea to President K R Narayanan to spare the life of Nalini, sentenced to death in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and the other being denying Priyanka’s entry into politics. What was worse that in the first instance even the official spokesman Mr Ajit Jogi came to know of it only through a news agency report and it took him several hours to get an official confirmation, that too when 10, Janpath was just a phone call away. Does it ring a bell at least now !

When Phoolan got robbed

The Capital was agog the other day when the Samajwadi Party MP, Ms Phoolan Devi, had lodged a complaint with the city police that she was robbed by three youth in a South Delhi colony.

The police did register a case and also promptly launched an inquiry. What surprised many was how could some youth dare to rob a Member of Parliament that too in the Capital during dusk.

Well another reason for their astonishment was how could Phoolan Devi, once known for her exploits in the ravines of Madhya Pradesh, be subjected to such a treatment. May be like a law-abiding citizen she did the right thing of reporting the matter to police.

The incident reminds of a similar incident reported in the seventies by a former heavyweight boxing champion with the New York Police Department. The burly champ lodged a report with the NYPD after being mugged in New York Central Park. As the police official proceeded to fill details, he was taken aback when the champ said he was a heavyweight boxer by profession. ‘‘Then why did you not box the mugger?’’ the somewhat confused cop asked only to be told by the champion “I took pity on his life’’. Well that is called a K-O (Knock Out) punch.

(Contributed by K V Prasad and P N Andley)

75 YEARS AGO
November 21, 1924
Protection to Indian Banks

MR Pochkhanawala, the Managing Director of the Central Bank of India, while speaking at Karachi, once again urged the desirability of giving legislative protection to Indian banks against malicious statements by their enemies which often had the effect of wrecking them.

He had made the same suggestion a few months ago in the speech made by him in Calcutta when there was a run on the local branch of the Bank owing to false rumours.

Similar danger to British banking, he pointed out, existed in England prior to 1878 when the English Government passed a special Act called the Leeman’s Act. Indian banks, he said, were doing very useful business and their development should not be arrested by false and malicious attacks against them.

We are sure this view will find general support among the public, and it is to the interests of the country generally that sound banking concerns should be given every possible assistance.

At the same time, it must be admitted that public confidence has not been well established owing to the misdeeds of certain mushroom banks. This must be prevented by exercising greater control over them and we hope that the whole question will be carefully considered by the Government.