Unclaimed successes
INFLATION is at a historic low and the sensex is at a historic high. But the ruling alliance led by the BJP is not “crowing” about these amazing feats, as one newspaper found to its surprise.

Playing caste card
AT a time when ideology has ceased to be the guiding force, politicians feel free to go to any extent to secure votes. They do not hesitate to even renounce their well-known stand if this helps them in the battle of the ballot.

Spread of terrorism
INDIA has been the main and perennial target of ISI depredations. In fact, no other country except perhaps Afghanistan has borne the brunt of its dirty tricks as much as India did.

CASTE IN INDIAN POLITICS
A case study of Rajasthan
by Nonica Datta
THE spectre of caste has increasingly come to haunt Indian politics. Caste, wrote the noted social anthropologist M.N. Srinivas, “is so tacitly and so completely accepted by all, including those most vocal in condemning that it is everywhere the unit of social action.”

Haryana politics at its worst
by D.R. Chaudhry
THE recent political developments in Haryana leading to Mr Bansi Lal’s ouster from power has added one more chapter to the dark saga of the politics of Aya Rams and Gaya Rams in the state.

Lakhubhai Pathak case trial at a snail's pace
by A Follow-Up
NEW DELHI: How long will the trial of the one-lakh dollar- Lakhubhai Pathak cheating case involving former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, controversial godman Chandraswami and his aide Kailash Nath Aggarwal alias "Mamaji" continue? "This is a jigsaw puzzle," says Mr R.K. Anand, counsel for Rao. "During the past two years not even a single witness has been examined.

The Pipes of Bakloh
by Dinesh Kumar Kapila
MOST people would not have heard of Bakloh. It is a small hill station, essentially a cantonment, on the road from Pathankot to Dalhousie. Just off Tatapani, a narrow steeply winding road takes one to Bakloh. Not very high, a quaint little cantonment, with the old British churches still intact and the houses giving that period feel.

75 Years Ago

September 1, 1924
Help for a contemporary
WE whole-heartedly associate ourselves with the appeal issued by L.Lajpat Rai, founder of the local “Bande Mataram”, exhorting the Punjab public to help the proprietors of the paper in tiding over the crisis that has been brought about as a result of Mr Justice Martineau’s judgement awarding a decree of Rs 13,000 against it.

Unclaimed successes

INFLATION is at a historic low and the sensex is at a historic high. But the ruling alliance led by the BJP is not “crowing” about these amazing feats, as one newspaper found to its surprise. The BJP did include these in one of its mammoth promotional advertisements in newspapers, but in very small type, and buried under a mountain of statistics. That one-time exception came a few days after Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha’s brave solo effort at releasing a supplementary election manifesto on economic issues. Obviously the idea behind the belated advertisement was to own up the success as that of the leader, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who “has transformed a recession-hit economy into one of growth!” After that single cautious claim the saffron party has been ignoring this success with uncharacteristic coyness, that too at a time when it desperately needs real issues and when the main rival has suddenly turned aggressive. Why? One reason is that inflation is a jinxed issue for the party. Remember the onion-induced disaster last November? The other is that the dipping prices may turn out to be a double-edged weapon, as indeed they are. As is well known, the wholesale price index (WPI), which has slid to 1.2 per cent, is unreliable, a product of the Industry Ministry and heavily influenced by manufactured goods. The Ministry has been talking of redesigning the method of collecting information without actually doing anything. Is it then helping out the political masters by keeping the WPI low? The more relevant index is the one of retail prices of items which a middle-class urban-dweller buys. The consumer price index (CPI) is hovering above 5.3 per cent and in certain cities like Srinagar it is above 12 per cent. Another risk in owning up the low WPI now is to automatically remind the people of the high rate (8.3 per cent) this week last year.

The steady rise in the sensex falls in the same category but carries a more lethal danger. The BJP advertisement talked of the index rising to 4600 points; since then it has zoomed to kiss the magical 5000 points. It is an irresistible temptation to claim total credit for this fantastic show, particularly when a section of the liberalisation theology crowd treats the sensex as the virility index of a nation’s economy. Yet the BJP, ever ready to appropriate the ownership of others’ good work, is renouncing its right to wear the sensex crown. Again, why? The 30-share index is an untamed monster. It can charge upwards or swing downwards in a crazy fashion. Only a reckless and inveterate gambler will place his faith in its behaviour, perhaps not when his electoral fate hinges on it. In political terms, any credit-taking for the rise will translate into debit-seeking when the tide turns adversely. A sudden plunge of 100 or more points a day, which is par for the stock exchange course, could see egg on the face of the party. Hence this no-claim reticence. There is one more factor and it applies to a large number of political parties. Economics is all about the future and only a modern mind with faith in its own future frets about the financial health of the country. This says it all.

Playing caste card

AT a time when ideology has ceased to be the guiding force, politicians feel free to go to any extent to secure votes. They do not hesitate to even renounce their well-known stand if this helps them in the battle of the ballot. The latest proof of it is the pronouncement made by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at Sikar on Monday, as he did elsewhere in Rajasthan earlier, that the Jats, Meos, Bishnois and certain other caste groups would be included in the OBC list when he succeeds in forming his government after the elections. This shows that the BJP is no longer opposed to the caste-based system of reservations. Mr Vajpayee justifies it in the name of social justice. This, he says today, is essential as “each section should participate in the nation-building process”. The truth, however, lies elsewhere. There are 18 seats in Rajasthan where the Jats and the Bishnois are in a position to decisively influence the voting pattern. Only the other day Congress president Sonia Gandhi was in the area and had made a promise on similar lines. The Congress is, however, on a weak wicket. Despite having its government in the state for some time now when these communities intensified their agitation for their inclusion in the OBC list,it has not been able to do much about their demand. Of course, the State OBC Commission has been entrusted with the task of reviewing the whole matter, but this is only a tactic to delay a decision, and the people know it. Mr Vajpayee’s declaration is primarily aimed at defeating the Congress in the game in which it has been a champion once upon a time.

What politicians like Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Laloo Yadav call social justice has never been on the agenda of the BJP. But with the presence of the advocates of social justice like Mr Ram Vilas Paswan courtesy the Janata Dal (United) on the NDA bandwagon, the BJP appears to have acquired the infection. This, however, marks a significant policy shift in the BJP’s case. The saffron party has been undergoing metamorphosis from various angles for some time. Though it has succeeded in making huge inroads in the Dalit vote bank specially in UP, the inclusion of social justice in its agenda will give it an added advantage. Now it will be difficult to accuse the BJP of being a party of upper castes. Having a look at the BJP’s performance in UP, one can easily understand the political dividends that will accrue to it with the change in its thinking on the reservation issue. It is a different matter that there is a section of people sick of this policy, which provides special advantages to the groups in the reserved category in the matter of admissions to educational institutions and government jobs. If they get disenchanted with the BJP after this development, it hardly matters to the party engaged in the race for enlarging its support base. The loss, if any, will be insignificant keeping in view the profit that will come to the party in terms of votes. If everybody, barring the leftists, plays caste politics, why not the BJP? However, it will have to find some other forceful charge to level against the organisations like Mr Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party, Mr Kanshi Ram’s Bahujan Samaj Party and Mr Laloo Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal, so far criticised as casteist outfits promoting social division in the country.

Spread of terrorism

INDIA has been the main and perennial target of ISI depredations. In fact, no other country except perhaps Afghanistan has borne the brunt of its dirty tricks as much as India did. But the mindless and bloody violence can never be country-specific. It is now spilling over to neighbouring countries. Nepal and Bhutan are worried over the activities of the Pakistani agents who use the soil of these countries for their nefarious designs. The ISI's tentacles have now started spreading to Bangladesh as well. The recovery of 30 kg of RDX from a mosque in Rajshahi on August 13 has alarmed the Bangladesh government enough to launch a countrywide hunt for ISI operatives. Latest reports say that ISI agents are in touch with some militant fundamentalist organisations in that country. It has come to light that ISI men have been keeping contact with their local agents in Chittagong, Bandarban Hill district in South-Eastern Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Cox Bazar Area. They have also been giving money and weapons to some extremist elements opposing the Chittagong Hill Tracts peace treaty. The prime target is again India. A secret circular by the central office of the special branch of the police has alerted about the possible attack on Indian officials working in the state-run Sylhet Oil and Gas Company. The unfortunate part is that even some opposition leaders are said to be sympathetic to the ISI plans just because these are anti-India. Little do they realise that in furtherance of their unholy designs the Pakistani agents would have no qualms about shedding Bangladeshi blood. What Pakistan did in 1971 and before that is not something which can be easily forgotten.

Now that it has tasted blood in India and Afghanistan, the ISI is also expanding its area of operations in other countries. Not only the Central Asian republics are worried over the role of fundamentalists trained in Pakistan in fomenting trouble in their countries, the Pakistani hand is also apparent in the unrest in the border provinces of Russia and China. Even America has been targeted several times. It is immaterial whether the ISI is or is not under the control of the government in Islamabad. It has already acquired enough clout to go against the will of the government if it so desires. Nor are its activities confined to exporting terrorism. To finance its nefarious designs, it has been also indulging in gun-running and drug trafficking. It is just that the world community did not confront the Islamabad government with the facts in a concerted manner and the ISI made the most of the political situation. One interesting development is that now Pakistan itself is threatened by the fundamentalist militancy spawned by the ISI. The Pakistan government is reported to be considering a clampdown on religious madarsas. The Urdu press has gone so far as to say that the government has already started its drive in Punjab. The Secretary-General of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, Senator Saranjam Khan, has said in Peshawar that the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam are pushing the country towards destabilisation at the bidding of their western masters and have collected donations in the name of Jehad-e-Kargil and Afghanistan. If only this realisation had dawned on Pakistan a little earlier, things would not have come to such a pass.

CASTE IN INDIAN POLITICS
A case study of Rajasthan
by Nonica Datta

THE spectre of caste has increasingly come to haunt Indian politics. Caste, wrote the noted social anthropologist M.N. Srinivas, “is so tacitly and so completely accepted by all, including those most vocal in condemning that it is everywhere the unit of social action.” Even though the role of caste is often decried as a fissiparous threat to national unity in some quarters, it is much more widely lauded as a channel of communication, representation, and leadership which links the mass electorate to the democratic political processes.

Caste as a factor in Indian politics is not new, though the resurgence of the OBC movement is of comparatively recent origin and can be traced to the process of “Mandalisation” initiated by Mr V.P. Singh. With the backward caste movement gaining momentum throughout the country thereafter, the upwardly mobile Jats in Rajasthan have also joined the race to secure access to the levers of power and patronage through reservations. The recent developments in this state, particularly on the eve of the elections, is a pointer to the strength of the backward caste movement in Rajasthan.

The demand for reservations affects the upper caste Hindus more than any other segment of society. Hence the organised opposition in Rajasthan, as indeed elsewhere, to the Jats’ demand for an OBC status. No wonder, the Congress, having recovered the ground it had lost to the BJP, is sensitive to the upper caste backlash. But, in the process, it has alienated the Jats, who had hitched their fortunes with the Congress in the recent Assembly elections. The recently concluded All-India Jat Mahasabha in Jaipur, chaired by the former wrestler Dara Singh, has lashed out at the Congress for its “betrayal.” The presence of Mr Kanshi Ram, Mr Ajit Singh and Mr Tariq Anwar lent much political weight to what was reportedly a massive gathering. The message emanating from the meeting was “No quota, no vote”. “If Khatis, Charans, Sunars and Darzis are declared as backward, why not us”, stated Mr Dharamvir, an IAS officer, spearheading the present agitation.

Historians and political scientists have plotted the trajectory of the Jats in the plains of North-West India, comprising the states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. But much less is known about their counterparts in Rajasthan, whose origin and history, though documented during the colonial period, is still shrouded in mystery. Part of the reason for this neglect is that the Jats in the region, once the stronghold of princely states and feudal barons, did not produce a high-profiled leadership either in the Mewar or Marwar region. Nobody acquired the stature of Sir Chhotu Ram, who in the 1920s, and 30s, created among the Jat peasantry in Punjab an awareness of the importance of its collective strength.

Following the reorganisation of the states, the Rajasthan Jat Maha-sabha, an offshoot of the All-India Jat Mahasabha founded in 1905, followed in the footsteps of Sir Chhotu Ram. Local and regional Jat leaders, some of whom allied themselves with the Congress, staked their claims through a well-organised campaign. They gained some advantages from their alliance, but the Congress, wary of alienating its upper caste constituency, has been reluctant to go far enough to fulfil their aspirations. The latest burst of anger against the Congress in fulfilling its commitment to Jats has been expressed by three Congress leaders, including a former Union Minister, who have recently defected to Mr Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party.

Given their past and recent experiences, one can understand why the Jats insist on being included in the OBC list. Their chief grievance is that they have neither prospered during the long years of Congress rule nor found adequate representation in the bureaucratic or institutional structures. Though some among them have done well in the countryside, the Rajput jagirdari elite continues to enjoy monopoly on land ownership and the symbols and rituals of social deference. In some areas the Rajputs exercise the right to decide on and enforce public rules.

In the 1920s and 30s the Kisan Sabhas in Rajasthan organised largescale agitations against the predominance of the upper castes, indeed, their role was critical in mobilising important segments of rural society. The Arya Samaj movement, though based in Punjab, was also a catalyst of change and modernisation in Rajasthan. Prominent Sadhus, including Swami Keshwa-nand and Karmanand, and religious bards toured Jat villages preaching and singing of social reform, of the inequities of the existing order, and of the righteousness of the cause of social purification and change. They helped to foster a strong Jat consciousness in a politically benign region.

Despite the pioneering role of the Arya Samaj, there is still strong resistance to any radical restructuring of the power equations. Balbir Singh, an elderly Delhi-based Jat activist, insists that the social barriers inherent in the caste hierarchy have not been broken. Many others like him want a share in the symbols of social dominance. I was told by a journalist from Nagaur, an important centre in Marwar and a citadel of Jats, “that it is still uncommon for Jats to ride elephants or any beast of burden before the hearths of prestigious Rajputs.” The point is well taken. The caste structures in Rajasthan are, to a large extent, intact. More importantly, the political and economic aspirations of the Jats have not been fulfilled in a region where progress has been slow and tardy.

The strength of a community (jati) lies in its representation in the government and the profession. This is where the Jats of Rajasthan feel left out. “Discrimination against us is rampant. This is the cause of our community’s backwardness”, observed Balbir Singh. Harendra Mirdha, son of senior Congress leader Ram Niwas Mirdha, underlines the backwardness of Jat peasantry in Western Rajasthan. According to him, the creamy layer formula should be applied in the case of reservations so that the facility benefits the most deserving.

It is difficult to foretell which way the wind is blowing: Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s decision to cancel her tour of Rajasthan last month and the continuing debate in the media over the status of Jats, is symptomatic of deep fissures in the Congress over the issue of including Jats in the OBC category. But one thing is for sure. What is being echoed today on the streets of Jaipur and Jodhpur is nothing new. Long ago, Sir Chhotu Ram had made strenuous efforts to unite the Jats of Punjab, Western UP and Rajasthan, he even found in the sacred Pushkar Lake a powerful symbol of Jat unity. It was he who secured for them, though in a limited way, the status of a backward community. It was he who sensitised them to the importance of harnessing their energies to create a Jat front.

Today, what is being demanded by the Jats of Rajasthan may be seen as a serious threat to the upper caste hegemony. But the fact is that the backward caste movements have come off age in Rajasthan, as indeed in other states. It would thus be foolhardy to disregard or take lightly their relentless quest for socio-economic empowerment and a greater share in power structures.

In effect, political parties, having shed some of their past inhibitions and broadened their social base will have to discover effective ways of accommodating the interests of the Jats and the other backward castes in Rajasthan and elsewhere. In the long run, this must surely be on every party’s agenda for the next millennium. Mr Ashok Gehlot, the Chief Minister, should be able to read the writing on the wall if he wants to secure the support of the Jats who can influence the result of 18 Lok Sabha seats in the September elections. How he deals with the rest of the OBC bloc, which is 26 per cent of the population, is a million dollar question.

(The writer teaches history at Miranda House, University of Delhi.)

Haryana politics at its worst
by D.R. Chaudhry

THE recent political developments in Haryana leading to Mr Bansi Lal’s ouster from power has added one more chapter to the dark saga of the politics of Aya Rams and Gaya Rams in the state. One could at best hang one’s head in shame and ponder over the darker days ahead instead of waxing eloquent on the sordid drama so often enacted in the state.

Mr Bansi Lal feels mortified at the observation made in a recent editorial that he had learnt a few tricks of the survival game and successfully manipulated the strings of power to keep himself afloat. Then he talks of his principles and the interests of the state which “are of foremost significance for me, and I will not sacrifice these whether I remain in power or not”. Nothing can be farther from truth. He violated every democratic norm to cling to power and the interests of the state were never a consideration in this power game. Almost every legislature of his party and his alliance partners was inducted into his ministry or held a position with ministerial perks. What principle can one discern in his act of firing several ministers on corruption charges and hiring most of them again after a short spell of time? What public interest was served by this act of naked political opportunism? It was a variation of Aya Ram, Gaya Ram politics in its ugliest manifestation.

Mr Bansi Lal has taken umbrage at the suggestion that he should take “sanyas” from active politics. The suggestion should have been taken in its correct perspective. “Sanyas” does not mean that he should don saffron robes and seek abode in the lap of the Himalayas. He has enjoyed power both in the state and the Centre for a long duration of time. What more does he want in life? It is time that a man like him acted as an elderly statesman to give a constructive orientation to the polity of the state by rising above politicking. But it seems that craving for power and the passion to promote his progeny in politics is proving too powerful for him to resist.

Mr Bansi Lal’s latest stint in power in the state was the dismal phase in his otherwise bright political career known for development and effective administration. Despite his claim to the contrary, development lost its dynamic rhythm seen in his earlier tenure and there was a free for all in the state. He alone is not to blame for this. He inherited power in the state marked by utter misrule at the hands of his predecessors. But the people expected him to take bold steps to stem the rot or surrender power gracefully if the odds proved too heavy. But his pathological wish to stay in power at all costs proved fatal for him. There is no better testimony for this than his present political plight. After staying in power for more than three years, his party has been totally marginalised, and he has been confined to his home constituency to see his son through in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. This is a telling comment on the steep decline of his political fortunes.

Other dramatis personae in the drama of the absurd are no better. There was a vertical split in Mr Bansi Lal’s party soon after the Congress decided to withdraw its support to his ministry. Most of the legislators in this break-away rump were handpicked by Mr Bansi Lal in the last assembly elections, and they were elected largely because of his political clout and goodwill. Most of them were made ministers by him. What more did they expect? What else could they get by climbing Mr Om Prakash Chautala’s bandwagon? They have only proved the dictum right that rats desert a sinking ship.

The role of the Congress in the recent power game in Haryana has been no less shocking. It looks all the more disgusting, keeping in view its national character and its Gandhi-Nehru legacy so often touted as its distinctive mark. It lent its support to Mr Bansi Lal’s government in its first trial of strength on the ground that it wanted to block the entry of casteist and communal forces allegedly represented by the Chautala-BJP combine in power. But just after three weeks it reversed its stand to facilitate the march of these very forces to the portals of power in the state. Does this mean that the Chautala-BJP combine shed its ideological hue so soon and turned secular to earn the Congress party’s inadvertent help to gain power?

The attempt by some Congress leaders to offer rationalisation for their somersault would convince none. In fact, it was the desire to sneak into power through the instrumentality of Mr Bansi Lal that led to the fiasco. When Mr Bansi Lal refused to play the desired game, he was dropped like a hot potato. The starkly opportunistic role of the Congress in this matter has cost it dearly. The naked pursuit of power, the internecine fight among its leaders imbued with the tribal passion of destroying each other, the assertion of the self over the larger interest of the party or the people, all this shows that this party in Haryana is seized with a death wish. The only hope of recovery is the possible bigger follies of its political foes in times to come.

Mr Chautala has been the sole beneficiary in the game. Power has come to him as a windfall. But the glory he is basking in emanates from political turncoats who can jump the fence any time. Already the game is on (one minister has resigned and one legislator has withdrawn his support). Anything can happen anytime in the mercurial politics of Haryana. Though the Haryana government has acquired a semblance of stability after the merger of the HVP (D) with Mr Chautala’s party by its very nature the present political dispensation is a short-lived phenomenon and the picture will become clear only after the Lok Sabha elections.

The Pipes of Bakloh
by Dinesh Kumar Kapila

MOST people would not have heard of Bakloh. It is a small hill station, essentially a cantonment, on the road from Pathankot to Dalhousie. Just off Tatapani, a narrow steeply winding road takes one to Bakloh. Not very high, a quaint little cantonment, with the old British churches still intact and the houses giving that period feel.

Here, far away from the metros and the cities, one feels the nation is secure. The disciplined drill and firing practice, the spit and polish and the well-maintained civic infrastructure and a ecosystem preserved carefully speaks well of the army. The vast canopy of trees all over the station ensures a feeling of quietude and peacefulness, as also privacy.

A relative was kind to allow me a short stay at Bakloh some time back. As the evening gradually descended, the sun painted the hills in a lovely orangish glow and the villages and terraced fields took on a lovely, ethereal look. It was a pleasure to just sit, watch and feel lazily the beauty of the moment.

And then suddenly, the bagpipes were heard from a distance loud and clear, the drums joined in and the chorus of young, firm voices sang out Netaji’s favourite “Kadam, Kadam Badhaye Ja...”. The effect was mesmerising, it just stirred one’s soul.

The thick pine trees hid from view the singers and musicians and as the skirl of the pipes took on louder tones and the voices and the drums took up the momentum, it was as though emotions were in the air that evening.

It was the emotion of the unrelenting spirit and grim determination of the Indian soldier. The pipes and the chorus beautifully captured and echoed the spirit of men for whom the romance of life was soldiering with a passion for adventure and a calm acceptance of its attendant dangers. The sheer purity of the music and the chorus reverberating in the hills brought forth a surge of emotions in one’s heart, the feeling of well being and pride in the men.

I quietly climbed towards the spot from where the pipes could be heard and as I neared the spot, the feeling of a flutter in my chest only increased. I chose not to intrude upon the men, young Garhwhalis’ practising with sincerity for a competition. Instead, I sat upon a rock at a distance and just let the music overwhelm me.

The battalion the men belonged to was moving to the valley shortly and here the men sang out their feelings, the skirl of pipes representing a hundred years history of steadfastness and courage. I prayed for their safe tenure and success in their endeavours.

The next day I moved out from Bakloh, the pipes still wailing in my ears and heart. A few weeks later I read about the death of a young officer and Jawan from a Garhwhal battalion in the valley. I did not know them, did not know if they were from the unit I saw at Bakloh, but my heart stopped still. For while I earned my bread safely at Chandigarh, these young men had just sacrificed their all for the nation. Silently, I paid my homage, the pipes again reverberating in my mind.

Years may come and go, the pipes of Bakloh shall play forever in my heart. The only prayer I have for the Good Lord is to save the young men the pipes play for and if their time shall come, then let them have a blissful tenure in the Valhalla of warriors.

Awaiting judgement

Lakhubhai Pathak case trial at a
snail's pace

NEW DELHI: How long will the trial of the one-lakh dollar- Lakhubhai Pathak cheating case involving former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, controversial godman Chandraswami and his aide Kailash Nath Aggarwal alias "Mamaji" continue?

"This is a jigsaw puzzle," says Mr R.K. Anand, counsel for Rao. "During the past two years not even a single witness has been examined. From this fact alone you can imagine the progress of the case. If the trial continues at this pace, one can say that it will take years, if not decades, before it is concluded."

Ever since the trial formally took off three years ago on November 26, 1996, only two material prosecution witnesses, Pathak and his son Yogesh, have been examined, maintains Mr Anand. Four other witnesses examined by the court do not concern Rao. Their deposition concerns only Chandraswami.

Mr R.K. Das, former Counsellor in the Department of Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau with the Indian Consulate at Washington, was examined for getting certain documents identified.

Mr Dinesh Mathur, a senior lawyer, who deposed in the court, had purchased a house in Greater Kailash which was earlier reportedly used by Chandraswami to carry out his ashram activities. Mr Mathur had expressed his ignorance about Chandraswami's ashram there and told the court that he had bought the house from someone else.

Mr R.K. Khandekar and Mr R.K. Ghosh, two officials in the Prime Minister's Office, were summoned to question whether they had recorded the receipt of some letters that Pathak wrote to Rao during his tenure as Prime Minister and maintained any file relating to the case.

Mr Anand says this was the first case against Rao. After this the St Kitts case sprang up in which he had since been discharged. Then came the JMM case. The trial of this case is at an advanced stage. As many as 70 witnesses have already been examined. Its trial is likely to be concluded shortly.

Sitting in his sprawling bungalow in South Extension Part-II, Mr Anand says that on January 15 last year the Special CBI Judge, Mr Ajit Bharihoke, who is trying the case, had directed the prosecution to file a status report on the progress made for sending a commission to Canada for recording evidence of the main material witness, W.E. Miller, in whose account Chandraswami had allegedly deposited two cheques of £ 73,000 and £ 27,000 received in January, 1984, from the complainant. Miller had expressed his inability to come to India for deposing in the court.

The CBI took as many as eight months to inform the court that the Union government had forwarded its request to the Indian High Commission in Canada to take up the matter with the Canadian government for constituting the commission.

Since then more than one year has gone by, but the Centre has not been able to prevail upon its Canadian counterpart to set up the commission. Until the commission is set up and necessary arrangements are made for sending prosecution and defence counsel to Canada, the evidence of Miller cannot be recorded. Till such time as the evidence of this witness is recorded, the trial cannot obviously progress much further.

The CBI Special Prosecutor, Mr A.K. Datt, on the other hand, blames the defence for obstructous an expeditious trial. He points out that on April 11 counsel for Chandraswami moved an application in the court seeking closure of the prosecution evidence on the ground inter alia that the Supreme Court had ruled in the Raj Deo Sharma vs State of Bihar case that in cases where trial was for an offence punishable with imprisonment for a maximum period of seven years, the court "shall close prosecution evidence on completion of two years from the date of recording of the plea of the accused on the charges framed," and his fundamental right to travel abroad had been restricted due to the pendency of the case.

Mr Datt maintains that the apex court had already stayed the operation of its directions given in the Raj Deo Sharma case when the CBI had preferred an application seeking clarification of its order. It was in the light of this clarification that Chandraswami's application had been dismissed by Mr Bharihoke.

Asked what was the progress on the setting up of the commission, Mr Datt says the Union government has seriously taken up the matter with the Canadian government. The prosecution cannot say how long the Canadian government will take to set up the commission.

All efforts made to seek the version of Chandraswami and "Mamaji" failed. First, their telephone numbers and addresses are not listed in Delhi's telephone directory. And when their unlisted telephone numbers (6867345 and 6868269) were traced through intelligence agencies, Chandraswami refused to comment. He quipped: "I am very busy in my other cases. I do not care a damn for the press. It has already written so much against me. You may also write whatever you feel."

His counsel, Rajinder Singh, is based in Madhya Pradesh. Therefore, he was also not available for comments.

The case is now fixed for September 8, 1999.

The alleged cheating incident of Lakhubhai Pathak, a UK-based businessman, was said to have taken place in December, 1983, when he (Pathak) ran into Chandraswami at the Holoron House Hotel in New York.

Pathak unfolded his plan to start business in India and Chandraswami volunteered to help. The "godman" allegedly told him that there were four or five schemes but the newspaper pulp and newsprint contract to India would suit him the most. The other schemes were for aluminium, soyabean oil and special coal.

Chandraswami was still staying in this hotel, when on December 22/23, 1983, Rao, then External Affairs Minister, came to meet him. He remained closeted with Chandraswami for more than one hour, while Pathak and other persons waited outside.

When Chandraswami and Rao came out together, the former introduced Pathak to Rao, who shook hand with him and allegedly told him that Chandraswami had told him everything and that his work would be done. Pathak was taken for a ride by Rao's assurance.

Chandraswami allegedly asked Pathak how much money he could invest. And when Pathak told him where the question of money had come from and why the money was needed, Chandraswami told him that since the Minister was answerable in Parliament as to why the deal had been struck with an outsider, it was necessary that there should be $ 5 lakh or 6 lakh in his account to show his capacity.

Pathak alleged that Chandraswami took $1,00,000 from him in January, 1984 (through two cheques for $ 73,000 and $ 27,000) for giving him the contract. He deposited this amount in the account of W.E. Miller.

Pathak continued to wait for four years for Chandraswami to honour the commitment he had made to him for the newspaper pulp and newsprint contract. And when he neither honoured the assurance held out to him nor returned the money, he filed a complaint on September 25, 1987, at the UK High Commission, addressed to the CBI, New Delhi. In February, 1988, this complaint was converted into an FIR and a case registered.

Since the complaint filed by Pathak was only against Chandraswami and Mamaji, the FIR registered by the CBI did not mention the name of Rao. It was only during his deposition before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mr Prem Kumar, in July, 1996, that Pathak said Rao had come to meet Chandraswami in New York on December 22/23, 1983, and told him that his work would be done.

In his order dated July 9, 1996, Mr Prem Kumar directed the CBI to add the name of Rao as an accused in this case "for being a party to the criminal conspiracy of cheating the complainant." He was summoned to the court on July 24, 1996, under Sections 120-B and 420, IPC.

The order began with a quotation from the Mahabharata:

"Time is the root of created beings

And uncreate of pleasure and pain

Time doth create existence. Time destroys.

Time shatters all, and all again renews

Time watches while all sleep unvanquished time.”

During the interregnum Pathak shot off two letters to Rao expressing his agony over the way he was cheated by Chandraswami and sought his help in getting his money back.

In his first letter written on August 9, 1991, Pathak said: "I am very very bitter in my heart because both mine and my wife's money has been robbed by such a satan Swami. He has no heart but only a cruel wickedness. Money is the main cause but more than that these satans have used you as a shield and taken 1,00,000 US dollars from me using your name and arranging a dramatic meeting with you in December, 1983, at Holoron House Hotel in New York..."

"I have taken a vow that no matter what happens to me I am going to haunt this crooked Swami until he pays my hard-earned money back with compensation to me for this suffering...... Please, please Mr Rao guide me and advise me to the best of your ability in this matter."

When Rao did not reply to this letter for five months, Pathak wrote him another letter on January 4, 1992, saying, among other things: "Today is the exact day 7 years ago when Chandraswami took two drafts of total US $ 1,00,000. You have been directly or indirectly involved in this matter....”

“You have been made so low in the other people's eyes by involving yourself with such a crooked person. For that sin the only prayaschit you can do is to force Swami to pay my one million pounds and relieve yourself from the sins you are being involved."

Six years later, Lakhubhai Pathak passed away in April, 1998. His son, Yogesh, who had accompanied him to India for pursuing the case, has since returned to England.

And the case goes on.

75 YEARS AGO

September 1, 1924
Help for a contemporary

WE whole-heartedly associate ourselves with the appeal issued by L.Lajpat Rai, founder of the local “Bande Mataram”, exhorting the Punjab public to help the proprietors of the paper in tiding over the crisis that has been brought about as a result of Mr Justice Martineau’s judgement awarding a decree of Rs 13,000 against it.

Newspapers in this Province have never been particularly prosperous and if they are compelled to pay such heavy penalties for doing their duty out of their current revenue, very few of them will survive.

The “Bande Mataram” has, during the four years or so of its existence, made considerable sacrifices in money as well as men, in the cause of India’s struggle for freedom and we hope that the Punjabees will not permit it to sink.