3
NEHRU FINDS A PARTRIDGE IN KAIRON
Nehru in 1951 was hovering over new forces to overwhelm the existing order. In May 1951, he dismissed Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, as Law Minister, who was proving a hurdle in launching new amendments to the Constitution. He overwhelmed Purshottam Das Tandon in September: Nehru himself also took over as Congress President. He left untouched Cabinet Minister K.M. Munshi and President Dr RajendraPrasad, but kept Rafi Ahmed Kidwai and Ajit Prasad Jain in the Cabinet, after having resigned from Congress Party.
Nehru because of paucity of time for the forthcoming elections in early 1952, chose all those who took to fall to his side, whatever were their earlier predictions. He looked to Maulana Azad as an elder statesman, who, however, looked to his megalomania. Nehru in a short time perfected the instruments of Brahmin-Bania Raj, under pinned by Muslims and backward classes. It is another matter that he laid foundations for a modern but obsolete and corrupt India.
He kept in view Gangu Brahmin heritage and there was not scope for Akalis. He started with Baba Kharak Singh’s birthday celebrations on June 20, 1951 and later towards schismatic Sant Nirankaris, and other Sikhs, to weaken Sikhism. He fell back on Khushwant Singh’s book, The Sikhs, (London, Allen and Unwin, 1951), hurrying up the conclusions in the hope that Sikhism will meet its end by end of the century. It came as an assurance to Jawaharlal Nehru and other Congress leaders, that the policies they were pursuing were correct and should be persisted upon to yield the desired results.
In election campaign speaking on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, 1951, Nehru dubbed Punjabi speaking state as a Sikh state. He adduced additional reason that conceding it would imperil the national border of India. Further Nehru’s outburst at the public meeting at Patiala on January 4, 1952, “I will not allow India to be divided again”. At the time he was being hackled by slogan shouters, le ke rahenge Punjabi suba, we shall have Punjabi speaking province. Nehru was seized of “uncontrollable rage.”1
The Congress won 45 per cent of total polls at the Centre, and 42 per cent of the total in states in total area, and in the words of Michael Brecher, “more than half the ballot expressed discontent with Congress stewardship during the early years of the Indian Republic.”2 That worked in favour of Congress which got 362 out of 489 seats in Parliament and a working majority in all states except Madras, Orissa, PEPSU, and Travancore Cochin.
Gian Singh Rarewala was sworn in as Chief Minister of United Front Government on April 20, 1952. He had the distinction of heading the first non-Congress government formed in any Indian state. Rarewala was unseated in February 1953, and had, under the Law, an option to continue as Chief Minister before getting re-elections to the house. But instead President’s rule was imposed on March 5, 1953. On hearing of the development, Dr Ambedkar was so upset that, as he spoke in Rajya Sabha, Upper House of Indian Parliament, thereafter he would like to burn the Constitution.
Nehru waited to draw the blood of Potti Sriramulu’s life, before announcing formation of Andhra Province. This was the first step in formation of linguistic provinces.
May 10 1955: Akalis started being arrested for violating prohibitory orders. Nehru lost his equipoise on May 28, and said: it was “vulgar, highly improper, unwarranted, non-sensible, obnoxious and born of parochialism”. On July 4: first sacrilege after independence when shells fell within sarovar, holy tank of Darbar Sahib, Head Priests of Akal Takht and Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple) arrested, closed Guru ka Langar (Guru’s Kitchen) by taking over the utencils, etc. Jawarhar Lal Nehru after visit to Soviet visited Britain, when Western journalists tauntingly asked him that he was preaching Panchsheel all over, when a minority back at home was being put into jail over a trivial issue. Cut to quick, Nehru wanted Sachar to discontinue the arrests.3
Later, Sachar a man of conscience, went to the Golden Temple to apologise for hurting the susceptibilities of the Sikh people. But Partap Singh Kairon was an amoral person and a man without a conscience sent emissaries to Nehru and Pandit Pant, Home Minister, that Sachar had inadvertently helped the Sikhs. This was the first time that Nehru found out a proper person, for induction as Chief Minister, Panjab, in Nov 1955. In two and a half years, surfaced a split in the Congress with Prabodh Chandra’s complaining of high-handedness and corruption on part of the Chief Minister. The High Command found substance in Kairon’s sons and nephews serving as alternate centres of power. The Congress Parliamentary Board fixed on Kairon the constructive responsibility for actions of his relatives, but Nehru on June 4, 1958, termed the charges of corruption as “foolish, frivolous and absurd”, and Kairon won the vote of confidence the following day. Kairon, as quid pro quo, decided to change to the texture of Sikh institutions and `secularise’ them.4
A group from visitors from Palestine called up Nehru: he made them sit. He used to relish narrating stories about Santa-Banta, and started stories about the hilarious and funny character of the Sikhs – their awkwardness and character as a joker, mimickry, ridicule, derision, prickiness, stupidity, foolishness, irritability, idioticity, clumsy and perverse character, etc. etc. The Palestanians got up and said that “what you are telling us is about the Arabs: Jews narrate similar stories about we people.” Once, Nehru was telling similar stories in another get together. Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur who hailed from Kapurthala family and Christian by faith felt hurt and told Nehru that he should not narrate such stories in the presence of senior people like Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir, President of Punjab Congress. Nehru said, never mind it: he had been defused/made without testicles (khassi) by Gandhi. Such was the character of the Sikhs that was relished among the Congress – Ishar Singh Majhail, Baldev Singh, Swaran Singh, Partap Singh Kairon, Gurdial Singh Dhillon, Dr. Jagjit Singh Chauhan, Darbara Singh, Giani Zail Singh, later Buta Singh, Beant Singh or Dr. Manmohan Singh. They were all kept as pets. Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur was told that she should not mind such characters. Such had been past time with the Nehru family get together.
Pressure was mounting up in the Punjab and various political elements were coming around to saner position. To begin with, Sant Fateh Singh laid emphasis on linguistic aspect of Punjabi Suba demand shorn of any verbiage about the position of the Sikhs in the unit. Ranbir of Urdu Milap on August 21, 1960, exhorted Punjabi renegade Hindus to own up their mother tongue and not be a traitor to their mother. Prem Bhatia, Editor, Times of India shortly afterwards tendered similar advice. And above all, RSS leader, M.S. Golwalkar, in early November 1960, when on a visit to Punjab, urged Punjabi Hindus to “accept Punjabi as their mother tongue” with all the consequences.”5
But Nehru (seized of Gangu Brahmin heritage) on November 17, 1960, at Agriculture University at Rudrapur, when some Sikhs interrupted his speech shouting Punjabi Suba Zindabad (long live). Nehru lost his equilibrium and betrayed his inner self or was seized by his Gangu Brahmins spirit when he burst forth, “You fools, your Punjabi Suba has been left in Pakistan”, and taunted them “Go to your Punjabi Suba. Why are you here?6 Fateh Singh after exchanges, fixed December 18, 1960 as he beginning of his fast. This made Jaya Prakash Narayan to reason with an obdurate Nehru in vain.”7
Fateh Singh’s adamant statement made Tara Singh to fly to Bhavnagar for personal talks with Nehru on January 7, 1961. Nehru and Tara Singh had sharp exchanges. Nehru said that he would not permit the Sikhs to continue this agitation any longer, or mount another one hereafter. He ridiculed at the overall Sikh percentage in India, and said imperiously he had had enough of them. And, if they persist, he would teach them a lesson that they would remember for generations. Nehru had both Shankaracharya’s crushing of Buddhists and the extermination of Melians in Ancient Greece following the Peloponnesian War around 410 B.C. in his mind. Pertinently, in the negotiations preceding the War, the stand of Melo’s, a small power, in the world of Greek historian Thucydides, was “rich in principle and high in moral content.” The Greeks, then a great power, conscious of their military might made their intentions clear by saying, “ You know as well as we do, that right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power. While strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must.” In the ensuring war, each and every male Melian to the child of one day was killed and their women folk taken over by the Greeks.8 Nehru was not unconscious of the issues at stake, and in his usual Brahminical arrogance was bulging from the position of strength.
Tara Singh sought to disabuse Nehru of his reading of the Sikh history. He said he himself came from Hindu background, but knew the Sikhs very well. Nehru did not. If it came to that, the Sikhs would know how to defend themselves. The responsibility for disintegration of India would be that of Nehru, and history won’t forgive him. Tara Singh continued that if they sit together for 15 minutes, they can solve the problem amicably. Thereafter that sort of opportunity may not present itself. Tara Singh’s attempt to humor Nehru’s megalomania by referring to his international standing for peace and amicable solution of problems drew no response. He left in disgust, after thumping the table that Nehru was bent upon playing the role of Aurangzeb.9
Meanwhile, at the instance of intermediaries, Seth Ram Nath and Harcharan Singh, Nehru decided to resort to another stratagem. There was nothing new in Nehru’s empty and fraudulent statement, but Tara Singh read through Nehru’s menacing nuances. He spent a restless night is Delhi. Contrary to the advice of his advisers, he sent a telegram to Fateh Singh to break his fast as, “It fulfills requirements of vow”. Fateh Singh’s breaking his fast on January 9, 1961, came as an anti-climax.
To the Sikh masses, it indicates that the struggle for Punjabi Suba was lost. Tara Singh was hooted at Manji Sahib on January 11, and again the following day. The Sikhs gathering at Mukatsar for Maghi Mela refused to listen to him. His influence was on the wane.
Nehru had three rounds of talks with Fateh Singh on February 8, March 1, and May 8, 1961, when he advanced specious arguments for non-formation of Punjabi Suba. Sant Fateh Singh said , “ Panditji you are considering as if some Sikh state was being carved out. I may make it clear that Punjabi-speaking state would be like other states of Bharat.” Finally, Sant Fateh Singh pointed out to his reputation of resolving international disputes and why could he not settle this petty dispute in our own country. Nehru kept quiet for a minute and said that it was his final opinion that there would be no Punjabi Suba during this regime.10
Shortly afterwards, Nehru recorded a note “For Eyes Only” for his successors that no concessions whatsoever in future should be made to the Sikhs. Mention may be made of three mindless accusations levelled against the Akalis at various times during 1960-61 agitation. Only the Pakistan would train 10,000 Sikhs in guerrilla warfare; two, Kairon accused Tara Singh of starting Punjabi Suba agitation with the support and encouragement of Pakistan, and three, Tara Singh was accused of instructing Bir Khalsa Dal, Young Wing, to learn the technique of using explosives to attack opponents. These were indicative of the working of Nehru’s mind and provided an outline to contain the Sikhs in future to subject them to state terrorism. This outline came handy to his daughter, Indira, two decades later.11
By now, there was material change in the national scene. A temporarily insane Nehru provoked the Chinese by his statement at Madras in Oct 1962 that he had asked the Indian armed forces to throw the Chinese troops out of certain border posts.
The Chinese struck in a major way scattering the Indian forces and made pyjama of Nehru. The Sikh soldiers who fought the Chinese valiantly were special target of Chinese atrocities. Accordingly to the testimony of B.N. Mullick (from Bihar), Director, Intelligence Bureau of the Government of India, “The Chinese perpetrated untold cruelties on the brave wounded Sikhs. Many of them were tied and then dragged and their brains were battered.” This was spelled out by Mullick. The Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, U.P. and Madhya Pradesh moved at the bravery of the Sikhs, announced concessions for Punjabi soldiers. The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh announced introduction of Punjabi in Gurmukhi script in 10th and 11th classes.12 This led to special recruitment within Armed Forces. People from Eastern U.P., Bihar and Madhya Pradesh were not willing for recruitment. The Sikhs were especially recruited into the Armed Forces, and a large body of young men found themselves there.
But these had no impact on Punjabi-renegade Hindus and their helmsman Jawaharlal Nehru, who even in his wretched state continued to regard the Sikhs only as mercenaries.
The Indian setback caused national indignation and demoralization. People including Sikhs rose to support a humiliated Nehru. The opposition in Parliament for the first time sponsored a motion of no confidence in Nehru government. The irrepressible Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia in a telling statement in Parliament stated, “Are you looking for a traitor ?” Pointing to Nehru, he continued, “Here is he. His name is Jawaharlal Nehru”. Nehru could not strike back in self defence, for he had none. The same evening he had a paralytic stroke which crippled his body: he had already been out of his mind since 1959. But he did not follow the democratic tradition and resign. To perpetuate his dynasty, he continued to stick to office, and always had a mind as successor in Indira Gandhi to succeed him.13
Subsequently on February 7, 1963, Sant Fateh Singh presented Prime Minister Nehru a cheque of Rs. 50,000 on behalf of the SGPC as its contribution to the National Defence Council. Similar were the feelings of Tara Singh group of Akali Dal.14
Kairon’s raising of auxiliary force namely Home Guards and going in for an air rifle factory with American collaboration caused doubts in members of Congress High Command about his intentions in post-Nehru era. A group of Congressmen submitted memorandum about his malfeasance and that of his family members. A deputation of joint opposition leader led by Master Tara Singh, and including Devi Lal, Abdul Ghani Dar, Jagat Narain and others, submitted a memorandum to President, Dr. Radhakrishnan, enlisting 32 charges of corruption, nepotism and favouritism against Kairon. Nehru was forced to institute a one-man enquiry commission only on opposition charges, consisting of S. R. Das, though he publicly justified the need for continuation of Kairon – “a slave overseer… more heartless than any alien beast.” The dissident Congress members of Legislative Assembly protested to Nehru for acquitting Kairon before enquiry and for confining it only to opposition charges and ignoring the charge sheet submitted by them.
His last work was release of Shaikh Abdullah after a decade of incarceration and entrusted him to pursue a Kashmir solution after talks with President Mohamad Ayub of Pakistan. The two talked over. It was not an easy issue and needed another confabulation. What was in Nehru’s mind remained within his mind, and the bird flew away.
Dispirited, Nehru passed melancholy day till he passed into history on May 27, 1964. It was whispered in a hush hush manner in the corridors of South Block that he had died of syphilis.
With Nehru’s death Kairon’s exit was only a matter of time. An era passed away in the history of Punjab and of the Sikhs. Justice S.R. Das was now emboldened to give a report upholding four of 32 charges. A week before the report was submitted on June 21, 1964, Kairon resigned.
Nehru era was marked by a rapacious policy of negativism towards the Sikhs. Whatever the merits of the man, his policies and outlook, his attitude and mien towards the Sikhs were reflective of his deep seated hostility. Because of Nehru, India failed to emerge as a nation in emotional and cultural sense.
1. Ajit Singh Sarhadi, Punjabi Suba, Delhi, 1970, p.218, 225
2. Michael Bracher, Jawaharlal Nehru- A political Biography, London, 1959, P.442
3. Sarhadi, op. cit., p. 291, Partap Singh, S. Hukam Singh: A Biography, Delhi (1989) p.89.
4. Sarhadi, op. cit., p. 306-308
5. Times of India, November 4, 1960. Hindustan Times and Times of India both of November 10, 1960
6. Gurmit Singh, History of Sikh Struggle Delhi (1989), p.139.
7. Sarhadi, op. cit., p.335-35.
8. Gur Rattan Pal Singh, Illustrated History of the Sikhs (Chandigarh, 1979) p. 211-2
9. For minutes of Nehru. Fateh Singh talks, see Gurmit Singh, History of Sikh Struggle Delhi (1989), p.366-399
10.Sangat Singh, The Sikh History (N.Y. 1995, Amritsar 2014) p.301.
11.B.N. Mullick, The Chinese Betrayal, p.413 quoted in Gurmit Singh, p. 52
12.Kuldeep Nayar, India After Nehru (Delhi 1975) Pp. 68
13.Sangat Singh, (2014 Edn.) p. 309.