Indira’s cabinet wanted India to take Lahore, but she declared cease-fire

This obituary - which is being reproduced in its entirety - was published in the Times of India in 1984, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31. The obituary was written by Dr Rafiq Zakaria, who was an eminent Islamic scholar, writer, educationist and a Congress MP. medium nocaption114783287Was Indira Gandhi, who created such a worldwide impact as an outstanding ruler, groomed to be Prime Minister? The answer is "yes" and "no". By circumstances and training “yes", by design and manoeuvring "no". In fact her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, always denied it, when questioned and even Indira, when the offer suddenly came to her on the unexpected death of Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent in January 1966 showed genuine reluctance to accept it. She had to be persuaded by the Congress High Command, which believed that, being shy and docile, she would be more pliable than the stern and unbending Mr Morarji Desai. That they were mistaken in their assessment is a different story; very few of them really sized up Indira correctly. She might have looked a "dumb doll", but there was iron in her, which surfaced when put to the test to change the course of history.Right from her childhood, Indira had the best training in the art of politics. She was fortunate in her tutors: her grandfather, Motilal, her father and, above all, Mahatma Gandhi. All three took good care of her. True, most of her family members were often in jail and hence she was deprived of their company; but this was more than compensated by other factors. She was adored and loved by scores of her relations and friends though not as much by her aunts, who were said to be unkind to her mother. Indira was proud of her childhood days, which were turbulent and exciting; As she said: “My public life started at the age of three. I have no recollection of games, children's parties or playing with other children. My favourite occupation as a small child was to deliver thunderous speeches to the servants standing on a high table. All my games were political — I was like Joan of Arc, perpetually being burned at the stake." I once asked her whether she had an unhappy childhood. "Nonsense", she replied, "I was even then proud to be a part, however tiny, of the national movement." medium114783666Her formal education, whether at Pune, Santiniketan, Geneva or Oxford, no doubt, suffered as it had to be sporadic and interrupted. But this was more than made up by Nehru’s celebrated letters to her from prison and the teaching she received on, and off, from Motilal and the Mahatma. Tagore also played— albeit for a year— a part in moulding her; but the influence on her of Kamala, her mother, was the greatest; Indira was most attached to her; from her she learnt, to be a fighter against injustice though it was Jawaharlal, who taught her to be bold and fearless. Kamala's death in 1934 due to tuberculosis came as a great blow to her.Even when Indira studied abroad, especially at Oxford, she involved herself in politics; she joined the youth wing of the British Labour Party and became an activist against Franco in the Spanish civil war. As a student she was attracted to socialism; developing a zeal to fight for the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Though influenced by Jawaharlal's life and teachings, she had a mind of her own; in selecting a Parsi, Feroze Gandhi, as husband, she defied her father. Even the Mahatma's persuasion did not dissuade her. Six months after the marriage, both husband and wife joined the Quit India movement against the British and spent nine months in Naini prison. Shy and reticent, Indira was a private person, though she could not escape the publicity and glare attendant on politics. She loved to run her home at Lucknow, where Feroze worked as the general manager of National Herald. She was the happiest of mothers, with two lovely boys, Rajiv and Sanjay, to take care of. Later, as the only child, it was Pandit Nehru who claimed most of her time and attention when he became Prime Minister. For 17 long years she acted as his companion, housekeeper and accompanied him wherever he went, to different parts of India and abroad. Though holding no official position, Indira became acquainted with all the currents and crosscurrents of national and international politics. She met Kings and Emperors, Presidents and Prime Ministers, rebel leaders and freedom fighters and quietly and unobtrusively learnt more of the inner workings of their mind — an insight which no ministerial position would have given her.Everyone confided in her, from Gandhi to Jawaharlal, Sarojini Naidu to Jayaprakash Narayan during the freedom struggle and, after independence, from the small Congress workers to the tallest foreign dignitaries. She had the uncanny capacity of being able to listen as well as to keep secrets; she rarely revealed her mind and did so only when she had been convinced that it was in the national interest. She hardly indulged in loose talk— though sometimes she enjoyed gossip; but such was her sense of discipline that she never took anything casually. Fond of taking notes, good suggestions always attracted her. It didn't matter from whom these came.She worked for the election of Zakir Saheb and, in the face of many odds, succeeded. Her independence made the seniors in the Congress restless. At the Faridabad Congress in 1968, they fired their first salvo by openly criticising her policies and ridiculing some of her programmes. I distinctly remember how members members were pushed or pulled in one direction or the other and how the moves for a battle royale on ideological grounds — particularly the public versus the private sector — were being waged, with the new Congress President, Mr Nijalingappa on one side and Mrs Gandhi on the other. Being daughter of Nehru, no doubt helped but, as she put it, "In politics one has to work doubly hard to show one is not merely a daughter but is also a person in her own right."She added: "Of course being a woman you have to work twice as hard as a man."Then came the crucial AICC meeting at Bangalore; it proved to be a watershed in her political career. The old guard outvoted her on the question of Congress nomination for the Presidentship of India in the vacancy caused by the passing away of Dr. Zakir Husain. They planned to have their own man in Rashtrapati Bhavan, so that Mrs Gandhi's wings could be clipped and her position weakened. Indira saw through this game and acted in time to thwart it.As the Vice-President, Mr VV Giri, had already announced his candidature, Mrs Gandhi called upon her followers to vote according to their conscience, ignoring the party whip, and managed with the support of some opposition groups to defeat Mr Sanjiv Reddy, the Congress candidate.Frustrated, the old guard in the Congress expelled Mrs Gandhi, resulting in a split in the Congress. Mrs Gandhi formed her own Congress party and embarked on several radical measures, which won her popular support: the nationalisation of banks, the abolition of the privy purses of the princes and land reforms. She adopted stern measures to control communal riots and to protect the Harijans against atrocities by the caste Hindus. All this brought a breath of fresh air to the gloomy political environment and added to Indira's popularity. Her Congress became the real Congress in the eyes of the people and inspired new hope among the poor and the downtrodden.A united Congress, as events proved, would have dug its grave, a divided Congress, under Mrs Gandhi’s leadership, resurrected it. Hence it is not the structure of a political organisation but its spirit that matters. While grappling with domestic problems, Mrs Gandhi faced the gravest challenge in the migration of more than 10 million, mostly Hindu refugees from East Pakistan; it threatened to cripple the Indian economy. She pleaded with the world powers to prevail upon Pakistan to put its house in order, but such was the bitterness between its two wings, that division of the state became inevitable.The military dictator, Yahya Khan, aided by Mr Bhutto unleashed a reign of terror in East Pakistan, which under its leader Shaikh Mujibur Rehman revolted. In order to suppress it, Yahya resorted to genocide against the Bengalis and aggression against the neighbouring India. The armed conflict ended in the liberation of East Pakistan and the birth of Bangladesh. Mrs Gandhi, however, did not want to humble West Pakistan and despite the fact that her entire Cabinet and the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force wanted the victorious Indian armed forces to capture Lahore, she overruled them and ordered an unilateral cease-fire.During the course of the war, both America and China threatened retaliation—Nixon even sent the Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal—but Mrs Gandhi remained firm as a rock. No one could ever browbeat her, in any confrontation. In a crisis the best in her came out. medium114783847The breakup of Pakistan was indeed her greatest achievement; it buried the pernicious two-nation theory and put teeth into Indian secularism. It also made India the dominant power in South Asia and the subsequent Pokhran explosion of an atomic device made the country a member of the six nation nuclear club. In the elections that followed to the State Assemblies in 1972, Mrs Gandhi’s Congress party won landslide victories. The overwhelming support of the people gave her new strength and she embarked on several radical measures. Influenced by some Leftists, whom she brought into her Cabinet the status-quoish attitude of the Supreme Court and some of the High Courts irked her Leftist colleagues in the Cabinet, because they felt their decisions coming in the way of implementation of many economic and social reforms. This was reflected in ministerial utterances and the supersession of the three judges of the Supreme Court. The press played up the controversy and an atmosphere of confrontation between the executive and judiciary was built up. There was also talk of corruption in the Government and suppression of civil liberties. The veteran socialist and Gandhian, Mr Jayaprakash Narayan, jumped into the fray and began to organise a popular movement against Mrs. Gandhi. At this juncture came the Allahabad High Court judgment, in an election petition, unseating Mrs Gandhi on two petty charges, which The Times, London, described as no more than “car parking offences.” An inspired campaign for Mrs Gandhi’s resignation created an atmosphere charged with all the elements of civil war, with the police and army asked to disobey illegal orders. To meet the situation, the Government declared a state of Emergency, imprisoning opposition leaders, including Mr Jayprakash Narayan and clamping press censorship. For almost two years, these restrictions continued, but there was a sense of discipline and order injected among the people, which made the Government function efficiently and a new radical 20-point programme came to be implemented with much vigour and enthusiasm. However, as soon as Mrs Gandhi felt that the situation in the land was under control, she released all the imprisoned leaders, lifted press censorship and called for a general election to the Lok Sabha, in which she and her Congress party was trounced, especially in the north. The Janata Party, which was a combination of all opposition parties, founded on the eve of the election, won more than a two-third majority in the Lok Sabha and formed the Government with Mr. Morarji Desai as the Prime Minister and most of Mrs Gandhi's bitterest critics as important members of his Cabinet. They appointed various commissions to harass and, if possible, to liquidate Mrs Gandhi and her son Sanjay politically.This was a horrifying experience for any leader, but Mrs Gandhi faced it boldly. She went through it with the same calm and composure she had shown in every crisis. She was arrested without a charge and had to be released. She stood for a by-election in the South and won handsomely. The ruling Janata Party, convicting her on an issue of privilege, deprived her of the seat in the Lok Sabha and put her in Tihar jail in Delhi.All these repressive measures caused a wave of sympathy for Mrs Gandhi among the people and when the Janata Party split and both the Desai and Charan Singh governments fell, due to internal squabbles, and a mid-term poll was called in 1980, the people showed their resentment against their misdeeds by throwing them out and by voting in Mrs Gandhi and the Congress party by more than two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha.This was indeed, the most glorious period of her life — a vindication of all that she had done. A vote of confidence by the people who realised that she — and she alone — stood for them. Unlike the Janata government, her cabinet indulged in no vendetta or victimisation of the opposition.On the contrary, priorities were given to bringing down the prices of the essential goods, curbing inflation, giving a fresh impetus to agricultural production, accelerating the growth and development of industries, and concentrating on the application of modern technology to every field with a view to bring about all-round development.As the danger to our security increased due to the supply of sophisticated arms and weapons by America to Pakistan, Mrs Gandhi gave top priority to updating our defence requirements. But it was her quest for peace, which was reflected in the reactivisation of India's role in the non-aligned movement. She supported the cause of Palestinians unreservedly and spoke vehemently against apartheid in South Africa.There was no cause in the Third World, which she did not espouse. She was proud of India's independent role in international affairs and would not compromise at any cost, irrespective of the attitude of world powers. All kinds of pressures—both pleasant and unpleasant—were exerted on her but these would not deter her from her stand.She was never tired of repeating that she was neither pro-Soviet nor pro-America but pro-lndia.Even Mr Kissinger, in his latest tribute, conceded : "Balancing the superpowers against one another required extraordinary skills and Indira Gandhi accomplished this with greater skill. She had a clear view of how to hold India together. She did what was necessary."Once when I told her about the warm reception President Reagan gave her in Washington and the glowing tribute he paid, she smiled and said: "Yes, he is always friendly to me; but that has nothing to do with their policies towards India." Likewise, she was aware of the great affection Mrs. Margaret Thatcher felt for her; but Mrs. Gandhi knew that British policy would not change as a result of it. There was something so uncanny and shrewd about Mrs. Gandhi's understanding of international politics that even Mr. Henry Kissinger, with all his persuasive powers, was not able to get round her. Mrs. Gandhi knew what was in India's interest and stuck to it, whatever be the temptations or pulls. That is why there was something so regal about her chairmanship of the non-aligned movement or the Commonwealth. Wherever she sat, was, in a manner of speaking, the head of the table. Her personality added not only grace and splendour but also strength to the two international conferences the non-aligned and the Commonwealth — which India hosted in 1984.For the oppressed of the world as well as the poor and downtrodden in India, Mrs. Gandhi was the Messiah! She endeavoured to better their lot till the last; that she should have been gunned down by two members of a religious minority—the Sikhs in who were the greatest beneficiaries of her policies, is the saddest commentary on human nature. As George Bernard Shaw said, after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, "It is dangerous to be too good". In the case of Mrs Gandhi it was her uncompromising patriotism, which proved too dangerous. She lived and died for the India she loved and over which she was born to rule. As in life, so in death, she has become a legend.