The Dramatic Decade

Title: The Dramatic Decade – The Indira Gandhi Years

Author: Pranab Mukherjee

Publisher: Rupa Publications, 2015 (First)

ISBN: 9788129135742

Pages: 321

Shri Pranab Mukherjee is the current President of India. The first citizen of the country adds lustre to the position he holds on account of the intellectual capacity of the man behind the constitutional paraphernalia. I remember watching an interview with Pranab Mukherjee a few years ago when the anchor asked him what he intends to do after retirement. His answer still rings in my ears. His modest reply was that he’ll retire to his home and read some books which he always wanted to read, but had had not time to! Born in the remote village of Mirati in Birbhum district of Bengal in 1935, Mukherjee steadily climbed higher upon the ladder till he graced the highest chair in India. He could make this dream run on account of the sheer dedication to work and unflinching loyalty to his political masters, notably Indira Gandhi. This book is a record of the first decade of the author’s political and administrative career that spans nearly half a century. Supposedly the first in a trilogy, this volume covers the 1970s, in which India witnessed two great events that come rarely in history – the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 and the disappearance of civil liberties during the Emergency (1975 – 77). Mukherjee was a minister of state in Indira Gandhi’s cabinet during these years and hence presents a ring-side view of political changes as it unfolded tumultuously.

The author gives a detailed view of the politics in East Pakistan that gradually built up its tempo to end in a crescendo of war and liberation. The case of Bangladesh is a poignant reminder to theocracies that religion alone is not a durable cement to keep glued together two societies which are separated by language, geography, cultural outlook and history. East Pakistanis revolted the moment when Urdu was declared as the sole national language of the new state. Democracy always had shallow roots in Pakistan. The top bureaucrats and military men hailing from Punjab dominated Pakistan’s echelons of power. They enforced their will on East Pakistan, just like they do now on Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber–Pakhtunkhwa. A notable feature was that East Pakistan rioted and voted en masse, so that electoral victories easily came their way. Fazlul Haq’s United Front swept the polls in 1954. The Awami League of Sheikh Mujib ur-Rehman made a still spectacular performance in 1970, when his sweeping victory in East Pakistan ensured absolute majority for his party in the federal legislature as well. West Pakistan declined to share power. They sent in troops to crush the Bengalis with systematic murder, rape and loot. East Pakistan fought back with Indian help which finally transformed into a war between the two neighbours. After only thirteen days of warfare, Pakistan meekly surrendered its 91,000 soldiers in the newly created Bangladesh. Mukherjee presents an absorbing picture of the heroic freedom struggle of Bangladesh.

The events that led to the declaration of Emergency are narrated in some detail, but with a strong bias in favour of the ruling party. This is expected, as the author himself was a minister in the cabinet that signed in Emergency. No details of the excesses during this period is seen in the book, except a few tangential references to the stifling of judiciary, suspension of fundamental rights and political activity, large scale arrests of political leaders and activists, press censorship and extending the tenure of legislature without conducting elections. It is shocking for us to read now that Indira Gandhi transferred sixteen judges of higher courts in a single day so as to ensure compliance to her tricks and strategies. As conciliation to the readers, Mukherjee counts a few positive changes he had observed in the course of Emergency, such as discipline in public life, growing economy, controlled inflation, a reversed trade deficit, enhanced developmental expenditure and crackdown on tax evasion and smuggling. The book also includes Indira Gandhi’s life in the Opposition and how she played her opponents against each other. The Janata party crumbled under its own weight of leaders acting at cross-purposes and selfishly. Even though marked by loss of personal freedom, he ranks the period as one in which Indian democracy matured. He is obviously making a veiled reference to Congress' defeat in the elections held immediately after the lifting of Emergency.

Mukherjee’s loyalty is impeccable. Even when writing at a remove of 35 years, he does not let even a single critical word slip out of his pen. Even though a well-lettered man, the author was not a darling of the crowds, with the result that he lost many elections to the Lok Sabha. It was Indira Gandhi who made him a cabinet minister even after his defeat in the election. Mukherjee returns the trust and affection Indira reposed on him. A split had occurred in the party when Devraj Urs demanded that the Karnataka state party chief to be elected. The author ridicules him for his ‘unrealistic’ stand as the chief were normally nominated by Indira Gandhi herself. She was surrounded by cronies and sycophants as noted by Mukherjee when he terms Janardana Poojary, an MP from Mangaluru, as a ‘devotee’ of Indira Gandhi (p. 219).

Pranabji is not a great story teller by instinct. Terse facts and statistics are reproduced abundantly, but the story is told in a halting style. He sometimes resorts to name all the people who attended a meeting, which finds no relevance to the reader. In a hint of self-promotion, he reproduces verbatim the editorials of major newspapers praising the author’s achievements. The government introduced a scheme of voluntary disclosure of untaxed wealth in 1976. Curiously it may seem, the tax rate for this disclosed income at 50% was actually lower than the 60% rate applied on an honest taxpayer. Naturally, the scheme was a great success and the book includes three editorials lauding him. The book includes a good collection of photographs and lot of appendices detailing points mentioned in passing. A basic index is also provided.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star